I finalised my media budget file for 2026.
It became a beast I cannot handle anymore!
It went from just a few lines ten years ago, to hundreds today.
What happened?
The last decade saw the rising of the advertising duopoly, Google + Meta.
Their market share grew constantly and peaked in 2019 at over 50% of the US online advertising market.
So my media budget file was very simple.
Row 1: Google
Row 2: Meta
That's it.
But now the duopoly is cracking.
Their market share is back to ten years ago.
Hence, my budget file had to expand to new channels.
Hundreds of rows!
Row 1: Google Search
Row 2: Google Demand Gen
Row 3: Google something else...
....
Row 4: TikTok
Row 5: Snap
....
Row 50: Reddit
Row 51: Disney+
...
So who is stealing market share from the two giants?
Mostly Amazon.
But also TikTok, Walmart, Pinterest, streaming giants (Netflix, Disney+, etc)
And Spotify, Reddit, Snap, even Uber... the list goes on.
OpenAI will join the party soon.
The media landscape has never been so fragmented!
It is a new reality for "young" marketers like me (I'm still trying to adapt!
What this means in practice:
1. Specialisation is gone.
You cannot be just a "Google Ads Specialist." You have to be "full-stack".
2. Good luck with measurement.
Which one of these new ad networks delivers the best ROI?
Good luck answering that.
3. Streamline streamline.
I'm looking for a tool to connect the dots from all different ad networks. Haven't found it yet. Any recommendations?
Welcome to a new era of online marketing!
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