Ad buyers will see a year of agency changes, privacy problems, AI innovations, and media network competition in 2025. Here are five charts to help media planners prepare for the year ahead.
Fewer players, bigger payers: Industry KPI data shows role-playing games have lower downloads but draw higher ad spending.
OpenAI rolls out free search to capture shoppers during a peak ecommerce season, offering price comparisons and product links just when consumers need them most
Consumers typically buy consumer packaged goods (CPG) more frequently and often in-store, making those purchases different from general merchandise. Nonetheless, ad-buying on retail media networks (RMNs) is somewhat more established with more sophisticated options for CPG than for general merchandise because retail media has been a staple of CPG ad-buying for longer. That means CPG ad-buying habits could be a model for future trends in retail media.
Digital ad spend tops $300 billion in 2024: Video dominates growth, driving display advertising's share and reshaping ad strategies through social and OTT.
Capturing 88% of search traffic and 65.8% of browser use, Google shapes digital activity, though rising AI competitors and regulatory risks may challenge its supremacy.
WBD restructures into two divisions: Move positions company for potential deals while managing linear TV’s cash flow and streaming’s growth.
YouTube expands living room dominance: Sports, podcasts, and 4K content drive TV viewing surge—and possibly a YouTube TV price hike.
68% of US internet users think marketing from national brands with local messaging makes ads more relevant and shows advertisers are investing in local communities, per a study from The Harris Poll and Locality.
Global ad revenues surpass $1 trillion in 2024, says GroupM: Retail media and digital platforms drive rapid growth amid linear TV decline.
Viewers still watch the vast majority of ads on TV screens via linear TV, even as its share of time spent dwindles.
Rx advertising surges on linear TV: We examine the top TV programs for drug ads and explore why pharma marketers are still investing in linear TV amid declining viewership.
TikTok integrates with Nielsen ONE: Advertisers can measure and compare campaign performance across digital, linear TV, and CTV platforms.
FreeWheel debuts contextual marketplace: New tech enables privacy-friendly, precise ad targeting for streaming TV by analyzing video content in real time.
As publishers battle declining revenues, deals with AI firms like OpenAI and Perplexity provide new income streams—and a seat at the table in shaping the industry’s future.
Joe Rogan dominates spotify charts again: The podcaster remains a cultural touchstone for young men and politically diverse listeners.
Strong returns for both publishers and advertisers guarantee growth. AI-powered performance advertising products, such as Meta’s Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns and Google’s Performance Max, have helped large advertising platforms weather the lost ad revenues from privacy-related signal loss.
China’s digital ad sector grows 12.1% in 2024: Economic slowdown shifts ad dominance to platforms like Tencent and Pinduoduo.
OpenAI considers its approach to ads: The $157 billion company explores monetization strategies to diversify revenue streams.
Temu and Shein’s ad bidding war drove spending away from search: CPCs spiked after the two retailers claimed in-demand search ad space.