Nielsen has published its 2025 Annual Marketing Report, highlighting how marketers are adapting to shifting technologies and economic pressures.
The seventh iteration of the report surveyed 1,400 global marketing professionals between February 25 and March 6, 2025, all overseeing annual marketing budgets of at least USD$1 million.
Three core trends emerged from the findings: investment reallocation in media channels, shifts in strategic priorities, and challenges in cross-media measurement.
Retail media rise – but budget cuts loom
Retail Media Networks and Connected TV (CTV) are gaining traction, with 65% of marketers planning increased focus on retail media and 56% intending to raise OTT/CTV spend, a three-point increase from last year.
Traditional media is also seeing renewed interest, with 16% planning to boost out-of-home budgets by over 50%.
Despite these shifts, budgetary caution is apparent. Over half (54%) of global marketers plan to reduce ad spending in 2025, rising to 60% in Europe.
Brands with large budgets (over $1 billion) are prioritising AI for personalisation and optimisation, with 71% identifying it as a key trend impacting their business.
Brand awareness vs. revenue
The second trend reflects marketers’ tension between brand building and direct revenue growth.
Regional discrepancies are notable: North America and Asia-Pacific report nearly even splits between brand awareness and revenue priorities, while Europe leans more heavily towards revenue (59%).
Globally, 44% of marketers are attempting to balance digital and traditional media spend, though digital remains a growing priority.
Measurement gaps
A third key finding points to a continued measurement challenge.
Only 32% of marketers report being able to measure media spending holistically across digital and traditional channels, with Latin America (29%) and Europe (23%) trailing further behind.
Barriers include fragmented data, limited tools, and inconsistent transparency, particularly in newer channels like retail media.
Alison Gensheimer, SVP of Marketing at Nielsen, noted, “Despite difficult economic uncertainties, marketers are demonstrating their inherent agility by embracing new touchpoints like Retail Media Networks and CTV… 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.”
This year marks Nielsen’s fourth global edition of the report, which draws insights from senior marketers across multiple industries focused on media, technology, and measurement strategies.