From Apathy to Adaptability: How Brands Can Matter in 2025
“78% of brands could disappear tomorrow—and most people wouldn’t care.”
— Meaningful Brands 2025.
For nearly 17 years, Havas has tracked the evolving relationship between people and brands through its annual Meaningful Brands™ study. Since its launch in 2009, the report has served as a global barometer of how brands create value in people’s lives—functionally, personally, and for society at large.
But the 2025 edition marks a breaking point. Apathy toward brands has reached staggering levels—78% of brands could disappear tomorrow, and most people wouldn’t care.
Against this backdrop of indifference, the study introduces a new mandate for marketers: dynamic adaptability. In a world of relentless disruption, the brands that survive—and thrive—are no longer fixed assets but fluid behaviors: listening deeply, showing empathy, and reshaping themselves around people’s shifting expectations as consumers, citizens, and humans.
To explore what this shift means in practice, we spoke with Tony Mattson, Global Strategy Partner at Havas Creative Network and Head of Impact at Havas Media Network UK, about what Meaningful Brands 2025 means for marketers and how brands can apply these findings. He discusses the report’s findings, and the urgent call for brands to rethink how they show up in people’s lives.
“Dynamic adaptability is what brands do, not just what they are.” — Tony Mattson
Dynamic Adaptability
“In the study, we talk about dynamic adaptability as what a brand does rather than a description of what a brand is. It’s a behavioral concept,” says Mattson.
The most important step, he explains, is “getting closer to customers—past, present, and future”— and understanding the full complexity of their needs. “And then carry out a Meaningful Brands™ audit to see how well they are keeping pace with these changing needs.”
Takeaway for Marketers:
Identify your brand’s non-negotiables, then treat everything else as open to adaptation.
“The biggest mistake brands can make is to assume themselves to be heroes rather than the partners people are looking for,” Mattson warns. “Communication is not just what a brand says—it’s what a brand does.”
Takeaway for Marketers:
Build platforms for participation, not just campaigns for attention.
Apathy: The Jeopardy of Indifference
If 78% of brands wouldn’t be missed, how can marketers know if theirs is at risk?
Mattson points to one word: listening.
Marketers must track not just purchases or digital traffic, but also how people talk about the brand, the words and topics they associate with it, and whether it holds cultural relevance as a force for good. “Developing this comprehensive set of signals represents the best early warning system,” he notes.
3 Key Warning Signs of Brand Apathy
Apathy is the enemy of relevance. The study highlights three early signs to monitor before disengagement turns into backlash:
- Flat or Declining Emotional Signals
- Trust, advocacy, and attachment scores slip while functional metrics remain stable.
- Shifts in Consumer Behavior
- Drops in engagement, switching to competitors, or reduced loyalty despite competitive performance.
- Erosion of Cultural Resonance
- Weaker associations with societal good and declining cultural visibility.
As the study makes clear, apathy is not passive—it’s the beginning of exit.
Agency Amplified: From Attitude to Action
Last year’s study tracked the emergence of personal agency—people’s resilience and desire for control in uncertain times. In 2025, agency has evolved into action, showing up in intentional consumer decisions, conscious lifestyle choices, and heightened expectations of brands.
“The biggest mistake brands can make,” warns Mattson, “is assuming themselves to be heroes rather than the partners people are looking for. Communication is not just what a brand says—it’s what a brand does.”
The Power of Halo Attributes
Havas identified eight “Halo Attributes” that drive multiple KPIs at once. For brands facing immediate decline, Mattson points to personal attributes as the fastest levers:
- Good Feeling – helps people feel good about themselves
- Simplify – makes life easier
- Self-Expression – enables individuality
- Escape – offers relief from the everyday
“These have the biggest upside and opportunity for competitive advantage,” he explains. Still, he cautions that their impact is context dependent, varying by market, category, and culture.
Global Consistency, Local Relevance
The study underscores that adaptability looks different across regions: balancing tradition and innovation in Italy, celebrating cultural participation in Brazil, or emphasizing agility in the U.S.
The solution, Mattson says, is “freedom within a framework”—where global teams set clear guardrails for identity and values, while local teams adapt execution to cultural nuance. This approach preserves global coherence while enabling local resonance.
DYNAMIC ADAPTABILITY: BRANDS AROUND THE WORLD
“Dynamic brands are fluid, not fixed. They respond and shift around new, emergent needs.”
The most dynamic brands are those that listen, learn, and respond in ways that demonstrate empathy and humanity.
AI with a Human Touch
“Marketers have mismanaged technology for decades. AI gives us a chance to reset.”
The study also highlights consumer tension: enthusiasm for technology’s efficiency but a preference for human interaction. For Mattson, this isn’t a contradiction but an opportunity.
“Marketers have mismanaged technology for decades, eroding humanity from the very industry that claims to espouse it. AI gives us a chance to reset,” he says. “Brands must put technology in the service of people—supporting and enabling them to bring greater agency into their lives.”
The Mandate for Marketers
The Meaningful Brands 2025 study offers both a warning and a blueprint. Apathy is rising, but so is people’s demand for agency, empathy, and authenticity. Brands that fail to adapt risk irrelevance; those that embrace dynamic adaptability can secure stronger equity, deeper trust, and lasting attachment.
“Dynamic adaptability impacts corporate culture, operations, strategy, and measurement,” Mattson concludes. “But the upside is significant—opportunities for marketers to secure competitive advantage, strengthen brand equity, and nurture greater value for both businesses and the people they serve.”
