5 Trends Shaping the Ad Industry Over the Next 5 Years

Welcome back to Funnel Vision, the weekly newsletter that puts performance creative & growth marketing in focus. Brought to you by the crew at Ready Set.

Here’s what’s inside this issue:

• The 5-year trends that will define advertising and marketing
• What you can do now to advance your brand (and career)
• How to use a classic copywriting framework to create modern hit ads

Reading time: 6 minutes

5 Trends Shaping the Ad Industry Over the Next 5 Years

The Ready Set senior leadership team just got back from our annual offsite in Buenos Aires, where much of our team is based.?

We shared maté, enjoyed an asado, and even belted out some karaoke.?

Amidst all that fun, we also dove deep into the top trends that we feel will shape advertising over the next five years. Here are our predictions—and how to get ahead.

Trend #1: Privacy kills the old playbook

What’s happening

Tightening privacy regulations and shifting platform policies will force advertisers to rethink how they measure performance.?This is already happening:

• Google’s flip-flopping on the fate of the cookie has left more questions than answers
• Meta’s tightening restrictions on how sensitive data is tracked

Meanwhile, data is increasingly locked in the walled gardens of large platforms, fragmenting information and complicating attribution.

So what?

With fewer direct signals, traditional attribution will become increasingly unreliable.

As third-party data vanishes, advertisers must test and adapt faster. Strategies must pivot toward broader, creative-driven approaches. Creative diversity and volume will be the fuel for this testing—more ads will equal more opportunities to pinpoint what works.

Where to go from here

• Double down on first-party data (email, SMS, loyalty programs) to replace lost third-party insights.
• Adopt alternative measurement (incrementality tests and marketing mix modeling) instead of solely using in-platform tools.
• Understand that creative is increasingly the main lever for reaching the right audience in a privacy-first world.

Trend #2: AI is table stakes—creativity is the differentiator

What’s happening??

AI is making creative production cheaper and faster, so anyone can churn out ads at scale.?

Yet consumers crave genuine experiences and stories. As AI-generated content becomes more ubiquitous and saturated, people will increasingly turn to influencers, creators, and brands sharing authentic and genuinely entertaining and informative content.

So what???

AI will increasingly free us from manual tasks. But treating it as a replacement for creativity is a mistake.

Brands that embrace human-centric storytelling and creativity—while using AI to help those stories reach more of the right people—will win the lion’s share of engagement and loyalty.

Where to go from here

• Leverage AI for speed and scale, but the human touch for impact touch.?
• Understand where AI truly excels and lean in.
• Develop a strong brand point of view and narrative to stand out.
• Embrace influencer and creator partnerships—UGC is the key to authentic content.

Trend #3: Attention is the new currency

What’s happening??

People are drowning in content. Attention is an increasingly rare commodity, and consumers are far more selective about how they spend it.

So what?

The culprit isn’t shrinking attention spans. It’s a growing intolerance for interruptions. Winning ads, therefore, are not considered interruptions, but part of the experience.

“Nobody reads advertising. People read what interests them; and sometimes it’s an ad.”

Replace “read” with “watch” and this quote by Mad Men-era ad man Howard Luck Gossage rings truer today than it ever has.

The window to capture attention is razor thin. Transforming that attention into interest is an even stiffer challenge. Brands must become masterful at crafting content that complements, not interrupts, the experience of the audience.

What next

Creative diversity, ad volume, and personalization are key.

• Diversify your creative concepts. More angles = more chances of finding what resonates.
• Deploy a higher volume of creative. Iterate every concept to increase testing volume.
• Personalize ads by working with a wide range of creators. People must see themselves in your content.

Also, get really good at crafting thumbstopping hooks that capture attention.

Trend #4: The shift beyond DTC

What’s happening??

As online growth opportunities near saturation, DTC brands will seek to tap retail partnerships, influencer-driven social commerce, and offline expansions.

So what?

As this shift accelerates, ads will evolve into highly interactive experiences. Live-shopping will become more popular as consumers become comfortable purchasing directly from their social feeds. Alternative channels and formats—like CTV and even good ol’ brick-and-mortar retail—will become the next goldmines.

Measuring offline activations will be complex, but they will also unlock new revenue streams for brands willing to innovate.

What next

• Consider testing social commerce while adapting creative for CTV and streaming.?
• Look for partnerships that unlock fresh distribution channels.?
• Explore interactive, real-time shopping to get ahead in a marketplace where physical and digital worlds increasingly intersect.

Trend #5: Agencies go big or go niche

What’s happening

Agencies are a core pillar of the advertising industry, making the shifts they undergo of interest to all marketers and advertisers.

We predict agencies splitting into two camps:

• Sprawling “super agencies” offering everything under one roof, or;
• Niche shops specializing in one core service.

The recent Omnicom–Interpublic mega-merger, a $13.3B deal to create the world's largest ad agency, could signal a wave of consolidation. That leaves agencies with a choice: expand services to compete, get snapped up by a larger firm, or niche down.?

So what?

If this trend gains momentum, mid-sized agencies may struggle to stand out. Marketers could face fewer, more extreme choices—go with a giant global agency that covers every service or choose a nimble boutique with a razor-sharp focus and specialty.

What next

If you’re in-house: Understand where you need support. Larger agencies can likely bundle services more efficiently, while more specialized ones can better tackle specific channels and opportunities.

If you’re an agency: Decide whether to differentiate with either depth (niche expertise) or breadth (full-funnel capabilities).

The bottom line

Here’s a recap of the five trends we see shaping the advertising industry in the next five years:

1. Privacy regulations and platform changes are forcing advertisers to rely on first-party data, creative-driven targeting, and new measurement models.
2. AI will automate and optimize campaigns at scale, but human-centric storytelling and authentic content will set brands apart.
3. People tune out most ads, so brands must craft highly engaging, personalized creative that feels like part of the user’s experience.
4. As DTC models reach their limits, brands will expand into retail, live shopping, and immersive platforms for fresh growth opportunities.
5. Agencies will either offer everything under one roof or specialize in their niche.

The next five years belong to brands that can adapt—adapt to rapidly changing privacy rules, changing consumer preferences, and the ever-growing influence of AI.

CLICKABLE LINKS?????

?? If you’re wondering just what media mix modeling actually is, here’s a handy explainer.

?? Meta’s AI wants to slide into your DMs. Best delete those messages professing your love for ChatGPT.

?? Meta is also building the world’s longest undersea internet cable to connect five continents. At 50,000 kilometers, it’s long enough to circle Earth—but not quite enough to wrap around Zuck’s ego.

??? TikTok is making moves to expand live-stream shopping in more regions, looking to replicate the success of this feature in China, where it’s the largest revenue driver.

?? Creators are suing companies behind discount coupon-finding browser extensions, claiming the services are claiming the services are stealing their affiliate commissions.

AD OF THE WEEK ??

Come, learn from this staggeringly simple yet wildly successful ad from DoorDash.

Hope you’re not hungry.

Brand: DoorDash Length: 12 seconds Platform: Meta

WHY IT WORKS ??

???AIDA in action – Mouthwatering visuals hook attention, compelling benefits build interest and desire, and a strong offer (no delivery fee) seals the deal—perfectly illustrating how the classic AIDA framework drives results.

???Native platform fit – Quick cuts, text overlays, and a short 12-second runtime align perfectly with Meta’s Reels format, showcasing why it’s essential to tailor creative elements for each platform’s best practices.

???Relatable scenarios convert – By featuring everyday moments (like being too tired to cook), the ad helps viewers see themselves using DoorDash, making the service feel both convenient and indispensable.

That’s all for this week

Thanks for reading! Seeya next time ??

Dan Moran & Sambou Makalou @ Ready Set