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Media Ocean has released its 2026 H1 Advertising Outlook Report, outlining the growing confidence in investing in digital media, as well as the challenges in implementing artificial intelligence in marketing operations.
Based on a survey conducted in November 2025 among more than 6,100 respondents from brands, agencies, media companies, and technology providers, the report found that generative AI remains the leading consumer trend for the third consecutive quarter, cited by 70 percent of marketers.
While 43% of marketers reported using AI for data analysis and the same percentage for market research, adoption rates dropped closer to campaign execution. Only 33 percent used AI for creative development and 19 percent for orchestration, revealing a disconnect between insight generation and actual deployment.
The report notes that media investments in connected TV and digital video are increasing, with 63% of marketers planning to increase spending in both areas. Social platforms followed at 61 percent, followed by AI-driven advertising, which includes ads on AI agents, at 54 percent. In contrast, print and linear TV remained under pressure.
Despite enthusiasm for AI, marketers cite several obstacles to expanding its use.
42% cited data quality or access issues, and 41% said they face challenges connecting AI insights across systems. Even though 86% emphasized the importance of cross-channel orchestration, only 10% of respondents reported having fully integrated ad tech systems in place.
Marketers are shifting their priorities from channel-level optimization to system-wide intelligence. 39% cite AI as a top area of focus, and the same percentage cite cross-platform orchestration.
“As AI becomes more deeply integrated into the media lifecycle, the benefits will come not from deploying more tools, but from coordinating them,” said Aaron Goldman, chief marketing officer at MediaOcean. “This research shows marketers are ready to move from experimentation to execution, but fragmented systems are slowing progress.”
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Mediaocean explained that the orchestration gap is a growing concern due to the increasing complexity of the media environment and rising expectations for integrated planning, activation, measurement, and optimization.
The full 2026 H1 Advertising Outlook Report is available on the Media Ocean website.
