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5 Key Digital Advertising Trends Marketers Should Watch in 2025

From the rise of curated marketplaces to the growing influence of AI and retail media, marketers will need to rely on foresight and adaptability more than ever to win in 2025. To help you navigate these changes, we’ve gathered predictions and advice from some of Lotame’s leading thought leaders. Read on to discover the key digital advertising trends and strategies that will define success in 2025.

1. Uncertainty with Google Will Create Shifts in the Ad Tech Landscape

“Taking the longer view, Google — whether on its own terms or through antitrust action — will spin off its ad server and refocus on its core strengths in search, YouTube, and, of course, AI. Thought cookie deprecation was disruptive? This will create a whole new level of uncertainty. As DV360 exits center stage, we’ll see a mad dash to find the next-best alternatives, with The Trade Desk poised to absorb the lion’s share of displaced spend. Recent antitrust revelations already show The Trade Desk outpacing DV360 in revenue, but it won’t be the only winner.

This shake-up will also create rare breathing space for independent ad servers to make their mark, offering a fresh, more flexible approach for those looking to break free from the Google ecosystem. Publishers, meanwhile, will be stuck in limbo once again, scrambling to find solutions to fill the void left by Google.” – Chris Hogg, Lotame’s Chief Revenue Officer

Our Advice: Marketers should prepare for significant shifts in the ad tech ecosystem. Diversify your tech stack by including alternatives such as The Trade Desk and independent ad servers, to ensure flexibility and resilience.

2. The Rise of Curation Will Redefine Programmatic Advertising

“Skepticism of programmatic open marketplaces is growing, and 2025 will see widespread adoption of sell-side curation and audience activations by way of private marketplaces, in the pursuit of efficiency, transparency, and performance. This will present a much-needed win-win for buyers and sellers alike: buyers gain direct access to quality inventory and addressable audiences at scale, while media owners grow revenues through curation-fueled demand and improve control of their hard-earned first-party data.

Curation’s critics will dismiss it as just a new version of the old ad network model, but this misses the point. Unlike the opaque ‘black box’ practices of ad networks — which ultimately led to their demise — curation offers a level of transparency and quality control that advertisers have been demanding for years. This evolution will turn curation into the premium version of ad networks that are more transparent, more selective, and focused on top-tier audiences and inventory that best align with advertiser objectives.” – Eli Heath, Lotame’s SVP Global Addressability 

Our Advice: Digital marketers should embrace curated marketplaces to capture consumer attention across high-quality inventory, high-performing inventory. For media owners, curation offers a chance to drive demand and maximize first-party data value.

3. Data Consolidation Will Create a Competitive Edge

“In 2025, expect to see widespread consolidation between Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), enrichment tools, clean rooms, and identity resolution solutions. These once distinct technologies are merging into unified platforms, with Snowflake in the best position to become the data solutions standard bearer. The industry will finally move beyond the messy patchwork of data, and potentially solve stubborn challenges such as measurement and attribution by linking ad exposure to hard business metrics like point-of-sale data.

Standalone tools won’t survive this consolidation; they’ll either be acquired, diversify, or close their doors. Third-party data will find a new lease on life in appending valuable characteristics to linked audiences. Perhaps it will be rebranded as ‘enrichment data’ to make its benefits more clear and shed its shady reputation? Either way, those with the most access to data and the ability to connect it will have a tremendous advantage in what will remain a fragmented ecosystem.” – Alexandra Theriault, Lotame’s Chief Growth Officer

Advice: Invest in unified data platforms that simplify measurement and attribution. Use enrichment data to build stronger audience profiles and gain a competitive advantage.

4. AI Will Be Essential for Success in 2025

“After a year of experimentation, AI’s use cases and necessity will solidify in 2025. If you’re an ad tech company and you don’t have AI capabilities — whether built or bought — you’ll be left behind. 2024 already saw new AI-driven startups challenging established players, and this competition will only get fiercer. From creative optimization to audience targeting, AI will become table stakes for remaining competitive. Expect budgets to pour into its development.
It’s less clear how AI will shake out for the big tech players who are betting the farm on its success. Record valuations, eye-watering data center costs, and even proposed nuclear power stations are banking on profits that have yet to materialize to the extent required for such immense spending. 2025 will be the year investors come knocking for their returns, which might lead to some uncomfortable pivots toward profitability for cash-burning AI giants.” – Fred Marthoz, VP Revenue & Global Partnerships

Advice: Integrate AI-driven tools into your strategies for audience targeting and creative optimization. Allocate budget to develop or adopt competitive AI technologies.

5. Retail Media Will Solidify as a Key Digital Channel

“By 2025, retail media will solidify its position as a significant digital advertising channel, with Latin American retailers continuing to lead the growth. Data and performance will remain key differentiators, but retailers must demonstrate transparency and value to attract diverse brand investments. Those who have data have a competitive advantage. How retailers harness that data to prove return on ad spend and proof of performance will separate the leaders from the followers.

However, the cost of media may become a major sticking point and barrier to entry for attracting more diverse brand dollars. There’s only so much marketing budget to go around so retailers need to be as transparent as possible about why that media is so valuable and what they can actually deliver in terms of ROI. Partnerships will be crucial for businesses looking to optimize their retail media strategies, ensuring seamless implementation and maximizing return on investment.” – Sebastian Yoffe, Managing Director in LATAM

Advice: Prioritize transparency and data utilization in retail media campaigns. Build partnerships to optimize retail media strategies and maximize ROI.