Experts say it’s a ‘buyer’s market’ ripe for advertisers to seize control and reshape media deals

Advertisers finally have leverage, and they’re not wasting it. In a shaky market, they’re pushing for better deals, smarter targeting, and media that proves its worth.

Amid the shifts, Danny Weisman, Co-Founder of obsessed media, offers a grounded playbook. His team works with scaling brands to extend the reach of in-house marketing, especially as media buying grows more complex.

Sayonara, sellers: “If you do have money this year, especially in the second half of this year, it’s a buyer’s market,” says Weisman. “Don’t settle for anything less than great rates, great opportunities and great advantages.” He also cautions that some media sellers, facing pullbacks elsewhere, may exaggerate what’s on offer. “Don’t be a sucker,” he urges.

Beware the blind spot: This newfound advertiser power is most valuable when chasing what Weisman calls “the holy grail”: great inventory and great targeting. “A lot of marketers only think about targeting, but they don’t consider the inventory,” he explains. It’s a critical blind spot in programmatic CTV, where precision doesn’t guarantee quality. “If you focus only on targeting, you can find yourself running ads God knows where, on ad-supported FAST channels that nobody watches.” Still, Weisman points to promising moves—like Peacock’s tie-ins with LinkedIn and Instacart—as signs that some platforms are starting to get the mix right.

Think fast: Weisman backs a “quick but thoughtful” approach, striking a middle ground between agencies that move fast but deliver generic work, and those that offer depth but can’t keep up with today’s pace. To move fast without breaking strategy, Weisman says, “you need to be integrated and know how to connect the dots. Really, you need to be senior and have the experience.”

He points to video as a budget cut that doesn’t add up. In response to tariffs, more marketers planned to cut video than search, despite video being “the top driver of search.” Cut one, he warns, and you kill momentum across both.

Flex your core: The smartest media buys match format to the brand’s core challenge—be it trust, relevance, or visibility—while balancing reach, attention, and cost. That means questioning not just what’s bought, but how. Weisman notes that with channels like podcasts, “programmatic is decreasing the cost, but very much decreasing the attention,” risking the impact that made the format valuable in the first place.

Bots and brains: In advertising today, AI is table stakes. “I don’t know how you start a business without AI or LinkedIn,” Weisman says. But he’s quick to draw a line: AI-generated ideas are merely a starting point. “AI gives you the bar to beat. Not the bar to present to your clients,” he explains.

Up next: Looking ahead, Weisman is “excited that the CPMs continue to decrease for premium streaming content” in 2025. He’s also watching the shift of sports to streaming and predicts that economic pressure could drive more subscribers to Netflix’s ad-supported tier, a bet supported by its recent growth.