Curated Guide to Research
MediaPost's comprehensive guide to current research in the marketplace.
- Interactive video ads deliver a 58% stronger unaided brand recall than standard video spots.
- How much will generative AI-based ads, creative, and tools increase revenue for platforms, brands, agencies and publishers? New Street Research models trends and numbers to provide the outcome.
- The effectiveness of an ad depends heavily on how relevant and well-produced it is.
- While 33% of consumers cite financial strain as a barrier to travel, three-fourths still plan to take a vacation this summer.
- Gannett became the first publisher on Wednesday to use Taboola's DeepDive generative AI search engine, but the tool seems to be missing several important features.
- Almost two-thirds of survey respondents said they use their TVs to watch platforms like YouTube and Twitch.
- Only half of Gen Z respondents believe tariffs will harm the economy, compared with nearly two-thirds of Gen X.
- There is some crossover--adherents to both parties watch the major news networks. But Democrats have a wider range of news sources.
- Gen Z's price sensitivity is amplified by digital fluency, enabling this cohort to quickly compare prices and hunt for discounts across platforms.
- The proposed live, linear cable TV networks group WBD Global Networks will own up to 20% of WBD Streaming & Studios. Bernstein Research calls this a "stroke of genius."
- The e-commerce giant's model is only scalable up to a point, necessitating a pivot to more tailored strategies.
- Democrats on X are far more likely than Republicans to say their experience has been mostly negative.
- Apple hosts its Worldwide Developers Conference next week. For advertisers this means gaining a better understanding of how desktop and mobile referrals are split and what this means for their media-buying strategies. For publishers it means that while AI search referrals are growing, mobile - the dominant traffic source - remains untapped. Mobile product share belongs to Apple, but Google dominates mobile web search.
- Fox Corp. posted an eye-opening 5% gain in the most recent first quarter to about $2 billion in linear affiliate revenue, a number that has been trending higher.
- Email will help lead the way, as it has done in the past, Winterberry Group reports.
- Work from home is over -- business usage of internet is ramping up.
- A rare sliver of consensus: Americans across party lines generally trust financial news sources more than political ones.
- The official start of the fall television season is still about four months away. But for insiders at media companies, agencies, and advertisers (as well as television analysts like me), the upfront season has placed thoughts of September squarely into May and June. Of course, in today's video world, the very notion of a fall TV season is antiquated. Only the broadcast networks still adhere to seasons that begin in September and end in April or May (and promote "fall finales" like they're special episodes). Cable series tend to premiere throughout the year, and streaming platforms debut new shows and new seasons whenever they happen to be ready, which is not always in the same month as the previous season (and viewers often have to wait more than a year for the next installment).
- Joss & Main leans in to the Pinterest trend with a series aimed at Gen Z's desire to unplug -- and entertain beautifully.
- Email is the only owned and earned channel to see an increase in 2025, Gartner reports.
- Milieu said Griffiths' experience in developing marketing accountability systems and blending tech with media insights will be "central to scaling Milieu's offerings in the U.S."
- The share of news influencers with Bluesky accounts more than doubled in the four months after Election Day.
- CTV is on a clear growth path, but the advertising infrastructure hasn't caught up yet, according to a report by ID5 Technology.
- Marketers are depending on AI to free up their time for more strategic, high-value work.
- The Weather Channel has a +49 "trust" score, followed by the BBC, +26; PBS, +25, and ESPN, +24. YouGov says these outlets' results are similar to a year ago. Among major TV networks, "net" trust scores are: NBC at +16; CBS (+16); ABC (+13); CNN (+8); MSNBC (+6); CNBC, (+6); Fox Business (+2); Fox News Channel (+0); and Newsmax (+0). OAN posts a negative (-2).
- From collagen mocktails to red-light facials, Gen Z is blending wellness, beauty and food in new ways.
- Retail brands are moving aggressively toward digital channels, while tech and finance firms are doubling down on performance marketing.
- Half of advertising and media professionals surveyed expect to achieve full-scale AI integration by 2026.
- OpenAI's latest ChatGPT model disobeyed human instructions to shut down during a test by researchers, and I wondered "what if" AI refused to alter ad campaigns based on data the models believed could produce better results.
- Meta has decided to divide its AI team, forming two separate units in order to build and release its next generation of products and features at a faster rate, according to a report by Axios.
