Nielsen's 2025 global media planning guide highlights key convergence trends

Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data, and analytics, has released its 2025 Global Media Planning Guide, offering insights into the shifting media landscape. The guide highlights three key trends shaping how brands connect with audiences: balancing traditional and digital media, seizing the opportunity in retail media advertising, and planning for generational shifts in media consumption habits.  

Trend 1: Balancing Traditional and Digital Media

The report emphasizes the need for nuanced and adaptable global media strategies. While digital platforms are growing, traditional TV remains a significant part of global media consumption.  

• In the U.S., streaming made up about 40% of audiences' total TV time in the first half of 2024, and 77% of homes were reached by CTV devices.  

• In contrast, in Poland, traditional TV viewership continues to dominate, with only about 8% of time spent streaming in the first half of 2024.  

• Nielsen's analysis shows the share of time spent with streaming varies across markets.  

   
  • In Poland, streaming holds 8.2% share, compared to cable (6.3%), satellite (33.2%), and terrestrial (22.2%).  
     
  • In the U.S., streaming holds a 38.3% share, compared to broadcast (30.2%) and cable (28.1%).    

• The gap between linear TV and CTV continues to grow in the U.S.  

Trend 2: Seizing the Opportunity in Retail Media Advertising

Retail media advertising is rapidly evolving, with 68% of global marketers considering it more crucial to their strategies than the previous year.  

• Amazon ad spend in Japan shows consistent month-over-month growth.  

• However, this trend varies across industry segments.  

   
  • In the U.K., about a third of top electronics advertisers allocate 20% of media budgets to Amazon.  
     
  • In contrast, 12 of the top 30 leading cosmetics brands spend very little on Amazon.    

• Nielsen's analysis also shows industries are investing in retail media networks at different rates.  

   
  • In the U.K., electronics advertisers allocate 11.9% of ad spend to retail media, compared to television (38.9%), internet (14.6%), social (10.9%), radio (9.9%), outdoor (4.7%), and press (2%).    
  • Cosmetics advertisers allocate 2% of ad spend to retail media, compared to television (61.4%), social (19.1%), internet (10.9%), and outdoor (8.5%).     

Trend 3: Planning for the Generational Shift in Media Consumption Habits

A significant generational shift is reshaping global media consumption habits. Younger generations are embracing digital media, while older generations maintain a preference for traditional TV.  

• In the U.S., viewers aged 2-34 spend over 60% of their total TV time on streaming services.  

• In Thailand, Gen Z reports the lowest traditional TV viewership at 47%, favoring digital options, while the 55+ demographic reports the highest at 62%.  

• Older viewers tend to watch more total TV than younger counterparts.  

• In the U.S., 75% of viewers 65+ spend their time with linear TV.    

• Nielsen's report includes figures on % of time spent on media platforms by age group in the U.S. and total reach of video platforms in Thailand by generation.    

Recommendations:

The report provides action plans for advertisers and publishers to navigate these trends effectively. For advertisers, this includes developing market-specific strategies, analyzing competitor spending, utilizing independent measurement solutions, leveraging first-party data, and investing in robust analytics. For publishers, this involves offering integrated solutions, highlighting the unique strengths of each platform, providing unified sales packages, consistent measurement, and investing in seamless cross-platform integration.  

Nielsen emphasizes the importance of comprehensive cross-media solutions, market intelligence, and actionable insights to drive success in today's complex media landscape.