Ad revenue grew more than 10% in Q2, with digital advertising nearing 16% growth, continuing what EMARKETER calls “a trend of steady gains in 2025 despite tariff headwinds.”
That digital ad growth, as calculated by Madison and Wall, is more than the 15% growth seen in Q1 and accounts for an approximate 70% share of all U.S. ad spend.
(Source: Madison and Wall)
“Within digital advertising, search grew by approximately 10%, social media platforms and commerce media each grew by around 20%, and other digital grew by 6%,” according to the report.
Looking ahead, Madison and Wall’s CEO Brian Wieser forecasts an 8% rise in advertising for the year. More broadly, in its look at AI and search, Madison and Wall did not see “tangible results” nor does it foresee a large market for AI-related search advertising.
“Paid search on AI platforms can certainly be a growth driver for individual companies in the medium term,” the report says. “However, we doubt that advertisers’ budgets change as a result (other than shifting money within their search-specific budgets).”
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