Closing the chapter on the previous year naturally raises questions about where attention is heading now.
As part of our annual Three Trends series, we asked industry leaders to share their key takeaways.
Next, we speak to Tusharr Kumar, CEO at Only Much Louder in Mumbai.
Tusharr explores the return of long-form depth, the rise of short-form sports storytelling, and how niche creator communities are becoming the blueprint for authentic, community-focused influence.
Looking Ahead:
What are three trends to look for in the coming year?
1. Depth over distraction: Why long-form is winning again
People are scrolling nonstop, but the funny thing is that they’re also swinging back to long-form content on purpose. What’s pulling them in is the chance to get richer stories, real opinions and actual conversations, not just momentary virality. Even platforms built on short-form are now pushing longer formats because creators with substance are the ones keeping people watching.
For brands, this is a real opening. Long-form builds authority, earns trust and gives space to show what you actually stand for. In a scattered attention economy, depth is starting to win again.
2. The sports highlight revolution: Fandom meets short-form creativity
Gen Z sports fans are rewriting the rules of consumption, and Instagram is their stadium. Compact, high-impact sports clips are emerging as one of the fastest growing content categories, shifting how young audiences discover, follow and emotionally invest in teams. Whether it is a decisive try, a locker-room joke or a split-second moment of magic, leagues like the Spanish Rugby 7s and Leicester Tigers are mastering the art of turning real-time action into highly shareable content.
Gen Z sports fans are rewriting the rules of consumption, and Instagram is their stadium.
It is not just entertainment. It is a new playbook for engagement. Short-form sports storytelling is reshaping fandom into something more dynamic, intimate and community-driven.
3. The micro niche economy: Where passion becomes a brand
The next wave of creator growth is not coming from mainstream categories. It is emerging from hyper-specific niches that attract loyal and high-intent communities. Creators are going deep into pottery, sustainable living, micro music genres, miniatures, spiritual crafts and countless subcultures. Audiences value this because it speaks directly to what they care about.
What makes niche creators especially powerful is their ability to monetise authentically through courses, products, collaborations, studio experiences or retreats. All of it is built on trust rather than aggressive selling. For brands looking ahead, niche creators are not a trend. They are the blueprint for community-led influence.
Looking Back:
Favourite or least favourite trend of 2025:
If there’s one trend that’s completely owned by 2025 for me, it’s this: the creator playbook has officially jumped into the real world. Influencer energy is now winning actual elections. Waking up to Zohran Mamdani playing Dhoom Machale at his NYC victory speech was the biggest “wait… what?!” moment, but also the most on-brand for this year.
He ran the first truly creator-style campaign and won America’s biggest city with zero TV ads. Halal-flation explainers while eating street meat, 2 AM nightclub reels, miles of walking and talking to people. His videos hit millions. He switched across Urdu, Spanish, Arabic, Bangla and Hindi like it was nothing. And that one scavenger-hunt post? 245,000 likes and thousands of people on the streets.
No traditional advertising at all, he did this just with a phone, Instagram, Tiktok and raw authenticity. Just content people actually cared about. And ending his victory speech with Dhoom Machale? Full-circle perfection. If politics can be won like this, imagine what brands can pull off!
If you could sum up 2025 in one emoji:
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Fast. The Year that went by too soon!
One of your favourite campaigns of 2025:
When stand-up comedian Rahul Subramanian posted “Throwback to the time I auditioned for a Lux commercial,” the internet absolutely lost it. He was poking fun at Lux’s iconic, star-packed ads… and then actually landed one himself.
It became a full pop-culture moment, powered by Rahul, his fans and a brand that knows exactly when something is happening in culture. Fans started tagging Lux India nonstop, and instead of letting the moment pass, the brand jumped right in.
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You’d think a century-old brand would play it safe, but Lux moved fast and turned a joke into a full digital-only campaign. The digital-only campaign retained Lux’s signature glamour but also leaned into Rahul’s authenticity and humour to create something fresh and engaging. Proof that when culture calls, agility wins!
What was your 2025 New Year’s Resolution, and did you keep it?
My New Year’s resolution was to listen to new music and start reading books again. I now have 4 half-read books but a Spotify playlist full of artists I’ve never heard before. You must check out Jon Bastiste (yes I’m late to the party) and Wengden Sherpa.
