New Native Advertising Institute report shows branded content revenues are on rise

The latest annual report by the Native Advertising Institute, published in collaboration with FIPP, shows significant revenue growth in branded content last year – an upward curve that is set to continue in 2026.

Based on survey responses from over 75 global brand studios, the State of Native Advertising & Branded Content 2026 study – which highlights the current opportunities and challenges within the field – reveals there was more than 18% year-on-year revenue growth in branded content in 2025.

Of the studios surveyed, 78% reported growth, with an increase of 19% expected throughout 2026. Within this growth, the key focuses are on owned platforms, short videos and the finance and healthcare industries.

The importance of branded content is underlined by the fact that 71% of studios say it is critical or very important to overall business strategy. Only 4% say it is somewhat important or unimportant.

The report by the independent Danish think tank also looks at the impact of AI on the industry, and found that, while widely adopted, it’s not yet transformative in the vast majority of cases.

While 65% of respondents reported that their studios were using AI regularly across their workflows, only 2.7% consider it to be fundamentally reshaping their work.

The business implications of these results paint a similar picture, with 81% reporting that AI has had no significant change to their pricing models and 74% state there was no significant change to their staffing.

“Every year this survey gives us the clear picture of where branded content and native advertising are really heading,” says Jesper Laursen, Founder of the Native Advertising Institute.

“This edition tells a confidence story: the industry is growing, demand is broadening, and studios are experimenting with AI while keeping human creativity at the centre of what they sell”. 

The Executive Summary is available to download here.