蘑菇AV

This is the Q1 2025 installment of our quarterly 鈥淎d Spending Benchmarks鈥� series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

This is the Q1 2025 installment of our quarterly 鈥淎d Spending Benchmarks鈥� series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

Tariffs may reduce US social media ad spend by $10 billion in 2025, or 10% versus our existing forecast.

In an 蘑菇AV interview, Reddit COO Jen Wong shared optimism following the platform鈥檚 strong Q2, highlighting its focus on delivering ad outcomes over increasing ad load. Despite capturing just over 1% of US social ad spend, Reddit is growing ARPU through investments in machine learning, creative tools like Memorable AI, and advertiser infrastructure. Wong emphasized Reddit鈥檚 auction model supports full-funnel goals, while global expansion is underway through localized insights and self-serve adoption. She spotlighted Reddit Community Intelligence as a milestone, enabling brands to tap into decades of authentic discussion data. The company鈥檚 long-term bet: authenticity will outperform algorithms.

Ad spending on US commerce intermediaries is set to approach $4 billion by 2027, outpacing other nonretail media cohorts. Key players like DoorDash and Instacart are evolving from delivery apps into full-scale media networks, driving performance and reshaping the commerce media landscape.

Reddit posted a standout Q2 2025, with revenues jumping 78% year-over-year to $500 million鈥攊ncluding $465 million in ad revenue, up 84%. Net income reached $89 million with strong EBITDA and free cash flow. Global DAUs grew 21% to 110.4 million, and US ARPU climbed 59% to $7.87, signaling improved monetization. Reddit is now a billion-dollar US ad business a year ahead of forecasts, driven by growth in AI ad tools. Yet challenges remain: Reddit still holds only 1.1% of US social ad spend and relies heavily on Google Search traffic. Sustaining growth means reshaping advertiser perception and boosting direct engagement.

A trade war with the US will hinder economic performance in Canada this year. Ad spending overall is expected to lose the momentum gained in 2024. But many digital formats will benefit from the emphasis on return on ad spending.

US financial media network ad spend will soar to $1.22 billion in 2026, nearly doubling from $640 million in 2025鈥攁 66.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), per our May 2025 forecast.

The news: Paramount struck a $7.7 billion, 7-year agreement with UFC in its first big move after closing its merger with Skydance. The deal will see all 43 live annual UFC events streamed exclusively in the US on Paramount+, while select UFC events will be simultaneously aired on CBS. Our take: With its UFC deal, Paramount is taking the first step toward regaining audience share and ad spend post-Skydance merger, banking on live sports鈥� steady draw for viewers and marketers.

The news: While brands invest heavily in social media giants like Instagram and Facebook, smaller platforms are showing steady growth鈥攊ndicating a future where ad opportunities go beyond the big players. While the Meta platforms make up an enormous 72.5% of US social network ad spending, smaller social media platforms are holding their own, experiencing growth at a similar rate to Meta. Our take: While advertisers shouldn鈥檛 discount the massive reach Meta offers, smaller players are increasingly valuable for driving results, especially as competition intensifies on larger platforms.

The news: Linear TV鈥攁lready struggling amid the rise of digital鈥攊s at risk as US leaders across parties push for a crackdown on the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical ad market. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pursuing policies that would require advertisers to disclose drug side effects more transparently or risk losing the ability to deduct ad spending from their taxes, per Bloomberg. Our take: Restrictions on pharma advertising would isolate linear TV from omnichannel budgets and put it at a greater disadvantage against more data-rich platforms, accelerating the shift to digital.