Digiday Media Agency Report 2025: How clients are experimenting and spending — from AI to tariffs

Just a short year ago, ad forecasters and agencies alike optimistically predicted that ad spending would significantly increase in 2025. But a lot has changed for media agencies (and businesses worldwide) since then.

President Donald Trump’s tariffs have already affected client spending, and there is lingering uncertainty among agency executives about how tariffs will continue to impact budgets. Advertisers like Kimberly-Clark have begun to tighten their belts. The personal care company recently said that it had cut its overall marketing spend 10.8% compared with last year’s second quarter.

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