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US digital ad spend growth will return to double digits next year at 11.2% growth, following 2023鈥檚 slower growth of 7.8%. Growth certainly won鈥檛 return to the 37.6% growth we saw in 2021, but it will increase steadily. Come 2025, US digital ad spend will pass $300 billion and keep climbing to nearly $400 billion by the end of 2027.

Axios reports that Spotify鈥檚 podcast division is 鈥渙nly now starting to become profitable,鈥� years after CEO Daniel Ek called it a $20 billion opportunity. Podcasts helped the company鈥檚 ad revenues rise 13% in Q2.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss how GenAI is changing the customer shopping journey the most, the impact of AI agents, and how to maintain brand messaging in a more conversational universe. Tune in to the episode with Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, our Analyst Jacob Bourne, Vice President Suzy Davidkhanian, and Global Digital Commerce Senior Director, Strategy & Execution, Todd Hassenfelt. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

On today鈥檚 special edition podcast, we discuss the evolution of creator content, how content is migrating off social channels, brand partnerships and the implications of AI on content. Join Vice President and Principal Analyst, Jasmine Enberg as she hosts Nicole Weltman, Head of Social from Taco Bell, Bryan Reisberg, Creator, CEO, and Co-Founder of Little Chonk, and Sarah Crockett, Senior Vice President and CMO of DSW. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

On today鈥檚 special edition podcast, we talk about how brands are rising to the challenge of finding the right influencers and creators for campaigns. Listen to the discussion with Senior Analyst, Minda Smiley, as she hosts N鈥橸aisha Aziz, Global Social Media Lead at Uber, and Rodney Mason, the Head of Marketing and Brand Partnerships at LTK. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Although inflation, a strong job market, and a positive economic outlook are at play, three dominant ad channels are contributing to upward US ad spend. October saw a 3.2% YoY growth for the US ad market, marking the fourth consecutive month of spending increases, according to the Standard Media Index ad market tracker.

The close tie between Amazon's ecommerce and advertising businesses presents both opportunities and challenges. "When ecommerce sales are growing, retail media dollars are going to go up,鈥� our analyst Jeremy Goldman said on a recent episode of the "Behind the Numbers" podcast. 鈥淏ut when ecommerce dollars aren鈥檛 growing that much, it's harder to get the retail media dollars to grow because they鈥檙e so intertwined."

鈥淲e think of value as quality and price, but I think more and more we鈥檙e adding time savings,鈥� said our analyst Suzy Davidkhanian in a recent 鈥淏ehind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail鈥� podcast.

YouTube鈥檚 ad business took a hit in the latter half of 2022, with revenues down year over year in both Q3 and Q4. The company has since hired a new CEO, hiked YouTube TV prices, and introduced podcasts to YouTube Music to try to reverse the downward trend.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss why US workers鈥� adoption of AI might be slowing, how generative AI has helped companies and workers the most, how businesses can best quantify AI productivity gains, and how we expect the technology to help workers do their jobs better in 2025. Tune in to the discussion with Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Vice President of Media, Content, and Strategy Henry Powderly and Vice President of Generative AI Dan Van Dyke.

"Nobody knows what's going to happen and when," said our analyst Rachel Wolff on a recent 鈥淏ehind the Numbers鈥� podcast, about the potential impact of tariffs. "Everybody's just waiting until the last possible minute to figure out, will these actually go into effect?" Retailers are bracing for disruptions as President Donald Trump鈥檚 on-again, off-again tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, China, and the EU loom.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss how the beauty industry is venturing into untapped markets, how the conversation of ageism in beauty fits or diverges with the greater trend away from diversity and inclusion, and how brands market to older people while staying relevant with younger audiences. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Principal Analyst Sky Canaves, Analyst Arielle Feger, and CEO and Founder of Ageism Is Never In Style庐 Jacynth-Bassett.

The beauty industry is shifting its approach to aging consumers, moving beyond traditional anti-aging messaging to embrace more inclusive, health-focused approaches. "Ageism is the only 'ism' that every person can experience. Aging is a universal experience," said Jacynth Bassett, founder and CEO of Ageism Is Never In Style, on a recent "Behind the Numbers" podcast.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss how marketers (and consumers) currently feel about brand safety, how publishers are trying to assuage brands鈥� concerns, and what comes after 鈥榖rand suitability鈥�. Tune in to the conversation with Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, our Senior Director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman, Vice President Paul Verna, and co-founder and CEO of Mobian Jonah Goodhart. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Did a podcast host suggest something? Did an artist drop a new album spotlighting a trend or brand (looking at you Beyonc茅 with your 鈥淟EVII鈥橲 JEANS鈥� track)? What brands do their favorite influencers love? These insights are missed by optimizing for surface-level metrics rather than understanding the deeper forces driving consumer behavior.

Spotify has reached a record 551 million monthly active users worldwide after adding 36 million new users in Q2鈥攁 growth that鈥檚 three times greater than the same period last year.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss why Omnicom and IPG are merging, and who will be most impacted as a result. Tune in to the discussion with Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman, and Analyst Daniel Konstantinovic.

鈥淸OOH] is being integrated into the bigger advertising ecosystem,鈥� our analyst Yory Wurmser said on an episode of 鈥淏ehind the Numbers鈥� podcast. 鈥淚t's less siloed than it used to be, in part because it's becoming more programmatic and data-driven.鈥�. Here are three factors fueling OOH advertising, now worth $9.19 billion in the US. 1. OOH鈥檚 digital impact is expanding.

AI-driven efficiencies boosted profits, but maintaining growth may require more than automation and personalization to keep users engaged and willing to pay more.

Reddit will end up with the third-fastest ad revenue growth globally, a well-timed result in a possible IPO year. Spotify will perform well as it tries to right the ship after mishandling various podcast investments. And Apple will quietly have another booming year in app store advertising, an aspect of its business that has become increasingly important given the saturated global smartphone market.

鈥淎s we're starting to see more AI-driven influencer identification tools emerge, it's going to be much easier for marketers to focus on things like engagement rates and creative alignment and use that to determine the creators and influencers that they work with,鈥� our analyst Jasmine Enberg said in an episode of 蘑菇AV鈥檚 鈥淏ehind the Numbers鈥� podcast.

Products could be featured across 11:11 Media鈥檚 portfolio of scripted and unscripted TV shows, social media, and podcasts. There鈥檚 also room for licensing opportunities鈥�11:11 Media鈥檚 licensing business has generated over $4 billion in retail sales, per Gersh. 鈥淲e've built this incredible brand that has the dimensions of a fully integrated media company,鈥� he said.