• by Eric Yaverbaum , December 16, 2024

As a new year approaches with new possibilities, we as communicators, creators, decision makers, and everything in between must consider what we can learn from the force of nature that was 2024. Which successes should we keep at our side, and which lessons should remind us to do and be better?

Turning a brand into a cultural movement? How “Brat” of you.

Curious why your teenage niece keeps saying you’re “Brat”? Look no further than Charli XCX. When the singer’s new album entered the public sphere this past June, it wasn’t a typical music release. In fact, the phrase “Brat” earned a place as Collins Dictionary’s word of the year, the album’s lime green became inescapable, and many Gen Z-ers quickly embraced the “confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude” that is “Brat.”

In 2025, it’ll be key to remember the influence “Brat” had and scale it up a notch. Perhaps there’s a way to implement your own campaign that sparks a cultural shift toward positive action and change!

A “too little, too late” election campaign in hindsight.

There’s no denying the loss of Vice President Kamala Harris came with profound disappointment for the millions of Americans who were excited for the prospect of electing our first woman president.

While pundits have floated just about every possible explanation for Harris’s defeat, what's clear is that the Democratic party is failing to communicate.

Many of the party’s policies, like those about rising housing costs, abortion, and childcare, are immensely popular with voters. In fact, in many cases, Americans voted in favor of those very policies while voting against Democrats, leading to some legislative wins outside of the presidential race. This includes the passing of several independent ballot measures that supported election rights, the right to marry, and reproductive rights.

This disconnect should signal the need for major changes within the Democratic party and the need to overhaul how it communicates with voters. If party leaders answer that call (and actually listen), it presents a massive opportunity.

When you realize controversy isn’t “HOT TO GO.”

This year was far from an easy one for the Princess of Wales. Kate Middleton went from facing skepticism over her break from the public eye to backlash about her Photoshop skills to announcing her cancer diagnosis (thankfully, the Princess of Wales was able to complete her chemotherapy treatment and is reportedly doing well).

Similarly, pop singer Chappell Roan also dealt with controversy around her choice to stay private about her choice for president. Roan resisted public pressure to endorse Harris, which she ultimately decided to give in to -- but only after she dug herself deeper into a hole, creating even more problems for herself.

The Princess of Wales’ and Roan’s controversies beg the question: Where do boundaries begin for a celebrity and where do their public obligations end? In 2025 we’ll likely see more of this type of backlash over a lack of celebrity transparency. As lines blur, we as communications professionals need to know when a controversy calls for transparency, and when it makes more sense to stay private.

There are plenty of lessons to glean from 2024. Most important is that we remember how every mistake is a lesson learned and, with the right mindset, can become an opportunity. There’s still so much to hope, fight, and live for in the coming year, I can’t wait to see what new horizons 2025 will bring.