2025 Media Trends: The Evolving Media Landscape

The media industry is undergoing a massive transformation. Consumers increasingly embrace digital channels, making time spent with traditional media more fractured. Instead of turning away from traditional media, a marketer’s overall media strategy must adapt to these trends. Each advertiser needs a tailored 2025 marketing strategy to reach its unique consumer base.

As the media ecosystem evolves with new choices and delivery methods, all media channels have a place as long as they align with the consumption habits of your target audience. When devising media strategies, there’s no substitute for a deep understanding of your consumers’ media consumption patterns.

The Digital Media Revolution

As digital media continues to evolve, it’s reshaping how we consume content. While traditional media like TV and radio still provide significant reach, digital platforms are quickly gaining ground and stealing attention and time away from a single-screen experience. Digital media’s ability to target specific audiences provides an opportunity to customize and personalize content to each individual, your prospective customers.

The Ever-Changing Digital Landscape

The digital media landscape is always evolving, with new platforms, technologies, and strategies emerging regularly. From social media trends to advanced targeting techniques in connected TV, staying ahead of the curve is essential for digital marketing success.

Digital media will continue to shape the future of advertising and marketing. By embracing innovation and adapting to change, businesses can capitalize on the opportunities presented by this dynamic industry.

 

A bar chart showing media consumption trends.

 

The Attention Economy: Understanding How Audiences Consume Media

At Scale Marketing, we do more than just observe media trends—we decode the complex narrative of consumer attention. Our deep dive reveals a fascinating landscape where age, technology, and consumption intersect.

The Generational Media Divide: A Strategic Perspective

Different customers consume media in their own way. Scale watches the trends, plans for today’s needs, and fills the funnel with tomorrow’s. Here’s the breakdown:

 

A woman watches television

 

Older Adults (50+): The Content Marathon
Daily Consumption: 14+ Hours

  • Traditional platforms remain the media backbone for this audience
  • Slower digital adoption, but rapidly evolving
  • Depth over speed in content consumption
  • Value comprehensive, context-rich experiences

Is your business speaking their language or just talking at them?

 

A man consumes media on his phone

 

Younger Adults (18-34): The Digital Native Ecosystem
Daily Consumption: Less than 11 Hours

  • 66% of content is consumed via digital devices
  • Smartphones/tablets are their primary media hub
  • Rapid content shifting
  • Multi-screen, multi-platform engagement

How fluid is your brand’s digital presence?

 

Consumer behavior is shifting rapidly, especially TV consumption. Older adults primarily rely on traditional media platforms and prefer in-depth, comprehensive content. Younger adults are digital natives who consume content across multiple screens and platforms.

Understanding these generational differences is crucial for marketers. Tailor content and strategies to each demographic to effectively capture audience attention and drive consumer engagement. 

The Universal Constant: Radio’s Persistent Relevance

In 2025, radio remains a steady part of daily life, making up 11-13% of media use across all age groups. Its power lies in its ability to form deeper connections on a personal level with listeners. It creates an intimate experience that appeals to everyone, regardless of age.

By embracing modern innovations like streaming and podcasts, radio continues to stay relevant. The medium is adapting to the changing ways people consume media.

 

A bar chart showing an increase in ad spending from 2023 to 2027.

 

The $400 Billion Transformation: Where Opportunity Meets Innovation

Ad spending increased by nearly 10% in 2024. Digital spending increased, and political ad dollars flooded the market.

Total media spending in 2025 is expected to eclipse $400B, a 6.8% increase over 2024. Broken down by individual channels, the projected annual changes will be the following: 

  • Digital: +11.5%
  • Out-of-home: +3.7%
  • Linear TV: -13.3%
  • Radio -1.5%

Why this Matters

The shift in spending patterns reflects changing consumer behaviors and preferences. As digital media grows by 11.5%, advertisers are aligning with audiences who are increasingly consuming content online. This trend is driven by the growth of social media, video streaming, and programmatic advertising platforms, which allow for hyper-targeted campaigns. Conversely, linear TV’s decline of 13.3% suggests that traditional broadcast audiences are shrinking, favoring on-demand and digital-first formats.

Out-of-home media, with a modest 3.7% growth, remains relevant, particularly in urban areas where mobility is increasing post-pandemic. The slight decline in radio spending (-1.5%) aligns with the gradual transition to digital audio platforms like podcasts and music streaming services.

The rise in digital spending creates a more crowded media environment as brands compete for visibility. The availability of diverse ad-supported digital channels, such as Connected TV (CTV), streaming services, and mobile platforms, opens up more inventory for advertisers. These channels allow advertisers to capture fragmented audiences who no longer singularly consume media. However, this also intensifies competition for consumer attention, requiring brands to invest in differentiated and data-driven strategies.

 

Adoption of Digital Media

The adoption of digital is no longer driven purely by its novelty. Instead, it is fueled by its effectiveness in reaching specific audiences and the increasing number of ad-supported channels. Platforms such as YouTube, Hulu, and emerging FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) channels are expanding available ad inventory. These channels offer lower barriers to entry for advertisers and provide options to reach cost-conscious consumers who prefer free, ad-supported content over subscription-based services.

 

Pricing Parity

Digital advertising pricing is starting to come to par with traditional media channels, especially as CTV and premium digital video platforms command higher CPMs (cost per thousand impressions). While digital inventory increases, the higher demand for targeted and high-quality placements often keeps prices competitive. On the other hand, linear TV’s declining audience may lead to lower pricing, but this should be weighed against reduced effectiveness in reaching key demographics.

 

Key Takeaways for Advertisers

  1. Leverage Data-Driven Targeting: Brands should invest in digital channels where they can use data to precisely target their ideal audience, increasing ROI.
  2. Diversify Media Mix: Incorporating OOH and digital audio alongside digital channels can provide a balanced approach to reach both local and broad audiences.
  3. Stay Competitive in Digital: With a more crowded digital environment, creative differentiation, and engaging content are essential to stand out.
  4. Monitor Pricing Trends: Be mindful of pricing trends to strategically allocate budgets between digital, OOH, and traditional media.

Ad Spending Shifts Insights: We’re witnessing the most dynamic media evolution in a decade.

 

A chart showing how advertisers expect to increase, maintain, or decrease spend for various platforms

 

Channel Deep Dive: Strategic Movements

The digital marketing ecosystem continues to pulse with dynamic growth. Social media, digital advertising channels, and Connected TV (CTV) are emerging as the most electrifying channels. These platforms aren’t just trending—they’re transforming. They’re attracting steady investment that mirrors consumer engagement and media consumption patterns.

Interestingly, traditional TV stands as the outlier. It’s the sole channel where more marketers signal decreased investment than potential expansion. This is a profound shift in media strategy and audience targeting.

Looking ahead to 2025, improving economic conditions suggest ad budgets will likely expand, creating new opportunities for strategic marketing investments. Marketers who can nimbly adapt to these evolving digital landscapes will be best positioned to capture emerging opportunities.

Let’s take a closer individual look at each of the channels:

Digital: The Strategic Frontier
Growth Projection: +11.5% 

  • AI is not just a tool—it’s a strategic marketing accelerant
  • Precision targeting reaches new heights
  • Creative boundaries are being rewritten
  • Privacy becomes a competitive advantage

Are you leveraging AI as a strategic differentiator or just a buzzword?

Out-of-Home: The Intelligent Urban Canvas
Growth Projection: +3.7%

  • Billboards become data-driven conversation starters
  • Location intelligence transforms passive advertising
  • Mobile integration creates immersive experiences

How might your brand turn city streets into strategic touchpoints?

Linear TV: The Evolutionary Challenge
Growth Projection: -13.3%

  • Cord-cutting accelerates
  • Audience fragmentation demands new approaches
  • Programmatic capabilities emerge
  • Content becomes more targeted, less broad

Adaptation is not optional—it’s existential.

Radio: Resilient Reinvention
Growth Projection: -1.5%

  • Podcasting becomes a strategic content channel
  • Audio streaming creates new engagement models
  • Radio rebounds with commuters back to pre-Covid levels in many markets
  • Localization is key

Is your brand tapping into radio’s evolving ecosystem to connect with audiences on a more personal level?

 

An integrated marketing team working in a conference room.

 

The Competitive Landscape: Who Wins in 2025?

This year’s market leaders will be those who combine technological agility with deep data intelligence. Marketers must know and understand their core consumers and how they are consuming media.  With this knowledge, they’ll be able to anticipate and meet consumer needs head-on and with more efficiency in their plans.

Brands that demonstrate cross-channel fluency, seamlessly integrating experiences across platforms, while embracing creative fearlessness will stand out in a crowded marketplace. A performance-driven mindset, focused on measurable results and adaptability, will separate the winners from the rest, defining the competitive landscape of 2025.

Key Insights:

  • Social media, digital display/video, and CTV lead channel growth
  • Traditional TV experiencing investment contraction, but remains an important channel for adult audiences
  • Economic recovery likely to stimulate ad budget expansion

Our Perspective: 

In the ever-evolving media landscape, staying ahead requires a proactive and data-driven approach. At Scale Marketing, we believe that success in 2025 hinges on a deep understanding of consumer behavior, a commitment to innovation, and the ability to adapt to the dynamic shifts in media consumption. We are dedicated to helping clients navigate this complex landscape and achieve their marketing goals through data-driven strategies and creative solutions.

 

Get in touch today to learn how Scale Marketing can help you achieve your business goals and stay ahead in the competitive marketing landscape.

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