The Best Marketing of 2025 IMHO
Marketing from the heart, not the wallet
If 2025 has taught us anything so far, it’s that the best marketing doesn’t just sell.
It seduces. It surprises. It’s tells epic and emotional stories. And sometimes it even throws a party in a pub. We’re talking pop-ups with actual purpose, brand collabs that feel more like art projects and campaigns that make you wish you had been a part of them (either conceiving, producing or experiencing) while screenshotting for inspiration.
From cult creatives (Hephee X AT&B) to beautifully bonkers brand mashups (Almost Home X Enda’s Pub), here are the best things I’ve seen in marketing this year. This is the kind of work that makes you want to up your game, not just your budget.
April & The Bear × Hephee: Playful Art Meets Retail
April & The Bear's collaboration with Dublin-based illustrator Hephee brought a delightful fusion of humour and design to their store. Known for his witty and minimalist illustrations (haven’t we ALL saved some on Instagram?), Hephee's art added a fresh, engaging layer to the shopping experience. The partnership was further amplified by in-store events, including a print-signing session with Hephee, fostering a deeper connection between the artist, the brand and customers.
Why It Works:
Authentic Collaboration: Integrating a local artist's work creates a unique, community-driven retail atmosphere.
Interactive Experience: Live events encourage customer engagement and brand loyalty - plus they create a well of high-value content to be captured and rolled out throughout the year.
Social Media Buzz: The visually appealing art pieces are highly shareable, boosting online visibility.
Flowerpop × Caroline Duffy: Bloom & Flourish Retreat
The "Bloom & Flourish" retreat, a collaboration between floral designer Heather Condren of Flowerpop and artist Caroline Duffy, offered participants a rejuvenating experience blending floral arrangement and painting in the serene setting of The Wicklow Escape. It confirms that Flowerpop is more than a floral brand; it’s a bold and dynamic movement. And it allowed multi-award winning designer and artist Caroline Duffy a new way to present her creative skillsets. Sign me up for the next one.
Why It Works:
Experiential Marketing: Offering a hands-on, immersive experience strengthens brand connection - also allows people to build a deep relationship with the people behind the brand.
Cross-Disciplinary Appeal: Combining floristry and art and nature attracts a diverse audience.
Emphasis on Well-being: Aligns with current trends focusing on mindfulness and self-care - but doing it with a twist.
Rixo Pop-Up at Kildare Village: Immersive Retail Design
Rixo's pop-up boutique at Kildare Village, designed by Irish interior designer Gemma McCloskey, paid homage to Ireland's rich folklore and artisanal heritage. The store featured design elements like sweeping arches, hand-painted gilded stars and OUTRAGEOUSLY beautiful tiger-print rugs (from Nordic Knots…I immediately had to ask) - creating an enchanting shopping environment.
Why It Works:
Storytelling Through Design: Thematic interiors create a memorable brand narrative. These ARE the talking point.
Cultural Connection: Incorporating local heritage fosters a deeper connection with customers.
Enhanced Customer Experience: This encourages longer visits and repeat business - we want to shop and peruse, but also swoon over the visuals.
Aisling Duffy × Schuh: Artistic Bag Charms
Designer Aisling Duffy's collaboration with Schuh was inspired on multiple levels. Duffy has a signature line of unique, oversized bag charms, blending fashion with art. Schuh collaborating with an independent Irish designer was an excellent way to both profile and platform local talent and tap into Duffy’s audience. These distinctive accessories not only showcased Duffy's creative flair but also offered Schuh customers a totally unique way to personalize their purchases.
Why It Works:
Product Differentiation: Unique accessories set the brand apart in a competitive market. Plus, keychains and charms have been trending for a while now and are only getting bigger and more embellished (Labulu teddy charms).
Artist Collaboration: Partnering with a designer adds exclusivity and artistic value - and just an overall more interesting “news story”
Social Media Engagement: Visually striking products encourage user-generated content - Duffy created lots of BTS, the charms were highly photogenic - win/win
We Are Bold Golf: Redefining Golf Events
We Are Bold Golf's event stood out for its unconventional approach to the traditional golf tournament. Already making a name for blending street-wear with traditional golf, all the ranges were brought to life by incorporating elements like music, fashion and interactive experiences at a real-life golfing event. This type of authentic content attracts broader, younger audiences; challenging the norms of golf culture.
Why It Works:
Innovative Format: Breaking away from traditional formats captures new demographics (younger, more diffuse)
Multi-Sensory Experience: Combining sports with entertainment enhances appeal.
Brand Modernization: Refreshing the image of golf aligns with contemporary lifestyles - this brand recognises golf is ripe for a new audience; and that audience has money to invest.
Almost Home × Brown Thomas × Egan's Pub: Cross-Industry Collaboration
This triad collaboration brought together the realms of fashion, retail and hospitality. By hosting a launch event that combined Almost Home's fashion line, Brown Thomas's retail space, and Egan's Pub's convivial atmosphere, the partnership created a unique, multifaceted customer experience. It felt bold and audacious for premium retailer Brown Thomas to “pop up” in a much-loved Irish bar to launch the streetwear brand and this is a great example of a true collaboration.
Why It Works:
Cross-Promotion: Each brand benefits from the other's customer base.
Enhanced Experience: Blending shopping with socializing creates a holistic outing - it’s the softer type of selling that prioritises positioning over immediate profit.
Community Building: Fosters a sense of community through shared experiences - we don’t want to be sold to, we want to be a part of.
So there you have it…community-hunting, living art, sport-as-music-video…this list proves that marketing is evolving. It’s less about marketing as we know it, and more about moments. Moments, communities, storytelling, sparking joy, thinking long term and thinking deeply and thinking without the heavy spectre of ROI.
And if you want to start thinking a little left-of-centre for your own brand? My Magic of Marketing workbook is ready for you. Strategy, inspiration and straight-to-the-point guidance all wrapped up in one very easy to use Notion doc.
Go on, give your marketing the main character energy it deserves.
Let me know if you like these kind of roundups and if you’d like to see more of them xx