蘑菇AV

In March, Meta rolled out new carousel ads that drive both ecommerce and in-store purchases, with early tests showing a 21% higher incremental return on ad spend compared to ecommerce-only formats, Meta鈥檚 group lead for retail and ecommerce Karin Tracy told Adweek. Why it matters: Meta is chasing retail media, a fast-growing category with US spending projected to rise 18% in 2025 and 16.8% in 2026.

The news: Podcasting ad revenues surpassed $2 billion in the US in 2024, growing 26.4% YoY, per a new IAB/PwC report. YoY growth was massive compared to 2023, where podcast ad revenues grew 5%. Podcasts represent 0.9% of total digital ad revenues鈥攂ehind giants like digital video, but seeing steady growth.

Those challenges will likely cause the companies to hit the brakes on ad spending, which in turn could deliver a serious hit to Google and Meta.

This growth is mirrored in the US, where our forecast expects influencer marketing spending to rise 15% YoY in 2025, outpacing both social ad growth (12.8%) and overall digital ad growth (11.8%). As holding companies like Publicis Groupe and Havas race to acquire influencer marketing agencies, Omnicom鈥檚 Creo move shows it鈥檚 betting on internal unification rather than outside acquisition.

This could direct more advertisers towards paid Google ad placements to recover lost organic traffic, forcing brands to increase ad spend with Google to maintain visibility. This strengthens antitrust arguments that Google wields its search power to entrench its ad tech dominance.

Snap resets its brand story: Grace Kao joins as CMO to lead a creative reinvention, following ad gains and rising interest in immersive media.

We anticipate Netflix鈥檚 US ad revenues will total $2.15 billion in 2025. Will tariffs change Netflix鈥檚 trajectory? Netflix is expected to be insulated from broader events, including tariff threats and resulting macroeconomic issues. Netflix鈥檚 price hikes have been widely accepted by the platform鈥檚 audience, and given current trends, it will likely remain unshaken.

YouTube TV is poised to claim a 10% share of the $85 billion US pay TV market by the end of 2026; our own forecast has the service making just shy of $10 billion this year in the US. Per MediaPost, YouTube generates $0.18 per streaming hour in US ad revenues, behind Pluto TV but ahead of Tubi and The Roku Channel. Why it matters: Our data reinforces the bullish outlook.

The case puts $37.67 billion in US Instagram ad revenues (per our March forecast) on the line this year alone. Splitting Instagram from Meta would shake up media planning and threaten Meta鈥檚 ability to offer cross-platform advertising.

Digital ad spend in Latin America is set to reach 56.4% of total ad spend in 2025, per 蘑菇AV鈥檚 forecast. As the region鈥檚 digital landscape matures, media quality, and performance are becoming top priorities for advertisers.

Key stat: 41.4% of US consumers will look for sales or coupons to offset price increases, the top change consumers anticipate making due to tariffs, according to February 2025 data from Numerator. 30.5% of consumers will buy fewer imported goods, while 26.1% will switch to US-made alternatives.

The rebrand is a small step in Apple鈥檚 overall ad strategy to combat slower ad growth, but past efforts to expand its ad business haven鈥檛 been wildly successful. Apple鈥檚 services revenues missed the mark in Q4 2024, falling below investor expectations鈥攕uggesting that its ad initiatives might not be performing as well as hoped.

Vizio boosts Walmart鈥檚 retail media edge: New beta program brings exclusive connected TV inventory under Walmart鈥檚 direct control.

Streaming will remain critical for reaching audiences, but spreading ad spend across both streaming and linear TV will help combat market volatility. Potential ad load increases will make the quality and relevance of creative ads more important than ever to break through viewer fatigue.

Companies are already considering the future if taxes are deployed: 鈥淚t will create higher costs for us to use Meta and other channels, so expenditures will probably dip in certain sectors,鈥� bringing down demand, Mick Rigby, CEO of Yodel Mobile, told MediaPost. Our take: EU taxation of Meta and Google鈥檚 digital ad revenues, if implemented, and could influence where advertisers choose to spend.

Sarah will be back on Wednesday for the Reimagining Retail Show, talking about the French department store that's trying to change US retail.

A sizable share of Meta鈥檚 US ad revenues鈥攅stimated at $10 billion鈥攃omes from non-US advertisers, many of whom are Chinese brands now reconsidering their spend. Much of this ad spend comes from Chinese ecommerce brands marketing directly to US consumers, especially in categories like apparel, home goods, and electronics.

Efforts to keep TikTok in the US grow, but confidence is low: While Democratic senators and Trump float ideas to extend the April deadline, key players are stepping back.

Ad spending could become more reactive. With CFOs demanding agility, marketers will prioritize performance channels and pause bigger brand investments. Campaigns focused on demand generation, ROI, and flexibility may take precedence over splashy, long-term initiatives.

Politics will buoy linear TV ad spending this year, but allocations will continue to shift toward streaming options that keep gaining ad-supported viewers.

VideoAmp gains on Nielsen, partners with Televisa: The company鈥檚 Upfront event highlighted the major changes across the measurement landscape.