CTV and audio could weather the tariff storm better than social media, survey finds

As President Donald Trump’s tariffs upset the global economic status quo, advertisers are undoubtedly feeling the pressure.

The Current recently reported that some U.S. brands quickly began scrutinizing their media spend and making cuts to their ad budgets in an effort to find efficiencies and stay agile. But some advertising channels could fare better than others, if an IAB survey from earlier this year is any indication.

Diving into the data

The survey, conducted in February and published in March, asked advertisers where they would make budget cuts if tariffs went into effect.

Forty-one percent of respondents said they would cut their social media spend, followed by gaming (24%) and linear TV (24%).

Digital audio and connected TV (CTV) were least likely to be slashed by survey participants — just 14% and 12% said they would reduce spending in those channels, respectively.

CTV and audio on the rise

CTV has been one of the fastest-growing ad channels in recent years; in January, eMarketer projected that it would surpass traditional TV ad spend by 2028.

Audio is ascending, thanks in part to the growing adoption of programmatic capabilities. This month, for instance, Spotify announced the launch of its own ad exchange in partnership with ad tech companies like The Trade Desk.

The two channels could complement each other. A 2023 SiriusXM Media and Nielsen study found that consumers who were exposed to both CTV and audio ads showed higher recall and message association than those exposed to an ad from just one of the channels.

However, the two channels may vary in why advertisers wouldn’t be cutting them out of their budgets at the same rate as other channels, according to eMarketer Senior Analyst Sara Lebow.

Simply put, audio already accounts for a smaller portion of spend than bigger channels; CTV spend in the U.S. is more than four times as much as audio, for instance, Lebow says.

But perhaps CTV could be the rising tide that lifts the audio boat.

Lebow says that CTV offers “more precise targeting compared to linear, so advertisers will be slower to pull back during a time where they need to demonstrate ROI.”

The Current is owned and operated by The Trade Desk Inc.