Marketers are finally waking up to the fact that digital channels are not the be-all and end-all, with more and more professionals planning to increase to their traditional media budgets by over 50% compared to 2024, including direct mail, out of home and cinema.
That is according to Nielsen’s seventh Annual Marketing Report, which reveals that while new budgets do still predominantly go to digital, overall they plan to spend less online this year.
The report, which surveyed leading global marketers, identified three trends in advertising, providing crucial insights to deal with an uncertain and constantly changing marketplace.
Connected TV (CTV) and retail media networks were two areas that marketers saw opportunities in. Overall, 56% of marketers reported a planned increase on over-the-top OTT/CTV spend, a rise of 3% year-on-year, and almost two thirds (65%) said that retail media networks would play a growing role in their media strategies.
Even so, more marketers are planning increases to their traditional media budgets; 16% plan to increase their direct mail and out-of-home budget by over 50% this year, while 14% will boost cinema and linear TV ads and 13% plan to up radio spend by the same amount.
When it comes to AI, almost three quarters (71%) of brands with large ad budgets see AI for personalisation and optimisation as the key trend likely to impact their business in 2025.
These findings were all offset against a trend that sees marketers preparing for a leaner 2025. Over half (54%) of global respondents said they were planning to cut ad spending in 2025; a figure which was even higher in Europe (60%).
The second trend is the decision that marketers are making between growing bottom-of-funnel revenue versus developing top-of-funnel brand awareness.
The report uncovered stark regional differences. Marketers in North America and Asia-Pacific are balancing a near-even split between brand awareness (48% and 50% respectively) and revenue growth (47% and 52% respectively), whereas in Europe, 59% of European marketers put revenue growth at the top priority, compared to just 37% for brand awareness.
Another balancing act for marketers to master is around the share of paid marketing budget going to digital compared to traditional channels. Almost a quarter (24%) of global marketers said digital would be their priority, but almost a third (32%) said traditional would be their focus. The majority (44%) though gave a balanced answer.
Finally, the third trend uncovered is how success is measured in a constantly changing world. The majority of marketers are still struggling to bring digital and traditional channels into a holistic measurement framework – only 32% of marketers globally say they measure their media spending holistically across both digital and traditional channels today, and this is even lower in Europe (23%).
There are also numerous challenges to calculating ROI of cross-media campaigns. These include issues with data, weak tools, too many vendors, and a lack of transparency across new channels, such as retail media networks, which are exciting but add complexity.
The report concluded: “The only way to face uncertainty is with data, insights and the right tools to turn insights into winning strategies.
“While 2025 is shaking up the status quo for businesses around the world, marketers know better than most how to adapt to changing conditions. Already, they’re developing new touchpoints with their audiences up and down the funnel by adding retail media networks and connected TV to their campaigns, unlocking new synergies with more nuanced digital-traditional media mixes, and taking AI for a spin to streamline their operations.
“But to validate their decisions and truly align their media buys with their campaign objectives, they need to trust that their measurement solutions can keep up with the complexities of modern cross-media advertising.”
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