President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs were supposed to take effect today (February 4), forcing marketers to once again rethink their budgets. But at the last minute, most of them were put on hold — a reminder that in this environment, nothing is certain until it actually happens.
For weeks, businesses had been bracing for higher costs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China, with marketers weighing the ripple effects on pricing, demand and strategy. Now, instead of adjusting to a new reality, they’re stuck in limbo, unsure if these tariffs will resurface next week, next month or disappear altogether.
It’s just the latest example of how unpredictable President Trump is. Tariffs aren’t just an economic policy under his administration, they’re a bargaining chip, a political weapon, and, at times, a headline-grabbing threat. Marketers can’t afford to overreact every time one is announced, but they also can’t ignore the possibility that the next one might actually stick.
With so much uncertainty, flexibility isn’t just a tactic — it’s the playbook. Just as it has been since the pandemic turned everything upside down.
“The flexibility of how we buy has really become ever present and more important than ever,” said Jennifer Kohl, chief media officer at VML.
Now more than ever, marketers want the freedom to shift budgets with minimal friction. The deals they strike, the channels they invest in, even the way they forecast — it all hinges on staying nimble.
So far this year, that flexibility has shown up in a few key ways: a shift from rigid upfront commitments to more fluid, performance-driven allocations; a reliance on programmatic to tweak ad spending in real-time; and a growing emphasis on retail media and platforms, where budgets can be reallocated at a moment’s notice.
Social and creator-driven campaigns are also seeing more rolling investments, with marketers adjusting spending based on engagement rather than locking into long-term deals.
And it’s not just U.S. marketers navigating these shifts — the ripple effects of these tariffs are stretching far beyond American borders.
“The tariffs are one of many different factors we’re having to track already this year,” said Simon Bevan, chief operating officer at Havas Media Network U.K.
Like many of his peers in Europe, Bevan is keeping a close eye on the indirect effects of White House policy.
For starters, tariffs are expected to slow global trade, dragging down economic growth — particularly in open economies like the U.K. Trump’s approach is also set to push prices higher, triggering a temporary resurgence in inflation.
If financial markets react to this and start pricing in higher inflation, and, consequently, rising interest rates, borrowing costs in the U.S. will climb.
That, in turn, could drive up yields on U.K. government bonds since the two markets are closely linked. Higher bond yields could mean higher borrowing costs — an unwelcome development for Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is already working within tight fiscal constraints. Should the pressure continue, she may have no choice but to trim future spending plans.
“Marketers are very much in a short-terminist mindset now,” said Bevan. “Therefore, ad spending is more cautioned around what are the largest discretionary types of spend.”
To be fair, this isn’t new.
Whether it was a global pandemic, inflation swings or geopolitical crisis, marketers haven’t had the luxury of long-term certainty for years. Tariffs may be the disruption of the moment, but another shock could just as easily take their place next week. The agility Kohl and Bevan describe isn’t just a response to market turbulence — it’s the new normal.
Which is why this isn’t necessarily bad news for advertising. On the contrary, global ad spending is still growing. Total ad spending this year is set to top $1 trillion for the first time, with a staggering 75% of those dollars flowing into digital, per eMarketer.
It’s not about cutting budgets — its about moving them where they’ll work hardest. Failing to do so could leave companies struggling to drive volume in a market where prices keep climbing and consumers, especially those in the lower and now middle tiers, are feeling the squeeze.
That’s when marketers tighten their grip on digital advertising, treating it like a pressure valve for shifting budgets and salvaging performance in an increasingly unpredictable economy.
“We’ve seen programmatic budgets grow between 20 to 30% for 2025,” said Alex Block, head of programmatic at digital agency Jellyfish, without revealing exact figures.
A few factors are pushing this shift: advertisers are pulling money from social platforms like TikTok, retail media continues its upward trajectory, and, of course, CTV remains a major draw.
On the CTV front, much of that spending is being driven by more marketers viewing it as a way to thread the needle between brand and performance, as Block explained: “A lot of those dollars are being driven by marketers who want to use CTV to reach people in that mid-funnel, consideration bucket.”
The more this trend accelerates, the less CTV is seen as just an extension of a campaign’s reach — and the more so the centerpiece.
“We expect CTV[spending}toovertakelinearTVduetothefactthatthelatter’ssportmoathasbeenbreached”saidCharlesPingmanagingdirectoratWinterberryGroup“AsaresultthewaythatTVadvertisingisplannedwillstarttobecomemoreintelligentratherthanpredicatedonagedemographicsandsoon”[spending}toovertakelinearTVduetothefactthatthelatter’ssportmoathasbeenbreached”saidCharlesPingmanagingdirectoratWinterberryGroup“AsaresultthewaythatTVadvertisingisplannedwillstarttobecomemoreintelligentratherthanpredicatedonagedemographicsandsoon”
CTV is just one piece of a larger shift toward more addressable, performance-driven channels. It’s why retail media, commerce and even creator partnerships are seeing a surge in ad dollars as marketers make investments they can tie directly to measurable outcomes — especially in uncertain times.
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