According to Fast Company, Meta posted a staggering $51.24 billion in ad revenue for the third quarter of 2025. That figure represents a massive 26% year-over-year increase from 2024. For context, Amazon’s online ad business also saw robust growth of 24% in the same period. This growth is happening while other industries are pulling back on marketing spending, underscoring the continued dominance of digital advertising. The key driver isn’t just more ads; it’s a fundamental shift in user behavior on platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
The Creation Economy Takes Over
Here’s the thing: the raw revenue number is almost secondary. What’s really fueling this is that Meta’s platforms have become engines for creation, not just passive consumption. People aren’t just scrolling anymore. They’re making content, remixing trends, and writing their own stories about brands. They decide what gets amplified. This active participation is what keeps engagement high and, by extension, keeps advertisers writing bigger checks. It’s a much stickier environment than the old model of just interrupting someone’s feed.
Winners, Losers, and Market Shakeup
So who wins in this new landscape? Clearly, the platforms that can facilitate this co-creation are cleaning up. Meta and TikTok are at the forefront. But the losers might be traditional media and any ad platform built on a one-way broadcast model. Even search advertising, while still huge, doesn’t have this same cultural, participatory vibe. For brands, the pricing effect is intense—you’re paying a premium to be in these vibrant, user-driven spaces. But the cost of *not* being there, of seeming irrelevant, is probably higher.
The Multicultural Audience Imperative
Now, this shift isn’t being led by everyone equally. As the report notes, Hispanic and multicultural audiences are pioneering this behavior. For these communities, platforms are less about simple transactions and more about making and sharing traditions—it’s cultural co-creation at its core. Brands that just slap a translation on an old ad are completely missing the point. The ones building real relevance are participating authentically. This is where the power of creators, like Latina influencers, becomes non-negotiable. They’re not just spokespeople; they’re the cultural conduits.
What It Means For Every Marketer
Basically, the playbook is ripped up. You can’t just buy attention; you have to earn a role in the narrative that users are already writing. It requires a level of humility and agility that most big brands find terrifying. You have to provide tools for remixing, embrace when you’re meme’d, and understand that your brand message is no longer solely yours to control. The question is, are most marketing departments built for that? I think we’re about to find out, and the gap between the brands that get it and those that don’t is going to look a lot like Meta’s revenue chart: steep and unforgiving.
