#digital-advertising

#digital-advertising

Digital ads are now the equivalent of a print or out-of-home ad. Why? Because extensive neuroscience studies, conducted by Mars, show that similar to these traditional methods, marketers now only have about two seconds to capture consumers' attention in the digital realm.

Shares of online advertising expert PubMatic skyrocketed on Tuesday morning. At 12:30 p.m. ET, the stock had gained 40.8%, and the intraday chart was still trending higher. PubMatic published third-quarter results last night, crushing Wall Street's estimates across the board. Wall Street analysts didn't see these numbers coming The company posted analyst-stumping financials, citing strong demand for connected TV (CTV) advertising and a successful launch of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and features across PubMatic's platforms.

For a medium that commands over 50% of total UK ad spend, online advertising is but a babe in the firmament of media. At the age of just 22 - despite its many well-documented growing pains - digital media has become by far the biggest line item on marketers' media plans, largely due to its targeting and accountability credentials. Let's compare and contrast with outdoor advertising - we're talking the oldest medium in the world here.

Snapchat may be on the charm offensive for ad spend but it is still relatively closed off to advertisers, planting it firmly in the test-and-learn arena rather than tried-and-tested at the moment. The ephemeral platform has overcome its perceived immaturity and is set to tip from niche network to mainstream marvel this year. Its association with sexting and selfies wasn't the easiest sell-in to advertisers but a growing list of influential brand and media partnerships with the likes of Coca-Cola, Burberry and the Wall Street Journal is allowing agencies to pitch Snapchat without a resulting snicker.

Adslot Ltd has reported significant progress in its operations for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, following a strategic turnaround involving cost management and restructuring. The company has seen growth in its customer pipeline and is activating new synergistic opportunities. The StoreFront platform, launched in late 2024, is expanding its reach with global publishers like Rakuten Viber and Vox Media, showing month-on-month growth.

"I think the digital ad market is strong," said Jasmine Enberg, co-founder of Scalable, a creator economy media firm. "I think this economic instability and volatility is kind of priced in for a lot of people at this point; sort of seems to be the status quo."

Adelaide, the leader in attention-based media quality measurement, has launched the AU Ecosystem website, a dedicated hub connecting advertisers, publishers, media agencies, and measurement partners around a shared standard for media quality. Available at ecosystem.adelaidemetrics.com, the platform makes it easy for buyers and sellers to discover and work with AU Ecosystem partners, plan and transact based on attention quality rather than reach alone, and unlock new opportunities for collaboration.

By the numbers: Gospel Stats tracked 65,759 sponsored videos in the first half of 2025 that drove 19.1 billion total views, up nearly 28% year-over-year. News aggregation app Ground News was the top brand sponsor based on number of sponsored videos with 1,863 integrations in the first half of 2025, up 202% year-over-year, followed by Squarespace, BetterHelp and DraftKings. Ground News also ranked first based on total video views at 664 million, followed by Shopify, BetterHelp and Incogni. MrBeast was the top creator by views on sponsored videos at 1.4 billion, followed by The Ramsey Show, Linus Tech Tips and MeidasTouch.

The firm is making a series of operating estimate changes to highlight a mix of sustained momentum around performance-oriented budgets throughout Q3, with heightened performance in July/August, continued industry headwinds from a weaker brand advertising environment with easing revenue headwinds emerging in September that might act an improved tailwind, and experimental budgets that remain more volatile, with smaller platforms still seeing more stalled or downside volatility to budgets in the September timeframe, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Social media has been another nail in the slowly closing coffin of traditional media. The primary force behind four generations of advertising, outlets like television, newspapers, and radio are seeing a dwindling share of marketing budgets, hastening their decline. Last year, industry watchers projected more than 77 percent of ad spending in the United States - roughly $302.8 billion - would go to digital channels, according to EMARKETER analysts. In contrast, only $86.7 billion went to legacy media outlets. Nearly 80 percent of financial services advertising went to digital media, versus 20 percent to traditional channels.