STRATEGIC ADVERTISER Trends for theDigital Marketer Summary Set the foundation for yourmarketing strategy: AligningBrand and PerformanceHow are marketers preparing their The State of Digital AdvertisingWhat’s driving change, growth, and customer experience optimizations in 2025? organizations to manage the customerexperience charter in 2025? Budget Allocation forMaximum ImpactWhere are budgets headed for maximalperformance and why? Drive Peak Performance with Innovation TechnologyWhich technologies are driving innovations incustomer experience? Each year, Smartly gauges the pulse on the ever-evolvingtrends shaping marketing. In the 2025 edition of the DigitalAdvertising Trends survey, our research highlights the keyissues on today’s marketers’ minds, including: The StateSUMMARY of DigitalAdvertisingAs marketing continues to pull brands toward AND OUTPUTS FORBUILDING EFFECTIVEPROGRAMS HOW AND WHERETO SPENDOPTIMIZING CROSS-0203 audience-based and targeted personalized contentexperiences, marketers are focused on buildingstrategies and tactical plans to streamline theircreative production, optimizing performance andmeasurement.To match this, brands need to work smarter, notharder. To do this, it’s critical to refine their application CHANNEL CAMPAIGNS of AI and data-driven insights, as well as developcontent to more meaningfully reach their targetaudiences, at scale. 2025 DIGITAL TRENDS HIGHLIGHTS One Full Funnel Creative +Media Marketing Team Budget Shifts: Investmentsin Emerging Channels AdTech Innovations:AI, ConversationalCommerce and More use conversationalcommerce in 2025 creative and mediateams are workingcloser together their budget willgo up in 2025 techniques like creative automation, AI andconversational commerce. And more marketers are using morechannels at different stages, all with a full channels including Meta, TikTok, andSnapchat, marketers are also planning toinvest more in emerging channels includingaudio and retail media networks. funnel lens.58% of marketing teams didn’tfocus on a specific channel in 2024, butabout half WILL in 2025. Good News! To help gauge marketers’ opportunities for business growth,engagement, and operational improvement, we gatheredinsights to benchmark the following planning areas for 2025: Set the foundation for yourmarketing strategy: AligningBrand and Performance Build Efficiency. Optimize BudgetAllocation for Maximum Impact Two thirds of marketers agree their company isperforming better than last year. Innovation Technology are colliding and commerce will be added to this in2025+.As a result, many are optimizing their digitaladvertising by running campaigns with differentobjectives across all channels as well as dedicatingchannels specifically to awareness, consideration,and purchase objectives.With that in mind, let’s dive inand explore how marketers are preparing for successin 2025. What is driving marketers’decision-making? Set the01 Marketers’ focus is balanced between brand andperformance advertising. Foundation forYour MarketingStrategy:Aligning Brandand Performance Nearly 7 in 10 marketersagree:Marketing is acombination of demandgeneration to createawareness and considerationand demand capture to drivepurchase events. 6industry coalesce, breakingdown silos between teams.According to about 8 in 10respondents, Social and Mediaplanning teams are merging,indicating team structurechanges in 2025.6 These changes are most likely to occur in companies with increased marketing budgets.Additionally, those using AI for creative or campaign optimizations are the most likely toexpect these changes. Full FunnelAttributionMethodology How do marketersmeasure performance?Media mix models (13%) and platform metrics(16%) are the top twoindividual attributionmethodologies; mostmarketers use acombination of MMM/MTA, platform metrics,lift tests, and surveys todefine attribution usemultiple methodsto define attribution). Enhanced reporting will takeon greater importance nextyear, helping teams achievea consolidated view ofperformance and necessaryworkflow changes. agree:In 2025, teamswill also be structuredto cover brandand performancemarketing. agree:There will beafocus on integratingmultiple channels intotheir strategies. CHANNEL STRATEGIESTO MAXIMIZEAUDIENCE REACHOverall, marketers are most likely to turn to Meta and YouTube tomeet their funnel objectives. To thrive in2025, marketersare adoptingholisticstrategiesBlend brand and performance marketing to emphasize seamlessBy integrating AI and enhanced reporting tools,these strategies ensure a comprehensive view ofperformance, helping marketersoptimize efforts and align with business goals.This foundational shift sets the stage for moreeffective budget allocation and campaignmanagement. collaboration across teams and channels. MODERN BUDGETALLOCATION INACTIONDiDi’s main objective is to drive incremental app installs by reaching new audiences and betterallocating budget acros