Marketers Bet Big on AI and CTV, But a Tech ‘Execution Gap’ Looms

A new report from Mediaocean reveals that while marketers are boosting 2026 ad spend on digital channels, a massive "execution gap" is emerging. Deeply fragmented ad tech and siloed systems are preventing brands from capitalizing on the very technologies they're investing in.

• Follow the money: The digital gold rush is on, with 63% of advertisers increasing budgets for CTV and digital video, and over half hiking spend on AI-driven media. This cash infusion comes at the direct expense of traditional channels, as more than a third of advertisers are pulling back from local and national TV, according to reporting.

• A house divided: The core problem is fragmentation, which more than half of advertisers name as their top concern. While over 40% of teams use AI for data analysis, adoption plummets to less than 20% for campaign orchestration. This isn't an abstract issue; just one in ten advertisers report having a truly unified ad tech stack, leaving the rest to grapple with data silos that cripple cross-channel strategy.

• Conducting the orchestra: In response, the industry is pinning its hopes on "orchestration" as a solution, with nearly 40% of advertisers naming it a new priority. The strategic pivot is clear: instead of fine-tuning separate channels, the goal is to build a single, smarter system that can run the whole show. As Mediaocean CMO Aaron Goldman states, "the advantage won’t come from adopting even more tools—it will come from orchestrating them."

The real challenge for the ad industry isn't just buying into the AI and CTV hype. It's funding the foundational overhaul of broken, disconnected systems required to turn that investment into a real advantage.