Social media still sets Gen Z’s product discovery apart from that of non-Gen Z shoppers. But when it comes time to buy, Gen Zers are just as likely to turn to shopping websites and apps as physical stores.

Mid-tier creators are turning to podcasts to get on advertisers' radar as more brands test digital audio. They lack the reach of podcasting's biggest stars, like Joe Rogan and Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy" show. What they have instead is a passionate audience, and that is what connects them to sponsors. US podcast creator revenue “At the end of the day, advertisers are looking for one thing, it’s engagement numbers,” said Brian Conlon, president of DAX US. “Whether it’s social media, or video views, or downloads for a podcast, they want to know how each [channel performs].”

For decades, brand visibility at the US Open tennis championship meant courtside signage, broadcast ads, and athlete endorsement deals. That formula is being rewritten to consider when and how creators enter the pictures, according to John Hu, co-founder of Stan, an agency that works with 90,000 creator entrepreneurs and influencers across verticals. The old model treated creators as an amplification layer: Build the campaign, then hire influencers to post about it. Hu says that sequence is backwards.

The creator economy has spent two decades as a testing ground for marketers. That phase is over, says Andrew Perlman, CEO of Recurrent Ventures, which owns creator brands including Donut, Bob Vila, and Futurum.

Retail media networks (RMNs) have built out social and creator offerings, but advertisers have not widely adopted them. To attract spend, RMNs must prove that their offer of better targeting and measurement outweighs the added cost and complexity.

Millennials are entering their peak earning years with deep digital fluency, but adulthood is changing their habits. AI is becoming a practical tool, digital fatigue is reshaping social media use, and family life is influencing media and shopping.

AI is reshaping contextual advertising across CTV, audio, retail media, and the open web. It’s advancing semantic understanding, agentic planning, and real-time targeting while exposing persistent measurement and infrastructure gaps.

In today’s podcast episode, we discuss what YouTube has evolved into, how it’s transforming TV ad buying, and how YouTube TV is shaping digital pay TV. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Senior Analyst Ross Benes and Principal Forecasting Writer Ethan Cramer Flood. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube or Spotify.

Facebook’s massive reach still attracts ad dollars even as its usage growth stalls. Commerce, video, and automated advertising offer fresh opportunities, but it has weak appeal among creators and younger users.

Discover how UK consumers shop across online and offline channels, what influences their buying decisions, and which trends are reshaping the path to purchase.

This benchmark covers how ad buyers can calibrate their digital ad spending and budget allocations against the market, and how publishers and solution providers can assess whether their ad revenues align with industry trends.​

YouTube makes creator content look more like TV: Creator-led shows give CTV advertisers another reason to make YouTube core media.

B2B buyers rely on experts, customers, and peers to evaluate vendors. This report examines how trusted voices shape buyer research and AI-driven discovery and whether paid social investment and influencer programs are keeping pace with buyer behavior.

Lower thresholds widen discovery, giving brands another way to vet partners beyond follower counts.

YouTube changes how it counts views: Videos now register a view immediately, weakening headline view counts as a measure of engagement.

Last November, we identified 11 trends we expected to shape the business landscape in 2026. Our Trends 2026 update reveals where expectations are holding, where surprises have emerged, and what businesses should watch through year-end.

UK advertisers aren’t just chasing attention, they’re looking for measurable outcomes. Some channels thus attract oversized ad investments, while others remain undervalued. That’s not to say spending is perfectly aligned with time spent with media.

70% of US social buyers have made a purchase on TikTok in the past 12 months, more than on any other social platform, according to an April survey from Bazaarvoice and EMARKETER.

TikTok advertising works differently than the platforms it competes with: its impact builds slowly, peaks late, and persists after campaigns end. Combined with TikTok Shop's commerce engine and new event-driven surfaces, the platform rewards advertisers who plan for demand-building rather than instant conversion. This FAQ covers TikTok's ad effectiveness evidence, the ownership-transition trust question, and how to buy the platform well in 2026.

Disney+ and Hulu add iHeartMedia video podcasts: The deal could give marketers premium inventory with audiences primed to act on ads.