Resources

Unpacking the data behind the biggest tentpole advertising event of the year

In the modern media world, very few moments still have the power to stop the clock and capture the undivided attention of an entire nation. The Big Game is one of those rare moments. A true cultural tentpole, where consumer anticipation builds for weeks, social co-viewing becomes a shared ritual, and creative expectations reach their peak.

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Los Angeles, CA — January 14, 2026 — DISQO today released its annual Consumer Trends 2026 Report, exploring how economic pressure, evolving media consumption habits, and rising expectations for advertising relevance are redefining media effectiveness in 2026. 

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Honoring the people and values that fuel success

DISQO is starting 2026 on a high note with an honor we are proud to celebrate. For the sixth consecutive year, we have been recognized as a Built In Best Place to Work. This sustained recognition reflects the deliberate investment in building a workplace that drives measurable impact, enables innovation, and empowers employees to contribute, experiment, and develop at a high level.

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What shifting market conditions mean for brands and marketers

As 2026 takes shape, conversations across marketing and the broader business landscape have increasingly focused on volatility, shaped by economic uncertainty, evolving consumer expectations, and rapid technological change. Yet while budget pressure and organizational change are influencing how the industry talks about 2026, much of that dialogue remains inward-looking, anchored in constraint and risk. Volatility, however, is not a strategy. It’s simply the environment in which more intentional, adaptive decisions can be made.

What matters more is how consumers are responding inside the 2026 landscape, and the data shows a clear divergence between marketer anxiety and consumer behavior. Uncertainty hasn’t caused people to disengage or opt out. It’s made them more selective and more deliberate, demanding more value, relevance, and consistency.

From a consumer perspective, volatility functions less as a stop signal and more as a filter. People are paying closer attention to where they spend, which brands they trust, and what experiences earn their time and attention. Intent hasn’t disappeared; rather, it’s become more conditional.

This distinction is critical. When volatility is treated as the headline, brands and marketers risk mistaking caution for collapse. When it’s treated as context, a more accurate picture emerges: a market very much in motion, shaped by vigilance rather than withdrawal. Understanding that reality is the starting point for competing, measuring impact, and making confident advertising decisions in 2026.

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How sophisticated brand measurement is helping marketers level up equity in 2026  

The power of your brand isn’t created by a single message or a perfectly timed impression. It’s built through the accumulation of interactions, memories, and moments of truth that shape how people feel, and ultimately, what they choose. This is the foundation of brand building; the subtle but persistent process that shapes brand image, brand equity, and brand awareness over time.

In 2026, consumers navigate choices through steady layers of advertising and brand experiences, more than isolated exposures, which means brands compete on the reliability they deliver and the trust they earn across every touchpoint. This growing expectation elevates the importance of brand strength, brand exposure, and overall brand health that businesses cultivate through their presence and consistent provision of value.

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The stakes of big game and tentpole marketing

Tentpole moments, especially the Big Game, concentrate attention and forge memory. They create rare windows where brand building can flow into both equity and action. Because strong advertising behaves less like a verdict and more like a rehearsal, these moments stack. They turn ordinary products into the obvious choice, the one people reach for even when no purchase is urgent.

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How small shifts reveal big impact across the full advertising funnel 

Marketers love big numbers, a viral spike, a record-breaking conversion rate, or a chart that shoots straight up. Yet when it comes to advertising effectiveness, the real story of growth is often written in smaller, steadier lines.

A 2-point lift in purchase intent may look like a modest gain. Still, it can represent thousands of new customers, millions in incremental revenue, and a measurable shift in market momentum. Those two points are the difference between being remembered and being chosen.

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Benchmarking advertising performance by category

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A marketer’s guide to analyzing ad results and campaign performance 

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We improve what we measure. That’s true in business, science, sports, and advertising. Measurement doesn’t just keep score; it defines the game. What we measure shapes what we value. And what we value sets the course for action.

But here’s the paradox: the most valuable and proven driver of growth in advertising — brand — is the one we measure the least.

Yet, it’s why people pay more for one bottle of water than another when both are clear, cold, and sitting side by side on the shelf. It’s the same reason brands invest millions of dollars and months of preparation into a single Super Bowl commercial. Marketers make that commitment because they know the cultural impact, loyalty, and long-term impact it creates for the brand.

Advertising, or the sum of every touchpoint, campaign, message, and signal across every channel over time, is what keeps score. It’s what makes brand choice instinctive rather than rational. And it has proven again and again, when understood, to be the most durable path to sustainable growth.

So while it’s no secret that marketers excel at measuring performance and do it often, the question is: why does measuring brand, the true engine of growth, still sit in the back seat?

Historically, it has been hard to measure, slow, and expensive. It was left off the same dashboards as performance and replaced by site visits, downloads, and signups. This made it difficult to see the very results building demand for tomorrow.

What is the brand movement?

The Brand Movement is a call to make brand the most measured signal in advertising. By scaling brand measurement across every dollar spent, marketers can see how brand and performance work in tandem to unlock the strongest ROI.

Equally, we need to, as an industry, reframe how we think about brand and performance media itself. A coupon or discount campaign at a retailer like Bed Bath & Beyond is often classified as pure performance, judged only on redemptions or sales. However, the reality is that these campaigns also shape how people feel about the brand. A shopper who redeems that coupon isn’t just lowering their basket price; their perception of the brand is being formed. This brand impact has always been there, hidden in plain sight, but until they become measured, they will not be understood.

The future of advertising depends on recognizing this dual impact. Performance campaigns drive immediate action, but they can also build brand or erode brand equity along the way. Brand campaigns create tomorrow’s buyers, while performance campaigns can and should reinforce brand meaning in the moment.

The urgency is sharper in the AI era. Automation is reshaping targeting, bidding, creative, and optimization, rewriting consumer journeys while making signals harder to track. Attribution is stacking models on top of models. In this shifting environment, brand is the anchor, the constant that guides decisions even when clicks fade.

The ripple effect of confidence and growth

When brand measurement becomes universal, confidence grows across the ecosystem. That confidence fuels reinvestment: brands scale campaigns with measurable proof, agencies stretch budgets further through sharper optimization, and media companies capture stronger commitments by demonstrating value with every dollar spent.

The result is an economic flywheel, with more effective campaigns, stronger outcomes, greater investment, and industry-wide growth.

The Brand Movement goes beyond measurement. It fills a critical gap in the marketer’s toolkit by showing how advertising drives the most important engine of growth: brand.

Once unlocked, it empowers marketers to propel their companies forward, ensuring every dollar builds lasting value and advertising becomes stronger, smarter, and more ambitious.

Winning one of advertising’s most competitive arenas using marketing benchmarks

Consumer packaged goods marketers are navigating one of the most complex media environments in advertising. Once anchored in shelf placement and mass reach, the category now contends with fragmented channels, shifting consumer behavior, and rising pressure to prove outcomes across the full funnel.

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New data shows how LGBTQ+ visibility and integrity drive Gen Z loyalty and spend

If you work in brand, media, or campaign strategy, chances are you’ve been asked lately: Is purpose-driven diversity marketing still worth it? Especially when the political climate is so volatile. In this year’s LGBTQ+ Advertising report developed in partnership with Do the WeRQ, one thing is clear: Gen Z doesn’t just respond to your brand’s “purpose”; they hold it accountable. So, if your inclusion efforts lack integrity, they disengage.

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What consumers really want from LGBTQ+ advertising in 2025 and how brands can deliver

As political pressure builds and polarizes, LGBTQ+ advertising in 2025 finds itself in a precarious position. The volume is lower and the messaging is softer, but consumers expect brands to stand with diverse communities with authenticity and integrity in their advertising. In DISQO’s 2024 LGBTQ+ Advertising & Brand Experience report, 80% of LGBTQ+ respondents said they thought more positively of brands that celebrated Pride, and 50% of the general population said year-round support for LGBTQ+ communities is important.

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Why inclusive marketing is a business strategy, not a statement

As Pride Month unfolds, brands are navigating a cultural climate that’s more polarized and high-stakes than ever. Some are scaling back their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts, citing risk. Others are doubling down, investing in inclusive advertising that speaks to values and delivers measurable results.

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Mapping digital natives’ fragmented, emotional, and fast-moving path to purchase 

Over the last decade, the consumer journey has evolved from a predictable, linear process into a dynamic, omnichannel experience shaped by speed, saturation, and personalization. What once followed awareness to consideration to purchase with logical order and deliberate pacing has become something else entirely: fast, nonlinear, platform-agnostic, and culturally wired. 

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How IPG Mediabrands connects social to business outcomes across the funnel

Once an experimental line item, social media now sits at the center of modern media plans. While its creative influence and cultural reach are undisputed, its role in driving measurable business outcomes is still widely debated. Not because the outcomes aren’t there but because they’re often under-measured, misattributed, or dismissed as unprovable. 

During a recent webinar, “Driving Success with Cross-Platform Measurement,” cohosted by DISQO and Ad Age, Laura Williams, VP, Director of Tune-In Analytics at IPG Mediabrands, joined DISQO’s Stephen Jepson to unpack how her team is using DISQO’s person-level social media benchmarks, cross-platform measurement, and in-flight campaign optimization to show exactly how social moves the needle, from awareness to action.

Here’s how IPG is challenging outdated assumptions, refining client expectations, and unlocking social’s full-funnel potential.

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Helping established brands stay on top and scale ad effectiveness using benchmarks

Established brands enjoy what others are still chasing: strong name recognition, credibility, and consumer trust. With aided awareness above 66%, these brands have already secured a place in the hearts and minds of their audience. But dominance doesn’t make you immune to disruption. In fact, it makes consistency and performance optimization even more critical.

DISQO’s latest whitepaper for established brands helps category leaders protect their equity, overcome growth plateaus, and extract maximum value from every impression. Backed by DISQO’s 2025 Ad Effectiveness Benchmarks, this guide shows how top-performing brands can avoid stagnation and maintain a sharp edge in an increasingly competitive market. Because even the best-known brands can be forgotten or replaced if they fail to evolve. 

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