What are the biggest advertising shifts to prepare for over the next 12–18 months—and how should marketers respond across YouTube, synthetic audiences, AI-driven discovery, platform “AI wars,” and the resurgence of traditional media like TV and out-of-home?
In this Q4 2025 edition of Horizons, we recap recent audience interests (especially Performance Max and practical AI) before diving into what’s changing fastest in the media landscape. We explore new YouTube capabilities (including emerging brand measurement and lift reporting), argue that Shorts is being underestimated versus TikTok/Reels for key age segments, and frame YouTube as both a living-room screen and social environment that deserves more strategic creative and budget attention.
Introducing “synthetic audiences” as a research and planning accelerant: AI-driven personas trained on real, longitudinal qualitative/quantitative data that can be queried like an always-on focus group to stress-test creative, comms, and channel plans—without pretending it’s a “real human.” The episode also examines an emerging “two-tier internet” where AI agents transact directly with sites (and the disruption this creates for ecommerce, SEO, and brand visibility), plus Meta’s Andromeda shift toward broader targeting and heavier creative dependence—raising concerns about brand control, workload, and trust.
Finally, they argue “traditional” is becoming newly accessible: ITV (and Channel 4) are bringing programmatic-style targeting into linear TV, lowering barriers for advertisers, and even offering tools/support to create ads—while maintaining stricter governance than many social platforms. Out-of-home is also evolving rapidly through scalable 3D/anamorphic formats, new pricing tiers, and programmatic consolidation, enabling high-impact, hyper-local domination without “costing the world.”
What you'll learn:
- The newest YouTube updates (Brand Pulse, search lift) and why Shorts deserves more budget + creative focus
- How “synthetic audiences” work—and how to use them to stress-test strategy and creative fast
- What the emerging “two-tier internet” means for SEO, ecommerce, and being visible to AI assistants
- Why Meta’s Andromeda shift changes targeting, creative demands, and brand control risks
- How TV is becoming programmatic (especially via ITV/Channel 4) and what that unlocks for smaller advertisers
- What’s changing in out-of-home (3D/anamorphic tiers, programmatic scale) and how to use it for high-impact local domination
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