2025 marked a decisive inflection point for advertising and marketing, especially across digital and OTT platforms, as the industry moved the conversation from sheer scale to genuine substance and cultural relevance. What we witnessed this year was less about chasing eyeballs and more about building meaningful attention that translates to long-term engagement as consumer media habits evolved rapidly.
A look at the numbers shows this shift isn’t anecdotal it’s systemic. According to Ipsos report on digital marketing in India, digital advertising alone reached approximately ₹49,000 crore in FY25, commanding a 44% share of the total advertising market. This dominance reflects how brands are increasingly allocating budgets toward digital channels, recognising that audiences spend the majority of their media time online.
Globally, digital ad revenue has continued its double-digit growth trend for the 16th consecutive year, again proving the resilience and vitality of digital channels even amid economic uncertainties. eMarketer’s mid-2025 forecast confirmed this continued expansion, signalling that advertisers are not retreating from digital but refining how they engage audiences on these platforms.
One of the most transformational changes this year was how content consumption patterns and advertising investments realigned. According to Nielsen’s 2025 Annual Marketing Report, 56% of marketers reported plans to increase spend on OTT/Connected TV (CTV) year-on-year, while almost two-thirds believe that retail media networks will play a growing role in the media mix. These shifts underscore that marketers are no longer treating OTT as a niche channel it has become a core pillar of integrated media strategies.
What’s driving these shifts is clear: consumers are increasingly selective in their content choices, favouring relatable, culturally grounded narratives. This trend has reshaped OTT advertising, where hybrid monetisation models combining subscription and ad support are gaining traction globally as platforms explore sustainable growth beyond traditional paywalls. Analysts estimate that global OTT advertising revenues could exceed $400 billion in 2025 a testament to the channel’s expanding influence on brand communications.
In this evolving context, 2025 was also the year performance met brand building again. Marketers realised that short-term ROI must coexist with long-term trust building, and this recalibration was visible in emerging best practices: data-led creativity, community-first engagement, and content strategies that prioritise relevance over reach alone. Channels like social video, user-generated content, and creator collaborations increasingly became spaces where narrative depth and authenticity outperformed intrusive advertising. Deloitte’s Digital Media Trends report highlights how platforms are competing for a fixed amount of attention across video, social, gaming, and audio formats meaning brands that offer contextually relevant content are winning the limited attention economy.
Looking ahead to 2026, the next phase will be defined by responsible personalisation. AI-driven targeting will continue to unlock precision, but with stronger emphasis on consent, privacy, and transparent data practices. Interactive formats will blur the lines between engagement and commerce, pushing content that is shoppable and actionable without disrupting the user experience. At the same time, cultural awareness not just visibility will become a core brand objective as audiences expect media to reflect their identities and aspirations.
Ultimately, the winners in 2026 will be the brands that understand attention as a privilege, not an entitlement designing campaigns that respect how consumers choose to engage, using insights responsibly, and creating value that lasts beyond individual transactions.
(Views are personal)
