Horizons: The Future of Media, Marketing & AI

The biggest shifts shaping audience behaviour in the next 12–18 months:

• LinkedIn Moves Beyond B2B:
  LinkedIn is rapidly expanding beyond its traditional role as a professional networking platform. New creator tools, influencer marketplaces, and Connected TV integrations are enabling brands to reach highly specific audiences using rich professional data. For both B2B and B2C marketers, LinkedIn is becoming an increasingly powerful awareness and targeting channel.

• Connected TV Becomes Actionable:
  CTV is evolving from a brand awareness channel into a measurable performance channel. New formats allow viewers to interact directly with ads, add products to baskets, and move seamlessly between TV and mobile devices. Combined with improved attribution, TV is becoming more accessible, accountable, and commercially effective.

• Cross-Device Measurement Matters More Than Ever:
  Consumers move constantly between screens, platforms, and environments. Understanding how TV, outdoor, mobile, social, and search influence each other is becoming critical. Marketers can no longer rely on individual platforms to measure success in isolation; cross-channel measurement is now essential.

• First-Party Data Is Becoming a Competitive Advantage:
  Google’s latest AI-driven advertising capabilities increasingly rely on CRM and customer journey data. Businesses that can connect lead quality, customer behaviour, and conversion signals directly into advertising platforms will gain significant advantages in targeting, bidding, and optimisation.

• The Rise of AI-Native Advertising:
  Search is evolving beyond keywords into conversational discovery. New AI-powered ad formats are appearing directly within search conversations, creating opportunities for brands to influence decisions much earlier in the customer journey. Visibility within AI ecosystems is becoming as important as visibility within traditional search results.

• Commerce Is Moving Closer to Discovery:
  From Google’s universal shopping experiences to shoppable TV and social commerce, the gap between discovery and purchase continues to shrink. Consumers increasingly expect to move from inspiration to transaction without leaving the platform they are using.

• TikTok’s Search Ambitions Accelerate:
  TikTok is continuing its transformation into a discovery and search platform. New search hubs, creator-led brand experiences, and local discovery tools are positioning TikTok as a serious competitor for product research, recommendations, and location-based discovery, particularly among younger audiences.

• Authenticity Continues to Win:
  Across social platforms, highly polished content is losing ground to more authentic, community-driven experiences. Meta’s latest product developments reflect growing demand for smaller networks, private sharing, and content that feels personal rather than performative.

• Communities Become Strategic Assets:
  As AI increasingly draws information from discussions, recommendations, and user-generated content, communities are becoming more valuable. Platforms such as Reddit, forums, and emerging community spaces are influencing both consumer decision-making and AI-generated recommendations.

• Data Readiness Is No Longer Optional:
  Many of the biggest platform changes are being driven by AI and machine learning. Success increasingly depends on having clean, structured data that can be used across advertising, measurement, customer journeys, and AI systems. Organisations that invest now will be better positioned for the next wave of digital transformation.

Horizons explores what’s happening now, and what’s coming next.

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