In a year marked by a -2.6% decline in advertising investment and by uneven performance between measured and estimated media, the market once again finds itself at a turning point. Television maintains its leadership despite its decline, CTV is accelerating strongly, and digital environments are consolidating their weight in the investment mix. In this context of adjustment and structural transformation, Margarita Ollero, CDO of InfoAdex, analyzes the key findings of the Advertising Investment Study 2026, the company’s reading of the new balance between media, and the horizon that is emerging for advertisers and agencies.
The 2025 data confirm an increasingly fragmented distribution of advertising investment. What is InfoAdex’s overall interpretation of the new balance between traditional and digital media?
The digitalization of media is undeniable, and it is growing. The emergence of new channels such as Retail Media is a reality and is widely accepted. This suggests that investment will gradually shift toward the digital components of traditional media and toward new media, meaning that pure digital will face greater competition. This will really happen in the medium to long term; linear television will continue to hold a high share of investment due to its proven benefits.
Television still leads the share with just over 28%, despite the rise of digital. What factors explain it still holding this dominant position?
Several factors can explain this dominant position: television remains a medium that still has the ability to reach large audiences, it continues to generate sales for major investment-heavy sectors such as FMCG, and it drives traffic to the internet.
Search and social media already account, together, for nearly 30% of the total. Are we facing a ceiling, or is there still room for growth in these channels?
There is room for growth, although the rise of other increasingly present media in brand strategies—such as Retail Media—may affect the share of both. It is still too early to see how the increasing use of AI will impact Search. Therefore, investment will continue to grow, but its share of total media will grow more slowly.
Within the digital ecosystem, what behaviors or trends are making the biggest difference in how advertisers allocate budgets?
What stands out most is personalization and the ability to segment audiences. Some media such as Retail Media, working at the lower end of the funnel and focused on the short term, will be among those we see growing the most precisely because of their ability to reach highly segmented audiences. On the other hand, CTV must move from being a test channel to becoming a medium with larger budgets, once again demonstrating its effectiveness for segmentation.
Daily and Sunday press maintains a relevant share, close to 12%. How is its role evolving within current media plans?
Taking into account that 55% of investment in newspapers and Sunday press goes to the digital environment, they still maintain a sustained presence in media plans. Publishing groups have found their first-party data to be a highly valued asset for advertisers, enabling them to deliver personalized messages to different audience segments. On the other hand, the relevance of regional and local press for many businesses should not be forgotten.
What impact are new consumption habits—streaming, multitasking, on-demand consumption—having on how different media are measured and valued?
The impact of new media consumption habits is significant in terms of measurement, mainly because there is still no single solution capable of measuring all media across all consumption formats. In the market there are some private solutions, such as those from InfoAdex, where we provide cross-media measurement in terms of advertising activity and investment. There are also initiatives from associations such as the aea to achieve this complex measurement.
“Television continues to be a sales driver for major investment sectors such as FMCG and a driver of internet traffic”
From InfoAdex’s perspective, which media are showing the greatest ability to adapt to the new advertising environment?
Clearly Out-of-Home is the standout medium, demonstrating an extraordinary ability to digitize and leverage synergies with other media to provide high-reach communication for brands that choose it. Radio is another medium that remains strong and continues even to gain audience and investment coming from digital audio.
Do you see significant differences in investment strategy between large advertisers and medium or small brands?
Although all seek efficiency, budgets for medium and small brands must be optimized even further. These are more local, so the focus will be on media that allow communication at that level.
With these data in mind, how does InfoAdex believe the media mix will evolve in 2026: continuity, gradual adjustment, or more disruptive changes?
Given the economic, geopolitical, and ongoing uncertainty, there will likely be no major increases in investment, but rather reallocations toward media that perform better in the short term. This would lead to increased digital investment. It is still too early to see whether the impact of Retail Media will become truly significant.
“With the economic, geopolitical situation and ongoing uncertainty, there will likely be no major increases in investment, but rather reallocations toward media that perform better in the short term”
Finally, what key message should advertisers and agencies take from this distribution of shares when planning their communication strategies?
It depends on the objectives; there is no single generic answer. Concentrating media in small budgets is one way to optimize. However, a broader media mix, taking advantage of the strengths of each medium, allows for a high-reach strategy and enables synergies between them.
