Tag: WARC

Meta to earn $240bn from advertising in 2026 outpacing global social media ad growth

Stuart Mitchell

In recent years, Meta has transformed its proposition to advertisers through AI-driven automation, leading its advertising business to grow a forecasted 22.3% to $240bn this year, according to WARC Media. Serving ads across its mass reach ‘family of apps’ remains the foundation of its monetisation strategy. Its fast-growing ad business funds an aggressive AI innovation programme – which, in turn, fuels the flywheel through further increases in ad revenue.   WARC Media’s latest Platform Insights report explores Meta’s hyper-efficient advertising business, evaluates usage across its apps, and assesses the performance of campaigns on Meta.   Alex Brownsell, Head of Content, WARC Media, and co-author of the report, said: “Meta’s flywheel is spinning faster than ever. The…

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WARC releases The Future of Measurement 2026, exploring emerging trends in media and creative measurement

Stuart Mitchell

As marketing measurement continues to evolve, WARC, the global authority on marketing effectiveness, has today released The Future of Measurement 2026, a report that explores the latest emerging trends in media and creative measurement. It focuses on three key areas: the shift to outcomes measurement; how AI is moving measurement upstream; and the rise of creative intelligence.  Paul Stringer, Managing Editor Research and Insights, WARC, says: “Marketing measurement is no longer just about understanding what happened, but enabling better decisions about what to do next.  Traditional approaches – based on attribution, proxy metrics, and post-hoc reporting – are becoming less relevant.…

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Meta defies gravity, open web is moribund versus Q1 2026 benchmarks

Stuart Mitchell

The first quarter of 2026 delivered a useful reminder that not all online advertising growth is created equal. Meta outpaced WARC Media’s forecast, while Amazon held steady, and YouTube continued to struggle even as Alphabet’s wider advertising machine powered ahead.  This is according to analysis by WARC Media in its latest Earning Debrief, an advertising revenue performance analysis of Big Tech compared against WARC Media’s quarterly global ad spend forecast data, to provide a current round-up of their ad spend.  Benchmarking against WARC Media’s ad spend projections – derived from a proprietary neural network of over two million data points – Meta’s reported…

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Publicis Conseil Paris and AXA top ACT Good Report 2026

Stuart Mitchell

Publicis Conseil’s ‘Three Words’ for AXA has been named the world’s most impactful campaign for social good in the ACT Good Report 2026, with France taking the top country spot.  Publicis Conseil ranks as the #1 agency, while Publicis Worldwide leads as the top network. AXA is named #1 brand, reinforcing the growing role of major advertisers in driving purpose-led creativity.  The ACT Good Report is the only global ranking dedicated to creative work that drives social and environmental impact, highlighting campaigns that not only excel creatively but also contribute to positive change.  Compiled by ACT Responsible in collaboration with WARC,…

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WARC Global Ad Spend Forecast Q1 2026 update: Implications of the Gulf energy crisis

Stuart Mitchell

A new study from WARC, the experts in marketing effectiveness, has found that a prolonged conflict in the Middle East could threaten $49.9bn of global advertising growth this year, and $93.9bn over the next two years. A milder crisis still risks $19.0bn this year, with residual impacts lasting well into 2027.  James McDonald, Director of Data, Intelligence & Forecasting, WARC, and author of the research, says: “Even in a contained scenario, an oil shock of this nature acts like a tax on consumers – pushing up prices while eroding real spending power. In a…

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