At Net Conversion, we strive to remain at the forefront of marketing analytics. Our approach to digital marketing is predicated on the evolution of data-driven strategies through continuous testing and adaptation. This week, our team had the privilege of not only attending the EMarketer: The Future of Digital Summit, a source of critical marketing insights, but also actively participating in the discourse. This opportunity allowed us to access powerful insights at the forefront of the industry. At the Summit, the discussions concerning the digital marketing landscape centered on three primary factors: the recent integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the continued dominance of Connected TV (CTV) in the advertising sector, and the fundamental paradigm shift in effective digital marketing creatives.

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In the Future of Digital, AI is the New King

Within the digital landscape, change is constant. The Summit made sure to highlight the necessity of adopting the use of AI. AI adoption is now outpacing previous trends, with usage becoming frequent in 40% of consumers daily and 80% trusting it as much or more than traditional search engines. The key takeaway here is that AI is driving a major shift in how consumers discover content and information online.

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For marketers, this shift in discovery should shift where they meet their consumers. The summit emphasized the importance of moving from traditional keyword-based intent search to context-based intent search. The clear takeaway is that in order to reach customers effectively, advertisers must adapt to changing search behaviors and focus on personalized, dialogue-driven discovery.

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AI is not only affecting the discovery path, but it's also impacting shopping. GenerativeAI users are interacting more meaningfully on sites, resulting in a -23% lower bounce rate, a +12% jump in more pages used, and a -9% lower conversion cost. Marketers must adjust their SEO to adapt to the use of AI, making it “social proof.”

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A New Era of Creativity: Unpacking how consumers are redefining the “creative” funnel

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The conversation naturally progressed into the power of the creative. It was highlighted through Emarketer’s research that when it comes to creativity, it is better to have clear brand storytelling (69.5% of consumer appeal) and a visually compelling design (69.5% of consumer appeal). Yet, the Chief Media Officer of Liquid Death, a guest speaker sharing his POV, had a counterpoint to this: he stated that high messaging frequency and less creativity are better for your brand. Their strategy is bold and highly focused. Liquid death invests only in media they know will effectively reach their target audience and at a frequency they know will make an impact. Not spreading their dollars out to just be in channels all the big players are. This suggests a powerful balance between premium creative content and consistent, high-impact messaging.

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A channel that has continued to see tremendous growth in 2025 and is forecast to continue this trend in 2026 is CTV. Whether it's due to the accessibility for consumers or the content, one thing is for sure - 2025 was the summer everyone got some sort of ad-supported subscription. For the first time (May 2025), streaming viewing share surpassed broadcast and cable networks combined. YouTube widened its gap, surpassing Disney altogether. It is predicted that overall, 70% of new OTT Channel users will be within some sort of ad-supported subscription model. This would allow for access to highly targeted audiences. The future of CTV lies in the ability to create premium, highly targeted video at scale.

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The creative and channel paradigm was continued with a firechat conversion with MNTN, where they highlighted that although marketers have been witnessing the collapse of the "marketing" funnel, we're starting to see something similar with creative. The video we are consuming is different based on our needs, from emotion-inducing videos at the top of the funnel for simple enjoyment or inspiration to short-form and user-generated content at the bottom for recommendations and suggestions, but video consumption similar to channels is no longer following a linear pattern. This amplifies the need for different types of video creatives to capitalize on the consumer journey. This strategy, combined with multiple A/B tests to fuel insights, is key to optimizing campaigns for holiday seasons and beyond.

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Social media remains resilient throughout the shifts in consumer behavior because it is moving from specific searches to discovery. Social platforms are leveraging their own AI to assist with discovery, reinforcing their role in the marketing ecosystem.

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Closing Thoughts

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Looking back on the Emarketer: The Future of Digital Summit 2025, one thing is clear: we can't assume a world where AI is a distant, separate entity. It's already woven into the fabric of the consumer journey, which is no longer a straight line. Every channel plays a valuable part, from AI-powered discovery on social media to highly targeted CTV ads.

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To truly navigate this dynamic landscape, we need to stay educated, pay close attention to the data, and constantly test and optimize our strategies. That's the foundation we've built Net Conversion on—a focus on authentic, creative, and strategic testing, all driven by a deep understanding of what consumers are really looking for. It's how we'll continue to deliver more impactful campaigns and profitable growth for our partners in this new era of digital marketing.

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