As content volumes grow and technology advances, the convergence of marketing, creative, and production is accelerating. In the 2025 Global Benchmark Report for Content Production, Gareth Chilton, Founder of Manmachine, shares eight grounded and forward-thinking predictions that offer a clear view of what’s ahead.
1. From hype to practicality: AI finds its place
“A shift in the AI story with the initial hype surrounding gen AI to subside somewhat. This should lead to a more measured and practical application of AI technology in marketing strategies.”
2. Merging creative ops with the MarTech stack
“Speeding up of the move towards a united creative and marketing ecosystem which joins creative production and automation tools with larger MarTech ecosystems. This will shift Creative Operations from being a standalone function to a more integrated part of the marketing funnel.”
3. Automated compliance & brand governance goes mainstream
“More emphasis on automated compliance and brand governance, automating checks for regulatory compliance, legal approvals such as claims management, and adherence to brand guidelines.”
4. Always-on production becomes the norm
“Rise of always-on production pipelines. Global ‘follow the Sun’ creative workflows will dominate, allowing in-house and offshore teams to seamlessly produce content on a continuous basis.”
5. Data-driven creative takes the lead
“Insights-driven production will enable continuous optimization, where creative teams (both in-house and offshore) make data-backed decisions for iteration and scaling.”
6. Generative AI will evolve to empower creatives
“Continued evolution of generative AI becoming more intuitive, resulting in a greater ability to augment and empower creatives.”
7. Modular creative will scale smarter
“Continued shift to modular creative production, where assets are broken into reusable components, will become more ubiquitous.”
8. Offshore hubs will gain greater autonomy
“Decentralization of product ownership, empowering offshore hubs with greater autonomy. Advances in MarTech are allowing them to function as near-independent creative eco-systems.”
Final Thought
The future of content production will be shaped by those who master the mix: people, partners, and platforms. These eight predictions from the Global Benchmark Report for Content Production—developed by Gareth Chilton—give us a blueprint for building smarter, faster, and more scalable creative ecosystems.
Want to go deeper? Download the 2025 Global Benchmark Report for Content Production to explore all expert contributions and data-driven insights.
