Marketing measurement is entering a new phase of speed and precision. InMarket’s Michael Della Penna told EMARKETER that marketers are moving beyond static reports toward real-time insights—fusing marketing mix modeling (MMM) and multi-touch attribution (MTA) to understand what drives incremental sales as campaigns run. AI-powered models now forecast lift, optimize spend, and connect awareness to conversion through unified platforms. With 56% of marketers prioritizing sales lift and nearly half investing in MMM, the focus is clear: decision speed over dashboards. InMarket’s end-to-end system exemplifies this shift, reframing measurement as a continuous feedback loop rather than a quarterly report.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how much TV streaming is really going on around the world, in which countries radio is holding its own, and short-form video’s place in the social media world. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson, Principal Analyst, Paul Briggs, Vice President of Research, Jennifer Pearson, and Chief Insight Officer at GWI, Jason Mander. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
Out-of-home (OOH) advertising is regaining cultural and commercial relevance as digital environments grow more synthetic and less trusted. OAAA’s Anna Bager and Vistar Media’s Lucy Markowitz told EMARKETER that OOH’s greatest advantage is its permanence—it’s “literally there.” As misinformation and algorithmic fatigue reshape consumer behavior, physical media has become a trust signal that can’t be faked or filtered. Modern OOH blends this credibility with interactivity, using 3D creative, AI-assisted design, and viral social moments to amplify campaigns beyond the street. For marketers, OOH isn’t just awareness—it’s proof of authenticity in an era of artificial everything.
Foot traffic to indoor malls surged 6.3% YoY in May, outpacing outlet malls (3.5%) and open-air shopping centers (4.7%), according to a September report from Placer.ai.
As pharma marketers and ad agencies begin to shift ad dollars from traditional linear to digital CTV, media buying is moving from programs and broad demo buys to data-driven audience targeting. Healthcare and pharma marketers have long relied on the broad reach and frequency of linear TV, but need to recognize the growing power of CTV. Marketers shouldn’t think of CTV as a replacement, but as a performance layer on top of linear’s scale and reach.
As CTV ad spending accelerates, buyers are shifting focus from convenience to performance—zooming in on ad quality, viewer experience, and actionable signals that drive measurable impact. Nearly half of global agencies and demand-side platforms (47%) prioritize ad quality and a positive user experience, per BCG and Google. Easy integration, responsive customer support, and platforms’ ease of use rank far lower. Marketers should push for consistent data-sharing and collaboration with publishers to turn CTV from an experimental channel into a predictable growth engine.
Out-of-home (OOH) advertising is evolving into a dynamic, data-rich medium that blends physical and digital engagement. Speaking at Advertising Week New York, OAAA’s Anna Bager and Vistar Media’s Lucy Markowitz described how AI, measurement, and social media are redefining OOH’s role in omnichannel marketing. Digital formats now make up over 36% of total OOH revenues, while programmatic buying and AI-driven creative optimization are transforming static screens into responsive canvases. Partnerships like TikTok’s “Out of Phone” show how viral content can extend into public spaces. The next phase of OOH will be defined not by size, but by intelligence and interactivity.
Google updated ad arrangements across its Search interface globally, potentially amping up competition for visibility and user attention. Users can now hide sponsored content by collapsing text ads to only see organic results. The “Sponsored Results” label is pinned to the top of the search screen as users scroll, making that section more apparent even when collapsed. Brands that rely heavily on search visibility need to rebalance paid and organic SEO strategies. They should test how collapsed ads change click-through rates and revise bidding tactics to maintain a share of user attention in increasingly competitive results pages.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how linear TV ad dollars are still managing to outweigh CTV ad dollars, what’s primarily responsible for driving growth in out-of-home ad spending this year, and if some new high-profile print media initiatives can stem the print ad spend bleeding. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson, Senior Analyst, Ross Benes, and Senior Forecasting Analyst, Zach Goldner. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) reportedly rejected a proposed acquisition from Paramount Skydance, claiming that its offer of $20 per share was “too low,” per Bloomberg reporting. WBD’s rejection signals that some legacy media players see more value in restructuring themselves than in merging on the cheap.
Perplexity is taking a step back from its advertising initiatives amid struggles to monetize AI search. Marketers should pause planned investments in AI search until search ads are measurable and proven to be effective. AI adoption may be growing, but there remains no clear evidence that ad formats in AI search provide returns.
The biggest banks will spend $6 billion or more on marketing in 2025, or 0.10% of their total asset value, per an analysis of the American Bankers Association Bank Marketers Survey in the ABA Banking Journal. On average, 32% of banks’ marketing budgets were allocated to new customer acquisition—more than any other allocation. Bank marketers are clearly focused on digital advertising, and with greater resources and scale, the largest institutions won’t find it hard to drive awareness, attract new customers digitally, and dominate the conversation. Community banks will need to be scrappy.
Pharma linear TV ad spending totaled $1.25 billion in Q3, with prescription drug commercials taking the leading share of national TV ad spending for the quarter, according to iSpot.tv. Pharma marketers are reallocating more of their budgets toward digital—especially connected TV (CTV) and social media—for more precise targeting and measurement gains. However, linear TV is still important for Big Pharma, especially for mainstream events like live sports, to drive board awareness of common health conditions. We expect linear TV’s scale, trust, and cultural relevance will keep it in the mix for the foreseeable future.
Tubi is giving advertisers a broader arsenal of contextual targeting tools through an expanded partnership with Viant. The free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platform is tagging its on-demand content based on emotional and thematic cues, per Digiday, with categories such as “hopeful” or “suspenseful.” For CMOs, this represents a turning point—contextual intelligence is a strategic advantage for brand safety, emotional alignment, and performance in an increasingly fragmented streaming landscape. Leaning into emotional targeting tools will let marketers fully capitalize on FAST’s growth, the platforms’ broad range of content, and the opportunity to dominate ad fill.
Linear TV and streaming have mastered how to present ad products alongside their top talent to win marketing dollars, and more audio players are following suit. On Monday, SiriusXM hosted “Built with Audio,” an upfront-style showcase scheduled around Advertising Week New York that packaged talent interviews and performances with executive presentations tailored to an audience of marketers.
Linear TV ad spending grew in Q3 despite total TV ad impressions declining, per iSpot data. Ad spend increased 4% YoY, reaching $8.77 billion—but total impressions fell 2.7% to 1.67 trillion. Total ad minutes rose 2.4% YoY to 5.3 million, driven by the rise of sports inventory. Marketers must understand that a successful ad strategy requires a balance— investing in linear to drive outcomes while slowly shifting toward CTV for better targeting and to align with audience viewing habits.
This sponsored article by Nielsen explores how advertising intelligence helps marketers close measurement gaps.
The growth of commerce media investments promises to connect brands with customers for longer stretches of the customer journey, especially when shoppers are close to purchasing. Though much of this extended digital journey leaves out the physical store, this strategy is changing.
AppLovin’s launch of Axon marks its transformation from mobile gaming to full-scale AI ad platform — and one of ad tech’s boldest pivots yet. The new Axon Ads Manager promises real-time AI bidding, Shopify integrations, and transparent attribution as the company positions itself as a performance-driven alternative to Meta and Google. The rollout comes as the SEC investigates AppLovin’s data practices, spotlighting the tension between AI-powered innovation and compliance. Marketers see opportunity — regulators see risk.