Media RFPs Are Changing; Facebook Wants News In Watch

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Eat Your RFPs

Media RFPs are falling out of fashion as more direct channels develop between buyers and sellers. The traditional RFP process is rushed and, with a focus on audience and ad specs, doesn’t account for the nuances in publisher strategies. As media buyers build ties with premium and top-performing outlets, brand requests are becoming more specific, customized and often include media developed by the publisher. “The larger media vendors have become platforms with a lot of businesses,” Ben Kunz, EVP of marketing and content at Mediassociates, told Digiday’s Lucia Moses. “It requires hard work to understand the value of different media outlets. There are all these nuances an RFP has a hard time getting to.” More.

Facebook Watches The News

Facebook may be demoting publishers in the news feed, but it wants to elevate news for its Watch video hub. The platform is testing partnerships with about 10 digital and legacy news publishers for national news segments, reports Sara Fischer at Axios. Facebook plans to launch the news videos this summer, and says it’s working with publishers to develop Watch monetization and measurement, though it’s still unclear how to do that based on comments and shares. More.

Unfluential

Instagram bots have gotten really good at imitating real people. And these bots, which follow celebrities and influencers, are becoming a big problem for brands who want their sponsored messages to reach real consumers. This situation has given rise to a new set of software and human moderation startups that vet social media accounts and influencer campaigns. The Dentsu agency 360i now analyzes potential influencer accounts and is unlikely to hire any with more than 2-3% bot followers, Corey Martin, the agency’s head of influencer marketing, tells The New York Times. “Everyone is definitely scrambling because they don’t want to be held responsible,” says Krishna Subramanian, co-founder of the influencer platform Captiv8. More.

Call Me By Your Name

Agencies want to be more like consultancies, consultancies want to be more like agencies. Neither has had an easy time transitioning. But Adweek profiles a new crop of emerging companies that are nimble enough to bridge that divide. Traditionally, agencies don’t understand their clients’ business needs, while consultancies can be a little money hungry. New agency-consultancy hybrids, like Wolfgang, which launched December 2016, has a different way of doing business. “Our model makes us more open to coming in to solve a problem, not to sell an idea,” said its president, Seema Miller. “When we present a strategic solution, it’s executable.” More.

But Wait, There’s More!