“At its core, digital marketing has not changed, but the tools we have to execute and analyze and improve performance have. That is where we are today and we have to embrace change as technology continues to advance down the path of artificial intelligence.” - Bradford Blecker, Founder of Bradford Strategies, a digital marketing agency in Bethlehem, PA. Some may ask why everyone is quick to embrace these new technologies – it's almost as if it's a race – who can use AI better, who can implement it fastest to improve productivity; but what's very important to remember is - how do we still keep the human element present in it all? This is the challenge of marketing in 2025 and likely beyond. It's very apparent, and rightfully so, that AI has scared the creatives, however, AI continues to advance, so instead of pushing back we need to try to preserve the creativity that comes from humans, and merge the historic with the future.
Marketing has always been shaped by technology. From very traditional media like the printing press, to radio & television, to the internet, every leap forward has challenged marketers to rethink how they reach and influence audiences. If you sit back and think about how old you were when you had your first computer, when you created your first email address - it really wasn't that long ago but from then until now (about two decades), we’ve seen a particularly rapid evolution, with the rise of digital platforms giving way to an entire ecosystem now known as MarTech — marketing technology.
In the early 2000s, marketing tech was centered on basic analytics and email automation. Platforms like Google Analytics gave us amazing insight into user behavior, while tools like Mailchimp and Constant Contact introduced ways to segment and message audiences. These early systems very much laid the foundation for data-driven decision making.
As we moved into the 2010s, the marketing landscape became more complex. CRM platforms, programmatic advertising, social media management tools, and content management systems (CMS) became essential to many organizations. Marketing was no longer about guessing — it was about precision. Automation helped scale campaigns, but human strategy and creativity still drove the "what" and "why" behind each initiative.
Now, in 2025, we're entering a very new chapter. AI-powered platforms are redefining what marketers can do, and how fast we can do it. Tasks that once took days or weeks can now be completed in significantly less time.
Today with the help of AI, it's pretty amazing how agencies can streamline repetitive tasks, expand upon and enhance research, segmentation, and reporting. All of which actually frees up humans time to focus on more strategic work. And even that has evolved a lot over the past year or so. So it's not all about replacement, but rather, enhancement.
I encourage everyone to keep this in mind when they have hesitations about AI. Admittedly myself and some of my team were hesitant to adopt some AI tactics and you may ask why? Well, because some of it feels like you're cutting corners, taking the easy way out –but really what we should be focusing on is how we can harness the power of technology to help us do things better and faster. Yes, even in marketing. As we all know technology moves so fast, Google and social media platforms are constantly changing their algorithms and it's almost impossible to stay on top of it all while keeping up with the array of responsibilities in running a business. AI helps us stay on top, and we utilize it only when it can help us and our clients. My personal opinion is that AI should not and should never take the place of creativity. That feels too robotic and the world needs creativity from the individuals who have that talent. So for us, AI will never be able to take the place of understanding a client's needs, building a personalized strategy, empathy, understanding, and creativity. It will only assist us in enhancing and improving upon the end result.
