Issue #38: Double digit digital growth

The fastest way for digital marketing pros to look smart in the weekly stand-up

September 25, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

☕ Good morning growth gurus

Fresh brew in hand? Breeze through the headlines from the week so far.

🗞️ Top Stories

  1. Digital ad spend set for double digit growth in 2025 & 2026
    IAB UK’s half year ad spend report forecasts c.10% YoY growth in both 2025 and 2026, taking UK digital to c.£45bn in 2026. MarketingWeek

  2. Instagram hits 3 billion monthly users
    Meta states Instagram has surpassed 3 billion monthly active users, underscoring continued scale and growth potential for advertisers. TechCrunch

  3. US prosecutors ask judge to spin off Google’s ad businesses
    In the remedies phase of DOJ v. Google prosecutors have urged the judge to force a breakup of Google’s ad stack. The Verge

  4. ITV introduces Dynamic Pause Ads on ITVX
    ITV rolled out a UK first “Dynamic Pause Ads” format on connected TVs, building on the static pause ads format launched in early 2024. ITV

  5. Mr Beast updates ad practices after review
    Following a Children’s Advertising Review Unit case, Mr Beast agreed to improve ad disclosures, product claims, and data practices for young audiences. The Record

💭 60-Second Take – Double digit digital growth

Fresh forecasts from the IAB point towards c.10% YoY growth for UK digital in 2025 and 2026, taking the market to c.£45bn next year. Despite macro factors, digital keeps compounding as investment continues to follow measurable reach and performance.

What’s driving digital growth?

  • Most new spend flows to the biggest platforms like Google and Meta as digital takes the majority share of incremental growth

  • Search and other performance formats keep delivering reliable results, boosted by automation and AI

  • TV budgets continue to shift towards streaming and YouTube thanks to targeting and measurement capability

  • Retail media is booming due to first-party data and closed loop reporting opportunities

Why does digital keep growing?

  • The large platforms and retailers have the critical mass of data available to target effectively at scale

  • Digital channels can bring more confidence in sales impact versus other channels, with budgets following measurable data

  • The increasing availability of AI products in digital platforms is accelerating performance, testing and creative production, removing long term barriers

  • As consumer trends continue to shift, CTV and streaming brings TV-level reach with digital activation and measurement

The outlook for digital remains strong, with activation, creative, and measurement continuing to converge and work in unison. Advertiser budgets will forever chase accountable outcomes, enabling digital growth.

Growth will continue to follow proof, speed, and control.

Got feedback, suggestions or interested in partnerships? Hit reply and let us know.

See you next time,

Access Adtech