Economic uncertainty looms large for brand marketers in 2025. Discover how to reduce both financial waste and carbon emissions while improving ad performance with boa's sustainable media strategies.
With another Expo West wrapped up, the buzz about protein-packed everything and seaweed 24/7 fades into a more sober reality—the economic uncertainty facing brand marketers in 2025. The boa team, including founder Avril Tomlin-Hood, joined thousands of industry professionals at the Anaheim Convention Center earlier this month. While product innovation was on full display, conversation inevitably turned to marketing budgets and strategic priorities in turbulent times.
The challenges ahead are clear. Major shifts in trade policy are underway, and anxiety about tariffs is rippling through supply chains. The stock market’s downward trend has investors cautious, and marketing departments are already feeling the squeeze. Given the challenges, every marketing dollar must work harder than ever before. The imperative to demonstrate clear ROI on advertising spend isn’t just a financial obligation—it’s an existential necessity for better-for-you brands.
The unavoidable stat for brand marketers is that up to 40% of display advertising is wasted. More than just squandered marketing dollars, digital advertising also pumps a surprising amount of emissions into the atmosphere. A single display campaign generating one million impressions has the carbon footprint equivalent to flying roundtrip from Los Angeles to New York.
Moreover, the energy footprint of online ads is expanding rapidly as AI-powered marketing technologies become mainstream. Recent forecasts (Deloitte Technology Predictions 2025) predict that AI workloads could account for over 40% of data center power consumption by mid-decade. Every impression, every click, every conversion comes with both a financial and environmental cost. In today’s economic climate, neither form of waste is acceptable.
The good news? More sustainable advertising is also more effective advertising. When you optimize to reduce waste, you’re also supercharging ad performance.
Nature’s Path Foods demonstrates the positive effects of optimization perfectly. By implementing precision targeting that prioritized quality over quantity, boa achieved something remarkable—click-through rates soared 70% and carbon intensity per result fell 62%. Overall, total campaign emissions dropped 10%. You can download a full case history here.
Where to start? Here’s our framework for maximizing impact while minimizing waste:
When facing budget constraints, the natural impulse might be to seek cheaper inventory at scale. However, this approach often leads to more wasted impressions, not better results. The average programmatic campaign is served across 44,000 websites, but the same (if not better) results can be achieved by strategically targeting audiences across just a few hundred quality sites. By focusing on more qualified audiences and premium placements, you can achieve higher engagement rates and conversions while simultaneously reducing your carbon footprint.
As we navigate the economic uncertainties of 2025, the most successful brands won’t be those with the biggest budgets to burn. They’ll be the ones making every impression count with an approach that prioritizes both financial efficiency and environmental responsibility.
The path forward is clear. By adopting sustainable media buying practices, cut costs, cut carbon and boost performance. More mission, less emission. We’re here to help.
Download our comprehensive guide, The CPG Advertiser’s Guide to Sustainable Media Buying. Or send us a note at hello@weareboa.com.
We’d love to talk and partner with your brand to drive business growth and create a more sustainable future.