🔥 The Future of Programmatic is Taking Shape 🔥

I’ve just finished reading the State of Programmatic 2025 report from Proximic by Comscore , and it reinforces much of what I’ve been seeing in the industry firsthand. The landscape of programmatic advertising is shifting faster than ever, and many of the themes highlighted in the report align with conversations I’ve had with industry peers over the past year. The continued rise of Connected TV (CTV), the growing importance of privacy-conscious targeting, and the battle between contextual targeting and emerging ID solutions like ID5 and UTIQ all signal a significant industry evolution.

CTV: The Big Winner in the Ad Budget Wars

Connected TV has officially moved from the up-and-coming category to the front lines of media investment. In 2023, CTV commanded 14% of programmatic budgets. By 2024, that number climbed to 28%, at the expense of linear TV and traditional web and mobile digital advertising.

Marketers aren’t just experimenting with CTV—they’re all in. Nearly half (46%) of those increasing CTV budgets are pulling money directly from linear TV, signaling a definitive industry-wide shift away from traditional broadcast advertising. Even dominant digital channels like web and mobile aren’t immune, with 34% of marketers reallocating dollars from these spaces to fund their CTV expansion.

Why? The answer is clear: consumer behavior has changed, and ad budgets are following suit. The battle for attention is being fought in the streaming world, and CTV’s targeting capabilities—combined with the scale of programmatic—are too valuable to ignore. I wonder when we’ll be able to programmatically bid within games on platforms like PlayStation or Xbox. Maybe the audience is still too small, but it would be an exciting evolution for programmatic advertising.

Data-Driven, Without the Data? The Post-ID Era is Here

For years, digital advertising has thrived on user identifiers—cookies, mobile ad IDs, and alternative tracking methods. But that era is fading fast. In 2024, 54% of mobile impressions and 36% of desktop impressions were already missing IDs. By the end of 2025, nearly half (48%) of marketers expect to rely primarily on cookie-free targeting strategies.

This aligns with what I’ve seen in conversations with brands who are actively moving toward privacy-first strategies. Privacy laws continue to tighten, and with ID coverage dropping below 50%, marketers must pivot or risk losing their ability to reach audiences effectively. The solution? A two-pronged approach:

1. Contextual Targeting: 41% of marketers now consider contextual targeting their primary strategy. This method doesn’t just sidestep privacy concerns—it aligns with evolving AI capabilities that can analyze content relevance at scale.
2. First-Party Data: Sitting just behind contextual targeting at 40%, first-party data remains a vital asset. Brands that invest in direct customer relationships will maintain a competitive edge as the programmatic landscape shifts.

It’s particularly interesting to see contextual targeting gaining such strong momentum, even as new ID solutions like ID5.io and Utiq attempt to reintroduce addressability at scale. The tug-of-war between contextual intelligence and ID-based targeting has been a key topic in industry discussions, and this report confirms that both approaches are playing an increasingly central role in advertiser strategies.

Measuring What Matters: The Industry Demands Deduplicated Reach

Programmatic advertising has always promised efficiency and precision. But with fragmented media consumption across channels, measuring impact has never been more challenging—or more essential. In 2025, 80% of marketers now see deduplicated reach and frequency measurement as non-negotiable.

Why the urgency? Without it, marketers risk overspending on the same audiences across different platforms, leading to inefficient budget allocation and diminishing returns. The ability to accurately track reach across CTV, web, mobile, and social is no longer a luxury—it’s a requirement for brands that want to prove ROI.

What’s Next? Practical Steps for 2025

If you haven’t tested CTV yet, now is the time. Audiences are moving, and ad budgets should follow. Start experimenting and see how it performs compared to your other channels.

Contextual targeting? Why not? Give it a shot and see how it stacks up against other privacy-first strategies. It’s gaining ground for a reason. At the same time, have a conversation with ID5 or UTIQ—I’ve been impressed by what they’re doing and the reach they can enable.

Most importantly, don’t let measurement be an afterthought. Invest in deduplicated reach and frequency tracking to ensure your budget isn’t being wasted on redundant impressions.

The world of programmatic advertising is evolving at breakneck speed. The brands that thrive will be those that move quickly, embrace change, and prioritize data-driven yet privacy-conscious strategies. In 2025, the old playbook no longer applies—it’s time to write a new one.