Australia’s advertising market is tightening, leaving marketers under growing pressure to prove ROI, reduce wastage and justify every media dollar.
The Trade Desk inventory partnerships director, Ashton De Santis, believes AI-driven media buying and a more transparent ecosystem will shape how brands navigate 2026.
From experimental to essential
“From retail data to attention metrics, advertisers have a huge amount of insight to inform smart, targeted campaigns across multiple digital channels,” De Santis told Mediaweek.
“Layering AI on top of this data further supercharges marketers’ ability to reduce wastage and buy media with precision and impact.”
He said marketers’ growing confidence in AI will accelerate adoption, with the technology becoming embedded into every stage of the workflow.
“Tools once seen as technical add-ons will become essential for planning, optimisation and demonstrating clear business outcomes,” he said.
“The most successful advertisers will pair strong first-party data strategies with transparent, AI-driven media-buying platforms that deliver real-time optimisation and measurable ROI.”
Predictive decisioning reshapes planning
De Santis expects more advertisers to move from reactive, post-campaign analysis toward predictive decisioning.
“AI will increasingly help marketers understand likely outcomes before investment is committed, bringing intelligence earlier into planning and activation, not just optimisation,” he said.
“As the ecosystem becomes more open and privacy-forward, AI will sit closer to strategy, with humans firmly in the loop guiding outcomes.”
He urged marketers to focus on tangible business outcomes with actual impact on the bottom line.
“When budgets are tight, it’s tempting to chase the cheapest inventory or obsess over vanity metrics, but that’s not where true ROI comes from,” he said.
“If brands have the data and the ability to optimise with AI, they should measure success against real actions like purchases, test drives, or brand lift.”
Ashton De Santis
Premium media becomes more efficient
De Santis predicted that 2026 will see cleaner supply paths and that biddable trading will unlock greater efficiency for advertisers.
“Australia’s premium media ecosystem is poised for a meaningful shift, and 2026 is likely to be the year advertisers feel the upside,” he said.
“As premium environments become increasingly accessible through cleaner supply paths, marketers can expect greater addressability and stronger performance.”
He noted that fixed-price deals have primarily been replaced by transparent auctions, making premium inventory easier to buy, optimise and measure in markets like Australia and New Zealand.
“As supply path optimisation directs spend toward cleaner, more direct routes, advertisers gain stronger CPM efficiency, improved recall and more meaningful brand lift,” he said.
“In 2026, premium environments won’t just be safer, they’ll be among the most efficient, effective and performance-driven places for brands to invest.”
Why strong data matters
De Santis addressed a common misconception that AI in media buying is still largely rules-based automation.
“Today’s most advanced media-buying platforms use machine learning to continuously adapt bidding, pacing, creative rotation and audience strategies in real time, based on millions of signals across the open internet,” he said.
“AI does not fix poor data; it amplifies whatever it is given. High-quality, consented data leads to better outcomes, while low-quality data scales inefficiency faster.”
He added that efficiency isn’t about buying the cheapest media; it’s about investing where it delivers the strongest results, even if the upfront cost is higher.
“That could be reaching the right audience in premium environments from BVOD, streaming audio platforms to trusted news sites, rather than simply the cheapest placement,” he said.
“By valuing inventory based on the outcomes it delivers, not just its cost, marketers can make every dollar count even in a tighter budget environment.”
Practical advice for marketers
For advertisers just starting to adopt AI-driven strategies, clean, consented, well-governed and accessible first-party data is essential.
“AI cannot correct weak foundations; it simply magnifies them,” De Santis explained.
“It is also helpful to think of AI not as a single feature, but as an organisational capability. Successful adoption requires collaboration across marketing, data, and technology teams, along with a clear test-and-learn framework to measure impact and continuously improve.”
Cautious advertisers should start small and be rigorous about measurement.
“Prove value with one AI-assisted optimisation, one predictive model or one clean room use case, then scale based on real results,” he said.
“Ignore the hype. AI will not replace experienced marketers. The greatest returns will come from teams that know how to guide AI, challenge its outputs and apply human judgment, treating AI as a co-pilot rather than an autopilot.”