To understand what changed in marketing during 2025—and which signals may matter in 2026—read four sources in sequence: Nielsen for budgets and measurement, HubSpot for AI and workflow practices, Kantar for attention and media investment, and the American Marketing Association (AMA) for longer-range foresight. Their findings are not interchangeable: surveys report what particular respondents said or planned, while the AMA’s expert process outlines possible forces over a five-to-ten-year horizon.
How to read the year’s marketing reports
These reports answer different questions. Nielsen surveyed higher-budget global brand marketers about spending and measurement. HubSpot’s 2026 State of Marketing research, summarized in an article updated March 9, 2026, focuses on tactics and workflows. Kantar’s trends analysis draws on Media Reactions 2024, combining audience responses with marketer investment plans. The AMA’s 2026 report uses structured expert foresight rather than a prevalence survey.
- Read a survey percentage as a finding about that survey’s respondents, not a universal industry fact.
- Separate plans from completed actions: intended spend increases or cuts are not final spending outcomes.
- Treat expert forecasts as directional possibilities, not evidence that a trend is already widespread.
1. Nielsen: budgets, channel plans and measurement
Nielsen’s 2025 Annual Marketing Report: From chaos to clarity is the strongest starting point for questions about media allocation and cross-channel measurement. Nielsen surveyed 1,400 global marketing professionals online from February 25 to March 6, 2025. Respondents were brand marketers at manager level or above whose organizations had annual marketing budgets of at least US$1 million; the results therefore do not describe smaller-budget marketers as a group.
Among those respondents, 54% planned to reduce advertising spend in 2025, 56% planned to increase OTT/CTV spend, and 65% expected retail media networks to play a growing role. These are stated plans and expectations, not verified year-end spending results. Nielsen also found that 32% said they measured traditional and digital media spending holistically. That self-reported figure points to a practical challenge: organizations may add channels faster than they can compare their contributions on a consistent basis.
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Nielsen’s announcement quotes Alison Gensheimer, SVP, Marketing, Nielsen: “To truly capitalize on these advancements and align media investments with objectives, reliable and comprehensive measurement is paramount and, at Nielsen, we are committed to ensuring measurement solutions keep pace with the complexities of modern cross-media advertising, supporting growth now and well into the future.”
2. HubSpot: AI, automation and the pressure to sound human
HubSpot’s The top 7 marketing trends of 2025 that we expect to continue in 2026, updated March 9, 2026, uses its 2026 State of Marketing research to discuss personalized content, automation, AI-influenced search and content repurposing. It reports that nearly 49% of marketers use AI for personalized content and 47% use automation to improve process efficiency. Those figures suggest that AI and automation are part of many respondents’ workflows, but they do not establish the same adoption rate across every industry or company size.
The same HubSpot research captures a tension around machine-generated content: 56% of marketers said the internet is flooded with AI-generated content, while 65% said consumers are getting better at recognizing it. HubSpot also reports that 47% prioritize content reflecting brand values. Taken together, these findings make the editorial question more important than simply whether a team can produce more: can it create useful, distinctive material that earns trust? Human judgment remains relevant for voice, factual review, transparency and deciding what is worth publishing.
3. Kantar: attention and investment are not the same measure
Kantar’s Marketing Trends 2025 draws on Media Reactions 2024 and covers shifting attention toward social advertising, video investment, AI transparency and data provenance, brand innovation, and retail media. It reports that 31% of people globally said social media platform ads captured their attention, compared with 43% the prior year. This is an audience-reported attention measure, not a direct measure of campaign effectiveness or sales.
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Kantar also reports a net 55% of marketers planned to increase investment in TV streaming in 2025, while a net 8% planned to reduce broadcast TV investment. These are marketer investment intentions, distinct from the audience attention result. The figures offer channel context, not a universal allocation rule: attention, planned spending and business outcomes are different questions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.4. AMA: use the 2026 outlook as foresight, not proof
The American Marketing Association’s 2026 Future Trends in Marketing Report looks beyond the immediate planning cycle. Its five proposed forces are autonomous agents, consumer discovery shifting to scroll, portfolio careers and a liquid workforce, sustainability-driven innovation, and brand trust in a fragmented world.
The AMA describes a modified Delphi and strategic foresight process involving more than 30 marketing professionals, convened from May to August 2025. The process included trend nomination, discussion and voting, and used a STEEP framework. The report’s horizon is five to ten years, so its themes should be read as expert-informed signals rather than survey evidence that every trend is already prevalent. The page is dated January 9, 2026; it says the full report is available to members or through a form. Jen OBrien, the AMA’s Director for Research and Innovation, is identified as lead researcher, panel facilitator and report writer.
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What marketers should carry into 2026
- Pair efficiency with distinctiveness. AI and automation can support personalization and process work, while HubSpot’s findings about AI saturation and recognition reinforce the value of an identifiable voice and meaningful content.
- Manage brand and performance together. The reports do not establish a single correct budget split. Nielsen’s planned cuts alongside intended OTT/CTV increases, and Kantar’s contrasting streaming and broadcast intentions, show why choices should reflect objectives, audience and measurement capability.
- Make cross-channel measurement a decision input. Nielsen’s finding that 32% of respondents measured traditional and digital spending holistically is a reminder to assess whether the available measurement can support the allocation decisions a team wants to make.
- Keep the time horizon visible. Surveyed plans describe what respondents expected for 2025; the AMA’s 2026 report offers longer-range foresight. Neither should be mistaken for a guaranteed outcome in a particular market.
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