70% of marketers worldwide say generative AI is the most important consumer trend they're watching, nearly 6x the share tracking the metaverse (12%), according to November 2025 data from Mediaocean.

A rebound year is taking shape in Canada’s ad market. Growth is shifting toward CTV, retail media, and social. But tighter budgets and economic pressure are forcing advertisers to rethink channel mix and performance priorities.

"Marketing is less about persuasion now, it's more about participation," said Justin Breton, head of partnerships, content and emerging experiences at Walmart, at the IAB Connected Commerce Summit last month. "How do you actually get consumers to participate with your brand?"

Creator content is shaping how AI answers questions. But content that’s good at engaging audiences isn’t always what AI surfaces. That’s forcing brands to rethink their creator strategies and content formats so they can show up in AI tools.

This FAQ explores the evolving brand safety landscape, risks in creator partnerships and synthetic content, and the tools marketers need to protect their brands in 2026.

Ad spending will surge in 2026 as AI-driven gains and a packed events calendar offset mounting economic strain. Social will lead the way as Meta overtakes Google in net revenues and the wider ad industry closes in on the half-trillion-dollar milestone.

This FAQ breaks down how these shifts are converging in 2026 and what they mean for marketers planning local media strategies across search, CTV, and OOH.

Energy drink brand Accelerator Active Energy believes their history with athlete creators gives them a competitive edge in connecting with fans.

YouTube is the top platform for watching creators across every demographic of US children, according to a February report from Precisify.

Snapchat’s young audience and distinct ad products keep it relevant, even as usage slips and regulatory pressure builds. Marketers should use it with strategies built for messaging, creators, and commerce.

Online ads near $1.5 trillion as social outpaces all channels and Meta proves its scale.

Social platforms want a bigger role in search ad budgets, but user habits lag behind. As search expands beyond traditional engines, these platforms must turn occasional behavior into intent-driven activity to grab ad dollars.

Social media is emerging as a key growth channel for retail media networks (RMNs) as they expand beyond their owned properties.

Digital media dominates daily consumption, but legacy formats still hold key moments. As streaming, audio, and social media surge, advertisers face a fragmented landscape where attention is growing—but harder to capture.

AI is reshaping brand safety by amplifying risks around placement, accuracy, and authenticity while offering new tools to control them. As automation scales, marketers face a growing tradeoff between performance gains and trust.

From automated bidding tools offered by Google, Meta, and Amazon to emerging agentic AI systems designed for end-to-end campaign automation, AI is becoming embedded at every stage of the media buying process.