From Meta to Netflix: 13 execs on what’s next in advertising

Advertising has long powered growth in the modern economy: financing media and technology, shaping demand, and helping organizations convert attention into revenue. It influences what people watch, read, and buy. Today, the landscape is shifting.

Artificial intelligence is changing how discovery and decision-making happen. Attention is splintering across streaming, social, gaming, and audio content. And while content supply is accelerating, credibility remains a differentiator. Together, these dynamics are reshaping how trust is established, how attention—human or machine—is valued, and how impact is measured. To explore these changes, Deloitte, in collaboration with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) spoke with 13 senior leaders across the advertising ecosystem. The organizations they represent include companies that generate premium attention—Netflix, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery, and TelevisaUnivision—as well as platforms that organize it at scale, such as Meta and Reddit, where algorithms and communities jointly shape distribution. We also spoke with the ecosystem’s measurement and verification leaders from Nielsen and Integral Ad Science, which help define performance standards, media quality, and comparability across channels.

The conversation extends to businesses closer to the moment of choice—DoorDash, Tripadvisor, and The New York Times’ Wirecutter—where intent is visible and credibility is critical. It also includes formats continuing to mature, from iHeartMedia’s audio network to Frameplay’s in-game advertising inventory. Together, these perspectives reflect an industry adapting in real time. Watch the videos for candid, executive-level insights into how leaders are approaching attention, trust, and measurement in the years ahead.