Digital ad spend in Colombia 2026: format now outweighs platform

Every time IAB Colombia publishes its quarterly report, there is one figure that deserves special attention: how advertising investment is distributed across the different formats. Beyond the growth numbers, this information shows where budgets are moving and what brands are prioritizing in their digital strategies.

Between April and June 2026, digital advertising investment in Colombia reached COP 847,662 million, growth of 9.1% compared with the same period the year before. A positive figure that confirms the market’s evolution, but one that becomes more relevant when we look at which formats are gaining share and which are losing ground. That’s where we find valuable information for making investment decisions and planning 2027 strategies.

How to interpret investment by ad format

To understand the results of IAB Colombia’s report, it’s important to keep in mind how digital advertising investment is classified. The methodology distinguishes ad formats, regardless of the platform on which they are published.

For example, the video category includes investment in audiovisual ads, even when they are distributed through social networks such as Instagram, Facebook or TikTok. For its part, social media groups the platforms’ own formats, such as images, carousels, promoted posts and forms, excluding ads classified as video.

This distinction is fundamental to interpreting the figures. Growth in video investment does not necessarily imply a decrease in investment in social networks. Advertisers may be allocating a larger share of their budgets to audiovisual content within the same platforms.

Consequently, the results should be read as an evolution in how investment is distributed across formats, not as a loss of relevance of social networks in advertising strategies.

Video gains ground in digital advertising investment

Video continues to consolidate as one of the most relevant formats in digital advertising in Colombia. In the second quarter of 2026 it concentrated 32.1% of investment, equivalent to COP 272,396 million, and grew 19.2% compared with the same period the year before. Its share went from 29.4% to 32.1%, while investment classified in social media formats represented 25.3%, a drop of 2.9%.

These figures send an important signal to brands: both the formats they produce and the distribution of their advertising budgets need to be reviewed. The growth of video does not necessarily mean brands are no longer investing in social networks. Part of that investment may be shifting toward audiovisual formats within the same platforms, such as Reels, Stories or TikTok videos.

This change also poses a challenge for marketing teams. A campaign’s effectiveness depends not only on the media budget but on the ability to produce content that captures attention, communicates clearly and connects with audiences. Increasing the investment behind a video that isn’t relevant will hardly improve its results.

That’s why audiovisual production should take a more important place in content planning. Developing videos with quality, frequency and adapted to each platform requires strategy, creativity and a well-structured production operation.

Search retreats and display regains ground

Search fell 3.1% and now accounts for 18.6% of the market. The report doesn’t explain why, but it’s hard not to link it to the change in how people look for information: a growing share of queries no longer starts in a search engine but in an artificial intelligence assistant. That’s a hypothesis, not a conclusion of the study. Even so, any brand that depends on Google traffic should start asking how it shows up when an AI gives the answer.

In the opposite direction, display grew 34.4% and reached COP 125,834 million, raising its share from 12% to 14.8%. Many had written this format off. Its recovery has to do with more precise, data-driven buying that has made it more efficient than a few years ago.

Influencer marketing: the first sign of adjustment

After growing 23.1% in 2025, influencer marketing investment fell 7% in the second quarter of 2026. One quarter doesn’t define a trend, but it does reflect a change in the questions brands are asking. For two years creators were hired for their reach. Now they’re asked to show results.

The way out isn’t to stop working with creators but to change how they’re hired: agree upfront on a business metric, such as sales, sign-ups or visits with their own code, and tie payment to it.

Branded content: little investment and plenty of room to fill

The fastest-growing format in percentage terms was branded content, which went from COP 4,987 million to COP 9,500 million (+90.5%). Even so, it represents only 1.1% of the digital market.

For a mid-sized brand, that’s probably the most valuable number in the report. It’s a territory with little competition where you can still stand out without matching the budgets of the big advertisers. The condition is having something to say and the discipline to produce content with a point of view of your own, not ads disguised as stories.

The World Cup effect and what comes in the third quarter

From the first to the second quarter, investment went from COP 442,612 million to COP 847,662 million. Part of that jump is seasonal: the start of the year is always weak because brands are still adjusting budgets. The rest is explained by the FIFA World Cup, which is also an event consumed in video.

That’s why the figure that will really measure the market’s health is the third quarter’s. If growth holds near 9% without the boost from football, we’ll be looking at a real recovery and not a one-off peak. And if video holds its share without the World Cup, the shift in format will no longer be up for debate.

Brands are looking for more judgment

Investment channeled through agencies grew 20.3% and reached COP 315,827 million, while direct sales by media outlets grew just 2.4%. In a market with more formats and less room for error, brands increasingly value someone who helps them decide where to invest and, above all, where not to.

Five decisions for the 2027 budget

1. Review which part of your social media spend is still static. If most of what you promote on Instagram or Facebook is images, the brand is investing in the format that is losing ground.
2. Budget video production at the same level as media spend. A good piece with less spend performs better than a mediocre one with a lot.
3. Measure your dependence on search. If most of your customers arrive through search engines, it’s worth starting to work on your brand’s presence in AI assistants’ answers.
4. Hire creators with business metrics in the contract, and test branded content while it remains uncrowded. Reach alone no longer justifies the investment, and the advantage of getting to brand content first won’t last.
5. Close planning in November. The first quarter always starts slowly; whoever reaches January with the plan defined gains weeks on the competition.

Source: Digital Advertising Investment Report in Colombia, second quarter of 2026, IAB Colombia. Format definitions according to the report’s methodological glossary.