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Solving 2025’s Top Data and AI Challenges in Marketing

April 1, 2025

By Piers Grassmann, Technology

In 2025, the surge in data and AI offers immense opportunities for marketers – but also new challenges. This blog explores five key issues businesses face, from ethical AI to sustainability, and provides strategies to harness data effectively, drive smarter campaigns, and build stronger customer engagement.

At Tech Show London, it was inspiring to see companies applying bold, innovative approaches to tackle complex business challenges across diverse industries. A common thread throughout the event was how businesses can harness AI and analytics to drive growth, enhance customer engagement, and stay ahead of competitors with data-driven marketing strategies in 2025.

This year, the global volume of data is predicted to rise to a staggering 181 zettabytes. To put that into perspective, it’s over 25,000 times more than the estimated number of grains of sand on Earth. For marketers, that’s an immense opportunity to unlock insights for hyper-personalised campaigns, and stronger customer relationships.

It also brings challenges that need to be addressed for businesses to stay competitive and responsible. Here are my top five, alongside recommendations for how brands and their marketing teams can tackle them.

1) Spotlight sustainability in the cloud

Cloud computing has seen unprecedented growth in recent years, with data centres now consuming around 1% of global electricity (more than electric vehicles). In fact, the ICT sector is responsible for an estimated 2-3% of global carbon emissions, equal to the entire aviation industry.

This raises environmental concerns that also have direct implications for brand perception. Modern consumers increasingly favour brands that champion sustainability, so marketers must prioritise it in their strategies and highlight eco-conscious initiatives to enhance brand reputation and stand out in a competitive landscape.

2) Tap into the value of unused data

Organisations store immense amounts of data with no immediate value. This is often referred to as ‘dark data’ and brings with it unnecessary costs, security risks, and inefficiencies. Healthcare organisations, for instance, often accumulate vast amounts of unused or redundant ‘dark data’, creating unnecessary costs, security risks, and inefficiencies. Thankfully, many providers offer sophisticated tools to help you identify, categorise, and effectively manage (or eliminate) dark data.

For example, Cyera is a data security company that offers a platform enabling organisations to discover, classify, and protect sensitive data across multi-cloud environments.

For marketers, removing dark data can mean uncovering unused information from sources like customer surveys and website analytics. These can enhance marketing efforts by revealing customer behaviours and preferences, thereby improving campaign effectiveness and product development.

3) Prioritise ethical AI and transparency

There is growing scrutiny around algorithmic bias, transparency, and ethical AI practices in 2025. Whether it’s the hype around DeepSeek or Apple’s AI-generated headlines, few topics have been given more airtime.

Neglecting ethical AI practices and transparent communication can lead to serious consequences. Most notably, it can cause the loss of customer trust and potential regulatory backlash.

So, firms need to prioritise ethics and transparency in their AI workflows, conduct regular audits, and put clear AI governance frameworks in place. For their part, marketers must ensure AI-driven personalisation and targeting remain fair and unbiased, safeguarding consumer trust.

4) Address the skills gap and AI talent shortages

Even the best practices are ineffective without the right talent to implement them. Without clear messaging, their impact diminishes further.

The cybersecurity skills gap is growing, which is especially concerning when you consider that IBM put the average cost of a data breach at $4.88 million (£3.77 million) in 2024, marking an increase of more than 15% over three years.

Attracting and retaining individuals who can translate AI and data insights into business growth and marketing success will be crucial. Consider reskilling marketing teams to better make use of AI-driven tools, creating stronger data literacy programs, or forming partnerships with educational institutions to develop the next generation of AI-savvy professionals.

5) Overcome data sovereignty, security and compliance complexity

Fragmentation is at an all-time high where data protection is concerned. From well-known sector-agnostic regulations like GDPR to the more recent Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) for financial institutions, there is naturally a huge spotlight on making sure your business doesn’t fall foul of quickly evolving guidelines.

This requires businesses to adopt flexible, scalable, and secure data governance strategies, while communicating these efforts effectively to safeguard customer data and maintain public trust.

Turn the flow of data into a powerful force

How businesses harness data and AI will define their future success. Those who act responsibly and innovatively today will lead tomorrow.

As Cyera’s Ash Hunt put it: “Data flows like water.” By adopting these strategies, businesses can turn that flow into a powerful force for better customer engagement, smarter campaigns, and long-term brand and business success.

How are you using data and AI to future-proof your marketing strategies? Let’s collaborate to drive smarter, more impactful campaigns. You can reach me at piers.grassmann@aspectusgroup.com.

Key Takeaways:

Q1: How can businesses unlock value from dark data?
A: By identifying, categorizing, and managing redundant data, businesses can reduce costs, improve security, and uncover hidden insights to enhance marketing strategies.

Q2: Why is ethical AI important in marketing?
A: Ethical AI ensures transparency and fairness, safeguarding consumer trust and ensuring compliance with regulations. Regular audits and governance frameworks are essential.

Q3: How can marketers address AI-related skills shortages?
A: Through reskilling teams, investing in data literacy programs, and partnering with educational institutions to nurture AI talent.