20 Marketing And Communications Trends That Aren't Worth The Hype

In marketing and communications, shiny new trends can be hard to resist, especially when they dominate headlines and conference stages. But not every emerging tactic deserves a place in your strategy, and chasing the wrong ones can drain both budget and focus. The challenge is differentiating between when a trend offers genuine long-term value and when it’s just a passing distraction.

Below, Forbes Communications Council members share which trends they believe are overrated and how they separate substance from hype.

1. Demographic-Based Personas

Personas and generations can be a guide, but they're overrated (and outdated) in today's marketing, especially when built on demographics. They're just not enough. Real humans don't always behave like "Budget-Conscious Brenda" and fit neatly into a box where everyone acts the same. Understanding behavior and behavioral science is much more powerful than traits like "age 35 to 44, suburban mom." - Melanie Draheim, Fox Communities Credit Union

2. AI-Generated Content That Dilutes Your Voice

Don’t buy the hype around “AI-powered thought leadership” that spits out generic content at scale. It’s overrated because it erodes your unique voice and floods channels with sameness. Filter substance by testing on real audiences. Measure engagement, sentiment and follow-through. Use AI to analyze feedback, not to generate more noise. - Alex Goryachev, Alex Goryachev

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3. Overpersonalization That Undermines Brand Consistency

Hyper-personalization is overrated! While it's beneficial to deliver content that resonates, overthinking personalization can lead to a fragmented brand experience. Consistency in delivery is even more important for success. It is critical to align well-dosed personalization efforts with core brand values, ensuring they enhance rather than complicate the overall customer experience. - Diana Scholz, Bayer AG

4. Focus On ROAS And Short-Term Efficiency

The obsession with Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and short-term efficiency is overrated. It traps brands in a feedback loop, cutting upper-funnel spend to chase easy wins. It overvalues what’s measurable, undervalues what drives growth and leans too heavily on platform attribution. Marketers risk shrinking their reach and ambition. True leadership means building brand and measuring impact, not just what’s easy to count. - Liam Wade, Impression

5. Tech Fads That Lack Real Customer Value

Many companies chase flashy tech, like the metaverse, without a clear ROI. I cut through hype by asking: Does it solve a real customer problem or enhance the experience meaningfully? If not, it’s noise. - Jorge Lukowski, NEORIS

6. The ‘Email Is Dead’ Myth

It's not really a trend, but definitely a headline that pops up every year: Email is dead. I've been seeing that topic discussed for well over a decade, and the channel is not only still alive, but it continues to thrive and drive arguably the highest ROI of any channel. Filtering the hype out is about using common sense and experience to spot the overly hyped nonsense. - Tom Wozniak, OPTIZMO Technologies, LLC

7. 'AI-Powered' Labels Without Substance

The rush to use AI for everything is overhyped. At our company, I've seen companies add "AI-powered" to basic features just for buzz. Real substance comes from solving actual human problems, not checking trend boxes. I filter hype by asking: Does this genuinely improve the user experience or just sound impressive? - JoAnn Yamani, Future 500

8. Chasing Viral Content Over Long-Term Value

Viral content may bring short-term attention, but it rarely builds long-term brand value or trust. To filter hype from substance, I look at whether a trend supports long-term goals, creates real engagement and offers measurable results that matter to the audience and the brand. - Saakshar Duggal, Artificial Intelligence Law Hub

9. Broad, Overgeneralized SEO Content

Overgeneralized SEO content is overrated. Chasing broad keywords dilutes value. The most effective content is niche, purposeful and positions your brand as a trusted expert. Substance beats scale—depth builds authority, while surface-level reach fades fast. - Lyric Mandell, PhD, MOXY Company

10. Performative Novelty

The trend I find most overrated is performative novelty. Not every message needs to chase virality. There is still space for cinematic storytelling, especially when paired with the immediacy of smartphone footage. I filter hype by asking a single question: Does this serve the audience’s reality or just satisfy the platform’s mechanics? - Marie O'Riordan

11. Virality That's Misaligned With Brand Purpose

Chasing virality for the sake of it is overrated. A viral moment that doesn't align with the brand's purpose rarely builds lasting equity—getting attention, but not connection. To filter hype from substance, I ask: Does this help me earn trust with my customer? Will this move the needle on my long-term brand or business goals? If the answer to either is no, it’s probably noise, not strategy. - Aditi Sinha, Point of View Label

12. Trend Hijacking That Undermines Trust

Trend hijacking is overrated because it often prioritizes virality over authenticity. Jumping on trends without alignment to your brand can feel forced, confuse your audience and dilute long-term trust. Relevance matters—but not at the cost of brand integrity. - Kal Gajraj, Ph.D., CAN Community Health

13. Presence On Every New Platform

I’d say jumping on every new social platform just because it’s trending is overrated. If your audience isn’t there, it’s often a waste of effort. To cut through the hype, I ask: Is our audience here? Does it fit our brand? Can we keep up quality content? It’s better to focus on fewer places and do them well. - Luciana Cemerka, TP

14. Overreliance On Customer Service Chatbots

Chatbots for all customer service interactions are often overrated. While effective for basic queries, they struggle with unique or complex issues, offering repetitive answers that lack empathy. This can be frustrating. I filter hype by evaluating the nature of the query: Simple tasks can be automated, but for sensitive or specific concerns, human intervention is essential for providing real value. - Lauren Parr, RepuGen

15. Posting Constantly Without Purpose

The idea that you have to post constantly to stay relevant has led to bloated feeds, internal burnout and surface-level messaging. Instead of chasing noise, I look for signal clarity: What’s driving understanding, engagement or action? If your team can’t explain why something is being said, to whom and what outcome you want, it’s not strategic communication. It’s just content drift. - Sarah Chambers, SC Strategic Communications

16. 'Authenticity' As A 'Marketing Costume'

Brand authenticity as a trend is way overrated—mostly because it’s become a marketing costume. Everyone’s authentic now, which makes it meaningless. I filter hype by watching what a brand does when no one’s clapping. Substance shows in the gaps between the campaign and the customer experience—not in the tagline. - Cade Collister, Metova

17. The Addition Of Tools Without Strategic Impact

Tools-first thinking is overhyped. A new platform doesn’t fix unclear messaging or broken handoffs. If it doesn’t help us communicate better, move faster or get closer to the customer, it’s noise. We filter hype by asking: Will this drive meaningful impact for our customers and prospects? Or is it just something that looks good on a slide? If it’s the latter, we move on. - Kristin Russel, symplr

18. Influencer Partnerships Based On Follower Count

Follower‑count chasing in influencer deals is overrated. Nano‑creators with 5 to 50,000 followers often drive higher engagement‑to‑sales lift. We filter hype by demanding past ROI dashboards (CPA, LTV) and paying only on performance tiers. - Jamie Elkaleh, Bitget Wallet

19. Virtue Signaling

Too many brands confuse virtue signaling with actual purpose. They launch campaigns tied to cultural moments without the operational backbone or credibility to support them, and audiences see right through it. Filter hype from substance by asking two questions: 1. Does this trend align with what our buyers actually care about? 2. Can we back up this message with action, internally and externally? - Colby Proffitt, Carbyne

20. The Elimination Of The CMO Role

The most overrated trend in marketing today isn't a tactic or technology—it's organizational structure. According to Spencer Stuart, almost a third of Fortune 500 companies don't have a CMO, opting to layer the role under functions like sales, product or operations. The intent may be alignment, but the consequence is that marketing loses its place as an equal, strategic partner in driving growth. - Rekha Thomas, Path Forward Marketing

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