Keyinsightsonconsumer,advertising,andmediatrendswithdatagatheredfromnearly700leadingmarketing

industryprofessionals.

Tableofcontents

Introduction 3

ForewordbyBrianWieser,MadisonandWall 4

Insight01:

Adspending:Marketerscontinuetoprioritizedigitalchannels 5

Insight02:

AI:TopconsumertrendsurpassesCTV 7

Insight03:

Automation:Thefastest-risinginvestment 9

Insight04:

Shiftingfocus:Preparingforamulti-IDfuture 11

Insight05:

Actionability:Criticalforadverification 12

Insight06:

Creative-mediagap:Smallstrides,bigopportunities 13

ConclusionandMethodology 14

AboutMediaoceanandFlashtalking 15

2?2025Mediaoceanmediaocean

3?2025Mediaoceanmediaocean

Introduction

ThankyouforreadingMediaocean’s2025AdvertisingOutlookReport.Theseinsightsreflectinputfromnearly700marketingprofessionals,focusedonkeyconsumerandtechnologytrendsalongwith2025H1projected

mediainvestments.

Weprimarilysurveyedmarketersandagencies,

butalsoincludedperspectivesfrommediacompanies,

measurementfirms,techplatforms,andotherindustry

cohorts.Thisistheseventhinourseriesofbi-annual

marketreports,withthefirstpublishedattheendof2021.Themostrecentdatapointsusedinthisresearchare

basedonsurveysconductedinNovember2024.

4?2025Mediaoceanmediaocean

Foreword

Weoftenlookattheworldandtheoveralladvertisingindustry,mindfulthatitsever-changingmixof

differentmarketers,andfocusonwhatwillhappen

ratherthanwhatshouldhappen.Surveysofgroupsofmarketersoftentendtowardstheshouldandcan’ttypicallycapturethefactthattheevolutionofan

economymeansthatmanynewkindsofmarketersemerge,furtherlimitingthevisibilitythatsurveys

canprovide.

Withthatnoted,wefindourselvesinstrong

agreementwithmostoftheobservationsraised

bythesurveyunderpinningtheMediaocean2025AdvertisingOutlookReportandfurtheragreethattheseareamongthemostimportanttrendssettoimpactmarketersthisyear.Theresultsgenerallyweavetogetherveryclearly.

Withindividualpractitionersincreasinglyincentivizedtowardsshorter-termsales-likeKPIs(inpartbecausenewermediachannelsandtoolsmakeitpossible

tomeasurethemrelativelyquickly),it’snaturalthatperformance-drivenmediawouldbecomeamost

criticalcapability.Becausemostplatformsprovidingtheseperformance-drivensolutionsaredigital,

it’sthenunderstandablethatdigitalchannelswouldoutpacethosewhicharenotdigital.

Withthemassiveexpansionofworkflows

thatfollowsfromtheongoinggrowthofdigital

channels,theneedforautomation—andthusAI—trumpsCTVinimportance.Andthen,giventhe

aforementionedperformancefocusandall

ofthechallengesthatgowithquantifying

performance,itmorethanmakessensethathigh-qualitymeasurementwouldsimilarlybecomemoreimportantthaniteverwas.

Ofcourse,therearesomeproblemsunderpinning

muchofthisfocusalongwithsomeunder-realizedopportunities,too.Tostart,theuseofperformancemediaaspracticedbymanymarketerscomesat

theexpenseofprioritizingbrand-building.Those

whotrulywanttouseperformancemediaprobablyshouldconsiderdirectmail,althoughbecauseit’s

not“digital”physicalmailusuallydoesn’twinduponamediaplan.

Forasimilarlymixedtrend,thekeyfactordrivingadoptionofAIisanongoingneedforefficiency—whichisalaudableobjective—butthewaysin

whichefficienciesarerealizedoftencauses

marketerstofocusonindividualfunctionsratherthanwholesystems.

Putdifferently,thereisatendencyamongmany

largemarketerstoprioritizetheshort-termgrowthoftheirproverbialtreesratherthanmanagethe

long-termhealthoftheirmuchbiggerforests.

That’sillustratedlargelyinthecreative-media

gap—bothwideandmeaningful—whichprobablyshouldnotexistatall.Ifmarketersthatbetter

creativeandbetterideasdrivebettermediaperformance,whyaretheynotmoretightlyintegrated?

Ifthere’soneimportanttopicwethinkthat

advertisersappeartounderestimate(byvirtue

ofitslowrankingamongconsumertrends),

it’sthepotentialforpoliticalandadvocacyissuestomeaningfullyimpacteverythingelsethisyear.

Therearesomepositivestoconsider,butprobablymorenegativesoverall.

Asexamples,forallmarketersabanonTikTokintheUSwillprobablyalterwhichsocialmediavehiclesUS-basedbrandswillworkwith.Tariffsanddeportationswillalterpricesandcompetitivedynamicswithin

categoriesandprobablyimpactsupplychains,too.Thesefactorswillimpactthechoicesthatall

marketersneedtomakein2025.Andthenthere

areconsiderationsforthepharmaceuticalindustry,whichmayfacemoretargetedregulationsandthedynamicsofnegativeconsumersentimenttowardsthatbusiness,healthcareandmanyotherindustries.

Atanindustrylevel,2025willbeayearof

tremendousuncertaintyforallofthesereasonsandmore,althoughmanyindividualmarketerswillstill

findwaystoadaptandthrive.Tacticsandstrategiesdescribedinthisreportwillundoubtedlybecritical

elementsbehindthoseoutcomes.

BrianWieser

Principal

Madisonandwall

5?2025Mediaoceanmediaocean

Insight01

Adspending:Marketerscontinuetoprioritize

digitalchannels

Tomakeinformeddecisions,marketersneed

aclearunderstandingofthebroadertrendsshaping

advertisingspending.Ourresearchindicatesthatthe

industry’swaveofoptimismfrom2024willcarryinto2025.

SocialMedia,DigitalDisplay/Video,andConnectedTV(CTV)remainthefastest-growingchannels,withaconsistentrise

ininvestmentthatalignswithconsumerengagementand

timespent.Specifically,68%ofsurveyrespondentsplanto

increasetheirSocialMediaspending,67%forDigitalDisplay/Video,and55%forCTV.Additionally,28%,30%,and36%ofmarketers,respectively,intendtomaintaintheirinvestmentsinthesechannels.

Ontheotherhand,Radio/AudiohasjoinedPrintand

TVinexperiencingadeclineininvestment.Whilemore

respondentsaredecreasingtheirbudgetsintheseareasthanincreasingthem,themajoritystillreportmaintainingtheir

currentlevels.

Reviewingthedatafromthepastfouryears,it’sevident

thattraditionalmediaisbeingincreasinglydeprioritizedas

digitalchannelsgainmomentumandpopularityamongbothconsumersandadvertisers.SocialPlatforms,inparticular,

haveexperiencedremarkablegrowth,witha21%increaseinadspendingbetween2022and2025.Thisshiftunderscoresthegrowingimportanceofdigitalandsocialmediain

shapingadvertisingstrategiesandreachingtargetaudienceseffectivelycomparedtotraditionalchannels.

omediaocean

Foreachmediachannelbelow,doyouexpecttoincrease,decrease,ormaintainyourspend?

IncreaseMaintain●Decrease

2022202320242025

Socialplatforms

Digitaldisplay/Video

CTV

Search

Retailmedia

OOH/DOOH

Radio/Audio

NationalTV

LocalTV

Print

Source:Mediaocean2025AdvertisingOutlookReport

Methodology:Surveyof688marketingprofessionalsconductedthroughTechValidateinNovember2024

6?2025Mediaoceanmediaocean

Lookingatthenumbersbyindustryvertical,more

thanhalfofthesectorswesurveyedidentifiedSocial

Platformsastheprimarychannelforincreasedad

spending,followedbyone-quartercitingDigitalDisplay/Video.QuickServiceRestaurant(QSR)andTravel

wereoutliersinselectingCTVastheirtopchannelforincreasedadspending.

mediaocean

Topchannelbyvertical

SOCIALPLATFORMS

DIGITALDISPLAY/VIDEO

SOCIALPLATFORMS

SOCIALPLATFORMS

SOCIALPLATFORMS

SOCIALPLATFORMS

SOCIALPLATFORMS

CTV

DIGITALDISPLAY/VIDEO

DIGITALDISPLAY/VIDEO

SOCIALPLATFORMS

CTV

Source:Mediaocean2025AdvertisingOutlookReport

Methodology:Surveyof688marketingprofessionalsconductedthroughTechValidateinNovember2024

7?2025Mediaoceanmediaocean

Insight02

omediaocean

Whatarethemostimportantconsumertrendsyou’rewatchingfor2025?

AI:TopconsumertrendsurpassesCTV

●November2024

●July2024

Whenweaskedmarketerstorankthemostcritical

consumertechnologyandmediatrends,GenerativeAI

(GenAI)toppedthelistwith63%.Asthetechnologyhasundergonerapidandunprecedentedadvancements,

advertisersaremorequicklyembracingGenAI.AccordingtoaNovember2024studybyMicrosoft,theuseofGenAIincreasedfrom55%in2023to75%in2024.

OpenAIhasremainedattheforefrontofthistrendwith

theintroductionoftheChatGPTStore,aplatformthat

allowsuserstocreate,customize,andshareGPTstailoredforspecifictasks.ThisdevelopmenthasrenderedAI

toolsnotablymoreapproachable,notonlyforseasoneddevelopersbutalsofortheaverage,non-technical

user.Furthermore,OpenAIunveiledGPT-4o,aversatilemodelcapableofhandlingtext,images,andaudioin

multiplelanguages.ThismarksamajoradvancementinAItechnology,providingenhancedandcomprehensiveprocessingforvariousformsofmedia.

WhileOpenAIandChatGPTleadthemarket,othertech

giantsarealsointegratingGenAIintotheirproducts.

GooglehasincorporatedgenerativeAIintoitsSearch

platform,enablinguserstoreceiveAI-generatedsummariesthatprovidemoredetailedandsynthesizedinformation.

CTV,whichwasthetoptrendinourprevioussurvey,

Source:Mediaocean2025AdvertisingOutlookReport

Methodology:Surveyof688marketingprofessionalsconductedthroughTechValidateinNovember2024

nowrankssecondwith56%ofmarketersconsideringitthemostcriticalconsumertrend.CTVremainsavitalchannel

asconsumerscontinuetoswitchtostreamingserviceswithad-supportedoptions.

8?2025Mediaoceanmediaocean

Whenwebreakdownthedatainto12industry

verticals,5choseGenAIand5choseCTV.CPG/FMCGcompaniesfavorE-commerceEverywhere,whiledirect-to-consumer(DTC)brandspreferTikTokandSocial

Videoastheirtoptrends.

WhileGoogleisworkingtomakeitsGeminiAIchatbotworkbetterwithAndroiddevices,Apple’sApple

IntelligencewantstomakethingseasierforusersbylettingAIworkinsideapps.CognizantandMicrosoftformedaglobalpartnershiptohelpbusinessesadoptGenAI,leveragingMicrosoftCopilotand

Cognizant’sservices.

omediaocean

Toptrendbyvertical

CTV/STREAMING

E-COMMERCEEVERYWHERE

TIKTOK/

SOCIALVIDEO

GENERATIVEAI

CTV/STREAMING

GENERATIVEAI

GENERATIVEAI

CTV/STREAMING

CTV/STREAMING

GENERATIVEAI

GENERATIVEAI

CTV/STREAMING

Source:Mediaocean2025AdvertisingOutlookReport

Methodology:Surveyof688marketingprofessionalsconductedthroughTechValidateinNovember2024

9?2025Mediaoceanmediaocean

Insight03

Automation:

Thefastest-risinginvestment

WhilePerformance-DrivenPaidMedia,Measurementand

AttributionCapabilities,andBrandAdvertisingremainthetopthreecriticalinvestments,Automationhasemergedasthe

fastest-growingarea.ComparedtoourJuly2024survey,thenumberofrespondentsidentifyingAutomationasacriticalcapabilityhasincreasedby17%,with28%ofmarketers

nowselectingit.Automationwastheonlyoptionthatsawanincrease,whileCreativeTestingandAnalysisremainedunchanged,andtherestdeclined.

AutomationandAIworktogethertostreamlineomnichannelworkflows.WithAutomation,advertiserscanuseasingle

platformforallchannels,eliminatingtimewastedonmanual,redundanttasks.InnovativeadtechplatformsuseAutomationandAItohelpbuildcompelling,brand-safecreativeatscale,

surfaceactionableinsights,optimizecampaigns,anddrivebetterbusinessoutcomesacrosschannels.

AsadvertisersincreasinglyimplementAutomationintotheirprocessesandtechnologies,theyarefindingiteasierto

streamlineworkflowsandapplyAItosolvepracticalchallenges.

ThemostcommonapplicationsofAIareDataAnalysis

andMarketResearch,with47%and38%ofusecases,

respectively.CopywritingandImageGenerationfollowwith32%and22%ofusecases.

mediaocean

Givencurrentmacroeconomicconditions,whichadvertisingcapabilitiesandmediainvestmentsaremostcritical?

●July2024

●November2024

HowareyoucurrentlyusingGenerativeAIinyourmarketing?

●November2024

Source:Mediaocean2025AdvertisingOutlookReport

Methodology:Surveyof688marketingprofessionalsconductedthroughTechValidateinNovember2024

●July2024

10?2025Mediaoceanmediaocean

Whenwebreakdownthenumbersbyvertical,

three-quartersoftheindustriesidentifiedData

Analysisastheirmostprevalentusecase.ThisincludessectorslikeAuto,CPG/FMCG,DTC,Entertainment,

FinancialServices,Tech,andTelecommunications.

One-quarteroftheverticals,primarilyfromEducation,Retail,andTravel,indicatedMarketResearchastheirprimaryusecaseforGenAI.

omediaocean

Toptrendbyvertical

DATAANALYSIS

DATAANALYSIS

DATAANALYSIS

MARKETRESEARCH

DATAANALYSIS

DATAANALYSIS

DATAANALYSIS

DATAANALYSIS

MARKETRESEARCH

DATAANALYSIS

DATAANALYSIS

MARKET

RESEARCH

Source:Mediaocean2025AdvertisingOutlookReport

Methodology:Surveyof688marketingprofessionalsconductedthroughTechValidateinNovember2024

11?2025Mediaoceanmediaocean

Insight04

Shiftingfocus:

Preparingfor

amulti-IDfuture

mediaocean

Whatareyourlargestareasofconcerninyourmediaandmarketinginitiatives?

●November2024

Declineinabilitytomeasurecampaigneffectivnessontechplatformsandopenweb

Consumeradavoidance/adblindness

Poorabilitytomanagereach&frequencyacrossCTVanddigitalchannels

Lossofaccesstothird-partydata

Lackofpreparednessforcookielessfutureandotherdatadeprecationrelatingtoconsumerprivacyandwalledgardens

Talentretention/accesstoexpertise

Other

Source:Mediaocean2025AdvertisingOutlookReport

Methodology:Surveyof688marketingprofessionalsconductedthroughTechValidateinNovember2024

●November2023

●October2022

howoftenusersareexposedtoads,ensuringthat

frequencycapsaresetandmaintainedeffectively.Theattributionofconversionstopaidmediabyaccuratelylinkingadexposurestosubsequentsiteactivity,

regardlessofthebrowserordeviceused,ensuresamoreaccuratemeasurementofmediaimpact.

Byembracingmulti-IDsolutions,advertiserscan

futureprooftheirmeasurement,andensuretheyareaccuratelytrackingcampaigneffectiveness

in2025.

12?2025Mediaoceanmediaocean

Insight05

Actionability:Critical

foradverification

Asconcernsaroundadverificationgrewinthepast

year,weintroducedthisquestioninourJulysurvey.

Ourlatestfindingsshowthattheaspectsofverificationconsideredmostimportantbymarketerswhen

selectingpartnersandevaluatingROIareinastateofflux.

Measurement,particularlywithMediaRatingCouncil

(MRC)accreditationandrobustreporting,remainsthetoppriority.Advertisersneedintuitivedataaccesswithflexiblereportingthatprovideactionableanalytics.

Notably,Actionabilityhasremainedthesecondmost

importantfactor,butwitha22%increaseinour

November2024survey.Theabilitytousedataforreal-timedecision-makingiscrucialforadverification,

asitallowsadvertiserstobeproactivewiththeirmediastrategiesandapplyinsightstooptimizecampaign

performance.

InaseparatesurveyconductedinOctober2024onadverificationandbrandsafety,87%ofmarketersagreedthatrebuildingtrustinadverificationisessential,and75%ofrespondentsviewedbrandsafetyasmore

criticalthanitwassixmonthsago.66%ofmarketerssurveyedalsoadvocatedforaverificationmodel

focusedonfactoringpositivecontentengagementratherthanrelyingstrictlyon-siteexclusions

andnegativekeywords.

omediaocean

Whataspectofadverificationismostcriticalwhen

selectingpartnersandevaluatingreturnoninvestment?

Cost:lowincrementalfeesontopofmedia

\

Comprehensive

channelcoverage:

walledgardens,openweb,CTV

Integrations:

connectivityto

mediabuyingapplications

Measurement:

MRC-accreditation

androbustreporting

/

\

Actionability:abilitytousedatafor

real-timedecisioning

Source:Mediaocean2025AdvertisingOutlookReport

Methodology:Surveyof688marketingprofessionalsconductedthroughTechValidateinNovember2024

Forour2025AdvertisingOutlookReport,Integrationsforconnectivitytomediabuyingapplicationscame

inthird.Verificationsolutionsmustbeseamlessly

integratedwithadserverstoensureanend-to-end

streamlinedworkflow,whichincreasesefficiency,

reduceserrors,savestime,andcutscostsinbothmediaandverificationprocesses.

ComprehensiveChannelCoverage(includingwalled

gardens,theopenweb,andCTV)andCostrounded

outthefourthandfifthplaces.Advertisershavefacedchallengessuchaslimitedoptions,highercosts,and

aslowdownininnovationduetotheconcentrationof

serviceswithtwoprimaryproviders.Asweenter2025,apositivesecuritymodelforverificationpresents

compellingopportunitiesformarketers.

13?2025Mediaoceanmediaocean

Insight06

mediaocean

Howwellsynchronizedareyourmediaefforts?

Creative-mediagap:Smallstrides,

NotataII-Ourmediaandcreative

bigopportunities

processesaretotaIIyseparate

\

WeII-WehaveaformaIapproachtomedia/

VeryweII-WehavefuIIysynchronizedmediaandcreativeprocessesand

technoIogies

Soso-Wehave

someprocessesthat

overIap,butthere’s

roomforimprovement

creativecoIIaboration

Inourresearch,86%ofrespondentsreported

thattheydonothavefullysynchronizedmedia

andcreativeprocessesandtechnologies,aslightimprovementfrom89%inour2024AdvertisingOutlookReport.Only14%ofadvertisersarefullysynchronizedin2025comparedto12%in2024.Despitethisinitialprogress,theindustrystillhassignificantroomforimprovement.

The“creative-media”gapisprimarilycausedbytheindustry’soveremphasisonmediaattheexpense

ofcreativecontent.Thisdisparityhasaprofoundimpact,especiallyinaworldwhereconsumers

increasinglyrespondtoandrewardpersonalizedexperiences.Closingthisgaprepresentsthemostsignificantgrowthopportunityforbrands.

Source:Mediaocean2025AdvertisingOutlookReport

Methodology:Surveyof688marketingprofessionalsconductedthroughTechValidateinNovember2024

Toaddressthesegaps,brandsneedtoimplement

independentadtechplatformsthatconnectthe

silosbetweenteams,allowingthedeliveryofmore

Theabilitytodeployintelligenceforadeep

understandingofwhatmessagesareconnectingwithdifferentaudiencesandenvironmentswithgranularityandtransparencyofdataisimperative.Witha

comprehensiveCreativeAdTechstack,advertisers

canseamlesslyintegratewithexistingplatformsandcollaboratewithpartnersinbothcreativeandmediadomains,empoweringteamstoeffectivelybridge

thecreative-mediagap.

efficientproduction,versioning,anddistributionof

creative.Essentialtothissolutionistheenablement

ofpersonalizationtoensurethemostrelevantand

impactfulbrandmessagereachestherightconsumerattherightmoment.

14?2025Mediaoceanmediaocean

Conclusion

In2025,theadvertisingindustryispoisedforcontinuedgrowthandtransformation.

Thesustainedincreaseinadspending,particularlyindigitalchannels,underscoresamarketthatishighly

attunedtothecontinuedshiftinconsumerattention.

Advertisersaremaintainingandevenexpandingtheir

budgetsfromthepreviousyear,signalingastrongcommitmenttoleveragingadvertisingfor

businesssuccess.

ThesteadyriseofAI,drivenbyongoing

advancementsandwidespreadadoptionby

techgiants,hassolidifieditspositionasacritical

technologyintheadvertisingworld.AIisnowan

indispensabletool,enhancingcontentgeneration,

research,andanalytics,anddeeplyintegratinginto

dailyworkflows.Thistechnologyisnotjustatrendbutafundamentalshiftthatisreshapinghow

advertisersoperate.

Automationisalsoplayingamoresignificantrole,

asadvertisersseektooptimizetheiromnichannel

strategies.Bystreamliningworkflows,automation

savestimeandreducesmanual,repetitivetasks,

allowingteamstofocusonmorestrategicinitiatives.

Accuratemeasurementremainsatopconcern,andadvertisersneedtoadoptamulti-IDapproach.

Thisstrategy,whichcombinescookieswithother

identifiers,isessentialforimprovingreach,frequency,andattribution,ensuringthatcampaignsare

effectivelymeasuredandoptimized.

Theadverificationspacehasseengroundbreakingdevelopments,compellingmarketerstoreassess

andprioritizetheirpartnerships.Theemphasison

actionabilityiscrucialtomaintaininghighstandardsofaddeliveryandensuringthateverydollarspent

yieldstangibl