The media economy is no longer predictable, no longer stable, and no longer negotiable on yesterday’s terms. As we release The Myers Report 2025-2026 Marketing & Media Economic Forecast, our most comprehensive analysis to date, one thing is clear: the ground has shifted. And those who are still building on outdated assumptions will find themselves not just behind — but potentially buried under the weight of irrelevance.
This 75-page report is the culmination of years of research, forecasting, and conversations with leaders at every level of our industry. It’s more than a set of charts and projections — it’s a strategic blueprint for a media ecosystem undergoing radical reinvention. Order your PDF copy of the full report at www.myersreports.com.
Let’s begin where the tremors are most visible: five seismic threats reshaping the entire marketing, advertising, and media economy.
1. A Buyer-Controlled Data Ecosystem
Marketers and media agencies have evolved into technology companies. The holding companies — Publicis, Omnicom, IPG, WPP, and Dentsu — now operate intelligence infrastructures powered by clean rooms, AI-driven planning models, and commerce-integrated data streams. These are no longer just media plans; they’re simulations of future business performance.
Sellers who don’t operate at this level are at a disadvantage before negotiations even begin. When buyers know more than sellers about the audiences, performance, and pricing of the inventory they’re purchasing, it’s not a fair fight. It’s an algorithmic surrender.
2. The Rise of Retail Media and Commerce-Led Competition
Retail media isn’t a trend — it’s the future infrastructure of advertising. Amazon, Walmart Connect, Target Roundel, and Kroger Precision are offering not just impressions, but transactions. They close the loop. They own the point-of-sale data. And they promise results.
Retail media is projected to surpass $72 billion in U.S. investment by 2026 according to The Myers Report, with performance guarantees that even the savviest digital publishers can’t match. What’s more, this category is siphoning budgets not from “advertising” per se but from shopper, promotion, and trade marketing. That’s a whole new competitive set for traditional media companies, and many aren’t prepared.
3. Fragmentation and Programmatic Commoditization
Once upon a time, television was premium. It was exclusive. It was the anchor of media planning. But today, even premium TV inventory is being packaged into audience-based buys, routed through programmatic pipes, and bundled into algorithm-driven decisions.
Our report estimates that over 80% of CTV and digital video will be transacted programmatically by 2026. While this creates scale and efficiency for buyers, it turns high-value placements into commodities unless sellers can create differentiated, outcome-linked offerings. CPMs don’t hold up when your inventory is indistinguishable from someone else’s.
4. Value Dilution in Streaming Video
FAST channels, AVOD inventory, and ad-supported streaming platforms are proliferating at unprecedented speed. While that might suggest a booming opportunity for video advertisers, the reality is more nuanced. As supply balloons, pricing power declines.
The Myers Report anticipates that digital video will outpace linear in overall investment, but we also caution that not all streaming inventory is created equal. Without contextual relevance, premium content, and audience guarantees, streaming faces the same value erosion that display once did. This is not growth — it’s reallocation.
5. Weakening of Legacy Measurement Systems
The Nielsen monopoly is broken. But the marketplace isn’t coalescing around a new standard — it’s splintering. VideoAmp, iSpot, Comscore, and others are in play, but without industry consensus, the result is confusion, mistrust, and inconsistent currency across platforms.
What’s worse, buyers are leveraging this chaos to their advantage –negotiating terms based on the most favorable metrics available, while sellers are left adapting to a fragmented, tactical landscape. In 2025, measurement isn’t a scoreboard — it’s a battleground.
These five threats are not forecasts — they’re realities. They’re happening now. And the question is: How will we respond?
That’s where The Myers Report delivers not just diagnosis but prescription. In this year’s edition, we don’t just analyze, we advise. We provide:
- Economic context and adjusted forecasts that diverge from industry consensus to reflect the actual volatility and demand fragmentation in today’s market
- Retail media deep dives and a breakdown of mid-tier and emerging players eating into promotional budgets
- A detailed blueprint for media sellers to reclaim strategic leverage, with recommendations rooted in The Tao of Leadership in the AI Era
- Insights into AI-powered creative development, the fusion of planning and content, and the rise of generative brand ecosystems
- Side-by-side currency comparisons showing who’s trading on what — and why it matters
- And a Strategic Leadership Framework for marketers, agencies, and sellers to navigate the next decade
In an era where algorithms outthink people, where data trumps intuition, and where agility is more important than scale — this report is your roadmap.
For Corporate Subscribers:
Your full copy of the 2025-2026 Marketing & Media Economic Report has been sent in your regular The Myers Report email subscription. If you believe you’re a subscriber and haven’t received the full document, contact us at MyersReport@gmail.com.
For Non-Subscribers:
You can download the full report for $2,950 or subscribe to the 24-paper 2025 Myers Report series at a special one-week-only 50% discounted rate of $6,000 at www.myersreports.com.
