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.

This sponsored article by Nielsen explores how advertising intelligence helps marketers close measurement gaps.

US ad revenues grew 10.3% in Q2, excluding political advertising, continuing a trend of steady gains in 2025 despite tariff headwinds, per Madison & Wall. Digital advertising overall grew 15.8% and represented about a 70% share of ad spending. Ad growth is maintaining momentum, but the slowdown from 2024 indicates that advertisers are already becoming more cautious as tariffs and a recession could lead to a demand shock that affects advertising strategies.

This report compares our 2025 US ad spending and time spent with media forecasts. It identifies incongruities between how marketers are spending ad dollars and where consumers are spending their time.

The news: Two-thirds (66%) of consumers in the Southeast Asia (SEA) region ignore repetitive ads when they are shown on a single platform, per a report from The Trade Desk. Gen Z respondents were over twice as likely (57%) to feel irritated when exposed to repetitive ads compared with other demographics. Our take: Ads often need to be repeated to boost brand recall, putting advertisers in a tricky position of balancing brand recognition while not frustrating consumers. But there are approaches marketers can take to address the fatigue issue.

The news: Advertisers are increasing investment in up-and-coming digital advertising channels as the shift away from traditional continues, per a DoubleVerify study. Social media maintains the highest level of investment among North American marketers. Seventy-nine percent are already investing, while 19% have plans to. Our take: High-performing traditional ad formats are being overlooked because they’re harder to measure—but optimizing for attribution over outcomes could come at a cost.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss what “authentic storytelling” looks like in practice, surprising findings about the authenticity levels between print and digital, and what’s most important when it comes to a “brand’s handshake.” Join our conversation with Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson, Senior Director of Briefings, Jeremy Goldman, and Vice President of Brand Marketing at Quad, Heidi Waldusky. Listen everywhere you find podcasts and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Total time spent with media per day in the US is no longer growing meaningfully, but there will still be significant churn between devices, activities, and platforms as consumers choose how to spend their time.

Amid dizzying policy unpredictability and a grab bag of unpleasant economic possibilities, precise ad spend forecasting is challenging. A scenarios-based approach can help clarify potential outcomes.

Top-line time spent with media will grow very little in the US going forward, making it essential to identify which formats and platforms are winning the newly zero-sum competition for consumer attention.

People worldwide spent less time with media across all categories except mobile (which remained the same) in H1 2024 as compared with H1 2023, per GWI data.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how haptic logos could change the game, if retailer game shows might catch on, whether J. Crew's print catalog reboot is a good idea, Peloton's next move, what folks are actually doing when "working" from home, and more. Tune in to the discussion with host Marcus Johnson, our vice president of content Suzy Davidkhanian and analysts Blake Droesch and Sarah Marzano.

Our forecast for time spent with media has held relatively steady throughout 2024, but several important milestones are on the horizon.

Total media ad spending growth has stabilized, and digital ad spending is set for an extended period of low double-digit annual increases. Amazon, TikTok, and Instagram will be the main growth drivers this year.

US adults will spend 7 more minutes per day with media in 2024 than they did in 2023, confounding expectations of a post-pandemic reduction in screen and audio time.

We look at how some major fintechs’ marketing strategies helped put them on the map.

This Banking & Payments Show episode explores new cash-back credit card features and their appeal. We discuss a CNBC article on merchant rewards, highlight a feature 58% of consumers find extremely valuable, and debate the merits of these features versus more cash-back rewards.