Is media really fragmenting?

08 Jan 2026

This is the slide at the top of every strat doc… followed by the media plan showing the same big four platforms.

If you look at the growth of ad spend globally, it’s highly concentrated.

The big dogs of Google, Meta and Amazon account for more than half the market. With 8 out of the 10 biggest sellers of ads being tech firms.

As every platform spits out more and more AI features from buying and measurement to automation and creation… tech firms tighten their grip.

From fragmentation, we move back to concentration.

Driven by Zuck’s dream of “Connect your bank account, you don’t need any creative, you don’t need any targeting, you don’t need any measurement, except to be able to read the results that we spit out”

For many brands, in the fight to find efficiencies, this prop is enticing.

But it becomes a false pocket of opportunity. Moving to the default of AI to create the ad, targeting them and then reading them… all driven by the same platforms.

When asked what would change about advertising in the 80s, Bill Bernbach said “One thing is unchangingly sure. The creative person with an insight into human nature, with the artistry to touch and move people, will succeed. Without them they will fail”

40 years on, this still rings true…

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Image credit: Cy Twombly 'untitled' mixed media on canvas