U.S. advertisers are projected to spend $664.2 billion on media in 2026, marking a robust 9.4% increase from 2025 and underscoring the industry's accelerating pivot toward digital and data-driven channels over traditional offline media, according to Winterberry Group's latest annual forecast.
The projection comes from the firm's 20th consecutive report, “Outlook for Advertising, Marketing and Data 2026: Continuous Evolution.” The analysis, led by Senior Managing Partner Bruce Biegel, highlights how artificial intelligence (AI), major global events, and political advertising are fueling faster-than-expected growth following a stable — but resilient — 2025.
In 2025, total U.S. advertising, marketing, and related data spending reached $607.4 billion — significantly surpassing Winterberry's earlier forecast of $585 billion — thanks to a stronger-than-anticipated second half of the year despite economic headwinds like tariff impacts.
Looking ahead to 2026, several key catalysts are expected to drive the uptick:
- Political advertising tied to U.S. midterm elections, projected to contribute more than $10 billion in incremental spend.
- Major global sporting events, including the World Cup and Winter Olympics, boosting ad buys.
- Surging investments in AI, with related data and infrastructure spending forecasted to hit $30 billion in 2025 levels and continue growing (marketing-related data services projected to reach $33 billion in 2026, an 8.7% rise).
- Digital channels are capturing an increasing share of the budget, with online marketing expected to grow by around 11.1% in recent trends, while traditional offline media continues to lose ground in this ongoing structural shift.
Overall, the report portrays a dynamic landscape where AI is moving rapidly from experimental investment to practical application, reshaping talent needs, measurement approaches, and the convergence of search, media, and commerce — even as challenges remain around enterprise data readiness for AI ambitions.