蘑菇AV

X鈥檚 ad business is beginning to recover. But the return to growth is complicated, and there鈥檚 still a long road ahead for X鈥檚 ad revenues to reach pre-Elon Musk levels.

The news: The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) gave a glimpse of the TV (CTV) advertising鈥檚 future at its IAB Tech Lab event鈥攁nd proved that pause ads are leading the way. Advertising leaders said they offer the best user experience, were most likely to scale with standardization, and provided the greatest increase in ad spend. Our take: The future of CTV advertising will rely on whether advertisers can implement non-intrusive formats that capture attention. Pause ads are positioned to drive action鈥攂ut advertisers must reimagine their creative strategy to capitalize on this potential.

The news: Quality control is a growing fear for advertisers as an Adweek investigation found ads from major brands appeared near offensive and inappropriate content. Ads from brands like Amazon and Verizon were found near sexual or racially offensive content on the Android short-form video app XShorts. Our take: Advertisers are increasingly faced with a digital landscape where programmatic ad buying lacks the quality control required to keep up with rapid innovation and demand for ad space鈥攑rompting renewed calls for transparency, verification, and human oversight in automated systems.

The news: Reddit published a report Thursday highlighting its increasing relevance for advertisers as social media users gain trust in the platform for purchase decisions. Reddit routinely delivers promising ad results. Adding Reddit to ad campaigns leads to $6.94 higher incremental ROAS across channels. Our take: Despite lingering brand hesitancy to adopt Reddit as a core advertising channel, the platform is increasingly becoming a reliable source that promises high returns鈥攎aking it a key part of an effective campaign for advertisers who know how to navigate it.

US ad spending faces a slowdown: Economic uncertainty, tariffs, and inflation are prompting advertisers to cut budgets, with 2025 ad growth forecasts declining.

The news: Podcast ad spending intention will reach an 11-year high in 2025, and more advertisers are investing in the medium than ever, per a Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights report. Podcast ad spend intention reached 69% among agencies and advertisers surveyed, the highest in the eleven years tracked by Cumulus and Signal Hill. 78% are already investing in podcast advertising, five times higher than the amount investing in 2015. Our take: As listenership spikes, podcasts will continue being a key investment for savvy advertisers鈥攁nd those who know how to maximize the medium鈥檚 potential will come out on top.

The news: The Trade Desk unveiled Deal Desk, a new tool to fix the inefficiencies in private marketplace buying, where up to 90% of structured deal IDs fail to scale. By automating deal creation via API and surfacing metadata like fit and availability, Deal Desk aims to save time and unlock premium inventory. Our take: As PMP spending overtakes open exchange buys, The Trade Desk is shoring up the backend infrastructure that supports this shift. Deal Desk positions the company to capture more high-value spend and offers a cleaner path to scale in a fragmented programmatic landscape.

The news: Advertisers are prioritizing interactive video ads to capture users and boost engagement as social media and YouTube consume ad spend. 52% of advertisers expect to use interactive features in at least 26% of their ads this year, per Digiday and PadSquad鈥檚 2025 State of the Industry survey. Only 7% neither use and nor plan to use interactive video features in their ads. Our take: In a saturated media market, getting and keeping consumers鈥� attention is a difficult endeavor. Integrating gamified features and personalized media elements can help ensure that marketing campaigns are seen and not just scrolled past.

The news: As the 2025 economy tightens under the pressure of tariffs, AI disruption, and shifting global trade policy, brands are embracing adaptability. Retail growth forecasts have been slashed, inflation-wary consumers are scaling back, and even luxury sentiment is weakening. Our take: Resilient brands are leaning into agile planning, reallocating media spend to ROI-focused channels like search and digital out-of-home, and anchoring value in trust and quality鈥攏ot just price. As emotional volatility shapes consumer decisions, marketers who show relevance and reassurance will lead. The brands that win won鈥檛 wait for stability鈥攖hey鈥檒l build strategies that succeed amid constant change.

Temu and Shein ad impressions dropped to 0% as both retailers effectively cut off Google Shopping ad spend in April.

The news: At Cannes Lions 2025, Meta introduced 11 new generative AI ad features鈥攔anging from dynamic image-to-video tools to brand-safe creative automation鈥攁nd confirmed a $14鈥�$15 billion investment in Scale AI, securing a 49% stake. These new Advantage+ tools aim to help advertisers, particularly SMBs, generate personalized, performance-optimized content at scale. Our take: Meta鈥檚 Cannes push underscores its dual strategy: democratizing high-impact creative through automation while investing in foundational AI infrastructure. The tools offer clear short-term ROAS gains, but Meta must still walk a fine line鈥攕caling ad personalization without overwhelming users or alienating agency partners that still prioritize creative control.

Mobile ad fraud is evolving: A new scheme exploited bid requests and fake installs, highlighting why marketers must invest in fraud detection to protect ad spend.

The number of paid music streaming subscribers hit 100 million in the US for the first time last year, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

US travel sales will approach $368 billion by 2028. To act on this opportunity, brands and travel industry professionals need to understand online travel research trends and shopper behaviors.鈥�

Strong Q1 ad results show resilience: But AI, tariffs, and antitrust pressures will reshape how and where marketers spend in 2025.

New features let brands display shoppable feeds and target ads during key video moments, capitalizing on YouTube's rising share of streaming time.

Reddit excels in user engagement, influencing purchases: Ad spend is low, but the platform holds high-value potential for quality-focused advertisers.

Clinicians want more support from pharma, but not via in-person sales meetings: Marketers need to create content that will proactively answer doctors鈥� questions about a drug鈥檚 cost/insurance coverage and how patients are responding to the treatment.

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.

The news: Spotify鈥檚 Partner Program has opened new monetization paths for video podcasters, enabling MP4 uploads and revenue through ads and subscriptions. Creators like Ryth report earning over $55,000 per month, surpassing YouTube earnings. However, the model doesn鈥檛 support dynamic ads for premium subscribers, prompting networks to hold back. Why it matters: Nearly half of all digital media time is spent on video, and Spotify is betting big on that trend鈥攅specially among Gen Z, who increasingly prefer video-first podcast formats. Our take: Spotify鈥檚 approach may alienate ad-heavy networks for now, but video鈥檚 growth and creator enthusiasm suggest its long-term strategy is sound.

The payments industry has used its marketing budgets to reap the rewards of a strong market for credit card acquisitions. But marketers will need to embrace doing more with less as credit conditions tighten and savings run dry.

US sales on Shein and Temu fell sharply following price increases: The decline is an unwelcome sign as both marketplaces fight to stay relevant with shoppers.

Brazil鈥檚 digital economy continues to thrive, driven by shifting advertising trends and increased social media usage. This report series explores key media consumption trends in Brazil in 2025.

The news: Connected TV (CTV) commands higher attention metrics (AU) than online video (OLV) and display advertising thanks in part to its wide variety of interactive ad formats, per industry KPI data provided by Adelaide. Our take: CTV's growing attention metrics reflects its shift toward becoming a performance marketing channel

Pinterest鈥檚 Q1 involved strong user and global revenue growth: US monetization, though, could be under pressure moving forward.