New Zealand Digital Advertising in 2026: Where the Money Is Moving

New Zealand’s digital advertising market continues to grow even as marketers become more selective about where money moves. IAB New Zealand reports that digital advertising revenue reached NZ$2.967 billion in 2025, up 12% year on year.

That growth matters, but the mix matters more.

Search remains the largest digital channel

Search generated NZ$1.44 billion in 2025, also up 12%. That reflects the continuing commercial value of intent: when someone is actively researching a category, supplier, product or solution, search remains difficult to replace.

The change is that search itself is evolving through AI Overviews and AI Mode. Read our guide to AI Search in New Zealand.

Video is the standout growth format

IAB NZ reports video revenue grew 27% to NZ$653.8 million in 2025. This reflects the shift toward streaming, social video and connected viewing environments.

For brands, “video” should not be treated as one asset resized everywhere. A six-second attention format, creator video, CTV placement and brand film all play different roles.

Connected devices are becoming more important

Connected device revenue reached NZ$63.2 million in 2025, up 20%. That points to a broader media shift: the old boundary between television, digital video and programmatic buying is becoming less useful.

Programmatic is maturing, not disappearing

Automation increasingly sits underneath media buying rather than being a separate strategy. The strategic work moves upstream: audience definition, creative, data quality, conversion signals and measurement.

DOOH is joining the same planning conversation

In 2026, IAB NZ research describes programmatic DOOH as moving into the mainstream media mix. That creates new opportunities to coordinate physical and digital reach. See our programmatic DOOH guide.

What should brands do with this data?

1. Protect intent capture. Search and strong landing pages still matter.
2. Invest in adaptable video systems. Build creative for multiple environments.
3. Connect channels around one audience journey. Do not optimise every platform in isolation.
4. Improve first-party measurement. GA4, CRM and sales data become more important as media fragments.
5. Test emerging formats with a clear role. Retail media and pDOOH should solve a planning problem, not simply use a new buying method.

The bigger shift

Media is becoming more automated while strategy is becoming more human. Platforms can increasingly optimise delivery, but brands still need to decide what to say, who matters, what a valuable outcome is and how channels work together.

Go Global helps businesses connect search, media, AI, multicultural audiences and measurement into one growth system.