Remember ‘demure’, ‘manifest’ or ‘techspagaat’? Those were some of the ‘words of the year’ of 2024, gleaned from our Brands2Life Global partners around the world. If we look back on the global comms landscape over the past year, a handful of other words offer a powerful snapshot of the collective mindset and cultural shifts in 2025. From ‘agentic’ to ‘6 7’, while technology innovation continues to dominate, some still remain rooted in local culture and politics. Read on to find out what some of our global partners have chosen as their region’s ‘word of the year’ for 2025.

Accountable

South Africa: Red Ribbon Communications

This word now defines the national mood following a year of negotiation, with the focus shifting to demanding tangible action and results. The public is no longer satisfied with awareness campaigns and demands decisiveness against gender-based violence, alongside enforcement and consequences for corruption. Accountable serves as the citizen’s key metric, reflecting a society done talking and committed to measuring progress only by what is actually being done by political leaders and state-owned companies.

LUX

Spain & Portugal: Canela PR

LUX is inspired by Spanish singer Rosalía’s new album, which has become a true cultural phenomenon. Beyond the musical release, LUX (Latin for ‘light’) has served as a symbol of the country’s social and emotional climate: an invitation to seek clarity in a year marked by information overload, uncertainty and the need for new cultural references. The choice sums up how a work of art can transcend its field and become a shared language. LUX speaks of reinvention, introspection and finding one’s own brilliance in complex times, a message that has resonated widely in Spanish public discourse.

Democracia

LATAM: Sherlock Communications

Even though Latin America encompasses more than 20 countries and cultures, one word clearly shaped the region in 2025: Democracia (democracy). Written identically in Portuguese and Spanish, the term gained special relevance in a year marked by several presidential elections across the region, including in Bolivia and Chile. It was also a year of significant political developments, from President Lula of Brazil navigating complex international pressures, to unprecedented events such as the imprisonment of former presidents in both Peru and Brazil. Looking to next year, with Brazil holding its presidential election, it’s likely that Democracia will remain at the centre of public conversation across the region.

AI agents

Germany: Maisberger

Whether in our personal lives or in a business context, AI agents streamline daily tasks, support workers, and boost productivity. This term has undeniably shaped media coverage in Germany in 2025. With it comes an ongoing debate about data protection, regulation, and ethical use. While these topics will remain on the agenda for 2026, we will continue to adapt AI agents to situations where they prove useful. More importantly, it will be crucial to understand their limitations and determine where innovation – and human oversight – must come into play.

Zollkrise, Milliardenpaket, Entbürokratisierung

Germany: Adel & Link

Not content with one, Adel & Link opted to select three key words for 2025. The term “Zollkrise” (customs crisis) became prominent in 2025, primarily referring to the severe trade disruptions and administrative friction caused by the new customs and tariff policies of the Trump administration. To stabilise the German economy amidst these global challenges, the new German government implemented a “Milliardenpaket” (billion-Euro package), a substantial financial programme for economic aid and stimulus. Simultaneously, intense political focus was placed on “Entbürokratisierung” (de-bureaucratisation), aiming to cut excessive red tape, and accelerate administrative processes to increase national competitiveness.

And the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache (German Language Society) recently also published its official word of the year: KI-Ära (AI era).

67

USA: Brands2Life

Spoken ‘six-seven’, this term has emerged as one of the year’s most distinctive pieces of slang. Used as an all-purpose reaction, the term 67 can be positive, sarcastic, or just used as a vibe. It is simply because its meaning is intentionally fluid that it has gained so much appeal, especially with younger generations. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are embracing irony, inside jokes and hyper-contextual language that plays with meaning. In a digital environment where everything is tracked, defined and optimised, 67 has become a playful (albeit sometimes annoying) way to stay unpredictable.

Fiducia

Italy: Imageware

One of Italy’s most authoritative Italian cultural and linguistic institutions has chosen this as the word of the year for 2025, because we believe it embodies the spirit of our time and, also, it’s at the heart of our world of public relations. The word is Fiducia (trust). In a context marked by economic uncertainty, social fractures, and a general difficulty in identifying shared points of reference, trust points to something essential: the ability to rely on others, to believe, to find a stable foothold amid the noise. The choice reflects a widespread need to rebuild strong bonds among individuals, citizens, and institutions. Trust is never just an individual feeling; it needs to circulate, to pass from one person to another, to take shape through actions, decisions, and mutual responsibility. And perhaps it is precisely this collective dimension that makes it so meaningful in a time defined by constant connections that are not always solid. Trust is an attempt to piece back together what appears fragmented.

Agentic

India: Candour Communications

Agentic denotes a significant shift in India’s AI landscape as it moves from a support layer to one that actively runs parts of the enterprise. In 2025, agentic AI was making decisions, triggering workflows and operating at scale in complex, high-volume environments. India became comfortable with delegating intent to machines while maintaining governance and trust. Not surprisingly, opinion remains divided on the effectiveness of agentic AI between those pursuing agents-first based on early gains, and those insisting on human-first models based on better customer experience.

Rage bait

UK: Brands2Life

After three days of an Instagram voting process which involved more than 30,000 people, the Oxford English Dictionary officially chose ‘rage bait’ as its word of the year for 2025. Meaning online content that is deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive, it won out against ‘aura farming’ (meaning intentionally doing things to cultivate an image of effortless coolness), and ‘biohack’ (the practice of using science, technology, or self-experimentation to optimise your body and mind for better health).

Here’s hoping some of these resonate or elucidate and let us know if there are any others from your region to include.