Australia – Ad spending is set to pivot away from major platforms like Google and Meta in 2025 as more brands turn to owned media networks, according to a new report from Sonder.
The new report highlights a broad recognition of owned media as a powerful, untapped asset capable of generating profitable new revenue streams and creating expanded opportunities for partners and customers.
Key findings from the report reveal that over two-thirds of companies plan to increase their use of owned media in the next 12 months. Additionally, more than a third (36%) of companies are currently offering owned media value to partners at no cost or are not leveraging it at all.
The report further revealed that over half of respondents (60%) lack an owned media rate card.
Meanwhile, fewer than a third of respondents utilise audience targeting, ad-serving, campaign optimisation, and monetisation software platforms. In contrast, over half leverage their first-party data for customer targeting in collaboration with partner brands.
Sonder’s report further highlights that retail media continues to dominate, with global media spend expected to surpass US$150b by the end of 2024, outpacing the growth of most traditional advertising channels.
The United States remains the market leader, while Europe experiences rapid expansion and the Asia-Pacific region enters the early stages of growth, with several high-profile brands beginning to tap into the potential of media networks.
The report predicts that sectors such as finance, travel, telco, and convenience will emerge as key players in the market in 2025.
Interestingly, the report also notes that as owned media networks continue to proliferate, pressure will mount on major digital media companies like Google, Meta, and Amazon as brands increasingly seek cost-effective alternatives for their marketing budgets.
Jonathan Hopkins, founding partner of Sonder, said, “Owned media has long been overlooked in favour of traditional paid advertising channels. In the past few years, that has fundamentally changed as we enter a new era where any type of business can leverage their owned media networks both strategically and commercially.”
“Retail has embraced the commercial potential of the opportunity, and now other sectors are catching on. We expect to see more and more organisations launch owned media networks in 2025,” Hopkins added.
