The news: Performance channels are gaining traction among B2B marketers, with 84% now shifting from traditional, impression-focused approaches, per a Madison Logic survey.

Other key findings:

• The majority (73%) of marketing decisionmakers think the future of advertising beyond 2030 will be centered on AI-driven creative processes.
• Two in 3 see personalization at scale and immersive advertising gaining relevance.
• 85% said their company is currently investing in AI and machine learning for advertising purposes.
• Nearly all marketers (90%) stated that their companies are seeking new opportunities to reach audiences, such as investing in podcasts, including 80% who said their company is adopting emerging technologies like augmented and virtual reality.
• 60% mentioned an increase in influencer and micro-influencer collaborations.

The shift: Brands are moving ad budgets toward channels that deliver measurable outcomes amid tariff-related uncertainty, with the main beneficiaries being search, retail media, and creator-led, performance-oriented content. In contrast, once fast-growing channels like connected TV (CTV) are at a heightened risk of losing ad spend as brands prioritize measurability.

But even without the immediate tariff threats, brands have been planning to shift budgets to performance—far more US advertisers planned on increasing performance ads in December 2024 over brand advertising. The shift can be boiled down to a few reasons:

• Third-party cookie depreciation means advertisers are losing their primary method for tracking users across the web—which means prioritizing performance channels that rely on first-party data. Performance channels facilitate one-to-one attribution and campaign optimization, fueling rising interest in retail media.
• Traditional advertising is losing relevance and audiences. Methods like TV commercials are higher-cost, have limited targeting, and are difficult to attribute to measurable results. In a crowded media landscape, advertisers need proof of ROI—and performance marketing’s easily trackable metrics and adjustability based on live performance are a key solution.

What brands can do: Brands should keep investing in performance marketing for its resilience amid economic headwinds. The added flexibility will let them adapt based on rapidly shifting economic signals and consumer behavior changes.

Even as other channels are at risk of declining, performance strategies remain reliable—for instance, we forecast search advertising will grow 7% even under our current moderate tariff scenario, while retail media is holding strong for its use of first-party data. Performance’s adaptability will be crucial during a period of uncertainty.