The $45 Billion Media Buying Arbitrage Opportunity Hiding in Plain Sight

A Media Shift Itself Hiding in Plain Sight amp128250First let39s zoom out streaming has eclipsed traditional TV In May 2025 streaming platforms overtook broadcast and cable combined capturing 448 of US TV usage according to Nielsen YouTube alone grabbed 125 of that screen time This moment isnamp8217t just about consumers switching platforms itamp8217s about where moments of attention actually matter nowThat attention shift sets the stage for our next pointCreators Arenamp8217t Getting Their ShareWhile creators dominate screen time they39re not getting ad dollars to match According to Luma Partnersamp8217 State of Digital 2025 global ad spend will exceed 267 billion yet influencer marketing is projected to bring in just over 20 billion less than 8 of total spend This isnamp8217t just a gapitamp8217s a 45B media arbitrage opportunity disguised as an overlooked channelThe AttentionMedia MismatchThe best historical media buys early search ads programmatic Facebook always followed this pattern high attention low cost Weamp8217re at that moment again with creatorled formatsTikTok YouTube Shorts top creators with 900M followers and Instagramamp8217s elite with 2B combined followers all are driving massive reach Yet for many advertisers this remains a bonus tactic not a core strategyThe brands that treat creators as media channels not oneoff talent deals are capturing performance brand lift and increasingly actionable dataCreators as Channels Not Just TalentToday39s creators are multiplatform media businesses they host podcasts publish newsletters run Shopify storefronts and build engaged communities That means they can offer measurable media opportunities not just shoutoutsWith the right tools you can plan media buys based on verified audience segments and acquisition potential not just impressionsVerified Audiences Without the MiddlemanThis is where things get nextlevel advertisers can now know who theyamp8217re reaching not just that they39re reaching themThatamp8217s what MondoAQ in partnership with PreciseAI enablesMondoAQ takes your list of podcast listeners newsletter subscribers or YouTube viewers and tells you who they actually areYou get real privacysafe insightsWhere people liveHow much they earnWhat they shop forWhat brands they already supportItamp8217s like turning anonymous exposure into a CRM list you can plan model and retarget It moves creator media from topoffunnel awareness into precision audience buying with measurable ROIAdvertisers Can And Should Build Their OwnThereamp8217s a second frontier brands can act like creators themselvesEvery podcast series or newsletter can be a firstparty data engine And with tools like MondoAQ PreciseAI those audiences become fuel for retention attribution or integrated media planningSmart advertisers are building content franchises not just to engage but to acquire and enrich audiences with zeroparty and firstparty dataA Core Strategy for 2025Creator media shouldnamp8217t be an experiment It should be a strategic pillar in every media plan because it offers three ingredients most channels donamp8217tUnderpriced attentionVerified audiencesOwned dataLeading brands are already taking actionUnileveramp8217s amp8220influencerfirstamp8221 strategy allocates 50 of its total ad spend to creators scaling influencer partnerships 20x globallyEnriching those audiences with psychographics for precise planningLaunching branded content channels that build CRM and firstparty data assetsUnifying audience intelligence with MondoAQ PreciseAI across all media touchpointsThis isnamp8217t a trend Itamp8217s a media and data strategy and itamp8217s hiding in plain sightPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

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The $45 Billion Media Buying Arbitrage Opportunity Hiding in Plain Sight

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Nick Cicero

"About That with Carl Mayer:" Alaina Donnellon (Episode 10: Political Spending) - By Carl Mayer

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