Three of consumers’ top five preferred ad platforms are Amazon brands, according to Kantar, a leading global marketing data and analytics company. The findings come from ‘Media Reactions 2025’, the firm’s annual global study of the media landscape based on interviews with 21,000+ consumers and 1,000 senior marketers.

According to a Kantar statement, ‘Media Reactions’ ranks ad platforms based on consumers’ and marketers’ preferences, and no brand is in the top five across both groups. Amazon brands dominate the consumer ranking, with Amazon in first place, Twitch in fourth and Prime Video in fifth. The two other brands in the consumer top five are Snapchat at second place and TikTok – its future in the US now looking secure – occupying the third spot.

However, X as a brand and platform was missing from both the lists and rankings

Snapchat’s ads are seen as fun and entertaining, and consumers feel like they’re less intrusive than they were in 2024. Meanwhile, consumers praised TikTok ads for being particularly attention-grabbing, fun and entertaining. Marketers’ preferred ad brands are YouTube, Instagram, Google, Netflix and Spotify — the same ranking as 2024.

Gonca Bubani, Global Director of Media at Kantar, explained: “Brands need to fight for people’s attention, but marketers are not always reflecting consumers’ ad preferences. Amazon’s ad properties buck the trend by offering a variety of different experiences from its various channels. Twitch is a good example: consumers trust ads there more than anywhere else, but many marketers assume that passionate and substantial gaming and live-streaming audiences are niche, narrow groups.”

Bubani added that one brand missing from both rankings was X. A year after Elon Musk sued brands for pulling their investment in the platform, things haven’t improved. A net 29 percent of marketers plan to decrease their spend on X next year, and nearly one in eight intend to pull their investment entirely.

“Having failed to make progress on content moderation, marketers have ranked X last among all global brands for trust for the third year in a row,” Bubani observed.

As part of its study, Kantar asked marketers their investment plans for 2026 across ad channels and these were some of the highlights:

• Creators and influencers should benefit as a net 61 percent of marketers plan to increase their spend on influencer content next year. This coincides with a predicted increase in social commerce investment, where a net 53 percent of marketers are planning to increase spend.
• 54 percent of marketers plan to increase their investment in TV streaming and 19 percent have indicated they’ll up their spend on TV and online video product placement. This is offsetting the net 26 percent of marketers planning to decrease their spend on linear TV.

Bubani continued to add that creator campaigns demand a departure from traditional ways of working as they weren’t actors doing a brand’s bidding. Hence, the value exchange is very different.

Every dollar spent on an influencer is a dollar over which marketers don’t have complete control. “The most successful and authentic creator partnerships depend on flexibility within clear guardrails around a brand’s values, tone and assets,” Bubani stressed.

For the first time, more than half of the people surveyed (57 percent) say they are generally receptive to advertising, jumping from 47 percent last year. Bubani explained: “Ad campaigns are seven times more impactful among more receptive audiences, and people are more receptive than ever. That’s good news for marketers in a tough economy, but not enough to overcome their anxiety over the fragmented media landscape, with only two-thirds of marketers confident that they’re successfully integrating their campaigns across media channels.”

Trust implications are swaying consumers, with the number of people bothered by AI-generated ads up slightly to 44 percent from 41 percent last year, and 57 percent concerned about fake GenAI ads.

At the same time, general attitudes towards GenAI are getting more positive among both consumers and marketers, though more marketers use the technology to work more efficiently (70 percent) than creatively (53 percent).

According to Bubani, AI is most valuable when it’s also embraced as a creative partner as it is giving marketers new ways to explore ideas, test what resonates, and make smarter decisions faster.

(Charts courtesy Kantar Media Reactions 2025 report)