The advertising industry in the past 48 hours has seen significant developments reflecting broader shifts underway in 2025. Global ad spend continues to grow, projected to reach 1 trillion dollars by 2026, with nearly 50 percent of spending now digital and traditional channels steadily declining. Programmatic ad buying has cemented itself at nearly 90 percent of digital display ads, while retail media advertising is projected to hit 130 billion dollars by 2026. Influencer marketing remains robust, with 24 billion dollars in value expected for this year, and social media video content influences purchasing for 73 percent of consumers surveyed this week.

Streaming TV advertising remains a major driver of new consumer behavior, especially the couch to cart phenomenon. The ability for consumers to interact directly with ads via QR codes and shoppable content resulted in a 51 percent increase in streaming TV driven actions such as page visits and online purchases from 2023 to 2024, based on data from Simpli.fi’s dashboard tracking over 140,000 campaigns monthly. This has prompted advertisers to start holiday campaigns earlier than ever, a direct response to ongoing economic concerns and increased use of buy-now pay-later platforms. Heightened retail anxiety has also led to higher engagement with summer sales, indicating continued caution among shoppers.

Significant deals and partnerships include Google’s market-first deal licensing Australian Associated Press journalism for AI model training. While this delivers new revenue to AAP, it raises broader industry questions about the sustainability of news publishing and the power of tech giants in content distribution. Meanwhile, leaders like WPP Media, Unilever, and Google are innovating with award-winning campaigns utilizing AI, branded content, and cause-related marketing—demonstrating a proactive approach to changing consumer preferences and technological disruption.

Consumer awareness of advertising is climbing; Ad Awareness scores for State Farm, Liberty Mutual, and Amazon Prime rose significantly in July, with State Farm’s campaign tied to sports celebrity Caitlin Clark driving a 7.5-point jump. Amazon Prime’s expanded four-day Prime Day promotion pushed its awareness up 6.3 points. Compared to previous months, digital and streaming campaigns continue to dominate, native advertising leads in engagement, and supply chain disruptions remain minimal this week.

Overall, the industry is characterized by rapid digital growth, earlier campaign launches, increased reliance on streaming, ongoing strategic partnerships, and heightened competition around AI and retail media. Industry leaders are meeting consumer and economic challenges head-on, pushing for greater innovation and adaptability.

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI