TikTok continues to lead future media spend increase and innovation according to Kantar

Summary

Kantar's annual Media Reactions report, a global ad equity ranking, surveyed over 21,000 consumers and nearly 1,000 marketers. It found TikTok leading in three key areas: innovation (sixth consecutive year), planned ad spend increase for 2026, and consumer attention. Marketers' trust in TikTok rose 46% year-over-year.

The report highlights growing demand for creator content, online video, and social commerce ads. TikTok's ad solutions, such as TikTok Market Scope and Smart+ AI, drive results. Consumer ad acceptance is at an all-time high, emphasizing the need for platforms that capture attention effectively.

Analyst Note

This Kantar report signals an inflection point: TikTok’s ad equity growth—especially a 46% trust jump among marketers—reflects a broader pivot toward attention-driven, creator-based models. For UA teams, the implication is clear: platforms that deliver measurable attention and innovation command premium budgets. TikTok’s continued #1 innovation score (doubling the average) underlines its ability to roll out AI and automation tools like Smart+, which lower activation friction.

Meanwhile, the consumer ad equity peak since 2020 suggests that platforms investing in ad experience (e.g., native, non-intrusive formats) reap higher acceptance. The competitive angle is stark—other platforms must now match both innovation velocity and trust recovery. For monetization strategists, the data reinforces shifting budgets into social commerce and short-form video, but also highlights the need for robust measurement partnerships (Kantar’s role).

The report’s timing, amid ongoing privacy changes and AI adoption, makes TikTok’s momentum a benchmark for how platform trust correlates with spend growth.