PayPal rolled out Transaction Graph Insights & Measurement at CES to gives advertisers and merchants a clearer, cross-merchant view of how people actually shop and purchase—and early results suggest meaningful impact.

Dentsu forecasts the global advertising market will surpass $1 trillion for the first time in 2026, growing 5.1% and powered by digital channels that will capture nearly 69% of total spend. Retail media leads with projected 14%–16% growth, while online video and social also expand double digits. Major global events—including the Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup, and a packed political calendar—will drive attention and pricing pressure across markets. APAC remains the fastest-growing region, led by India and China, while the US will represent about 40% of worldwide spend. For marketers, algorithm-first planning, advanced measurement, and early tentpole buying will be critical.

Publicis Groupe’s 100th-anniversary film, “A Lion Never Gives Up,” blends live action with 4,500 AI-generated images to retell the company’s evolution and project its future. With more than half its workforce now in data, engineering, and AI, leadership says the next era will reward companies that fuse creativity with machine-driven operational scale. The film lands as Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG reshapes the competitive field, and Publicis argues its AI maturity gives it an edge in a more concentrated market.

A new study shows that while commerce media enthusiasm is high, actual readiness is far lower. Nearly half of respondents believe they are operationalized, yet only 13% qualify as advanced across leadership, technology, and measurement. Most fall into nascent or emerging categories, limited by siloed workflows, manual creative processes, and fragmented data systems that prevent closed-loop attribution. Advertisers seeking accountable, performance-driven programs may be surprised by how few networks can truly support scaled, automated operations. The findings highlight a widening gap between ambition and capability—and the need for unified data, automation, and clearer measurement.

As more brands build retail media networks (RMNs) to connect advertisers with shoppers, the once experimental channel has grown pivotal to marketers. US retail media search ad spending alone is projected to rake in $38.42 billion this year, according to our March 2025 forecast.

The IAB’s 2025 Creator Economy report shows creator marketing has become a full-fledged media channel—one projected to reach $37.1 billion in spend next year, growing 26% YoY and outpacing the broader ad market by a factor of four. Nearly half of advertisers now call creators a must-buy, yet workflows remain fragmented across budgets, discovery tools, and measurement systems. With AI accelerating both production and complexity, the report lays out the emerging mandate: treat creator marketing as its own discipline with centralized budgets, standardized vetting, unified measurement, and formal AI governance. For marketers, real performance now requires real structure.

Q3 was a record-breaking quarter for the three largest ad platforms, but heavy spending on AI is compressing margins and raising questions about how the technology will impact the future of digital advertising.

LiveRamp CEO Scott Howe says marketers are now fighting a “war for signals”—a race to collect, clean, and connect data fast enough to prove every dollar’s impact. Speaking alongside Q2 earnings of $200 million (up 8%), Howe described marketing’s new reality as “precision and proof.” LiveRamp’s clean room tech now lets brands merge data across partners like Netflix, Uber, and PayPal to tie spend directly to transactions. With AI acceleration and data collaboration redefining performance, Howe says growth depends less on scale and more on signal speed: “Access to better data gets the flywheel going—and determines who wins.”

StackAdapt is overhauling programmatic out-of-home advertising with tools that let buyers see exactly where their ads will appear. The new platform experience includes real-world map views, screen previews, and venue-level pricing, solving one of OOH’s biggest pain points: visibility. VP of Inventory Development Gregory Joseph said the update responds directly to advertiser demand for proof of placement and transparency. As agencies push for unified reporting across CTV, mobile, and OOH, StackAdapt’s approach gives digital buyers the data and validation they expect. For advertisers, it marks a turning point—OOH can finally be planned, measured, and optimized alongside digital media.

At the Marketecture conference, MiQ’s global VP of strategy and partnerships, Moe Chughtai, said advertisers are finally connecting platforms like Meta, YouTube, and TV through clean room technologies that enable unified measurement. Traditional marketing mix models are being replaced by one- to three-month measurement cycles that allow for real-time optimization and smarter KPI alignment. The result: advertisers can move beyond isolated reporting and toward integrated, cross-platform performance strategies that strengthen confidence in ROI.

Samsung Ads and AdGood have launched a partnership enabling nonprofits to advertise on connected TV for the first time at scale. Samsung will donate ad inventory from its free streaming service, Samsung TV Plus, to AdGood’s nonprofit exchange, allowing mission-driven organizations to reach viewers across premium streaming environments. The initiative reflects a broader shift in the CTV ecosystem—where unused inventory and automation are being repurposed to advance social impact, equity, and accessibility in digital media.

This sponsored video by Awin will explore how affiliate partnerships are transforming influencer marketing.

Google has officially eliminated its Privacy Sandbox and removed the remaining 10 Sandbox technologies that were still available, marking an end to its yearslong plan to pivot away from third-party cookies on Chrome. Even as giants like Google step away from first-party initiatives, advertisers should prepare for continued change as many are pushing forward with post-cookie ambitions. Cookies may linger for some time to come, but that doesn’t negate broader consumer sentiments that favor data transparency.

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.

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.

Performance channels are gaining traction among B2B marketers, with 84% now shifting from traditional, impression-focused approaches, per a Madison Logic survey. Brands should keep investing in performance marketing for its resilience amid economic headwinds. The added flexibility will let them adapt based on rapidly shifting economic signals and consumer behavior changes.

OpenAI is preparing to turn ChatGPT into an advertising platform, posting a new role for an engineer to build systems for ad integration, campaign management, and attribution. The move could position ChatGPT as a new challenger to Google, Meta, and Amazon’s ad businesses. Already a major driver of referral traffic to retailers like Walmart, Etsy, and Target, ChatGPT has clear potential to evolve into a commerce and ad engine. But execution will be critical: Poorly integrated ads risk undermining user trust, even as AI-driven ad formats are projected to grow at triple-digit annual rates in the coming years.

The news: Private equity firm Novacap will buy digital advertising measurement and analytics firm Integral Ad Science (IAS) for $1.9 billion, the companies announced Wednesday. The deal will take IAS private after four years of public trading and is expected to close this year. Our take: Measurement fragmentation and transparency concerns with leading ad firms like Google means third-party measurement and attribution companies have a lucrative opportunity to provide much-needed standards.

Latin America’s retail media ecosystem is expanding fast as new players, formats, and solutions draw in more ad dollars. But limited self-service offerings and the lack of standardized metrics hinder its full potential.

Tariffs and inflation are reshaping retail, pushing shoppers toward value and convenience. Off-price chains gained ground, while housing-linked retailers sought new growth paths in a slowing market.