An Evalutation of Investment Opportunities in the Digital Advertising Space ​

An Evalutation of Investment Opportunities in the Digital Advertising Space ​

March 8, 2023
March 8, 2023

Share

Investment Opportunities in Digital Advertising

An investor Client engaged Stax to complete an assessment of the 

digital advertising market and companies operating in the space.​


Stax assessed: 

  • Advertising ​budget trends​
  • Social media​ & short form video platform performance ​& positioning​
  • SEM platform performance & positioning​, trends in linear, OTT, & CTV television budgets​,
  • How these budgets were impacted by the macro environment

Planning Strategy

Stax assembled a fact base to evaluate trends and developments 

occurring in the online advertising space


We developed a field level perspective of the current and projected trends in the advertising space using a two methods: ​

  1. Phone interviews with advertising decision makers​, ad agencies, and industry experts
  2. Web survey across advertising decision makers and​ ad agencies​​

Trends in the Market

Stax deliverables provided:

  • Current and projected ad budget trends
  • Drivers of increasing topline ad budgets
  • Market commentary and macro indicators to validate these projections.

Within the deliverable, Stax provided detailed analysis on:

  • Budget allocation and breakdown of budgets for each platform (social media, SEO, OTT, CTV, Display adds) 
  • The most popular and dominant platforms within each segment.​

The client was presented with:

  • Opportunities and challenges faced by these platforms due to market developments, regulatory changes, evolving privacy requirements, etc. ​

A Deeper Look into the Market

Stax analysis helped the Client to obtain a market-based view of 

digital advertising trends relative to the current state of brands’ marketing budgets, and the impact of the macro environment on ad budgets.​

Investment Opportunities in Digital Advertising

An investor Client engaged Stax to complete an assessment of the digital advertising market and companies operating in the space.​


Stax assessed: 

  • Advertising ​budget trends​
  • Social media​ & short form video platform performance ​& positioning​
  • SEM platform performance & positioning​, trends in linear, OTT, & CTV television budgets​,
  • How these budgets were impacted by the macro environment

Planning Strategy

Stax assembled a fact base to evaluate trends and 

developments occurring in the online advertising space


We developed a field level perspective of the current and 

projected trends in the advertising space using a two methods: ​


  1. Phone interviews with advertising decision makers​, ad agencies, and industry experts
  2. Web survey across advertising decision makers and​ ad agencies​​

Trends in the Market

Stax deliverables provided:

  • Current and projected ad budget trends
  • Drivers of increasing topline ad budgets
  • Market commentary and macro indicators to validate these projections.

Within the deliverable, Stax provided detailed analysis on:

  • Budget allocation and breakdown of budgets for each platform (social media, SEO, OTT, CTV, Display adds) 
  • The most popular and dominant platforms within each segment.​

The client was presented with:

  • Opportunities and challenges faced by these platforms due to market developments, regulatory changes, evolving privacy requirements, etc. ​

A Deeper Look into the Market

Stax analysis helped the Client to obtain a market-based view of digital advertising trends relative to the current state of brands’ marketing budgets, and the impact of the macro environment on ad budgets.​

Investment Opportunities in Digital Advertising


An investor Client engaged Stax to complete an assessment of the digital advertising market and companies 

operating in the space.​


Stax assessed: 

  • Advertising ​budget trends​
  • Social media​ & short form video platform performance ​& positioning​
  • SEM platform performance & positioning​, trends in linear, OTT, & CTV television budgets​,
  • How these budgets were impacted by the macro environment

Planning Strategy


Stax assembled a fact base to evaluate trends and developments occurring in the online advertising space


We developed a field level perspective of the current and projected trends in the advertising space using a two methods: ​


  1. Phone interviews with advertising decision makers​, ad agencies, and industry experts
  2. Web survey across advertising decision makers and​ ad agencies​​

Trends in the Market


Stax deliverables provided:

  • Current and projected ad budget trends
  • Drivers of increasing topline ad budgets
  • Market commentary and macro indicators to validate these projections.

Within the deliverable, Stax provided detailed analysis on:

  • Budget allocation and breakdown of budgets for each platform (social media, SEO, OTT, CTV, Display adds) 
  • The most popular and dominant platforms within each segment.​

The client was presented with:

  • Opportunities and challenges faced by these platforms due to market developments, regulatory changes, evolving privacy requirements, etc. ​

A Deeper Look into the Market

Stax analysis helped the Client to obtain a market-based view of digital 

advertising trends relative to the current state of brands’ marketing budgets, and the impact of the macro environment on ad budgets.​


Read More

Miriam El-Baz & Connor Novy Honored as Consulting Magazine Women Leaders
December 2, 2025
Miriam El-Baz and Connor Novy were recognized at the Consulting Magazine Women Leaders awards to highlight the outstanding contributions made by women in consulting. Read more.
Featured in Financier Worldwide—Accelerating value in PE carve-outs: strategy and execution
By Phil Dunne & Peter Rodrigues-Renon November 11, 2025
Financier Worldwide discusses strategy and execution for accelerating value in PE carve-outs with Phil Dunne and Peter Rodrigues-Renon at Stax, including Gerard Nichol at Grant Thornton. Read more.
Key Considerations for Investors Exploring the Automotive Retail Tech Value Chain
By Sameer Tejani & Max Massaro November 6, 2025
Investment focus in automotive technology continues to broaden beyond OEMs to the core service ecosystem. Read what Sameer Tejani and Max Massaro see in the market.
Grant Thornton Stax Provides Sell-Side Support to SteelEye on its Merger With FundApps​
November 3, 2025
Grant Thornton Stax supported SteelEye, a leading trade and communications surveillance and data analytics platform, on its recent merger with FundApps. Read about the deal here.
Grant Thornton Stax Perspectives on the Growth Outlook of Data Centers
By Tyler Veit, Joel Slater, Kate Philbrick, & Tyler Michaels November 3, 2025
As data center development shifts toward larger builds, demand for specialized service providers, offering backup power, electrical systems, and cooling infrastructure grows. Learn more.
Grant Thornton Stax Appoints Chen Liu as Partner to Drive Growth in Technology and Education Sectors
October 30, 2025
Stax, part of the Grant Thornton Advisors LLC multinational platform, has announced the appointment of Chen Liu as Partner. Read more about Chen and his responsibility with the firm.
Show More