WARC's latest Global Ad Trends report has highlighted a significant decline in global newsbrand advertising expenditure, with forecasts predicting a fall to US$32.3 billion by 2025 - marking a decline of 33.1% since 2019. The report underscores a notable shift in advertising spend from professionally produced content to user-generated content and 'creator-journalists'.

Currently, 51% of global ad spend is directed towards professionally-produced content, a reduction from 72% in 2019. This shift is attributed to brands increasingly using keyword blocklists to avoid placing advertisements alongside hard news content, resulting in many serious news stories remaining unmonetised.

"Brands have become increasingly squeamish about hard news content. Keyword blocking hinders the ability of publishers to monetise newsworthy moments, while ad investment is increasingly shifting from professional journalism to ‘creator-journalists’," said Head of Content at WARC Media, Alex Brownsell.

In response to these changes, media agencies are introducing 'quality CPM' measures. These measures aim to better reflect the effectiveness of campaigns placed against professionally produced journalism. Despite these efforts, the report suggests that by 2026, user-generated content will overtake professional media in terms of ad spend.

The report also highlights regional variations in advertising trends. In the UK, only 3.7% of total TV ad spend was allocated to news programming in 2024. In contrast, the US sees pharmaceutical brands accounting for 12% of national TV ad sales, making them integral for news broadcasters. Meanwhile, India is experiencing a 6% year-on-year growth in newsbrand ad spend, defying global trends.

Traditional media is facing challenges due to the rise of digital platforms and AI-generated content. News publishers are investing in technology, artificial intelligence, and multiplatform strategies to attract advertisers. CNN, for instance, has developed a neuro-linguistic AI tool to assess brand suitability across various media formats.

A survey conducted by Stagwell found that 85% of executives in the EMEA region believe that advertising on news media is a good investment. Additionally, research by Newsworks and Peter Field indicates that campaigns run in trusted news environments saw an 88% uplift in profit growth between 2018 and 2022.

Global President of Business Intelligence at GroupM, Kate Scott-Dawkins, said: "As spend from the long tail of advertisers continues to outpace growth from the top 200, UGC is likely to dominate even more."