Media measurement and optimization platform Integral Ad Science has released its Australia Industry Pulse Report 2026, revealing a decisive shift in how Australian marketers are planning for the year ahead. As consumers rapidly migrate across CTV, social media, and retail media networks, advertisers are prioritizing measurement and transparency in their programmatic campaigns to protect brand reputation and optimize performance.
“2026 will be a defining year for Australia’s digital ecosystem,” said Jessica Miles, Country Manager ANZ at IAS.
“As AI accelerates the creation of content at unprecedented speed, brands are demanding sharper attention insights, stronger transparency, measurement and optimisation that can keep pace with the complexity of emerging media. The next year will reward marketers who embrace innovation, and who invest not just in reach, but in the quality and integrity of every impression.”
Highlights from the Report
Connected TV (CTV) becomes the premium battleground for attention
With more streaming platforms scaling, CTV has solidified its position as a priority environment for both performance and brand-building. CTV is accelerating, and it demands the same, if not higher, accountability standards as linear TV and digital video.
- 82% say measuring attention on CTV will be vital for evaluating outcomes in 2026
- 81% consider third-party verification essential to ensure ad quality, suitability, and accurate delivery
- Advertisers also emphasize the importance of frequency controls and cross-platform consistency as fragmentation continues to increase
Retail Media Networks evolve into full-funnel, quality-first ecosystems
What began as a commerce channel is now becoming a premium attention platform. Retail Media Networks sit firmly at the intersection of commerce, influence, and high-quality media and require transparent metrics to fulfill that promise.
- 82% cite viewability as a core RMN KPI
- 79% say attention measurement will play a crucial role in performance evaluation
- 83% cite contextual relevance and brand suitability as top strategies for improving outcomes
Social media surges, but transparency gaps and the rapid rise of AI-generated content threaten advertiser confidence
Social platforms continue to dominate digital consumption:
- 83% of media experts cite Attention and Viewability as critical metrics for evaluating campaign performance
- 80% of experts stress that third-party verification is essential for identifying and classifying AI-generated content, including deepfakes, across platforms
- 72% warn that insufficient transparency from platforms around media quality threatens advertiser spend, especially as concerns mount over the unchecked growth of AI-generated content on social media
Social remains indispensable, but requires transparency, verification, and deeper intelligence to remain a trusted environment, said the report adding that across advertisers, agencies, and media experts surveyed, digital video, mobile, and social top the investment agenda.
Meanwhile, concerns about AI-generated content, unsafe adjacencies, MFA inventory, and inadequate platform transparency are shaping media strategies with unprecedented urgency. Notably, 75% of respondents identify content adjacency, including AI-generated and creator content, as their number one digital media challenge entering 2026.
