WPP Media has underlined the unstoppable momentum of digital-first media in its Mid-Year Global Advertising Forecast for 2025, released today.
The report, which is part of WPP Media’s This Year Next Year (TYNY) series, said digital advertising continues to dominate, with pure-play digital expected to account for 73.2% of global ad revenue in 2025 — rising to 81.6% when including digital extensions such as streaming TV, DOOH, and digital print.
Most intriguingly for the digital-first community, WPPM said “user-generated content is overtaking professional production. In 2025, more than half of content-driven advertising revenue will come from platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Kuaishou, and Instagram Reels. Creator-generated revenue will hit $184.9 billion this year, up 20% from 2024, and is expected to more than double to $376.6 billion by 2030.”
By contrast, TV (including streaming) will grow by just 1.0% this year, while print advertising continues its decline (-3.1%). Reinforcing the paradigm shift to digital, Search (Intelligence) revenue is expected to grow 7.3% to $226.2 billion in 2025.
WPP Media also touched on AI in its report, saying: “Advertisers are leaning into AI experimentation in production and targeting, seeking cost savings and performance optimisation. Economic pressure is accelerating this trend, though opinions vary on the timeline for adoption of generative AI, virtual assistants, and immersive tech.”
WPP Media was launched in May 2025 as the replacement for WPP’s global media company GroupM. It manages more than $60 billion in annual media investment and works with more than 75% of the world’s leading advertisers in over 80 markets. The division is connected with WPP’s wider global agency networks and capabilities through WPP Open – WPP’s AI-enabled marketing system.
Brian Lesser, CEO of WPP Media, (pictured) said: “WPP Media is built for a world in which media is everywhere and in everything. By investing in our AI-powered product, integrating our offer with data and technology, and equipping our people with future-facing skills, we’re helping our clients to stay ahead of rapidly changing consumer behaviour and unlock the limitless opportunities for growth that AI will create.”
