Contextual may not be a new trend, but in 2025, it is more relevant to the marketing mix than it has ever been. As privacy regulations tighten and access to consumer data becomes increasingly restricted, advertisers are under pressure to find smarter, more responsible ways to deliver effective campaigns. While first-party data remains important, there’s a shift underway: contextual targeting is now seen as increasingly critical to campaign success.
In a survey by Proximic (Comscore) in late 2024, 41% of marketers identified contextual targeting as their primary strategy, while 52% planned to enhance their use of contextual data in the year ahead. Those are compelling stats.
The relevance gap: why ads still miss the mark
Modern advertising is blighted by a brand-consumer matching problem. Put simply, it is becoming more and more difficult to first uncover, then understand, and finally captivate audiences online.
The main challenges for the advertiser are:
Regulatory challenges dictating vastly reduced access to consumer data
Gradual loss of the signals that once enabled targeting
Changing consumer behaviour due to a tumultuous social and economic landscape, alongside ever-changing technology.
As consumers, we feel it too. Generic ads based on vague demographics or outdated browsing data are not just ineffective; they’re annoying. But 75% of people we surveyed said that having an ad which is contextually relevant to what they are browsing makes them pay more attention.
This makes absolute sense – and yet the reality of what we are shown is often quite different.
Many of us regularly feel like our privacy has been undermined when we are served certain irrelevant ads. Meanwhile, the most genuinely pertinent or useful ad content is failing to reach us.
The result? Nobody wins. The ad experience is broken, for both brands and audiences.
From demographics to dynamic context
The case for contextual targeting keeps getting stronger. Yet, despite the obvious benefits, many marketers struggle to act on it. The latest research by GumGum and AdWeek reveals a critical disconnect: while 59% of marketers say relevance is key to success, only 22% prioritise real-time targeting based on what audiences are reading or watching in the moment.
So, while marketers know what they should put contextual targeting at the heart of their strategy, but struggle to put it into practice. This gap is where real opportunity lies, and why context is set to have a resurgence.
Let’s take an example of applying real-time analytics to inform ad placement decisions. Traditionally, Johnson’s Baby ads would appear alongside parenting content – childcare advice, family holidays, nutrition tips. Effective, perhaps, but limiting. Parents who are up three or four times a night browsing celebrity news or entertainment are still part of the audience the brand would like to reach.
By partnering with GumGum, Johnson’s Baby was able to go beyond the expected, tapping into broader contexts influenced by shifting online behaviour, social media, and real-time interests. As a result, they were able to create and deliver ads that meet parents where they are, in the moment – and consequently resonate more deeply.
When brands use context in this way, they stumble across insights they might never have discovered otherwise. In the fashion world, iconic French jeweller Boucheron discovered its audience shows a strong over-index with beekeeping – the hot new hobby of the 1%. Who knew?
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Mindset and measurement
At GumGum, we have developed a mindset graph that helps brands reach audiences with greater precision and purpose, empowering them to elevate their campaign reach and outcomes.
Taking into account data output across three key pillars – a) creative messaging and performance, b) contextual categories and alignment, c) consumer attention metrics – the engine uses AI to power an ongoing intelligence loop. The result is a rich, holistic data set that is continuously honed to deliver measurable, optimal attention.
This approach moves beyond stereotypes and legacy assumptions; it opens up new inventory, finds untapped audiences, and delivers relevance where it matters most.
Contextual targeting is no longer just about brand safety or cookie-less compliance. It now underpins the entire advertising journey, from audience discovery to planning, activation, and post-campaign insights.
As brands navigate the evolving programmatic landscape, those that focus on real-time mindset – not just historic behaviour – are unlocking the open web as a powerful, privacy-safe alternative to walled gardens. At GumGum, we are more than ready to help brands leverage our enhanced contextual tools to deliver the right message, in the right way, at the right time.
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