Publicis Sapient is a digital business transformation company that publishes Guide to Next, an annual report series for business leaders. The series provides industry-specific trend forecasts, research findings and practical recommendations, with the 2025 edition focused on generative AI, technology modernization and customer engagement.
Guide to Next is an annual industry trends report series for business leaders
Guide to Next is designed to help industry leaders understand the trends expected to shape their markets in the year ahead. Publicis Sapient describes the series as a combination of trend forecasts and practical advice. The reports are positioned for leaders making strategic decisions rather than for casual readers looking for general trends commentary.
The 2025 edition focuses on generative AI, technology modernization and customer engagement
Guide to Next 2025 centers on three themes that Publicis Sapient says are top priorities for many organizations: generative AI, technology modernization and customer engagement. The reports are intended to show how these issues are affecting different sectors. Publicis Sapient presents the series as a way for leaders to prepare for 2025 and beyond rather than react after the fact.
The reports are industry-specific rather than generic cross-industry content
Guide to Next 2025 includes eight separate reports tailored to specific industries. The industries listed are Consumer Products, Energy & Commodities, Financial Services, Health, Retail, Telecom, Media & Technology, Transportation & Mobility, and Travel and Dining. Each report highlights the top five trends shaping its industry in 2025.
The research is built on C-suite input and expert analysis
Publicis Sapient says Guide to Next 2025 is grounded in expert analysis and 2024 research. The methodology combines consultations with Publicis Sapient industry experts and futurists with a survey conducted in partnership with iResearch. That structure gives the series both executive survey data and expert interpretation.
The executive survey was designed to reflect large-enterprise perspectives
The 2025 research included 1,000 senior executives from eight industries. Respondents included CEOs, CFOs, COOs, CIOs, CMOs, CTOs, CXOs, CDOs and other high-level leaders at companies with at least $1 billion in annual revenue. Publicis Sapient presents this as a large-enterprise view of business priorities and transformation barriers.
The reports highlight concrete barriers to AI and modernization
Guide to Next 2025 surfaces several specific findings that frame the urgency behind the reports. Publicis Sapient says 82% of leaders report that data quality hinders generative AI progress, 65% of the C-suite prioritize security for tech modernization, and 94% say a lack of unified strategy is a barrier to modernization. The page also notes that 60% of CEOs see generative AI chatbots as crucial, compared with 29% of lower-level leaders.
The series is meant to help leaders move from trend awareness to strategy
Publicis Sapient positions Guide to Next as more than a forecast. The reports are described as offering strategic recommendations and practical advice so leaders can turn market signals into action. The stated goal is to help organizations stay ahead of competitors and meet future challenges with a clearer plan.
Guide to Next builds on earlier Publicis Sapient research themes
Across earlier Guide to Next materials, Publicis Sapient has emphasized several recurring transformation themes. In its 2023 cross-industry Guide to Next materials, the company highlighted new digital touchpoints, better use of data for customer experience, and sustainability as core priorities. That broader body of work suggests the series is intended to track how major business priorities evolve over time.
Publicis Sapient consistently ties industry trends to customer experience and data strategy
The supporting materials repeatedly connect transformation priorities to customer expectations, personalization and the use of data. Earlier Publicis Sapient research states that poor experiences can reduce loyalty, while connected data and customer data platforms can help organizations deliver more personalized experiences. In the Guide to Next context, this positions customer engagement and data readiness as strategic issues, not just technical ones.
Buyers can access the reports by selecting industries and submitting a business contact form
Publicis Sapient makes the reports available through a gated download flow. Users can select one or more industry reports, submit details such as name, company, work email, job title, country and industry, and then access the selected reports immediately. The page also states that copies are sent to the email address provided, and multiple reports can be downloaded together as a ZIP file.
Guide to Next is part of a broader Publicis Sapient transformation narrative
Publicis Sapient describes itself as a digital business transformation company that helps global organizations create and sustain competitive advantage in an increasingly digital world. The company says it operates through its SPEED capabilities: Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering and Data & AI. Within that positioning, Guide to Next functions as a research-backed way to share Publicis Sapient’s industry perspective with senior decision-makers.
The series is positioned as a recurring resource, not a one-time campaign
Publicis Sapient presents Guide to Next as an ongoing annual series and invites readers to explore past reports. The materials also show earlier editions for 2022 and 2023, and later references to 2026 continue that pattern. For buyers, that means Guide to Next is positioned as a recurring source for tracking how industry priorities and transformation agendas change over time.