Media Planning
MAGNA rleases U.S. Advertising Forecast Spring 2025 Update – “Uncertain Times”
MAGNA always anticipated a market slowdown in 2025 due to the strong comparables, but we have further reduced our growth forecast in this update. The lack of economic visibility and a decline in confidence may impact marketing and advertising budgets in the short term. In this uncertain economic environment, the most vulnerable industry sectors include consumer goods (packaged food, beverages, and personal care), quick-service restaurants (QSR), and automotive. Despite the challenges posed by economic uncertainty, organic growth factors—such as media innovation, AI, retail media, and ad-supported streaming—will continue to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of advertising formats, encouraging advertisers to maintain or expand their budgets. Factoring all drivers and inhibitors, media owners’ advertising revenues are projected to grow by +4.3% in 2025 (down from the previous forecast of +4.9%). When adjusting for cyclical spending in both years (political advertising and the Summer Olympics in 2024), non-cyclical ad revenue growth in 2025 is revised from +7.3% to +6.7%, still solid by historical standards.
4 Paths to Absolving the Cardinal Sins of Digital Advertising
In digital advertising, there are two surefire ways to get fired as an agency or ad tech provider:
- Fail to spend all a brand's allotted budget.
- Put a brand's creative in a brand-unsafe environment.
Why Retail Media Breaks Marketing Mix Models (MMMs)
For decades, brands have relied on marketing mix models (MMMs) to prove the value of their investments in advertising. These models, built to assess the mix of paid media channels like TV, print and digital display, helped marketers justify budgets and optimize their allocations. But as retail media networks (RMNs) attract billions in ad dollars, marketers are running into a major problem — MMMs weren't designed to handle the complexity, speed and ever-changing nature of retail media.
Why the Work of the Immigrant Archive Project is More Important Now Than Ever
In a time when the contributions and struggles of immigrant communities are being systematically erased from public consciousness, the Immigrant Archive Project (IAP) stands as a powerful counterforce—preserving the stories that define America’s rich and diverse narrative. The IAP, the leading oral history project documenting the modern immigrant experience, is more than a repository of memories. It is an essential safeguard against the dangers of historical erasure, and its work has never been more crucial than it is today. By Tony Hernandez - Founder of The Immigrant Archive Project
Nielsen Launches its 2025 Global Media Planning Report [REPORT]
Nielsen released its 2025 global media planning report. With the media landscape now so fragmented and complex, the report aims to help advertisers and publishers navigate their way through an ecosystem that is more nuanced and multifaceted than ever before.
The Great Unbundling – 2025 is the year advertising technology resolves conflicts of interest
For more than a decade, the advertising industry has been defined by a structural tension: Platforms providing buy-side technology have also been deeply entrenched in selling media inventory. Companies like Google leveraged their scale, deep pockets, and technological resources to dominate both sides of the coin. Any capitalist with such advantages would have done the same.
Five Trends Shaping Media in 2025
Welcome to the media jungle. It’s gnarlier than ever. New platforms and devices create twists and turns. Ever-evolving consumers roam freely, demanding personalized experiences and diverse content. Traditional advertising models struggle to keep pace. Yet, amid these struggles lie exciting opportunities for innovation and growth. To survive in this environment, we all need to adapt and innovate. Let’s take a closer look at five trends that will make the journey in 2025 exciting — and risky unless you’re prepared with the right strategy. In future articles, we will dive into these trends even more.
Publicis Media appoints Lonnie Limón to Head its Multicultural Arm
Lonnie Limón has been named the Head if Publicis Media Multicultural. He replaces Lisa Torres, who will begin her consultancy company.
What I Just Learned About Retail Media
Retail media is hot. The ANA just held a members-only conference focused on retail media, hosted by Kroger Precision Marketing in Cincinnati. We learned so much.
The Simple Guide to Radio’s Role in Full-Funnel Marketing [REPORT]
In today’s competitive media landscape, radio is often seen as a powerful tool for building awareness. However, it’s so much more than that. Radio can play a critical role at every stage of the marketing funnel, helping advertisers reach their goals whether they’re building brand awareness, driving conversions, or fostering customer loyalty.
Global Ad & Marketing Spend Surged 8.7% in 2024, Fueled by Influx of Even-Year Political & Olympics Media Buys & Double-Digit Growth in 29 of 45 Digital Media Channel
Global advertising and marketing spending accelerated in 2024, rising 8.7% to $1.776 trillion, but spending is projected to decelerate in 2025, posting only a 5.3% gain, as inflation and recessionary fears reappear in many markets due to the expectation that the Trump Administration will levy higher tariffs on foreign goods, which may lead to major trading partners imposing counter tariffs on US goods. Growth in 2024 was fueled by the influx of advertising & marketing dollars from elections in 15 of the 20 largest global markets as well as worldwide coverage of the Paris Summer Olympics, according to new research released today by leading media economist PQ Media.
Challenes of Chasing Social Media Trends [REPORT]
"The 2025 Sprout Social Index" underscores why it's crucial for marketers to be leery of social media posts that go viral and ask themselves whether their brand has a legitimate connection to the story.
The Hidden Costs Eating Your Ad Budget
Every day, marketers are paying full price for their digital ad campaigns while getting only a fraction of what they paid for. It's like you pull up to a gas station that advertises premium fuel, but instead they fill your tank with watered-down regular gas. You're paying top dollar but driving away with a fraction of the horsepower you paid for.
DE&I recalibration from the likes of Amazon, Meta, Publicis sparks questions around faltering commitments
Any flicker of hope that the ad industry would renew its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in 2025 may be getting dimmer just days into the New Year. Recently, Amazon, Meta, Publicis Groupe and McDonald’s joined the growing list of companies to revamp (or roll back, depending on who you ask) their DE&I policies.
Emerging Networks Media Launches Emerging Networks Solutions to Expand Multicultural Marketing
Emerging Networks Media, the nation’s largest multicultural television platform, is proud to announce the launch of its new venture, Emerging Networks Solutions. This strategic offshoot responds directly to the growing demand from national advertisers seeking a streamlined, effective approach to entering the multicultural marketing space.
Why brands are falling short with their media strategies [REPORT]
Leading brands are using an ineffective combination of media channels for their campaigns, a major new study has found, with many optimizing for reach instead of for brand metrics that will yield more impact.
Major AM/FM Radio Campaign Drives Significant Brand Awareness And Growth In Leads And Sales
One of the largest tests of AM/FM radio advertising was conducted in Spring 2024 in just over twenty local markets. The campaign ran across a broad mix of small, medium, and large markets. The two-month AM/FM radio campaign featured heavy media weight with ~500 monthly GRPs, generating a monthly reach of 75% and a seven frequency. The campaign featured a two-week burst followed by two dark weeks and then another major two-week pulse. In the test markets, three out of four people were exposed to the campaign monthly an average of seven times.
The Americanisation of Media
The history of media agencies began with an arrogant lack of interest in the media process by those leading full-service agencies, mainly account handlers who considered (with some justification) that their clients couldn’t care less about the boring detail on how their media money was spent. Today we have an industry unrecognisable from those days, shaped in large part by technology and the social media platforms constructed with it.
Marketing Course for 2025 [REPORT]
Horizon Media Holdings, parent company of the full-service marketing portfolio including Horizon Media, unveiled its inaugural annual marketing industry forecast - "25 Trends on the Horizon in '25." The 2025 report maps out the trends that leaders from across Horizon's portfolio predict will reshape how brands connect with consumers in a rapidly evolving media landscape.
Demystifying AI in Media Planning and Buying
The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in advertising is a hot topic right now and it was the focus of Ebiquity’s most recent Procurement Forum. Harvey Sarjant, our Director of Data & Tech, reports back on the event, billed as ‘Demystifying AI in media planning and buying’.
