The media buying world is changing fast. A full 78% of marketers say they’re spending more on new digital channels in 2025, and that surge means anyone buying media today has to get good at these new platforms or they’re just going to waste a ton of budget.
Key Takeaways
- Come 2026, advertisers expect to push an average of 30% of their digital budgets into new channels like connected TV (CTV) and retail media networks.
- More than 90% of digital display spending is now programmatic, which means media buyers need to be data analysts who can optimize in real time.
- New privacy laws out of states like California and Virginia have slashed third-party cookie use by 60% in just the past year, forcing everyone to build out their first-party data strategies.
- Audio advertising is exploding, with podcasts and streaming radio set to hit $10 billion in ad spend by 2027, giving us a way to target very specific, engaged audiences.
- The best media buyers I know are constantly testing, setting aside around 15% of their campaign budgets just to experiment with new platforms and formats.
30% of Digital Ad Budget Allocated to Emerging Channels
Advertisers are set to pour an average of 30% of their digital ad budgets into emerging channels like Connected TV (CTV) and retail media networks by 2026, according to a recent eMarketer report, and this is a deliberate strategic move. We’re talking about platforms like Amazon Freevee Ads or Roku Advertising, which give you the reach of TV but with all the targeting tools of digital. I actually saw this work for a B2B SaaS client recently, where a CTV campaign delivered leads at a 20% lower cost than our social display ads, mostly because people on those platforms are more engaged and see fewer ads.
Then you’ve got the explosion of retail media networks, with Amazon Ads and Walmart Connect leading the charge. These platforms let you hit consumers right when they’re about to buy something, and they give you access to incredible first-party data on what people are actually purchasing. This means you can’t just copy-paste a display ad and call it a day. The creative has to work for someone who is actively shopping, which requires completely different messaging and calls to action. The level of detail in the data from these channels lets us target based on actual buying intent, not just broad demographics.
Programmatic Advertising Accounts for Over 90% of Digital Display Ad Spending
The IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report confirms what we all know: programmatic is over 90% of all digital display spending now. Manual buying for display ads is basically over. Platforms like Google Display & Video 360 (DV360) or The Trade Desk handle the bidding automatically, find the best placements in real time, and let you slice and dice audiences with incredible detail. The media buyer’s job has shifted from placing orders to building the machine, configuring algorithms, digging through complex data sets, and constantly tweaking campaign parameters.
To succeed here, you have to get deep into how demand-side platforms (DSPs) talk to supply-side platforms (SSPs). It takes a real understanding of bid strategies, creative optimization, and the quirks of various ad exchanges. You can’t just set a budget and walk away. For example, I’ve seen conversion rates jump 15% to 25% just by building custom audience segments in DV360 from a client’s own CRM data, which blows standard demographic targeting out of the water. Only programmatic gives you that kind of granular, real-time control, turning buyers into something closer to data scientists. For more on optimizing ad spend, explore how a Programmatic Strategy yields budget wins.
Privacy Regulations Reduce Third-Party Cookie Reliance by 60%
Privacy laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and Virginia’s Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA) are changing everything about how we track people. These regulations, plus browser updates, have cut our reliance on third-party cookies by an estimated 60% in the last year alone, based on a recent Nielsen report. This is a massive shift that forces a complete rethink of how we target audiences and measure results. The old playbook of retargeting users all over the web with third-party cookies is quickly becoming obsolete.
A lot of people are scrambling for a new tracking method, but looking for a simple replacement for the cookie is the wrong way to think about it. While solutions like universal IDs and contextual targeting are part of the answer, the real long-term strategy is doubling down on first-party data. Brands need to get serious about their customer data platforms (CDPs) to collect, unify, and use their own customer info responsibly. I recently helped a client switch to a server-side tagging solution, which not only made their analytics 30% more accurate but also protected them from future cookie restrictions. This requires media, data, and product teams to work together to create a clean, compliant data pipeline. The buyers who win will be the ones who can turn a client’s first-party data into powerful audience segments and lookalike models, because they’ll be building direct consumer relationships instead of renting them from someone else. To understand more about future analytics, read about Cookieless Marketing: 2026’s 5 New Analytics Rules.
Audio Advertising Projected to Reach $10 Billion by 2027
Statista is projecting audio advertising, mostly podcasts and streaming radio, to hit $10 billion in ad spend by 2027, and frankly, a lot of marketers are sleeping on this. Audio catches people when screens can’t, like when they’re driving, at the gym, or doing chores. With platforms like Spotify Ad Studio and Pandora for Advertisers, we can get incredibly specific with targeting, going after audiences based on their listening habits, demographics, and even their moods.
Audio’s real strength is how personal it feels. It creates a much stronger connection with the listener. I see it all the time: native podcast sponsorships, where the host reads the copy in their own voice, always beat pre-roll spots on brand recall and affinity. In one campaign, a well-placed podcast ad drove a 5% higher click-through rate to a landing page than our display ads did, simply because the endorsement felt genuine to the audience. This means we have to think past buying impressions and focus instead on contextual relevance and authentic messaging. It takes a different kind of creative thinking, one grounded in sound and storytelling. For a deeper dive into this topic, consider Digital Audio Buying: $10 Billion Growth in 2026.
15% of Campaign Budgets Allocated to Testing New Platforms
A HubSpot report on marketing trends mentioned that the best media buying teams are dedicating about 15% of their campaign budgets just to testing new platforms and ad formats. This is a strategic necessity. The digital ad world changes so fast that if your strategy is static, you’re already irrelevant. The niche channel you ignore today could be the dominant one tomorrow, and getting in early is a huge competitive advantage.
I build this experimental approach into my own work. When Pinterest rolled out its “Idea Ads” format, for instance, we immediately carved out a small test budget to run it against their standard static image campaigns. The reach was smaller at first, but the engagement rate was 40% higher, which gave us a much better cost-per-engagement. Testing like this lets you build a playbook for new channels before they get crowded and the costs shoot up. You have to be okay with some tests not working out, because even a “failed” experiment gives you data that makes your next move smarter. Any buyer who isn’t always testing is falling behind. It’s that simple.
To keep up with all these new channels, you need more than just technical skill. You need to be thinking strategically, constantly learning, making decisions based on data, and be willing to throw out the old playbook. The buyers who do that are the ones who will deliver better results in a field that gets more competitive every day. Staying ahead means understanding 5 Trends Shaping Your Ad Spend in 2026.
What is a retail media network and why is it important for media buyers?
A retail media network is an ad platform run by a retailer, like on Amazon’s website or Walmart’s app. It’s so important because it gives you access to the retailer’s first-party purchase data, letting you target people who are literally in the process of shopping, which usually means much higher conversion rates.
How are privacy regulations like CCPA impacting media buying strategies?
Privacy regulations are forcing a major shift away from using third-party cookies for tracking. This means buyers must pivot to strategies that use a brand’s own first-party data, implement server-side tagging, and use privacy-safe methods like contextual targeting or data clean rooms to reach audiences effectively.
What are the advantages of Connected TV (CTV) advertising over traditional linear TV?
CTV advertising gives you the big-screen experience of a TV ad but with all the targeting, measurement, and programmatic buying tools of digital. You can target very specific audiences, optimize the campaign as it runs, and get much more detailed performance data than you can with old-school broadcast TV, making your ad spend way more efficient.
Why is programmatic advertising so dominant in digital display, and what skills does it require from media buyers?
Programmatic dominates because it automates ad buying through real-time auctions, optimizing placements and costs at a massive scale. For media buyers, this means you need sharp analytical skills, expertise in demand-side platforms (DSPs), an understanding of bid strategies, and the ability to interpret complex data to constantly improve your campaigns.
What role does experimentation play in a successful media buying strategy for emerging channels?
Experimentation is critical because the digital ad field is always changing. Allocating budget to test new platforms allows media buyers to find opportunities before competitors do, figure out what works on a new channel, and build expertise before it gets too expensive. It’s how you stay ahead and make smarter strategic decisions down the road.
