Australian marketers are continuing to invest in video advertising, even as economic uncertainty shortens planning windows and increases pressure on media accountability.
The IAB Australia 2026 Video Advertising State of the Nation Report found video advertising reached a 29 per cent share of the total online advertising market in 2025, growing 19 per cent year on year.
The most recent IAB Australia Internet Advertising Expenditure Report, prepared by PwC, put Australian video advertising at $5.4 billion in 2025, up 19.8 per cent year on year.
Economic uncertainty sharpens focus on outcomes
The report found agencies and marketers remain willing to spend on brand video advertising. But that investment is happening in a more cautious market.
Almost half of agency leaders (48 per cent) identified the economy as their leading concern. That placed it ahead of cross-channel media measurement and the impact of AI, both cited by 41 per cent of respondents.
Gai Le Roy, CEO of IAB Australia, said advertisers were not retreating from video investment, but were demanding stronger proof of performance.
“Advertisers are operating in a more cautious market, but they are not pulling back from investment in video advertising,” Le Roy said.
“They do, however, have stronger expectations of media accountability and a continued need to balance brand and performance investment. The next phase of growth in video advertising will depend on how well the industry can support advertisers with consistent measurement, and better visibility across an increasingly complex media environment.”
Gai Le Roy
Planning and measurement are not yet aligned
IAB Australia found nine in 10 agencies have a unified strategy for planning video campaigns across screens, including Market Mix Modelling.
However, one in four agencies rarely or never unify effectiveness measurement across those same screens. The report said this creates a gap between how video campaigns are planned and how they are assessed.
The mismatch is also visible in success metrics. While 49 per cent of respondents identified sales and conversions as their top media investment goal for 2026, brand metrics remained the most cited measure of campaign success at 80 per cent.
IAB Australia said the findings underline the role of its Future of Measurement project, which is developing guidance on best-practice frameworks and how measurement is likely to evolve in Australia.
CTV, streaming and retail media drive growth
Ad-supported subscription streaming platforms were named as a key growth area, with 71 per cent of ad buyers expecting to increase spend this year.
Programmatic CTV is also gaining momentum, with 46 per cent of respondents planning to increase investment in 2026. Frequency control was the top expectation when buying CTV and OTT programmatically, cited by 50 per cent of respondents.
The report also found retail data is becoming more important to video planning. More than half of respondents, at 54 per cent, are regularly using or testing retailer first-party shopper data to target video campaigns across digital video environments.
The same proportion are regularly using or testing CTV commerce integrations that link video ads to shopping.
Live streaming is also becoming a larger part of digital video strategies. Six in 10 ad buyers surveyed have placed ads in live event content on streaming networks or platforms.
AI expected to support measurement
The report found Australian agencies see opportunities for AI in analysing and reporting performance data against campaign goals, Market Mix Modelling, attribution and incremental lift.
IAB Australia also referenced IAB US research that found AI-led improvements in advanced measurement could unlock US$26 billion in total media investment within two years by representing channels more fairly and crediting what is already working.
Vikki Pearce, Head of Digital at Zenith and IAB Australia Video Council co-chair, said video remains a strategic part of the media mix because it can support both brand and performance outcomes.
“What’s changing in 2026 is not the ambition, but the operating environment,” Pearce said.
“Buyers are navigating more platforms, more formats, and more ways to activate, from streaming and CTV to live moments and creator-led ecosystems, while still being accountable for performance.”
Pearce said the report showed momentum, but also a need to align definitions, improve cross-platform measurement and lift the quality of data inputs used in modern models.
Vikki Pearce
Data consistency remains a challenge
Natalie Stanbury, Director of Research at IAB Australia, said buyers are moving towards more advanced outcomes measurement, but the consistency of data signals varies across video environments.
“That matters when advertisers are being asked to compare investment across BVOD, social video, AVOD and ad-supported streaming platforms,” Stanbury said.
“The work the industry is doing today on unified measurement standards, consistent creative tracking and cross-platform measurement frameworks is critical to supporting the next stage of video advertising growth in a multi-platform environment.”
What the report found
Among the report’s additional findings, 42 per cent of ad buyers expect to spend more on brand advertising this year, while 28 per cent expect to spend more on performance advertising.
Digital brand lift studies remain the most used tool for assessing video advertising effectiveness. Use of Market Mix Modelling has also increased compared with previous IAB Video State of the Nation surveys.
Better cross-platform measurement was the area ad buyers were most excited about in the continued growth of video streaming, cited by 59 per cent of respondents. It was followed by improved targeting and personalisation.
The IAB Australia Video Advertising State of the Nation 2026 Report was developed by the IAB Australia Video Council and is based on a survey of 78 advertising agency decision makers conducted in April 2026. It is the sixth annual edition of the survey.
Main image: AI-generated