Strategic Intelligence: Advertising Sector Scorecard Q1 2025 Update
Summary
While the advertising sector will not feel a direct impact from tariffs on imported goods, a deteriorating macroeconomic environment will cause ad spending to decline. A March 2025 study from the Interactive Advertising Bureau found that 41% of US advertisers expecting budget cuts due to tariffs plan to cut from social media, while 24% plan cuts to the linear TV and gaming channels. Tariffs has been added to the thematic screen of the advertising sector scorecard with a 15% weighting. The biggest players in the ad sector, including Amazon, ByteDance, Google, and Meta, all score poorly on tariffs due to the expected negative impact
On both sides of the Atlantic, Apple, Alphabet, and Meta face concerted regulatory efforts to end their dominant position in the digital advertising market. The European Commission has started to enforce the Digital Markets Act (DMA) this year, focusing on Apple and Alphabet’s dominance in app stores and Meta’s use of personal data for advertising. The latest lawsuit from the US Department of Justice (DoJ) takes aim at Alphabet’s lucrative adtech business, with potential remedies including breaking up the company. Antitrust is a key theme in the thematic screen of GlobalData’s advertising sector scorecard, with a weighting of 15%. All Big Tech companies have negative scores for this theme.
Scope
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