Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.
Birds Of A Feather
NBCU ad sales chief Linda Yaccarino gets the profile treatment in The New York Times. Despite the momentum behind ad-free content like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, she says “everyone agrees that advertising-supported content needs to remain the main driver or the epicenter of the business.” Those streaming services still rely on ad-supported content, and a shift to 100% original content “would be absolutely unaffordable” for the subscription rate. Yaccarino brought Fox Networks head of ad sales Joe Marchese to speak at an internal event earlier this year, a sign of how frustrations with new media platforms “have cast old rivalries in a new light.” In an age of Facebook and Netflix, TV nets like NBC and Fox can be rivals and still on the same team. More.
Very Hungry Caterpillar
Accenture Interactive has a seemingly insatiable appetite for agency capabilities. The digital agency arm of the management consultancy acquired ecommerce solutions provider Media Hive on Monday, its 13th agency acquisition in the past five years. Media Hive touts expertise in cross-channel commerce strategy, app development and cross-channel retail experiences. “We will bring together Accenture Interactive’s omni-channel marketing expertise and scale with Media Hive’s robust technical and retail expertise to drive the ultimate commerce experience for our clients,” said Glen Hartman, head of Accenture Interactive. Read the release.
Dentsu Aegis Network reported Q1 2017 earnings on Monday with roughly $2 billion in revenue and gross profit growth of almost 18%. Fifty-five percent of revenue is now digital, CEO Toshihiro Yamamoto said on the call. And Merkle, which the group acquired in August [AdExchanger coverage], is already bringing in significant revenue. “Total performance was driven by good organic gross profit growth and a strong contribution from recent acquisitions, particularly Merkle.” Read the release.
Creative Hack
Days after reporting disappointing first-ever earnings [AdExchanger coverage], Snap debuted a camera-based ad unit that reverses its AR selfie lenses onto user surroundings. Users can superimpose brand images onto their surroundings, add geofilters and tap on images to make, say, clouds vomit rainbows. MGM Studios purchased the unit for its movie “Everything, Everything,” but Snap will also allow buyers to purchase lenses for smaller, regional deals. Snap plans to combat slow user growth by lowering the barrier to creation, CEO Evan Spiegel said during the company’s earnings report. Recode has more.
But Wait, There’s More!
- Facebook Key To Winning UK Election, Political Parties Say – Financial Times
- What Is Digital Transformation And What Does It Require? – eMarketer
- Why Amazon Is Eating The World – TechCrunch
- Apple Has Acquired AI Startup Lattice Data For $200 Million – Voicebot
- Google Has Bigger Challenges With Home Than Recognizing Voices – Recode
- Publishers Are Using Facebook Video To Drive Commerce – Digiday
- VertaMedia Partners With Fraudlogix To Monitor Impressions – release
- Tapjoy Says Rewarded Ads Improve Mobile App Loyalty By 4X – VentureBeat
- Kraft Heinz The Launch Advertiser For Time Inc. Video Social Brand – release
- Advertising Behemoth At A Digital Crossroad – The Irish Independent
- Team Of Rivals: Inside Fox, Turner And Viacom Collaboration – Ad Age
- Twitter To Use Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings In 23 Countries – Adweek
You’re Hired!
- Nexstar Names Adds Two Ad Tech Execs To Leadership Roles – release
- Sublime Skinz Appoints Andrew Buckman EMEA Managing Director – release
- Sizmek Hires First Chief Data Officer, Initiates Ops Overhaul – MediaPost
- Progress Partners Makes Exec Hires – release
- Leaf Group Announces Two New Leadership Appointments – release
