By Cathy Ibal, Senior Vice President, Advertising Sales, CNN International CommercialThe stories dominating global headlines at the start of 2025 included earthquakes, wildfires, film industry award ceremonies, conflicts and wars, changes in political leadership, AI and fact checking. And as we all seek the latest updates to breaking news and developing stories, we’re offered an abundance of ways to access that information. This brings me to the first of three areas as I look to the year ahead in broadcast advertising and content disruption, which is trust.
The role of trusted publisher brands is even more important in today’s world
We cannot underestimate the importance of accurate, fact-based, reliable reporting and how this is vital for society. With the rise of misinformation, the increase in deep-fakes and AI generated content there has never been a greater need for information that is verifiable and reputable.
There is a responsibility to ensure that journalism continues to thrive, and advertisers play a key role in that. In fact, when we surveyed our global audience 81 per cent of respondents said they believe that brands have a responsibility to fund quality journalism.
In addition, a recent whitepaper by CNN and data and insights consultancy MTM (Brand Power: Strategies for Instant Impact and Future Growth) shows that marketers perceive international news providers as significantly higher in quality, more trustworthy, and more reliable than other media partners. International news media’s popularity with advertisers stems from its global reach and ability to connect with vast and diverse audiences, making it a highly appealing option for many brands.
Some have reservations about advertising around hard news but in the UAE 94 per cent of marketers agree that news providers are essential for brand building, with 91 per cent indicating that advertising during major world events or breaking news doesn’t harm their brand image.
This ties in with the widely cited research by Stagwell’s Future of News initiative which shows that ads placed next to politics and crime perform as effectively as those placed next to business, entertainment and sports stories.
Complementary to this is recent research by IAS which revealed that 76 per cent of consumers would trust a brand which appears on a credible news site. The trusted environment enhances brand credibility by association.
For those brands that want to advertise with a credible news organisation but perhaps don’t want to be amongst ‘hard news’ there’s the option to run campaigns against style, business, health and sport content where they can benefit from being in a trusted environment, with credible journalism and in a brand suitable space.
As we look ahead to this year, I see news continuing to be an important environment for brands. Helping drive this will be increased innovation from publishers to utilise technology that ensures brand suitability and a focus on news adjacent content that appeals to audiences and marketers alike.
Marketers always have much to consider about where to place their spend and, when combined with the economic climate, there’s often a requirement to deliver quick results but this leads to my second area looking at more long-term campaigns.
Marketers will have a renewed focus on brand building
Recent research that CNN conducted with MTM found that 90 per cent of global marketers are investing in brand building for long-term success. At CNN a significant portion of our partnerships span many years, due to strong relationships and successful multi-year, global campaigns with robust analytics and reporting.
The success of long-term advertising is reflected by two in three global marketers surveyed saying they use ‘always-on’ approaches, with nearly three-quarters agreeing that continuous advertising drives strong brand awareness, fosters regular customer interaction, builds loyalty, and keeps the brand top of mind.
Looking more closely at the Middle East, brand-building is the number one goal with 71 per cent of marketers in the UAE saying that “improving brand awareness and reputation” is their top marketing goal for the year ahead. Brand-building ensures lasting brand value and long-term growth and 8 in 10 marketers in the UAE are planning a brand campaign over the next 12 months.
There’s many ways to implement this and with one in two marketers in the UAE planning to build their brand through storytelling or purpose-driven campaigns. The top themes for this are Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) and community building, followed by digital transformation/new tech adoption and Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI).
For all of us, transformation and innovation are crucial – and we’re doing this at CNN. It’s imperative that media owners, brands and marketers continue to progress and maintain relevance which brings us to my final topic.
Digital transformation, the power of TV advertising and multi-platform campaigns
Ted Turner disrupted news consumption when he launched CNN as the first 24/7 cable news service 45 years ago and we’ve continued to innovate and change alongside our audience. As a company, our brand promise is to report the news with a focus on video-led journalism that’s accurate and fair minded, that people can connect with on a human level 24/7 on a device or platform of their choosing.
This means CNN is accessible across TV, streaming, FAST, audio, podcasts, digital, social and newsletters. And of course where the audience spends their time is exactly where brands want to be. This is why the majority of the campaigns on CNN cover multiple platforms and formats that are tailored to each environment and the different user experiences on them.
Looking ahead to where media budgets are expected to go in the next 12 months, international news media is highly favoured by marketers worldwide. News providers’ own digital platforms and TV channels command two of the top three positions, while many other media types offered by news brands (e.g. social media and podcasts) hold similarly high spend levels.
Remaining top of mind is key for brands and so being around cultural moments and major live events, sporting occasions and awards shows offer strong reach and engagement potential. These appointment-to-view occasions provide vast audiences who are immersed in the event which is why 80 per cent of those prioritising a continuous presence utilise TV. It’s also a top choice for brands aiming for global reach, with 82 per cent of these marketers including TV in their strategies.
Like all forms of media, TV has seen a digital development with the rise of CTV and FAST. A recent launch in MENA is CNN Fast, on evision’s STARZ ON platform, a channel which shows short-form, quick-paced video stories for those who want to keep informed but prefer snappier updates. FAST offer viewers a new way to consume content and provides an attractive option for brands seeking access to different audiences with personalisation and measurability.
The prevalence of video continues to thrive and we certainly see that at CNN Arabic, a completely digital news service with a young and mobile-first audience which has impact in the region and beyond.
This focus on video and innovative products in compelling formats and experiences is central to CNN’s digital transformation and reflects the way we are adapting production, distribution and monetisation models in line with the changing nature of consumers’ media habits and consumption of news.
In summary, I expect 2025 to be a year where some long-held norms persist, but media owners and brands must accept the reality that we are in a period of peak disruption that presents both opportunities and challenges. In this environment, I expect success to be achieved through harnessing the power of global brand building with smart use of technology and powerful, enduring content.
By Cathy Ibal, Senior Vice President – Advertising Sales, CNN International Commercial
