Beyond Cookies and Clicks: The Ad Trends That Will Shape 2025

2025 is set to be another disruptive year for digital advertising, driven by growing regulatory pressures, AI advancements, and new media channels reshaping the landscape. Global digital ad spending is expected to top US$1 trillion, while Latin America is also predicted to see impressive growth, with investments projected to exceed US$43 million, according to eMarketer.

Digital advertising is at a crossroads, where every decision feels like a balancing act between privacy and personalization. The shift to a post-cookie world brings both challenges and opportunities for advertisers and publishers despite Google’s ongoing delays in phasing out cookies. Although the timeline is still unclear, brands are beginning to mix cookie-based and cookieless strategies as data privacy becomes more important. Operating under the assumption that Google will eventually phase out cookies is both smart and strategic. In this evolving landscape, advertisers are exploring alternative identifiers — which, unfortunately, aren’t universal — and investing in first-party data collection.

Artificial intelligence technology continues to gain momentum, allowing brands to create dynamic, personalized ads that respond to user behavior in real time. Generative AI is widely used in ad creation; however, AI’s role extends beyond content generation: it processes vast amounts of data, uncovering subtle correlations that boost performance. AI is reshaping how companies connect with consumers, who now expect tailored experiences that anticipate their needs. AI goes beyond simply saving time on ad creation; it provides unique insights and predicts performance using data that was previously out of reach.

Despite dynamic changes and year-over-year growth in digital ad spend, publisher web traffic continues to decline, with tech giants capturing the majority of ad revenue. In this landscape, AI-generated content offers both opportunities and challenges, as increasing data privacy regulations are pushing publishers to rethink traditional monetization and content creation strategies.

Generative AI has fueled a surge in made-for-advertising (MFA) sites, flooding the market with low-quality content and reducing value for both advertisers and publishers. Content curation offers a solution to address this. Content curation is an ad strategy that involves packaging publisher inventory into private marketplaces (PMPs) and enriching it with valuable audience data. This approach focuses on three key pillars: audience data, contextual data, and a clean supply chain that excludes resellers and arbitrage inventory. By curating inventory in this way, SSPs create high-quality, targeted ad opportunities for advertisers. Through curated placements, publishers expand their reach and boost revenue while advertisers gain access to more effective, high-value inventory.

In 2025, publishers will continue focusing on data-driven strategies to engage and monetize their audiences. First-party data will be key for building loyalty, enhancing personalization and, consequently, boosting publishers’ earnings.

As we move into 2025, digital advertising calls for flexibility and fresh strategies. Balancing privacy with personalization, leveraging first-party data and harnessing the power of AI will be essential for publishers and advertisers alike. Those who navigate these challenges effectively will not only survive but thrive.