What's actually on the minds of media, marketing, and ad tech professionals in 2026? ExchangeWire's Media Pulse H1 2026 report pulls back the curtain...

Media Pulse H1 2026 captures the collective voice of ExchangeWire’s global community - a pulse check on the evolving landscape of media, marketing, and technology.

Through weekly polls conducted across the first half of 2026, we gathered the thoughts, forecasts, and frustrations of our readers: the practitioners, innovators, and analysts shaping the future of advertising.

Key Findings

• Confidence is back. Despite ongoing market and geopolitical uncertainty, sentiment is bullish: 67% of respondents planned to increase ad spend for 2026 compared to the previous year, and by the midpoint of the year, half had already revised those forecasts upward again.

• AI is no longer optional - but trust is the sticking point. Nearly half of workplaces (45%) now consider AI essential to their operations, with 78% having integrated it in some form. Yet reliability remains the number one concern (55%), well ahead of compute costs or data safety.

• Measurement confidence is rising, but fragmentation still bites. 70% of respondents say ad measurement is becoming easier, yet cross-channel attribution and short-term vs. long-term impact remain the thorniest challenges heading into H2.

Whether you're planning H2 budgets, building your AI roadmap, or trying to read where the industry consensus is forming, Media Pulse H1 2026 offers a data-backed pulse check you won't want to miss.

Download the full report to see all the data behind the headlines.