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Media in 2025: defined by abundance, driven by algorithms

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1 year ago

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Media
WARC releases The Future of Media 2025 highlighting trends in media planning, advertising investments and the media ecosystem
16 January 2025 – WARC’s latest forecasts show that global advertising spend surpassed $1trn for the first time in 2024, and is expected to grow 10.7% this year, to a total of $1.08trn. Global ad spend has more than doubled over the last decade, growing 2.8x faster than global economic output since 2014, with more media channels available to marketers than ever before.

The Future of Media 2025 report takes a look at how the endless optionality within the media ecosystem creates new opportunities for marketers to drive effectiveness and deliver growth. It looks at how Google search is being disrupted by social and retail platforms, as well as the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI), and finally, the developments within the retail media and commerce sector and how advertisers can adjust to an environment where commerce is increasingly ‘everywhere’.
Paul Stringer, Managing Editor, Research & Insights, WARC, says: “Today, media is so vast, so complex, and so changeable, that it can be difficult for brands to make sense of it all. As we reach the midpoint of the decade, this is also the most exciting time to be a media planner.“Digital advertising has matured beyond direct-response to support brand-building and long-term effectiveness, advertisers are focusing more on quality over cost when deciding which media environments to advertise in, and signal fidelity is improving thanks to the growth of AI-powered media solutions and an influx of retail media and commerce media networks.“With this report we aim to help marketers navigate these challenges and opportunities as we explore the three key trends set to shape the media and advertising environment this year.”The key trends outlined in The Future of Media 2025 are:Planning in an era of abundanceMedia diversity brings new opportunities for brands to drive growth over the short- and the long-term using smart combinations of different media channels.Planning holistically and choosing the right combination will be different for every brand and vary by context and objective. Media quality, reach and price, will be critical in helping planners determine the optimum stack for brands.As spend and sentiment shifts to channels like social, influencers, podcasts and gaming, new tactics for brand building are emerging. Advertisers are adapting campaigns for platforms where attention is more fleeting, and lots of little exposures need to work together to improve brand outcomes.Across channels like search and social, advertisers will be required to adapt campaigns to fit the preferences of algorithms. This may mean adopting new methods and processes, or putting more trust in AI systems to automate parts of campaign management – even if this means sacrificing autonomy and control.New challenges and opportunities in searchThis year, more than $220bn will be spent on generic search globally, per WARC forecasts, with Google taking more than 80% of the share. However, social media is rivalling Google as the young people’s search platforms of choice for brand discovery.The future of search appears to be about intent rather than information, supported by sophisticated uses of AI.Developments in AI are leading traditional search providers and new entrants to compete to “identify consumer intent in ever more granular ways”. Access to these insights should help brands build a more sophisticated and nuanced understanding of audience behaviours, leading to more personalised and relevant communications.AI-driven search requires a rethinking of search engine optimization (SEO). In the near future, brands may need to optimise messaging and content to ensure they are visible and represented favourably in AI-based search results.This approach – which some are calling Large Language Model Optimisation (LLMO) – will require a different set of skills and processes compared to traditional SEO.Brands may need to adopt more diverse search strategies to account for the growing fragmentation of search experiences across retail and social platforms and variables such as audience, type of search and category.Retail growth fuels commerce media expansionCommerce is increasingly everywhere. Retail media is expanding, reaching $154.8bn in advertising spend globally in 2024 with a further 14.8% rise expected in 2025, per WARC Media. New commerce media platforms are launching, and social commerce is continuing to grow rapidly.Commerce media is becoming the infrastructure that underpins the entire digital advertising ecosystem, and offers brand building potential. Many retail and commerce media platforms now sell ads that allow advertisers to reach consumers across the purchase journey, from awareness all the way through to conversion.Advertisers will need to weigh up these opportunities carefully, supported by holistic measurement that allows them to show the impact of commerce on long-term brand and business metrics.New entrants may struggle to win spend from incumbents. Advertisers already admit to feeling overwhelmed by the number of options available in the commerce space and highlight a lack of standardisation across platforms as their biggest challenge with retailers. In the short-term, this may curtail the growth of new entrants as advertisers prioritise working with just a few large and established networks.Retail spending puts brand budgets at risk. Many advertisers appear to be divesting from traditional advertising channels to spend more on lower-funnel ads on retail media networks. Advertisers should protect traditional advertising budgets to avoid falling into a vicious cycle of weakening their brand, while raising the cost of driving performance on retail media properties.The Future of Media 2025 is based on data and insights from WARC, including WARC’s Marketer’s Toolkit global survey of 1000+ marketing executives, and external research. It is part of WARC’s Evolution of Marketing programme helping marketers address major industry shifts to drive effective marketing, and follows the recent publication of WARC’s The Voice of the Marketer 2025, The Marketer’s Toolkit 2025 and The GEISTE report.WARC members can read the full report. Complementing The Future of Media 2025 and associated reports, are a series of podcasts.

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China’s digital hub Hangzhou hosts conference on AI, OPC

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17 hours ago

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June 30, 2026

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OPC

HANGZHOU, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 June 2026 – The inaugural AI+OPC Innovation and Development Conference was held from June 29 to 30 in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, capital city of east China’s Zhejiang Province. Centered on one-person company (OPC), a new form of smart economy in the AI era, the conference program comprised one opening ceremony and two parallel breakout sessions.

It gathered around 400 delegates from government departments, industry associations, financial institutions, AI enterprises and OPC startup operators across the country. Participants exchanged insights on AI innovation pathways and cross-industry integration strategies, injecting strong impetus into Hangzhou’s ambition to develop a national benchmark hub for AI+OPC entrepreneurship.

A series of key launches and milestone ceremonies took place during the opening segment. Official releases included the 2026 national OPC development observation report, Hangzhou’s 2026–2028 action plan and supporting policies to build a national AI+OPC entrepreneurship hub, and a catalog of actionable AI+OPC application scenarios. Attendees also received an in-depth interpretation of the specifications for AI-enabled OPC community services and evaluation.

The ceremony featured multiple landmark initiatives: plaque awarding for Hangzhou’s priority AI+OPC incubation communities and dedicated observation sites, the official launch of the AI+OPC Community Alliance initiative, and a kickoff marking the official construction of the national AI+OPC entrepreneurship hub.

The open forum session featured keynote speeches from distinguished industry and academic leaders. Speakers included Pan Yunhe, former executive vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at Zhejiang University; Liang Gui, former executive vice governor of Jiangxi Province and ex-director of the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; and Zou Ling, head of Hong Hub, Shangcheng District’s single-member unicorn startup acceleration community, who shared cutting-edge insights from varied perspectives.

A panel dialogue followed, bringing together representatives from Moshu OPC Community (Beijing E-Town), the School of Future Science and Engineering at Soochow University, Qingju Hub · Future Digital Intelligence Port (Shangcheng District), and Puhua Capital for in-depth industry exchanges.

Complementary concurrent events held throughout the conference included an OPC capital-industry matchmaking salon, a symposium on industry-education integration for AI-powered OPC sectors, and a national exchange forum for AI+OPC community practitioners.

OPC has emerged as a vibrant new engine driving economic vitality and underpinning high-quality development. Against the backdrop of a new development era, the inaugural Hangzhou AI+OPC Innovation and Development Conference unites OPC innovators nationwide.

Drawing on the creative energy of millions of independent super-individual operators, the event delivers sustained digital momentum to fuel Hangzhou’s super-individual economy, while rolling out replicable local practices and actionable Hangzhou solutions to advance high-quality growth of smart economies nationwide.

 

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Hainan FTP marks 6-month milestone of special customs operations, signs deals during Hong Kong visit

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1 day ago

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June 30, 2026

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Hong Kong

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 June 2026 – As the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) marked the six-month milestone since the launch of its full special customs operations, a Hainan provincial delegation wrapped up a three-day visit to Hong Kong. During the visit, the delegation signed deepened cooperation agreements with several major local chambers of commerce and promoted the latest policies introduced since the island-wide special customs operations took effect.

According to data released by Hainan Province during the visit, Hainan’s foreign trade has surged since the launch of special customs operations. As of June 17, the province’s total goods imports and exports reached RMB 173.98 billion (approximately US$24 billion), up 54.6% year on year. Imports of zero-tariff goods hit RMB 2.645 billion, a 120% jump that generated tariff savings of RMB 440 million. A total of 172,100 new market entities were registered—a 61% increase—including 1,240 foreign-invested enterprises. Zero-tariff items now account for 74% of all tariff lines, benefiting more than 12,000 market entities.

During the Hong Kong visit, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Hainan Provincial Committee (CCPIT Hainan) signed separate deepened cooperation MOUs with the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. Under the MOUs, the parties will establish a regular liaison mechanism for the periodic exchange of economic and trade information, and will promote collaboration in areas including professional services, green finance, the digital economy, supply chain management, and cultural tourism. Mutual enterprise service desks will be set up to provide consulting services regarding policies and projects. The parties will leverage their complementary strengths to help Chinese mainland enterprises access overseas markets via Hong Kong, while facilitating Hong Kong companies’ entry into the Chinese mainland through Hainan.

The delegation also held talks with the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, exploring ways for British and American businesses to leverage Hainan’s value-added processing tariff exemptions and multifunctional free trade accounts to position themselves in regional supply chains and cross-border investment and financing. HSBC, De Beers, and other British firms are already active in Hainan, and the UK served as the Guest of Honor country at the 2025 China International Consumer Products Expo.

According to industry analysts, amid the shifting international trade landscape, Hainan is leveraging Hong Kong’s “super-connector” role to accelerate its integration with global capital and business networks, while simultaneously offering the Hong Kong business community a policy testing ground for entering the Chinese mainland market.

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Africa’s Grid Constraints Come into Focus as Regional Markets Push Toward Integration

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5 days ago

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June 26, 2026

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Africa

Regional power pools are advancing and renewable pipelines are growing, but the regulatory and financial architecture needed to connect them remains the continent’s most critical infrastructure gap – an issue central to the Power Africa Today conference at AEW 2026

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 25, 2026/APO Group/ –Africa’s electricity demand is projected to nearly double to 2,291 TWh by 2050, requiring an estimated $30 billion in transmission and grid infrastructure investment to unlock and integrate new generation capacity. Yet across the continent, grid systems are struggling to keep pace with rapidly expanding supply pipelines and rising demand.

In Nigeria, repeated nationwide grid collapses as recently as February 2026 underscore the fragility of aging transmission infrastructure. In East Africa, tower failures along the 428 km Loiyangalani-Suswa line temporarily stranded output from Lake Turkana Wind Power – Africa’s largest wind installation. Meanwhile, demand growth pressures are accelerating across North Africa, where electricity consumption is expected to rise by around 50% by 2035, driven by urbanization, desalination projects, and climate-related temperature increases.

Despite these constraints, generation investment continues to accelerate across Africa, particularly in renewables, gas-to-power and hybrid systems. However, without equivalent investment in transmission and interconnection, much of this new capacity risks being underutilized or stranded. This growing imbalance between generation and grid capacity is driving a sharper focus on system-wide planning and regional market design – issues that will be central to the newly launched Power Africa Today conference at African Energy Week 2026. The platform will bring together policymakers, utilities, investors and developers to explore how regional interconnection, cross-border trading frameworks and financing structures can better align generation growth with grid expansion.

Power Markets Experiment with Reform

Alongside infrastructure challenges, Africa’s electricity sector is undergoing gradual – but uneven – market reform. Most countries still operate vertically integrated systems dominated by state utilities, but a growing number are introducing competitive frameworks to attract private capital and improve efficiency.

Zimbabwe opened its electricity market to full private participation across generation, transmission and distribution in 2025, targeting $9 billion in new investment. South Africa is advancing one of the continent’s most ambitious grid expansion programs, with plans for 14,500 km of new transmission lines and 133,000 MVA of transformer capacity by 2034, alongside mechanisms designed to crowd in private financing. Kenya, meanwhile, has introduced open access regulations enabling independent power producers to wheel electricity directly to multiple off-takers, reshaping how generation assets interface with the grid.

Interconnected electricity markets are the foundation of Africa’s industrial future

Regional Integration Remains Fragmented

Efforts to connect Africa’s fragmented power systems are progressing, though at different speeds across regions. In Southern Africa, the World Bank’s RETRADE SAPP program, approved in 2025, is deploying $12 million to strengthen renewable integration and transmission capacity across 12 member states. In East Africa, the Ethiopia–Kenya–Tanzania Electricity Highway is now in trial operations at up to 2,000 MW, marking a significant step toward a more interconnected regional grid.

West Africa is also moving toward deeper integration, with permanent synchronization of the West Africa Power Pool expected in 2026. Analysts, including the African Finance Corporation, argue that such synchronization is critical to unlocking large-scale hydropower potential and industrial demand across the region. Longer term, full synchronization between the Eastern and Southern African power pools – targeted for the end of 2026 – could create one of the world’s largest cross-border electricity trading corridors.

Building Bankable Financial Architectures

While interconnection is advancing, infrastructure alone is not enough to create investable electricity markets. Investors consistently cite the lack of standardized offtake structures, creditworthy counterparties, and cross-border payment guarantees as key barriers to scaling capital deployment.

New models are emerging to address these constraints. Africa GreenCo, operating across Zambia, Namibia and South Africa, is helping to aggregate independent power producers under a single creditworthy intermediary, standardizing power purchase agreements and reducing counterparty risk. At a broader level, AUDA-NEPAD estimates that Africa requires around $30 billion in additional investment to complete priority transmission corridors and establish three fully interconnected regional trading blocs by 2030.

“Interconnected electricity markets are the foundation of Africa’s industrial future,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. “The question at Africa Energy Week is not whether integration is possible – the evidence is already there. The question is which regulatory frameworks and financial structures will get projects to financial close, and which markets will be ready when capital is looking to move.”

The Power Africa Today conference will run alongside AEW 2026, taking place October 12–16 in Cape Town, and will focus on the regulatory, financial and infrastructural architecture needed to build interconnected electricity markets capable of attracting institutional capital and delivering reliable, cross-border power at scale.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

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