IAB’s 2026 Outlook Shows Uneven Growth Across Digital Formats
Social media, connected TV, video, podcasts and search are growing at different rates, making it important to reassess the media mix.
Image: IAB · original publication Image source ↗
What happened
Social media, connected TV, video, podcasts and search are growing at different rates, making it important to reassess the media mix.
What changes
Ad inventory, data, creative work and measurement need to be considered together rather than evaluating the format in isolation.
Why it matters
Connecting creative work and media spending to business outcomes is more useful than optimizing intermediate metrics alone.
Implications for businesses
A U.S. business can use the outlook as context for testing its media mix, rather than assuming the fastest-growing channel will deliver its best results.
Un Rino’s take
Creativity remains essential. Measurement should help explain what changed for the business, not simply produce more platform statistics.
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