---
title: "Digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand: Which are most popular?"
description: "Compare platforms for planning, buying, and optimizing programmatic digital advertising. Share of Search among Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, StackAdapt, The Trade Desk, AdRoll, Basis Technologies and Quantcast, the digital ad buying platforms Brandwave compares in New Zealand, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-digital-ad-buying-platforms"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand: Which are most popular?

Compare platforms for planning, buying, and optimizing programmatic digital advertising. Share of Search among Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, StackAdapt, The Trade Desk, AdRoll, Basis Technologies and Quantcast, the digital ad buying platforms Brandwave compares in New Zealand, using the same methodology, market, and reporting period. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Competitive set**: Digital ad buying platforms
- **Market**: New Zealand
- **Brands compared**: 8
- **Month measured**: Oct 2026
- **Highest Share of Search**: Google Ads, 88.9%

## Which brand is most popular in search among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand?

- In October 2026, Google Ads was the most searched among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand, with an estimated 18.1K branded searches, 88.9% of all searches for the eight tracked by the Brandwave Brand Demand Index.
- Meta Ads is in 2nd place, 79.5 percentage points behind at 9.3%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Google Ads’ share of searches among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand decreased from 89.6% to 88.9%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Meta Ads’ share of searches among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand increased from 7.9% to 9.3%.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Google Ads’ share of searches among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand peaked at 89.6% in November 2025 and was lowest at 85.4% in January 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, Meta Ads’ share of searches among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand peaked at 11.3% in January 2026 and was lowest at 7.9% in November 2025.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, StackAdapt rose from 5th to 4th among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, The Trade Desk fell from 4th to 5th among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand.
- Across the 12 months ending October 2026, LinkedIn Ads, AdRoll, Basis Technologies and Quantcast held steady: their share of searches among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

## Top digital ad buying platforms in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In Brandwave's three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Meta Ads and The Trade Desk were mentioned most often, in four of the five answers. Google Ads was recommended most often, coming first in all three answers that gave a list. Meta Ads was second, and The Trade Desk was third. AdRoll, which ranked sixth in searches, was not mentioned at all.

Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options.

| Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Google Ads | 1st | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 |
| Meta Ads | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 |
| The Trade Desk | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 |
| LinkedIn Ads | 4th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 |
| StackAdapt | 5th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 |
| AdRoll | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |
| Basis Technologies | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |
| Quantcast | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 |

## Every AI answer about digital ad buying platforms

- Asked ChatGPT "Which digital ad buying platform should I use in New Zealand?": 1. Google Ads, 2. Meta Ads, 3. The Trade Desk
- Asked ChatGPT "What are the best digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand?": 1. Google Ads, 2. Meta Ads, 3. The Trade Desk, 4. LinkedIn Ads, 5. StackAdapt
- Asked ChatGPT "What's the best digital ad buying platform in New Zealand for a marketing team?": 1. Google Ads, 2. Meta Ads, 3. LinkedIn Ads, 4. The Trade Desk
- Searched Google, AI Overview "programmatic advertising platform": 1. The Trade Desk
- Searched Google, AI Overview "digital media buying platform": 1. Meta Ads

Not named in any answer: AdRoll, Basis Technologies and Quantcast.

Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in New Zealand on October 21, 2026.

## Compare search popularity between leading brands

- [Google Ads vs Meta Ads: compare search popularity](/demand/nz/compare/google-ads-vs-meta-ads): 88.9% against 9.3% Share of Search.

## How did search popularity change for New Zealand digital ad buying platforms in October 2026?

- In October 2026, Google Ads gained share of searches among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand, from 86.2% to 88.9%.
- In October 2026, Meta Ads lost share of searches among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand, from 11.1% to 9.3%.
- LinkedIn Ads’ share of searches among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand has lost ground for 3 months in a row, from 1.5% to 0.83% in October 2026.
- In October 2026, StackAdapt rose from 5th to 4th among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand.
- In October 2026, The Trade Desk fell from 4th to 5th among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand.

## Which digital ad buying platforms do people search for most?

| Rank | Brand | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | Change vs prior month | Owned by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Google Ads | 88.9% | 18.1K | +22.3% | Google |
| 2 | Meta Ads | 9.3% | 1.9K | 0.0% | Meta |
| 3 | LinkedIn Ads | 0.83% | 170 | -19.0% | Microsoft |
| 4 | StackAdapt | 0.44% | 90 | 0.0% | StackAdapt |
| 5 | The Trade Desk | 0.34% | 70 | -36.4% | The Trade Desk |
| 6 | AdRoll | 0.1% | 20 | -33.3% | AdRoll |
| 7 | Basis Technologies | 0.05% | 10 | -50.0% | Basis Technologies |
| 8 | Quantcast | 0.05% | 10 | 0.0% | Quantcast |

## Historical estimated branded-search demand

| Month | Brand | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nov 2025 | Google Ads | 14.8K | 89.6% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | Meta Ads | 1.3K | 7.9% | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | LinkedIn Ads | 170 | 1% | 3 |
| Nov 2025 | The Trade Desk | 110 | 0.67% | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | StackAdapt | 90 | 0.55% | 5 |
| Nov 2025 | AdRoll | 20 | 0.12% | 6 |
| Nov 2025 | Basis Technologies | 10 | 0.06% | 7 |
| Nov 2025 | Quantcast | 10 | 0.06% | 8 |
| Dec 2025 | Google Ads | 9.9K | 88.1% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | Meta Ads | 1K | 8.9% | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | LinkedIn Ads | 170 | 1.5% | 3 |
| Dec 2025 | The Trade Desk | 90 | 0.8% | 4 |
| Dec 2025 | StackAdapt | 40 | 0.36% | 5 |
| Dec 2025 | AdRoll | 20 | 0.18% | 6 |
| Dec 2025 | Basis Technologies | 10 | 0.09% | 7 |
| Dec 2025 | Quantcast | 10 | 0.09% | 8 |
| Jan 2026 | Google Ads | 12.1K | 85.4% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | Meta Ads | 1.6K | 11.3% | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | LinkedIn Ads | 210 | 1.5% | 3 |
| Jan 2026 | The Trade Desk | 140 | 0.99% | 4 |
| Jan 2026 | StackAdapt | 70 | 0.49% | 5 |
| Jan 2026 | AdRoll | 20 | 0.14% | 6 |
| Jan 2026 | Quantcast | 20 | 0.14% | 7 |
| Jan 2026 | Basis Technologies | 10 | 0.07% | 8 |
| Feb 2026 | Google Ads | 12.1K | 87.2% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | Meta Ads | 1.3K | 9.4% | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | LinkedIn Ads | 210 | 1.5% | 3 |
| Feb 2026 | The Trade Desk | 140 | 1% | 4 |
| Feb 2026 | StackAdapt | 70 | 0.5% | 5 |
| Feb 2026 | AdRoll | 30 | 0.22% | 6 |
| Feb 2026 | Basis Technologies | 10 | 0.07% | 7 |
| Feb 2026 | Quantcast | 10 | 0.07% | 8 |
| Mar 2026 | Google Ads | 14.8K | 87.1% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | Meta Ads | 1.6K | 9.4% | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | LinkedIn Ads | 260 | 1.5% | 3 |
| Mar 2026 | The Trade Desk | 210 | 1.2% | 4 |
| Mar 2026 | StackAdapt | 70 | 0.41% | 5 |
| Mar 2026 | AdRoll | 30 | 0.18% | 6 |
| Mar 2026 | Quantcast | 20 | 0.12% | 7 |
| Mar 2026 | Basis Technologies | 10 | 0.06% | 8 |
| Apr 2026 | Google Ads | 14.8K | 87.9% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | Meta Ads | 1.6K | 9.5% | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | LinkedIn Ads | 210 | 1.2% | 3 |
| Apr 2026 | The Trade Desk | 110 | 0.65% | 4 |
| Apr 2026 | StackAdapt | 70 | 0.42% | 5 |
| Apr 2026 | AdRoll | 20 | 0.12% | 6 |
| Apr 2026 | Basis Technologies | 10 | 0.06% | 7 |
| Apr 2026 | Quantcast | 10 | 0.06% | 8 |
| May 2026 | Google Ads | 14.8K | 86.3% | 1 |
| May 2026 | Meta Ads | 1.9K | 11.1% | 2 |
| May 2026 | LinkedIn Ads | 210 | 1.2% | 3 |
| May 2026 | The Trade Desk | 110 | 0.64% | 4 |
| May 2026 | StackAdapt | 70 | 0.41% | 5 |
| May 2026 | AdRoll | 30 | 0.18% | 6 |
| May 2026 | Basis Technologies | 10 | 0.06% | 7 |
| May 2026 | Quantcast | 10 | 0.06% | 8 |
| Jun 2026 | Google Ads | 14.8K | 87.6% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | Meta Ads | 1.6K | 9.5% | 2 |
| Jun 2026 | LinkedIn Ads | 260 | 1.5% | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | The Trade Desk | 110 | 0.65% | 4 |
| Jun 2026 | StackAdapt | 70 | 0.41% | 5 |
| Jun 2026 | AdRoll | 20 | 0.12% | 6 |
| Jun 2026 | Basis Technologies | 20 | 0.12% | 7 |
| Jun 2026 | Quantcast | 20 | 0.12% | 8 |
| Jul 2026 | Google Ads | 14.8K | 87.6% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | Meta Ads | 1.6K | 9.5% | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | LinkedIn Ads | 260 | 1.5% | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | The Trade Desk | 90 | 0.53% | 4 |
| Jul 2026 | StackAdapt | 70 | 0.41% | 5 |
| Jul 2026 | AdRoll | 40 | 0.24% | 6 |
| Jul 2026 | Basis Technologies | 20 | 0.12% | 7 |
| Jul 2026 | Quantcast | 20 | 0.12% | 8 |
| Aug 2026 | Google Ads | 14.8K | 87.7% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | Meta Ads | 1.6K | 9.5% | 2 |
| Aug 2026 | LinkedIn Ads | 210 | 1.2% | 3 |
| Aug 2026 | The Trade Desk | 140 | 0.83% | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | StackAdapt | 90 | 0.53% | 5 |
| Aug 2026 | AdRoll | 10 | 0.06% | 6 |
| Aug 2026 | Basis Technologies | 10 | 0.06% | 7 |
| Aug 2026 | Quantcast | 10 | 0.06% | 8 |
| Sep 2026 | Google Ads | 14.8K | 86.2% | 1 |
| Sep 2026 | Meta Ads | 1.9K | 11.1% | 2 |
| Sep 2026 | LinkedIn Ads | 210 | 1.2% | 3 |
| Sep 2026 | The Trade Desk | 110 | 0.64% | 4 |
| Sep 2026 | StackAdapt | 90 | 0.52% | 5 |
| Sep 2026 | AdRoll | 30 | 0.17% | 6 |
| Sep 2026 | Basis Technologies | 20 | 0.12% | 7 |
| Sep 2026 | Quantcast | 10 | 0.06% | 8 |
| Oct 2026 | Google Ads | 18.1K | 88.9% | 1 |
| Oct 2026 | Meta Ads | 1.9K | 9.3% | 2 |
| Oct 2026 | LinkedIn Ads | 170 | 0.83% | 3 |
| Oct 2026 | StackAdapt | 90 | 0.44% | 4 |
| Oct 2026 | The Trade Desk | 70 | 0.34% | 5 |
| Oct 2026 | AdRoll | 20 | 0.1% | 6 |
| Oct 2026 | Basis Technologies | 10 | 0.05% | 7 |
| Oct 2026 | Quantcast | 10 | 0.05% | 8 |

## How are branded searches counted for digital ad buying platforms?

- **AdRoll**: Measured on the search terms “adroll” and “adroll retargeting”, summed into one figure.
- **Basis Technologies**: Measured on the search terms “basis technologies” and “basistechnologies”, summed into one figure.
- **Google Ads**: Measured on the search term “google ads”.
- **LinkedIn Ads**: Measured on the search term “linkedin ads”.
- **Meta Ads**: Measured on the search term “meta ads”.
- **Quantcast**: Measured on the search term “quantcast”.
- **StackAdapt**: Measured on the search term “stackadapt”.
- **The Trade Desk**: Measured on the search terms “the trade desk” and “thetradedesk”, summed into one figure.

- [AdRoll](/demand/nz/brands/adroll)
- [Basis Technologies](/demand/nz/brands/basis-technologies)
- [Google Ads](/demand/nz/brands/google-ads)
- [LinkedIn Ads](/demand/nz/brands/linkedin-ads)
- [Meta Ads](/demand/nz/brands/meta-ads)
- [Quantcast](/demand/nz/brands/quantcast)
- [StackAdapt](/demand/nz/brands/stackadapt)
- [The Trade Desk](/demand/nz/brands/the-trade-desk)

## Methodology

- [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which brand is most popular in search among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand?

In October 2026, Google Ads was the most searched among digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand, with an estimated 18.1K branded searches, 88.9% of all searches for the eight tracked by the Brandwave Brand Demand Index.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Digital ad buying platforms in New Zealand: Which are most popular?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-digital-ad-buying-platforms

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/categories/nz-digital-ad-buying-platforms. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.