Content material created by people on platforms reminiscent of YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram is forecast to generate extra international promoting income this yr than all conventional media mixed.
In response to new analysis by WPP Media, 2025 would be the first yr by which greater than half of all content-driven promoting spend is directed at user-generated platforms. It underscores a sweeping transformation in viewers habits and media economics, with smartphones and short-form video apps on the coronary heart of a “huge cultural shift”.
Consumer-generated materials — together with creator-made movies, podcasts, and social media posts — is projected to develop its promoting, model deal, and sponsorship income by 20% this yr. Trying forward, the sector is predicted to greater than double in measurement by 2030, hitting $376.6 billion (£278.3 billion).
Though the road between professionally produced and creator-made content material is more and more blurred — with many influencers working at excessive manufacturing requirements — WPP’s evaluation suggests a reordering of media energy. The report warns that this rising dominance of personalised, creator-led media is “profoundly impacting” the standard panorama.
“Media consumption has become deeply personalised,” the report notes. “Audiences increasingly gravitate toward content that reflects their identity or beliefs, often shared by creators they follow closely. This is changing not just viewing patterns, but the way brands engage with consumers.”
With platforms reminiscent of YouTube appearing as important “plumbing” for contemporary media distribution, conventional broadcasters are below mounting stress to adapt. Many, together with ITV and Channel 4, have already made substantial strikes to embed their content material on social platforms. Channel 4, as an example, has considerably elevated its funding in TikTok and YouTube because it targets youthful audiences.
However that pivot comes at a value. UK broadcasters are concurrently contending with declining promoting income and rising content material prices. ITV just lately introduced sweeping modifications to its daytime output, whereas Channel 4 is controversially establishing an in-house studio to diversify its earnings streams.
Douglas McCabe, CEO of Enders Evaluation, mentioned the pace of the transition had shocked the business. “We’ve seen a huge cultural shift in a very short period,” he mentioned. “Advertising revenue has followed that pattern. Traditional media now faces a massive challenge to clearly communicate the value of its editorial standards, fact-based reporting, and regulated output.”
The dominance of the digital advert area can also be more and more concentrated. Simply 5 tech giants — Google, Meta, ByteDance (TikTok), Amazon, and Alibaba — accounted for 54% of all international promoting income final yr, additional illustrating how user-driven platforms have eclipsed the legacy mannequin.
Because the creator financial system continues to flourish, the message is evident: the centre of gravity in media and promoting has shifted — and it now lies within the fingers of creators, not conglomerates.
