Media Buying Trends 2026: Field Notes from PropellerAds
Traditionally, when the year is almost over, PropellerAds rushes to share our ideas and recommendations for the next year. This time, our internal teams eagerly uncover what they are already seeing in the numbers and hearing from partners, turning those signals into practical moves you can make now.
Along the way, you’ll see forecasts from our colleagues whose day job is running and auditing ad campaigns at scale, and each section closes with a clear takeaway so you can apply them in your practice instantly. Let’s begin!
#1. iGaming Goes Global… And Gets Tougher to Win
iGaming’s growth curve is actively broadening across regions, formats, and audiences.
“We expect iGaming to be one of the most dynamic global growth verticals in 2026,” says Serge Abramov, Head of Media Buying at PropellerAds.
A lot of things have changed, new markets are opening up, more payment rails are maturing, and more users are searching for beneficial playing conditions (bonuses, quality games, etc.). The hard part is that acquisition costs follow demand as well. In short, the pie is getting bigger, but so is the competition; therefore, the winners will be those who plan for both scale and selectivity.
That competitive squeeze shows up first where rules are tightening.
“Talking about iGaming, user acquisition requires unusual angles and sharper segmentation. We clearly notice that old straightforward CTAs don’t move the needle anymore,” notes Oleksandr Shovkun, Sales Team Lead.
The practical implication from Oleksandr is to map micro‑segments and build angle variants per user cohort, because in 2026, creative nuances buy you the lift that brute force cannot.
Brand strategy is also shifting as iGaming platforms get serious about lifetime value.
“Leading iGaming platforms are going offline and pushing 360° brand programs,” Oleksandr adds.
Offline presence, such as events and sponsorships, builds visibility that makes audiences more familiar with the brand before they encounter digital ads. The conversion math is easier when awareness has already done half the job, so plan your budget accordingly.
#2. GEO Realignment: LATAM Cools Down, Africa Heats Up
The next interesting region is LATAM. It remains valuable, especially for iGaming, but requires more work than before:
“LATAM hasn’t disappeared, but it’s tougher in Argentina and Brazil,” Oleksandr explains.
New rules slow down campaigns and make them more expensive, despite user interest in iGaming remaining strong. In other words, you’ll need to spend more to get the same results and plan extra time for updating creatives.
Meanwhile, Africa deserves your next serious test. Mobile-first consumption, rapidly improving payments, and relatively low-priced attention make this region compelling in 2026. Early entrants can build strong, localized funnels that are difficult for competitors to copy later.
Why? Because by the time the region gets crowded, you’ll already have better data and optimized creatives – advantages that keep your results strong even as costs rise. So, yes, a test budget for Africa, especially if you are willing to enter verticals as competitive as iGaming, is a great idea.
#3. Utilities Rebound and VPNs Are Back in Play
User appetite for practical and entertaining tools is spiking again, and distribution is friendlier than it was a few cycles ago. Oleksandr’s read is direct: Utilities are “back to the top,” and mobile apps have space to operate in the mainstream app stores again, which opens options that were previously less approachable.
For buyers who sat out the last Utilities wave, the move is to bring your offers back to life, tighten post-install measurement, and rebuild creatives around use-case storytelling rather than urgency or fear, because that’s where durable conversion lives.
#4. Quality VS Volume: The “Popunderization” of Social
There’s a widening gap between what buyers want and what the biggest social platforms are optimizing for in 2026.
“Buyers are hungry for quality traffic, but the largest socials are leaning into massive, cheap reach – what I’d call a kind of “popunderization” of feeds,” says Serge.
As assumed, the social platform’s logic is to earn and show growth to investors, which inflates inventory and pushes up auction prices even when engagement quality remains average.
Unfortunately, this results in margin compression for media buyers. The tactical response is to rebalance into intent‑heavy channels, diversify budget, and hold your creative to a higher standard.
Facebook embodies the paradox: “It’s easier to comply with the Facebook moderation now, but it’s never been harder to make the math work and really start earning,” Serge observes.
More relaxed moderation speeds up the launch, but cost and delivery patterns often decrease profitability on the media buyer’s end, so “passing” isn’t the win it used to be. Now, the smart approach is to see passing moderation as the minimum requirement, not the goal. So, run smaller tests, cut underperforming ads quickly, and focus on channels where users actually have purchase intent – not just lots of impressions.
#5. AI Everywhere: Optimization, Analytics, and Creatives
AI has moved from novelty to non‑negotiable across the media stack:
“Everyone wants AI for optimization, creatives, and analytics. It’s excellent at handling large datasets and keeps the flow smooth,” says Oleksandr.
The reason is obvious: machines can test and retest an infinite number of times, and they see patterns humans may miss. Use AI for bidding and targeting, but regularly test if it’s actually improving your bottom line – not just shifting numbers around in your reports.
By the way, creatives are where the AI rise is most visible now, and this won’t change in 2026:
“AI‑made creatives will dominate. Master image generation – or use tools like PropellerAds Auto Creatives for Push – to spin up ML‑based assets instantly and keep up with competition,” Serge advises.
Faster iteration cycles mean you can test angles per segment and avoid ad fatigue without exploding production costs. The takeaway is to treat generative AI like a small in‑house studio: brief it well, educate for brand fit, and let volume work for you – not against you.
Also, talking about angles, the tone of creatives is changing too: “Scare and pushy tactics are fading online. As we observe, audiences are responding to cleaner, more useful messages,” Oleksandr notes.
That shift is happening because platforms and users both penalize manipulative framing, while concepts with clear value feel safer and convert more consistently.
Finally, expect continuity – just executed differently. “All the other familiar creative angles will stay, but they’ll be executed with AI now,” Oleksandr adds.
That means social proof, exclusivity/limited offers, and personalization aren’t going away in 2026. To Oleksandr’s opinion, AI is great in making the same angles sharper, plus – faster, which is a necessary step in today’s industry, where everyone uses AI. The most efficient move is to create templates of your best-performing patterns, allowing AI to replicate them coherently rather than improvising from scratch.
On the contrary, Serge adds that AI could be an efficient tool for new angles ideas. So everything depends on how you use it!
Quick insight: in the world of rising AI and automation, human connections become even more valuable than ever.
“In 2026, personal communication is everything. If you attend any of the affiliate marketing conferences, do your networking job. Also, always talk to your account managers and ask for help, they should give you some advice on trending GEOs, suggest new traffic acquisition strategies, and tools,” Serge reminds.
True, no matter how efficient AI tools are, the human loop is still where you’ll hear about fresher supply, smarter whitelists, and creative trends days or weeks before they go public.
#6. Sports Traffic Spikes: 2026 FIFA World Cup and Winter Olympics
Global events, as always, capture the entire Internet, and the 2026 World Cup as well as Winter Olympics will be no exception.
“Expect massive traffic spikes during large sports events and broader user interest,” Oleksandr says.
Sports events lift attention across iGaming, sports highlights, eCommerce, and Utilities, and your campaigns will last even after the final whistle if your post‑event remarketing is ready. The takeaway is to calendar your creatives testing, budgets, and landing page variants now, so you’re not buying surge‑priced attention with unprepared funnels. Remember to start testing at least a week or two before the event to be fully prepared at the finest hour.
Instead of Conclusion: Your Media Buying Tactics for 2026
So, before the year gets away from us, let’s make sure that we know how to advertise and make it profitable:
- Traffic sources to try: if the current Meta’s shift towards more affordable “popunderized” traffic is not your cup of tea, opt for Push, In-Page Push, Interstitials, and other PropellerAds formats.
- Automation and segmentation: build AI‑assisted creative variants with Auto Creatives, try Rule-Based Optimization for fast kill campaign rules, and rely on Zones/Subzones optimization.
- GEOs: add Africa test budgets, treat LATAM as a still alive environment.
- Ride iGaming and Utilities smartly: consider iGaming is a top vertical, but also re-evaluate Utilities offers, focus on high-quality ad messages that reflect value (time to forget about fear/urgency angles).
- Work with your account manager closer: gain higher account levels to regularly ask for data‑driven advice, fresh angles, and early access to features.
So, this year’s trends have something classical in them: platforms optimize for growth, regulators optimize for order, and users optimize for usefulness. We also see social platforms shifts, new GEOs to discover, and rising AI technologies, so the buyers who win will accept those realities early, then opt for quality traffic, create unique creatives, and agile conversations with real humans.
Sounds like a plan, right? Then start executing it today with PropellerAds!
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