Greetings!

Welcome to the June 2026 issue of Key Notes - Marketing Keys' monthly newsletter! As students wrap up another school year and families settle into summer routines, we hope your business is also graduating with honors in 2026 and gearing up for an exciting second half of the year. Key Notes is an informative, quick-read newsletter to get you caught up on all things media and marketing. Our goal is for you to be informed and entertained with the latest media and marketing happenings quickly and efficiently. 

While artificial intelligence continues to dominate headlines and online discussions, it is not the issue weighing most heavily on consumers. Recent polling shows that affordability remains one of the public’s biggest concerns, far surpassing worries about AI and emerging technology. Although AI has become a major focus in media coverage, many people are far more concerned with the rising cost of housing, groceries, healthcare, and other daily expenses. For consumers, managing everyday financial pressures continues to take priority over conversations about technology’s future.

Consumer spending has remained relatively stable overall, but many households are approaching spending differently than they did a few years ago. Families are increasingly looking for lower-cost alternatives, including store-brand products and discounted services, as they try to stretch their budgets further. Even higher-income households have reported feeling the strain of rising prices. Housing costs continue to climb, healthcare expenses remain high, and everyday essentials such as food and gas are taking up a larger share of monthly budgets. As costs rise across multiple areas of life, consumers are becoming more careful about where and how they spend their money.

Financial concerns today also extend beyond the price of goods and services. Many consumers are experiencing a broader sense of uncertainty about the future, which has contributed to lower levels of confidence overall. Despite the economy avoiding a formal recession, consumer sentiment surveys continue to show unusually low levels of optimism. Experts believe years of disruption, including the long-term effects of the pandemic and ongoing economic volatility, have changed how people view financial security. Consumers are now more cautious, spending more time researching purchases, comparing options, and evaluating whether purchases feel financially safe.

Because of this shift in consumer behavior, businesses are being encouraged to focus on building trust and reducing financial stress for customers. Competitive pricing still matters, but consumers are also looking for reassurance and flexibility when making purchasing decisions. During past periods of economic uncertainty, some companies successfully gained consumer trust by offering guarantees or policies designed to ease financial concerns. Today, brands that can provide stability, transparency, and a sense of security may be better positioned to connect with consumers who are navigating an increasingly uncertain financial environment.

Is TV Still Bringing Leads?

Traditional television isn’t disappearing just yet, even though its audience continues to shrink over time. New research suggests that linear TV still plays a meaningful role in advertising strategies and continues to deliver competitive performance compared to newer digital channels. While viewing habits are clearly shifting, the data shows that older formats still hold value for many brands.

In terms of return on investment, linear TV brings in about $0.81 for every dollar spent. That is slightly below digital platforms, which average around $0.90. However, the difference is not as large as many advertisers assume. For brands with bigger budgets, especially those investing in high-visibility placements around live sports and major events, linear TV can still be an effective way to reach large audiences and generate strong returns.

Connected TV is continuing to grow and is showing stronger performance in many cases. It delivers about 15 percent higher returns than traditional TV and roughly 21 percent more than short-form video advertising. Because of this, experts recommend a gradual shift in spending rather than a sudden switch. A common approach is to move around 20 percent of a media budget into connected TV first, then increase that share to about 40 percent after measuring results and refining strategy.

Looking ahead, viewing habits are expected to keep changing as audience preferences evolve. Connected TV is gaining more traction with middle-aged viewers, particularly higher-income households, while younger generations are expected to drive most future consumer spending growth. By 2030, Gen Z and Millennials are projected to represent the majority of spending increases in the U.S., and they are already showing strong interest in digital-first sports and entertainment options such as esports, college athletics, and emerging global sports like soccer and rugby.

As more advertisers apply digital marketing strategies to television, TV is increasingly being viewed as an underutilized channel for driving clear, trackable results. Rather than being seen only as a tool for awareness, TV is now being recognized for its ability to generate actions like website visits, app downloads, phone calls, and direct purchases. This applies across both streaming platforms and traditional linear TV, signaling a broader shift in how marketers evaluate performance and success.

That shift was a major focus at a recent industry gathering ahead of upfronts week, where leaders from measurement, consulting, and data companies discussed how quickly expectations around TV are evolving. A common theme was that the old way of separating TV into “brand building” or “conversion” channels no longer reflects how people actually consume media. Instead, marketers are increasingly using advanced data tools and AI to guide decisions, allowing them to target audiences based on behavior and intent throughout the customer journey. Another major point of discussion was measurement, with growing pressure on advertisers to move beyond last-click attribution and focus more on incremental impact and real business outcomes.

Live sports also came up as both a valuable and increasingly expensive part of the TV landscape. While major events still deliver strong reach and engagement, rising costs are forcing brands to be more selective about when and how they buy them. Some leaders noted that even traditional linear TV may be misunderstood rather than ineffective, with value often overlooked in favor of newer streaming options that are not always more efficient. Overall, the message was that TV remains a strong performance channel, but success today depends on smarter targeting, stronger measurement, and a more flexible approach to where media dollars are spent.

Even with the United States set to take a central hosting role, enthusiasm for the World Cup remains relatively muted among American consumers. Only about one in ten U.S. adults say they follow the tournament, putting the country near the bottom of global rankings for fan interest. Globally, interest is significantly higher at roughly one in four adults, and in several countries engagement is several times stronger than in the U.S.

In football-driven markets such as Brazil and Argentina, more than 40% of consumers report following the World Cup, with South Africa showing a similar level of interest. These regions benefit from long-standing soccer traditions and, in some cases, recent hosting experience that continues to fuel excitement. By contrast, the U.S. sits well behind most markets, with only a handful of countries reporting lower participation in the sport overall.

Beyond fan interest, the data also points to a valuable audience profile. World Cup followers are more likely than the average adult to have higher incomes, with a larger share classified as high net worth. They also show stronger intent to spend on major purchases like travel, home upgrades, and vehicles, and tend to be more engaged with topics such as technology and finance. For marketers, this suggests that while the American audience may be smaller, it represents a potentially high-value group with strong purchasing power and clear consumer interests.

Traditional TV network companies are facing a more competitive connected TV (CTV) market as digital-first streaming platforms continue to gain ground. Even though the overall CTV advertising space is expected to grow rapidly, the benefits of that growth are likely to be unevenly distributed. Global CTV ad spending is projected to rise from about $44 billion in 2025 to roughly $81 billion by 2030, showing just how quickly this part of the industry is expanding.

Much of that growth is expected to be concentrated among three major players: YouTube (Google), Amazon’s Prime Video, and Netflix. Together, they are forecast to capture around half of all global CTV advertising by 2030. YouTube is expected to lead with about a 26% share, followed by Amazon at 13% and Netflix at 9%. Their advantage comes not only from large audiences, but also from owning the underlying technology, data systems, and advertising infrastructure that shape how ads are delivered and measured on streaming platforms.

For legacy media companies, this creates a tougher path forward. Traditional players like Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery still benefit from strong brands, loyal audiences, and deep experience producing premium content, but they are increasingly operating in a space shaped by tech-driven competitors. Many are expanding their streaming ad capabilities and incorporating more flexible, programmatic buying into upfront deals, but they are still adapting to a market where commerce, data, and advertising ecosystems are tightly integrated. While legacy networks are far from irrelevant, the future of CTV is clearly being shaped by companies that combine entertainment with advanced digital advertising systems.

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