Marketing today and the price of attention
The world will spend $1.3 trillion on advertising this year, and 9.27 million people in Azerbaijan use the internet. The numbers, plus a few thoughts from behind the camera.
01
Where the money flows
In June, WPP Media updated its global advertising forecast: in 2026, ad revenue will grow 8.9% to $1.3 trillion (excluding US political advertising). In December, the company had expected 7.1% growth. Advertising’s share of global GDP is at its highest level since 1999.
| Year | trillion US dollars |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 1.04 |
| 2025 | 1.14 |
| 2026 (forecast) | 1.3 |
Source: GroupM (December 2024), WPP Media (December 2025, June 2026). Figures for 2025 and 2026 exclude US political advertising.
Outside China, Alphabet, Meta and Amazon account for 57.6% of this market. A restaurant in Baku and a global brand pay in the same ad auction for the attention of the same user. The budget gets the ad shown; whether a person stops to watch is up to the message itself.
“The consumer isn't a moron; she is your wife.”
02
The audience is on the phone
According to DataReportal’s Digital 2026 report, 9.27 million people in Azerbaijan—89% of the population—were using the internet in October 2025. There are 7.61 million social media accounts.
| Metric | million people |
|---|---|
| Population | 10.4 |
| Internet users | 9.27 |
| Social media accounts | 7.61 |
| TikTok ad reach (ages 18+) | 7.61 |
| Instagram ad reach | 4.25 |
| Facebook ad reach | 1.65 |
Source: DataReportal, Digital 2026: Azerbaijan. Ad reach is the figure shown in each platform’s ad tools, not the number of active users.
According to their ad tools, TikTok reaches 7.61 million people aged 18 and over, Instagram 4.25 million and Facebook 1.65 million. These are ad-tool reach figures and don’t match the number of active users. Still, it’s clear where a campaign starts: framing, copy and the first seconds of video are planned for the vertical screen.
03
Video and the frame
For its 2026 report, HubSpot asked more than 1,500 marketers which format brings in the most revenue. Short-form video came first at 48.6%, with long-form video second at 28.6%.
| Metric | % |
|---|---|
| Short-form video | 48.6% |
| Long-form video | 28.6% |
| Livestreaming | 25.1% |
| UGC | 24% |
Source: HubSpot, 2026 State of Marketing.
In Wyzowl’s survey, 91% of businesses use video, yet the share of marketers who say video delivers a good return fell from 93% to 82% in a year. The survey doesn’t say why. In our view, the more video there is, the more the frame itself makes the difference.
“People confuse pretty with good cinematography.”
“Photography means write with light.”
04
Budget and AI
For the UK’s Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), Les Binet and Peter Field compared 996 campaigns from 1980–2010. The best results came from campaigns that put roughly 60% of the budget into brand and 40% into sales activation. It’s an average and doesn’t transfer to every market as is. But for a brand that spends its entire budget on discount ads, it’s reason enough to recalculate the split.
| Share | Share of budget |
|---|---|
| Brand building | 60% |
| Sales activation | 40% |
Source: Les Binet, Peter Field, The Long and the Short of It (IPA, 2013).
According to HubSpot, 86.4% of marketing teams use AI for at least some tasks. In Wyzowl’s survey, the share of marketers making video with AI rose from 51% to 63% in a year. The tool speeds up production. What to say, and whose problem to solve, is up to the team.
“Marketing is the generous act of helping someone solve their problem. Their problem.”
Sources
- WPP Media, This Year Next Year: 2026 Midyear ForecastJune 16, 2026
- WPP Media, This Year Next Year: December 2025December 10, 2025
- Marketing Brew: GroupM’s final forecast for 2024December 9, 2024
- DataReportal, Digital 2026: Azerbaijandata as of October 2025
- HubSpot, 2026 State of Marketing1,500+ marketers
- Wyzowl, State of Video Marketing 2026266 respondents, late 2025
- Les Binet, Peter Field, The Long and the Short of It (IPA, 2013): summary996 campaigns, 1980–2010
- The Hollywood Reporter, cinematographers’ roundtable (Roger Deakins)December 2014
- No Film School: Vittorio Storaro, Writing With Light (1992)documentary
- Wikiquote: David Ogilvy, Confessions of an Advertising Man (1963), p. 96book
The Godin quote is from the book “This Is Marketing” (2018).