With global ad spending set to surpass $1 trillion, marketers must navigate myriad challenges — including an uncertain regulatory landscape — with finesse.

By Peter Adams, Chris Kelly, Jessica Deyo, and Sara Karlovitch

2025. Global ad spending is projected by GroupM to surpass $1 trillion for the first time, with channels like streaming TV, gaming and retail media continuing to broaden their canvasses for brands.

Even as the macro picture seems robust, the people making the industry gears turn aren’t seeing a corresponding resource windfall. CMOs entered their “era of less” in 2024 while agencies felt worn down by mounting client demands and thin margins. Consolidation is on the horizon in a friendlier environment for M&A, with Omnicom’s $13 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group set to shake up the sector.

As marketers try to navigate myriad challenges, including managing data in the face of proliferating regulations, the name of the game is efficiency. Demand for tools that can help work get done with greater efficiency, including generative artificial intelligence (AI), remains high, but execution will require a degree of finesse.

“The indicators are that it’s not going to get easier in 2025,” said Ewan McIntyre, vice president analyst and chief of research at Gartner for Marketers. “The era of less is starting to move into an era of productivity.”

Many other pieces on the board could change in the next 12 months and again alter marketing’s trajectory: Will the tech antitrust crackdown, including the push to get Google to sell Chrome, continue apace? Could TikTok be banned? How will the incoming Trump administration affect consumer sentiment? Below, Marketing Dive breaks down 10 key predictions:

Click Read more to check out what NOVUS’ own Mari Doctor has to say about first party data and third-party cookies.

“You need to start investing in ‘what am I trying to solve for’ instead of ‘let’s just invest in the clean room.’”

Mari Docter Senior vice president of data strategy and innovation, Novus