2025 Brand of the Year: It’s Not AI, It’s You

Source: Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash

One more annual tradition before the year closes out. I've picked the biggest marketing moments of the year, and I've also picked my favorite blog posts of the year.

Now it's time to pick the Brand of the Year! Past "winners" have been Heinz, Barbie, and even Dolly Parton.

This year reflects what has certainly been an unusual year, one driven by the constant headlines about AI, among other things. So I could have easily picked AI or even Chat GPT as the Brand of the Year but quite honestly I feel like that would be inaccurate. Because AI as the technology isn't what has made it a headline all year … it's something else that has put it at the center of our lives. Especially our work lives. And that is you, the user of AI.

So my pick for The Brand of the Year Isn't AI. It's …

You.

That's because AI isn't really the story this year. You are.

Let me explain.

Back in 2006, Time Magazine named their "Person of the Year" as simply "You" … marking the moment when user-generated content exploded and ordinary people suddenly had the tools to create and broadcast to the world. It was the democratization of publishing.

Source: Time Magazine

We're in that same kind of moment again. Except this time, the tool is AI.

So yes, I’m using a little borrowed equity from 2006 and UGC when thinking about the year we have had with AI.

Starting in 2024 and all through 2025, AI became ubiquitous. We stopped talking about A.I., and actually started to use it. AI tools flooded the market. Every marketer, every agency, every brand suddenly had access to a tool that could write, create, organize, and optimize in ways that were previously unimaginable.

A startup could sound like an enterprise. A solo creator could think like a team. And anyone with a device could suddenly scale their thinking. It was the great equalizer.

The ways of working with AI started, well, working. But those ways were only as good as the people who were inputting into it all, something we learned very quickly.

And that's when something interesting happened. We saw exactly who people were in the landscape of AI.

Some marketers used AI to speed up authentic thinking. They used it as a first draft tool, a thought partner, a way to explore ideas faster and then humanize them. They kept their values. They kept their voice. They kept their judgment. The tool simply amplified their intentions and their reach.

Others used AI to replace thinking. To optimize without strategy. To scale without soul. To chase trends faster than anyone else, hoping speed and ease would feel like innovation. They let the tool drive their own innovative thinking.

Their values got lost in the output. Their voice became generic. Their judgment disappeared.

We could see this happening in real time.

Some brands leaned into AI transparently. They said, "Here's how we're using this. Here's what it means. Here's how we're being responsible with it." They used it to serve customers better, to solve real problems, to create experiences that mattered. They maintained their principles while embracing the technology.

Other brands tried to hide it. They deployed AI-generated content without disclosure. They used it to manipulate, to deceive, to optimize engagement without caring about an actual truth. They forgot about their values. Their brand values, their personal brand values.

And the value of their brand.

Consumers noticed. Audiences noticed. The market noticed.

That's when it became clear: AI isn't the story. The marketer using AI is the story. The brand deploying AI is the story. The human judgment behind the technology is the story.

AI is just a tool. Like any tool, it reveals character. It shows what you value. It shows whether you're trying to build something real or just chase metrics. It shows whether you're an engaging marketer or just an opportunist.

In 2025, we've been learning that the most important brand isn't artificial intelligence. It's authentic intelligence. It's human judgment applied thoughtfully. It's values that don't shift when a new technology arrives.

It's marketers and brands who use AI as an accelerant for their purpose, not a replacement for it.

So yes, You are the Brand of the Year because of how you use AI. It's what you do with this tool. How you choose to use it. Whether you stay true to your values or abandon them for speed and scale. Whether you build value or optimize it away. That's the real brand story of 2025.

The technology is neutral. You are not. And that makes all the difference.

What's your experience? JIM

P.S. - Of note, “Time Magazine” Person of the Year for 2025 are the "Architects of AI" … so not just one person but many.