The mind’s perception of time is curious, to say the least. It slows down as it approaches you. What happened two weeks ago feels like two months ago. What happened six months ago feels like 12 months ago. What happened 12 months ago feels a decade away. And this has felt like a very long year.

But when historians of advertising, marketing and media (there must be some, surely), come to consider 2025 in the fullness of time, they may come to the conclusion that it was among the most consequential years ever. And it will all feel extremely breathless.

Generative AI appears to be a technology so fundamentally transformative that it will nix entire functions of our industry. And, should Mark Zuckerberg have his way, perhaps our industry altogether.

Omnicom’s acquisition of the Interpublic Group will cause a rapid, frontline disruption to the lives and work of literally hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Seven’s merger with SCA will not move mountains around the world in quite the same way, but it will usher in hugely important change in our local media landscape.

Ahead of revealing 2024’s B&T Awards winners, I mentioned how we were checking how Howatson+Company, CHEP Network and The Monkeys should be stylised.

Today, just one of those agencies survives in its previous form, with CHEP being swallowed by Clemenger BBDO and The Monkeys being rebranded to Droga5 in the name of global Accenture Song harmony. I expect the next 12 months will only bring more brand consolidation, structure rationalisation and role reshaping. It will be some ride.

But at a time of uncertainty, a few things are clear:

Traditional media channels will not die, despite the number of people who want the ‘legacy’ media to keel over. The channels may shrink, flex and change, but we will still listen to the radio, watch live TV and, on occasion, read a print publication—not least B&T’s upcoming coffee table-sized print annual.

Agencies will continue to live and die on the strength of their people, as much as (if not more so) than their technology. Tools, platforms and systems might get you a foot in the door of the pitch room but the connections and, for lack of a better word—vibe—will hold more sway than any procurement officer would consider.

The final certainty is that the ‘Big Idea’ will remain as important today as it has ever been. And that requires, necessitates and demands smart, human thinking.

And that’s what each and every one of our winners has tonight. Smart, human thinking. Enjoy.

I’d also like to take a moment to thank our sponsors, without whom none of this would be possible: Aptitude Recruitment, Birdeye, Boomtown, Carat Design, Coles 360, Commercial Radio & Audio, Convenience Advertising, Displaywise, iProspect, Innovid, Kargo, Stackadapt and Vistar Media.

I’d also like to thank every single member of the B&T and wider Misfits Media team for all of their exceptional work, as always, on turning the B&T Awards dream into a reality.

Yours,
Tom Fogden, B&T Editor.