Digital Marketing News Digest: Top Advertising & AI Trends- Sep’25

Here’s a digest of the top advertising news from the past week (September 2–9, 2025), curated from the leading sources across display, programmatic, ecommerce, social, and AI/ML. This week’s stories highlight emerging trends in premium ad pricing, data-driven retail and ecommerce expansions, cutting-edge innovations in creative automation, and major platform shifts impacting campaign performance. Each point includes a direct link to the original article for deeper exploration and future referencing.

Summary:

• Streaming Surge: Streaming ad spend is accelerating as brands shift away from linear TV, with 18% YoY growth in streaming revenues.
• AI Everywhere: Advancements in AI are fueling programmatic buying, creative production, and targeting precision across channels.
• Social Shake-up: Instagram is outpacing Facebook in the EU, with TikTok and Threads also gaining impressive traction for advertisers.
• Ad Transparency: Regulatory and legal actions, particularly around Google, are prompting deeper transparency and disclosure in digital advertising.

Display Advertising

• Commission fines Google €2.95 billion over abusive practices: The European Commission fined Google for distorting competition in display advertising, intensifying regulatory scrutiny of big tech’s advertising platforms. Read More
• Google Ads Lets You Select Location Assets Through Google Maps: Easily add up to 10 business locations to campaigns directly from Google Maps, streamlining campaign setup and multi-location management. Read More
• India’s advertising market to grow by 7.8% in 2025: As display ad demand rises, India’s ad market is set to hit ₹1,37,099 crore, driven by digital’s performance and new sector entrants. Read More

Programmatic Advertising

• AI Curation & Out-of-Home Growth: AI-powered brand safety, sell-side curation, and digital out-of-home are defining trends for programmatic, signaling a coming renaissance for open internet campaigns. Read More
• Display & Video 360 to deprecate low-use metrics: Google’s platform will retire seldom-used programmatic features and reporting metrics, pushing advertisers to adopt more automated approaches. Read More
• Women in Programmatic Leadership – The Women in Programmatic Network partners with AdExchanger for Programmatic I/O NY, hosting exclusive roundtables and launching tools to elevate women’s voices in ad tech. Read More

Ecommerce Advertising

• Rohlik Bets on Retailer Ads – European online grocer Rohlik Group is ramping up its advertising business, selling space to food brands and offering data solutions as it prepares for a potential IPO. Read More
• WPP Cuts Global Growth Forecast – WPP Media lowered its 2025 global ad revenue growth forecast to 6%, highlighting uncertainty but projecting ongoing digital ad expansion. Read More
• Retail Marketing Nationalism – As seen in India’s toothpaste wars, retail and ecommerce brands are using local-vs-global messaging to shift consumer loyalty, responding to macroeconomic and political pressures. Read More

Social Media Advertising

• Social Platforms Restored in Turkey – Major social media services were restored in Turkey following brief government-imposed restrictions, impacting social ad campaign timelines for global brands. Read More
• LinkedIn’s Video Ad Push – LinkedIn has deepened its video ad strategy by onboarding new publishers and creators, enabling brands like AT&T Business and IBM to sponsor exclusive shows, expanding video ad formats for marketers. Read More
• American Eagle’s Viral Social Campaign – The Sydney Sweeney ad for American Eagle trended on social media, boosting share value and demonstrating influencer power in retail advertising. Read More

Stay ahead in digital advertising—read the latest updates in our AdTech News section covering trends, tools, and tech shifts. Perfect for marketers and advertisers tracking innovation in programmatic and AI-driven media.

Top 3 AI and ML Tools and Enhancements

• AI-Driven Retail Expansion – Amazon and competitors are scaling AI investment, signaling that retail media and ecommerce ad infrastructure will gain new automation and targeting enhancements. Read More
• AI in Digital Media Buying – WPP and Meta are developing and deploying new AI-based tools for ad buying, driven by economic uncertainty and the need for smarter digital ad targeting. Read More
• Lumen5’s AI video creation soars in popularity: Marketers use AI-powered templates and automated script generation to turn blog and product listings into platform-optimized video ads faster than ever. Read More

That’s a wrap on this week’s most impactful advertising news—check the linked sources for deep-dive details, industry stats, and forward-looking perspectives. As always, stay tuned for next week’s digest for another round of the latest trends and innovations in the ad world.