Amazon brands dominate consumer ad rankings, report

Amazon brands dominate consumer ad preferences while creators and influencers are set to benefit from rising marketing spend, according to Kantar’s Media Reactions 2025. The annual study is based on input from more than 21,000 consumers and around 1,000 senior marketers worldwide.

Amazon ranked first among consumers, with Twitch in fourth place and Prime Video in fifth. Snapchat was second, praised for entertaining ads that feel less intrusive than last year, while TikTok placed third for its attention-grabbing creative. By contrast, marketers’ top five platforms were unchanged from 2024: YouTube, Instagram, Google, Netflix and Spotify.

Divergence between consumers and marketers

Gonca Bubani, global director, media, Kantar: "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."

One brand missing from both lists is X. Marketers ranked it last among all global brands for trust for the third consecutive year, with a net 29 percent planning to cut spend on the platform in 2026. Nearly one in eight plan to withdraw investment entirely.

Marketers plan higher spend on creators and streaming

The study shows that 61 percent of marketers expect to increase investment in influencer content next year, alongside a net 53 percent planning to raise spend in social commerce. Meanwhile, 54 percent expect to invest more in TV streaming, with 19 percent looking to increase product placement in TV and online video. This shift is offsetting the 26 percent of marketers who intend to reduce spend on linear TV.

Bubani: "Creator campaigns demand a departure from traditional ways of working. Creators aren’t actors doing a brand’s bidding, so the value exchange is very different. The most successful and authentic creator partnerships depend on flexibility within clear guardrails around a brand’s values, tone and assets."

Consumers more receptive to advertising

For the first time, a majority of people (57 percent) describe themselves as receptive to advertising, up from 47 percent in 2024. Kantar reports that campaigns are seven times more impactful among receptive audiences, though only two-thirds of marketers feel confident about integrating campaigns across multiple media channels.

Trust remains an issue around generative AI in advertising. Forty-four percent of consumers say they are bothered by AI-generated ads, up from 41 percent last year, while 57 percent express concern about fake AI ads. Still, attitudes toward AI are becoming more positive, with 70 percent of marketers using it to increase efficiency and 53 percent for creative purposes.

Bubani: "AI is most valuable when it’s also embraced as a creative partner. It’s giving marketers new ways to explore ideas, test what resonates, and make smarter decisions faster. The opportunity it presents is huge but that will only come from a mindset of curiosity rather than caution."

www.amazon.com

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