Samba TV, a specialist in AI-driven media intelligence, has released its H1 2025 State of Advertising report revealing a clear signal of advertiser strength in the US with 68 per cent of the top 100 advertisers increasing their TV spend in the first half of the year, a clear sign of renewed confidence and momentum in the ad market.

The analysis sheds light on how brands are shifting their media investments to capture the attention of viewers who are rapidly adopting streaming, marked by a 46 per cent surge in connected TV (CTV) hours watched versus one year ago. With these shifts, divergent advertising strategies emerged with major brands like T-Mobile (+34 per cent) and Starbucks (+88 per cent) leaning into targeted TV campaigns, while others like Verizon (-37 per cent) and Dunkin (-61 per cent) pulled back their TV spend to focus on digital, social, experiential and loyalty-focused programmes.

“When 68 per cent of the top advertisers are increasing their TV investment, it’s a signal that brands aren’t retreating; they’re doubling down. In uncertain times, you have two choices: lean in to grow market share, or play it safe and focus on engaging existing customers,” said Samba TV CEO and Co-founder Ashwin Navin. “Looking at the QSR industry, for example, Starbucks is trying to return to growth by reconnecting emotionally with consumers, from the coffee to the handwritten cup, while ramping up TV spend by 88 per cent. Dunkin’s is taking the opposite approach by pulling back on TV, down 66 per cent, and leaning into a social-first strategy, serving up Sabrina Carpenter and deals to target a younger crowd.”

Brands today are battling hard for share-of-voice. Still, many are relying on outdated delivery models that repeatedly target the same viewers. In a market this competitive, brands that choose real-time insights across TV and digital can go beyond frequency and unlock impact.

As the attention economy becomes increasingly competitive, Samba TV’s analysis reveals a growing gap in ad delivery, with the vast majority of ads reaching the same audiences repeatedly. With half of US households now receiving 94 per cent of all TV ads, brands are missing broad swaths of key audiences, including high-income, Asian, Hispanic, millennials, and households in Western states.

Key findings from the H1 2025 report include:

• 68 per cent of the top 100 TV advertisers increased impressions year-over-year, signaling a ‘spend-through’ strategy to gain market share in a highly competitive landscape.

• 46 per cent year-over-year growth in CTV viewership hours, up from 32 per cent growth in Q4 2024, fueled by the rise of free ad-supported streaming.

• Telco: T-Mobile (+34 per cent) and Xfinity (+41 per cent) aggressively ramped up spend, while Verizon reduced TV impressions by 37 per cent as part of a shift toward digital and emphasis on retention.

• QSR: Starbucks massively increased its ad impressions (+88 per cent) with its ‘Back to Starbucks’ strategy focused on the coffee, baristas and the third place, while Dunkin’s ad impressions were down 61 per cent as the brand focused spend across digital, social, and programmatic.

• CPG: General Mills is a strong spender on TV but is usually more focused on singular products; however, heir 46,471 per cent spike in ad impressions highlighting the General Mills umbrella of multiple brands together signals a bold push to win over value-conscious, at-home consumers as grocery costs take center stage in household budgets.

• Retail: A continued focus on home and value saw Harbor Freight lean-in with a 12x increase in advertising, while Amazon surged with a 24x increase in spend, signaling that the budget-conscious consumer is prioritising deals and discounts.

• Insurance: Disruptors like Ethos ramped up their spend by 837 per cent with bold, modern campaigns to seize market share, while legacy players like USAA also boosted their ad spend by 113 per cent.

• Automotive: Amidst tariff impacts, overall TV impressions were down -8 per cent among automotive advertisers. However, Hyundai (+19 per cent) and its subsidiary, Genesis (+71 per cent), were standouts in ad growth. American manufacturers rallied behind an ‘America First’ drive, resulting in overall increases in ad spend.

• Travel: Travel spend decreased by 4 per cent, but a handful of brands bucked this trend, notably Universal Orlando, which led with a 384 per cent surge in TV advertising. Vrbo increased investment by 24 per cent, in contrast to competitors like Airbnb and Booking.com, which scaled back. Expedia Group also went on offense by boosting ads by 12 per cent.

• Pharma: Nine of the top 10 advertisers in the pharmaceutical category increased advertising in the first half of 2025, with Bosch + Lomb ramping up ads by the highest margin (+297 per cent).

• Households earning $ 200,000 or more are receiving 13 per cent fewer ad impressions than their share of the population, highlighting a significant targeting gap among premium audiences.

• The top 50 per cent of households received 94 per cent of all impressions, averaging 150 ads per day, while the bottom 50 per cent receive just 6 per cent showcasing a gap ripe for rebalancing.

• Entertainment and pharma dominated the share of voice amongst top advertisers, with pharma spending increasing due to new FDA approvals and direct-to-consumer campaigns.

• Progressive, Domino’s, Purina, and Dupixent earned high marks in sentiment, pairing high visibility and targeted messaging with positive social conversation.

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Categories: Advertising, Articles, Broadcast, Markets, Research

Tags: advertising, Amazon, Samba TV, usa