Mobile ad performance isn’t declining because marketers ran out of ideas. It’s declining because users stopped paying attention.

The infinite scroll — once the performance marketer’s best friend — has devolved into a passive blur. Users zone out as they swipe, making them 91% more likely to ignore in-feed ads altogether.

For growth teams, this behavioral wall shows up in the metrics they answer for: customer acquisition costs keep climbing, and creative assets burn out faster than teams can replace them.

SmartNews’ latest guide makes the case that resilient growth in 2026 requires a different mindset: reaching audiences when they’re looking to learn, not just zone out. It outlines a tactical, low-lift framework for shifting your media mix into premium, information-rich news environments — where users arrive with an active mindset rather than a scrolling thumb.

Crucially, this isn’t a call to abandon social. It’s a blueprint for adding a channel where attention is the default, not the exception.

This guide will help you: Unlock an isolated audience – reach premium consumers who have mentally checked out of social feeds Mitigate creative fatigue – transition to an editorial tone that extends asset life by 3x Validate fast – run a 7-day test of conversion velocity against your social benchmarks, with zero operational overhead Secure the “trust halo” – position your brand as a helpful resource, lifting credibility by 50% This guide is for: UA managers watching CPMs rise and CTRs fall on Meta, TikTok, and Google Growth leads under pressure to bring CAC back under control Creative teams tired of rebuilding ad assets every two weeks Mobile-first apps and brands looking to diversify beyond volatile social auctions

Whether you’re battling creative fatigue, skyrocketing acquisition costs, or simply diminishing returns on the same three platforms, this guide shows how growth brands are capturing high-intent, active mindsets instead of fighting for passive scrolls.

Download the guide and learn how to stop the scroll — and start the discovery.