The U.S. marketing and advertising economy is entering 2026 with renewed momentum. Headline growth remains positive. But the story beneath the headline is where strategy, risk, and opportunity truly reside.
The Myers Report’s 2026 forecast shows total U.S. marketing and advertising growing at approximately +6% year over year. On the surface, this aligns with optimistic projections published by other industry forecasters. Yet aggregate growth masks widening divergence across categories, platforms, and business models.
The most important insight is not how much the market grows, but where that growth is coming from, and what it means for marketers, media companies, agencies, and investors planning beyond the next budget cycle.
Three Signals Every Industry Leader Should Understand
- Growth is increasingly concentrated, not broad-based
A small number of categories are doing the heavy lifting. Retail media and shopper marketing, digital video, social marketing, experiential formats, and advanced addressable media are driving the majority of market expansion. These channels share common characteristics: proximity to commerce, measurable outcomes, and closed or semi-closed ecosystems. This concentration creates opportunity for some players and is mounting pressure for others. - Legacy media growth looks stronger in headline years than in baseline reality
The Myers Report forecasts legacy media growing approximately +4.0% in 2026 when political advertising and the Olympics are included. When those cyclical events are excluded, underlying legacy growth falls to approximately +1.5%.
This distinction matters. Event-driven growth does not resolve structural challenges related to pricing power, audience fragmentation, or measurement credibility. Planning based solely on headline numbers risks overestimating sustainable momentum.
- Public forecasts often obscure structural stress lines
Many widely cited industry forecasts incorporate fast-growing categories such as retail media, social, search, and digital video into total-market growth figures. This can make the market appear healthier than it is for traditional television, print-originated media, and certain linear channels. The Myers Report separates cyclical lift from structural trends, allowing decision-makers to see which categories are expanding due to fundamental demand and which are relying on temporary tailwinds.
What Paid Subscribers Receive in the Full Report?
The full Myers Report 2026 forecast, available exclusively to paid subscribers, delivers:
- Category-by-category percentage growth and decline analysis across the entire marketing ecosystem.
- Clear identification of structural winners, cyclical beneficiaries, and long-term decliners
- Contextual comparison to forecasts from MAGNA, Madison & Wall, dentsu, and others, with interpretation of why those numbers differ.
- Strategic implications for marketers, media owners, agencies, and investors planning for 2026 and beyond.
- A clear framework for separating signal from noise in headline growth narratives
This is not a collection of optimistic projections. It is an analytical map of where leverage is shifting in the marketing economy.
Why This Matters Now.
Budget decisions made in the next six months will shape competitive positioning for years. Leaders who understand where growth is real, where it is temporary, and where it is structurally eroding will outperform those who rely on aggregate market optimism.
The full report is designed to support those decisions.
Paid subscribers can access the complete 2026 Myers Report Forecast including projected percent growth/decline data for 43 marketing and media categories below. If you are a corporate subscriber and are not able to access the full report below, email myersreport@gmail.com or send a message via Substack.
If you are not yet a subscriber, this is the moment to upgrade.
The Myers Report. Market intelligence for leaders who need clarity, not comfort.
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