Talking Shop November 2025

What’s next in digital advertising from IAB Media Upfronts 2025.

IAB UK Media Upfronts 2025 brought together some of the biggest players in digital advertising, from YouTube and Meta, to Bauer Media and the retail media networks driving the next wave of growth. As well as enjoying the chance to mingle with celebs like Louis Theroux, Daisy May Cooper and Fleur East, our team found it a fascinating snapshot of how fast the digital landscape is evolving and where brands and agencies need to focus next.

Key themes for marketers to note were:

1. Culture now drives media, not the other way round.
YouTube and other platforms were clear that advertising’s real power lies in tapping into culture, not simply chasing channels or formats. Creator-led storytelling, community connection and authenticity are the levers that make brands relevant and remembered.

2. Creator partnerships are becoming core strategy.
The days of “influencer as add-on” are over. The most effective work showcased wasn’t about one-off content pieces but long-term collaboration between brands and creators, built around shared values and audience trust.

3. Audio continues its renaissance.
Bauer Media’s session underlined just how dynamic audio has become, from programmatic and digital streaming to interactive “moments” and in-game integrations. For advertisers, it’s now a precision medium: flexible, brand-safe and measurable, with emotional reach that’s hard to replicate elsewhere.

4. Retail media is moving centre stage.
Retail networks are no longer experimental. They’re scaling fast, with first-party data and closed-loop attribution making them one of the most accountable routes to conversion.

What this means for advertisers:

The clear message was integration – of culture, creativity, data and measurement.

Plan for culture first, and channels second, focusing on where audiences engage and what they care about. Experiment with emerging formats like retail media and digital audio within broader campaign frameworks. And keep creativity tightly linked to effectiveness, measuring emotional impact alongside hard metrics.

Meta rolls out ad-free tier.

In response to regulatory guidance on data use for personalised advertising, Meta has introduced an ad-free tier for Facebook and Instagram in the UK, giving users the choice to pay for a subscription and remove ads, or continue using the services for free with ads. The paid tier costs £2.99 per month on the web or £3.99 per month on mobile apps.

This could present potential challenges for advertisers, with reduced audience reach, a loss of high-value users and inflated costs. However, although Meta has not yet released data on ad-free subscribers, industry estimates suggest take up will be low. A similar ad-free service was introduced in Europe in 2023, with one report suggesting just 0.007% of EU users signed up for the ad-free version.

The “pay or consent” model faced challenges from EU regulators, on the basis that ‘privacy should not be paid for’, leading to changes in the offering, including an option for less-personalised ads for free users. However, in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has already approved Meta’s new model, saying it is compliant with UK data protection laws as long as consent is “freely given”.

Unlocking the next wave of retail media.

Retail media has rapidly become one of the fastest-growing segments of the advertising landscape in the UK, driven by a combination of shifting consumer behaviour, advances in data capabilities and retailers’ desire to diversify revenue streams. Two of the most established channels remain Amazon’s online advertising ecosystem and Tesco’s online and in-store networks, both increasingly accessible to non-endemic brands, but the opportunity now extends far beyond these well-known platforms.

Innovative formats are emerging, including advertising on HGV delivery trucks, supermarket delivery vans and Amazon lockers. For example, Iceland and Food Warehouse operate 59 HGV trailers from their Livingston depot, each travelling around 2,600km a week and offering a highly visible, mobile ad canvas roughly equivalent to a 96-sheet billboard.

Amazon lockers also present a powerful retail media touchpoint, with more than 1,600 locations across the UK, including at retailers such as Co-op, Morrisons & Matalan, and at gyms, rail stations, petrol stations and pubs. 138 of these locations are in Scotland. Positioned in high-footfall, community-centric environments, they engage consumers in clear ‘buy-mode’. A test campaign for LEGO delivered strong results, achieving 41% recall and a 15% uplift in consideration.

For advertisers, these emerging channels offer fresh scale, measurable impact and an opportunity to enhance campaigns with distinctive, hyper-local visibility. Ask your Media Shop for more information on opportunities relevant for your campaigns.

Engaging Millennials & Gen Z with Uber Ads.

Uber Ads gives advertisers a unique way to tap into a highly coveted, on-the-move audience, with the potential to reach over 15 million UK active platform users across Uber and Uber Eats. Around 70% of these users are Millennials or Gen Z, or what Uber calls “Gen Uber” –  a digitally fluent, time-conscious cohort who make fast, socially driven decisions.

Formats are bold and can be tailored to the relevant context: Journey Ads (at dispatch, en route and in-trip), sponsored listings in the app, immersive in-car screen experiences, and programmatic buys via DSPs. Targeting options are pretty granular as you can segment audiences by postcode, destination, event attendance, Uber persona, and purchase history. You can even trigger ads based on the weather or if someone’s travelling outside their home city.

Minimum spend for a regional campaign is £5,000, and our own trial for First Bus, promoting specific bus routes in Glasgow, saw click-through rates that exceeded other digital platforms.

In short: Uber Ads delivers scale, precision and context, letting brands connect with a young, mobile audience in real-world moments of discovery.

Our pick of the podcasts.

Podcast advertising in the UK grew 8% in 2024, reaching £90m revenue, highlighting the medium’s soaring popularity. To celebrate this growth, our team has curated their favourite podcasts, from marketing insights and industry trends to purely entertaining shows, perfect for work inspiration or relaxing downtime.

The Rest Is Entertainment Richard Osman and Marina Hyde break down the biggest stories in film, TV, literature and pop culture with sharp wit and analysis.

Therapuss Jake Shane hosts a funny, free-flowing show blending humour, vulnerability and chaotic storytelling, that gives insight into younger audiences’ tone, humour and online culture.

I’m Grand Mam A warm, authentic LGBTQ+ podcast revolving around two Irish friends sharing hilarious conversations about life, identity and growing up.

What Did You Do Yesterday? A conversational podcast where guests share the minutiae of their previous day with hosts David O’Doherty and Max Rushden, offering a window into the routines, behaviours and quirks that define contemporary culture

The IAB Podcast Essential updates on digital advertising trends, policy, and best practice for anyone working in media.

The Media Show BBC Radio 4’s in-depth exploration of UK media, regulation and platforms keeps us informed about industry trends and issues.

The Media Leader Podcast Candid conversations with senior media experts provide frontline knowledge on trends, measurement and the future of our industry.

Client Spotlight: ESPC.

After being appointed at the start of 2025, we now feel ‘right at home’ in our new partnership with ESPC, the trusted local brand for property search and advice in Edinburgh and beyond.

The Media Shop played a central role in delivering ESPC’s bold new “Own It” campaign, an ambitious, digital-first strategy designed to engage first-time buyers aged 23-40 across Edinburgh & Lothian, Fife, the Borders, and Dumfries & Galloway. With this audience being mobile-first, digitally savvy and constantly on the move, the media plan was built around mirroring their lifestyle and meeting them across high-frequency digital and real-world touchpoints.

Using Skyrise’s combination of Telco, transactional and TwentyCi data, The Media Shop created bespoke audience segments that pinpointed where first-time buyers were spending time and what content they consumed. This ensured that paid social, programmatic display, digital audio and DOOH were precisely targeted and delivered at pivotal moments – whether during commutes, podcast listening or evening scrolling.

A high-impact mix of programmatic DOOH, traditional OOH formats on commuter routes, and branded coffee cups extended reach into the physical world, reinforcing the digital message with strong visibility across buses, train stations and local communities.

The campaign delivered impressive results: 20 million social impressions, 255k audio listens with a 98% completion rate, and a 10% uplift in My ESPC sign-ups. Not only that but there were significant improvements in attitudes among under-35s, with   58% of those looking to move saying they’d now use ESPC, up from 50%.

“The Media Shop has been an incredible partner in modernising our presence for our first-time buyer brand campaign. Their strategic vision, creativity, and commitment to excellence have made a meaningful impact on our brand. They’ve been a delight to work with from day one!”

Kimberley Smith, Marketing Manager at ESPC