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2025 Decoded: Navigating the Next Wave of Advertising

This year has kicked off with immense tenacity and continued evolution within the digital landscape, with AI remaining a key focus across trending topics for 2025. A look into BIA Advisory Services' 2025 Local Advertising Haul on emerging trends sheds light on what we were seeing across media placements in the past year.

The New Search Model

There’s been a shift in Google’s search ad dominance over the past year, with forecasts showing its market share dropping below 50 percent by 2025. To further clarify what this means, the total local ad market share for Google is forecast to be around 43%, while Facebook comes in second with around 13%. So, what’s the main reason behind the decline in Google Search's dominance? You guessed it: emerging AI technologies.

  • Platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s Gemini offer direct answers instead of just links.

  • Perplexity is still the only AI platform among these three that is rolling out advertising within its search engine. Ads will appear in the US to start, formatted as sponsored follow-up questions and paid media positioned beside an answer. In all, these advertisements will not directly impact the answers you receive, and the responses will remain uncluttered and unbiased.

    • The Next Chapter in TV: CTV is Winning Local Ad Dollars

    While this has been a topic of discussion over the past few years, Cable TV is expected to see declines in overall market share, with CTV/OTT emerging as a strong contender—or even a replacement. Local CTV/OTT ad spending is forecasted to grow by 20% from 2023 to 2025. Why does this growth continue, and why is it expected to persist throughout this year? The answer lies in unprecedented precision, interactive innovation, and improved measurement.

  • Targeting capabilities continue to evolve beyond demographic, geographic, and interest-based targeting to include fully engaged audience segments.

  • In addition to the advanced measurement capabilities and various KPI options—unlike traditional TV— the price point makes this an easy addition to an omni-channel mix.

    • The Evolution of OOH: Allowing for Further Connectivity

    We still see static billboards and basic digital displays all over railroads, highways, and local businesses, but... are you getting overstimulated by the sheer amount, or are the placements not exactly what you had in mind? The advancement of digital OOH. is expected to surpass traditional OOH in 2025. This movement is expected on a small scale this year, but why is this expected?

  • “Smart” billboards are coming into play, and how are they powered? Once again, AI-powered. This allows for the delivery of hyper-contextual content and real-time adjustments of messaging.

  • DOOH seamlessly integrates with omnichannel digital marketing efforts, allowing advertisers to break through the unknown and access real-time metrics with opportunities for optimization.
    • So, what does this all mean? Omni-channel media strategies will continue to evolve and budgetary adjustments will continue to shift into immerging technologies and places where transparency and optimization efforts are available for real-time impact. This further reiterates the importance of staying up to date on advancements in the marketplace to make sure your brand, client, or strategies align with the market at hand.

    The main takeaway is the continued evolution of the digital landscape. All traditional media channels remain prevalent but using them strategically and jumping on the innovation of them is going to be key in ensuring a media campaign’s success. So, it’s not about abandoning traditional media but rather adapting to how audiences consume content today. Streaming, social media, and digital platforms have changed the game, including AI, but they haven’t replaced traditional media- they've just reshaped them. A successful campaign will come down to leveraging the right mix of formats and meeting consumers where they are, layering in the advanced technology solutions for precise targeting as those options become more available.

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