蘑菇AV

Connected TV (CTV) has emerged as the fastest-growing ad channel tracked by 蘑菇AV. Its ad spend outpaced other digital ads, search, social media, and retail media in 2024.

On today's episode, we discuss the implications of the Federal Trade Commission thinking Amazon tricked customers into signing up for automatically renewing Prime subscriptions, whether it makes sense for companies to force livestream shopping on Americans, if speciality stores really work, the impact of Facebook and Instagram restricting news access in Canada, whether reduced inflation can save the day, what a real work-life balance looks like, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our vice president of content Suzy Davidkhanian, vice president of Briefings Stephanie Taglianetti, and analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf.

Some 94% of consumers across the US, UK, and Canada prefer contextual ads over identity-based ads based on browsing history, per GumGum survey data. Almost 80% are more likely to engage with ads that match the content they are viewing, per the survey.

Canada trails just one country鈥攖he US鈥攊n average daily time spent with media. That means plenty of opportunity for media buyers to reach audiences across a range of devices and services.

Our take: Meta's decision to discontinue the News Tab shows the challenges and dilemmas currently facing social media platforms. Last year, Meta opted to block Canadian news links in response to The Online News Act, which demands that tech platforms pay publishers鈥攎arking a pivotal conflict escalation between tech giants and the news industry, with potential global legislative implications.

Usage of the internet, smartphones, and tablets is comparatively high in Canada due to the pervasive digital infrastructure.

Rembrand's technology enables post-production placement in social media content, with plans to expand to connected TV and movies. The platform allows for region-specific targeting, showing different products to different audiences (think Dunkin' in the US versus Tim Hortons in Canada). Growth snapshot: Evidence suggests that Rembrand has a strong trajectory.

But many are turning to social media for other types of searches, such as:. Things to do. Over half (55%) of US consumers search for restaurants, per a 2022 survey by Frontier Communications. Searchers also look for travel destinations and recipes. Things to learn. 

Movie theaters still rely heavily on TV advertising, with 51% of Canadian and 47% of US adults noting it as their primary source for movie promotions鈥攂ut social media is closing the gap. Content discovery habits further highlight this shift. While 58% of adults choose new shows or movies based on friends' recommendations, online reviews (38%) and TV commercials (33%) remain significant influences.

ARPU increased 5% globally, with stronger gains of 17% in Europe and 29% in developing markets, even as US and Canada growth remained more modest at 8%. Why it matters: Pinterest鈥檚 Q1 numbers suggest its efforts to become a more shopping-centric, AI-enhanced platform are bearing fruit鈥攑articularly overseas.

Both companies are highly marketing-savvy, with an ability to jump on鈥攐r even create鈥攖rends that go viral on social media. Rhode鈥檚 higher price point gives e.l.f. entry into more exclusive beauty retailers like Sephora, while e.l.f.鈥檚 manufacturing capabilities will help Rhode expand its wholesale presence.

These tariffs鈥攁nd the potential for additional duties on goods from Mexico, Canada, the EU, and elsewhere鈥攃ould significantly shift consumer behavior. According to a Numerator survey, only 9.4% of US consumers expect tariffs to have no impact on their shopping habits, while many plan to adjust by hunting for sales or coupons (41.4%), buying fewer imported goods (30.5%), or delaying purchases (22.3%).

By contrast, the US retail media market share stands at 17.5%, which is about the same as Canada, Germany, and Mexico. The US and China dominate global retail media spending, but by next year, the 鈥渞est of world鈥� segment will eclipse 20% of the total for the first time.

The strategy: The majority of US and Canadian consumers end up with tax refunds after filing, per Bankrate and Forbes. That means these banking customers who just filed their taxes in April will soon receive鈥攐r recently received鈥攖heir refunds. And in such uncertain times, people want their banks to help them make the most of their money.

According to Fintel Connect, affiliates believe the biggest growth opportunities lie in deposit-generating products in the US and in debt-related products in Canada. We agree, because:. US Gen Zers鈥� top financial priority is saving. Canadian banks鈥攍ike those in the US鈥攁re still grappling with loan losses caused by high levels of defaults from customers paying back their debt.

I think we're already seeing examples of regulators going after social media platforms based on privacy concerns. Paul Briggs:. Same in Canada. TikTok is under investigation right now by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for alleged privacy violations.

Social search is growing, fueled by consumer behavior and AI鈥攁nd so are the search ad opportunities on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and others. But search on social media isn鈥檛 the same as traditional search. Here鈥檚 what advertisers should know.

41% of US advertisers expecting budget cuts due to tariffs plan to cut from social media, while 24% plan cuts to linear TV and gaming, per February 2025 from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).

It helps that the company sources less than 10% of its inventory from China and less than 1% from Mexico and Canada combined, limiting its exposure to tariffs. It also helps that Gap鈥檚 wide array of brands enable it to appeal to consumers of all income levels and benefit from any trade-down behavior.

According to Sports Business Journal, thanks to the League's newly-enhanced dasherboard technology, which allows for the seamless insertion of virtual ads during live broadcasts, the NHL can finally target Canadian fans with Canadian ads during the post-season. That's one home win for the Canada team already. And that's my three in three this month.