Digital Ad Landscape Shifts: Growth Amidst Key Challenges

IAB Europe released its inaugural Attitudes to Digital Advertising Report, detailing a European digital advertising ecosystem that is expanding in scale and sophistication while facing structural and operational challenges. Building on a decade of programmatic insights, the report covers display, video, connected TV (CTV), and digital audio, drawing on input from over 170 respondents across more than 25 markets between October and November 2025. Key findings show digital investment continuing to rise, with more than two-thirds expecting increased investment or revenue in the next 12 months. Programmatic maturity is strongest in display and video; CTV and audio lag due to visibility gaps. Major barriers include fraud, brand safety, viewability, transparency, and measurement/data usage challenges. CTV is highlighted as the strongest growth opportunity, with AI and retail media also flagged as significant. The report emphasizes the need for greater standardisation, clearer measurement frameworks, and broader ecosystem collaboration to sustain growth.