Liam Walsh
Liam is a Co-Director at Intelligency and heads up the agency's Digital Intelligence & Paid Social activity. Over the last decade, he has worked with brands from the world of sports such as Premier League clubs to entertainment such as Channel 4 and Disney.
As marketing experts, we constantly preach the importance of meeting your audience where they are. Right now, that “where” is undeniably short-form vertical video. Fresh data reveals a massive shift in Meta’s ecosystem: half of all ads globally on Instagram are now running on Reels.
If you are still allocating the majority of your paid social budget to traditional static feed placements, you are missing the cultural and behavioural shift happening right in front of your eyes.
The Numbers Behind the Shift
The transition to Reels-first advertising isn’t a slow burn; it is an accelerated takeover. Findings show that Reels accounted for 50% of global Instagram ad placements, up from 35% the prior year. In the U.S. market specifically, Reels secured 46% of the entire ad inventory. This trend isn’t isolated to Instagram either; Facebook Reels saw 29% of its global ad inventory shift to the short-form video format.
Why Meta is Going All-In on Reels
This surge in ad inventory is no accident. Meta has intentionally reoriented its platforms around Reels, algorithmic recommendations, and direct messaging. According to Meta’s internal data, video watch time is up 20% year-over-year, and Reels now command more than half of the total time users spend on Instagram. By testing layouts that replace the traditional home tab with a dedicated Reels view, Meta is training users to consume content vertically and continuously.
What This Means for Your Marketing Budget
While short-form video traditionally yields lower immediate monetisation rates than classic feed ads, it is the ultimate engine for user retention. Instagram’s daily active users grew by 2% alongside this Reels boom.
To bridge the gap, Meta has rolled out advanced, AI-driven ad tools like “trending ads” to help brands seamlessly curate culturally relevant creative. As marketers, our mandate for the upcoming quarters is clear: stop treating Reels as an optional add-on campaign extension. It is time to treat vertical, narrative-driven video as the foundation of your social ad strategy.
