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Media buying in transition: What agencies must do next

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Ad Tech Consumer Behaviour Contextual Targeting
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New Experian research reveals how UK & Ireland media agencies are navigating signal loss, embracing hybrid targeting, revived third-party data, AI and curation amid growing measurement and ethics challenges

Media planning and buying is under pressure. With new technologies ever-evolving, consumer behavior shifting, privacy rules tightening, and third-party cookies losing their once-central role, agencies across the UK and Ireland are rethinking how they reach and measure audiences.

To understand how the industry is adapting to one of the most disruptive periods in modern media buying, Experian spoke with over 200 media agencies. The findings reveal an industry in transition: agencies are leaning into hybrid targeting, reviving third-party data, and adopting new approaches like AI and curated marketplaces; while at the same time grappling with ethical responsibilities and fragmented measurement.

Discover:

  • Signal loss and the limits of first-party data
    Why agencies are struggling to scale on first-party data alone, and why third-party strategies are making a comeback.
     
  • The rise of hybrid targeting
    How combining contextual and audience-based approaches helps agencies adapt to shifting audience behaviors.
     
  • Curation and AI on the horizon
    Why agencies believe curated marketplaces and AI will dominate media buying by 2030, and what’s holding some back.
     
  • Ethics and measurement in flux
    How responsible media and fragmented measurement frameworks are shaping agency decisions today.

Download your free copy now – with findings grounded in first-hand insights from media leaders shaping the future of buying and planning.

Experian Marketing Services conducted 224 interviews with people who have influence over – or responsibility for – media planning and buying in UK- and Ireland-based media 
agencies, as well as media planning departments within marketing agencies, between May and June 2025.

For the purposes of this research, we’ve segmented the media agencies into three groups. Large media agency groups are considered to have 200 or more employees; mid-sized media agencies have between 50 and 200 employees, and small agencies have between 10 and 49 employees. Additionally, we’ve included a category for media planning departments that operate within a marketing agency.

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By Danny Holmes, Consulting Partner, Media & Agency

Experian Marketing Services

Experian Marketing Services empowers marketers to better understand, connect and engage with their target audience through deep consumer insights. Our 
expertise spans demographics, research and dynamic behaviour analysis, providing actionable insight to inform smart marketing and location investment decisions across the UK and international markets.

Our addressability and linkage solutions further enable audience engagement in a cookieless digital landscape. By intelligently connecting disparate identity data points, we enable brands, publishers, and agencies to maximise their first-party data, scale digital campaigns, and measure results effectively. 

We are part of Experian, a global data and technology company, powering opportunities for people and businesses around the world. We help to redefine lending practices, uncover and prevent fraud, simplify healthcare, deliver digital marketing solutions, and gain deeper insights into the automotive market, all using our unique combination of data, analytics and software. We also assist millions of people to realise their financial goals and help them to save time and money. 

We operate across a range of markets, from financial services to healthcare, automotive, agri-finance, insurance, and many more industry segments. 

We invest in talented people and new advanced technologies to unlock the power of data and to innovate. A FTSE 100 Index company listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN), we have a team of 23,300 people across 32 countries. Our corporate headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland. Learn more at experianplc.com 

Posted on: Monday 19 January 2026