Agencies

“Data-Driven Thinking” is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media. Today’s column is written by Michael McLaren, executive global group director, high-tech and business-to-business practices, at Merkle. Have you ever found yourself in a meeting where sales leadership challenged marketing leadership for evidence that their […]

Agencies are developing skills and business models around advanced TV buying, just as they once did for programmatic buying. GroupM has a dedicated department in Modi Media. IPG Mediabrands’ Cadreon, Dentsu Aegis’ Amplifi, Omnicom and Publicis Groupe also have added expertise. Even independent agencies like Horizon Media are building out advanced TV centers. “Advanced TV” […]

Advertisers get a little antsy when they see headlines like “More Facebook Measurement Problems!” – but the sky didn’t fall when Facebook began what’s turned into an ongoing measurement mea culpa. “I don’t have a single client that doubts the social and economic performance and importance of Facebook and all of their platforms,” said Rob Norman, […]

Programmatic TV doesn’t exist? Don’t tell that to Dentsu’s media agency, Carat, which just reserved inventory programmatically across five local broadcasters. The upfront commitment, finalized this week, was executed with Videa, a private exchange/supply-side platform owned by Cox Media Group. The commercials will appear on Cox local affiliate stations, including CBS, Fox, NBC and ABC, […]

A few weeks ago, WPP initiated [m]Platform, a unit designed to consolidate data and tech expertise throughout the GroupM media agency families. Most of [m]Platforms’ executive leadership came from Xaxis. But where does that leave Xaxis? With global CEO Brian Gleason leaving to oversee [m]Platform, EMEA CEO Nicolas Bidon became Xaxis’ top dog – as […]

Not all network agencies are beholden to their holding company trading desks. Dentsu-owned 360i, for one, “has never spent a dime with Amnet,” said Chairman Bryan Wiener. Rather, it buys all media – roughly $1.5 billion worth – in-house. And programmatic, he said, should be integrated into 360i’s “overall offering.” 360i originally focused on search […]

“Data-Driven Thinking” is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media. Today’s column is written by Jay Friedman, chief operating officer at Goodway Group. It’s generally thought that second-price auctions are better at extracting maximum bids from buyers than first-price auctions. The auction mechanics of eBay, the […]

Both WPP’s GroupM and IPG’s Magna pinpoint 2017 as the year digital ad spend finally surpasses linear TV, according to forecasts each media-buying unit released Monday. Magna noted that digital grew 17% globally this year to $178 billion, contributing $23 billion to the total $26 billion growth in ad spend this year. GroupM predicts that digital will […]

“Data-Driven Thinking” is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media. Today’s column is written by Matthew Mobley, chief technology officer at Merkle. At a marketing event I recently attended, there was one aspect that resonated with me the most: the marketing funnel and how marketers […]

WPP-owned GroupM said Tuesday it will centralize its tech and data expertise worldwide into a unit called [m]Platform. The division will be helmed by Xaxis CEO Brian Gleason with key executives drawn from Xaxis and across GroupM. “The collective mission of [m]Platform revolves around technology, data and expertise,” Gleason told AdExchanger. “The mission is how […]

Programmatic ad spend will grow faster globally than all other buying methods in 2017, according to Zenith’s Programmatic Marketing Forecast, released Monday. Zenith also reported that premium buying models like private marketplaces (PMPs) are taking off as RTB tapers off. Globally, programmatic will account for 64% of digital display spend by 2018, or $64.1 billion. “We […]

Agencies often select a few “preferred partners” instead of dealing with numerous demand-side platforms (DSPs). While agencies, barring a client preference, should choose a DSP that can access the best inventory at the best rates for a given campaign, many buying platforms offer volume-based discounts. And because agencies feel the squeeze on margins, they might […]

AT&T now has controlling interest in addressable TV platform Invidi, following an investment the telco giant revealed Monday. The exact amount was undisclosed. Prior investor WPP and Dish Network also participated. Although Invidi will remain independent, AT&T, Dish and WPP have collective ownership. An AT&T spokesperson said the telco sees “opportunity for continued expansion in […]

Has performance-based pay finally arrived for agencies? Traditionally, marketing services firms were paid on a set scope of billable hours worked by each employee on an account. But a growing number of advertisers are pushing for more tangible, ROI-based remuneration. The biggest recent example is McDonald’s. The quick-serve advertiser’s RFP process specified that agency compensation […]

This is the fifth installment in “PII,” a series featuring the talent that makes the wheels turn in our data-driven advertising world. Read previous interviews with Nazanin Jazayeri, Andrew Klein, Ella Chinitz and Freddie Liversidge. Before Shamsa Jafri joined Los Angeles-based agency Innocean in February, its data and analytics practice was lacking, restricted to activities like report polling and data […]

Publicis Groupe has merged digital agencies SapientNitro and Razorfish, it announced Thursday. The combined agency, SapientRazorfish, will sit under the Publicis.Sapient umbrella, which houses the holding company’s digital and technology assets. SapientNitro CEO Alan Wexler will become CEO of SapientRazorfish and co-CEO of Publicis.Sapient as current CEO Alan Herrick moves to a chairman role. Chip […]

Snapchat is credited with jumpstarting the vertical video trend earlier this year, but now the format is really starting to hit its stride. That’s out of necessity, said Ari Brandt, CEO and co-founder of mobile ad platform MediaBrix, which on Thursday rolled out a new version of its SDK that supports vertically shot in-app video […]

Omnicom Media Group (OMG) appointed Jonathan Steuer as its chief research officer in May because the worlds of data-driven advertising and traditional TV buying were quickly coming together. Steuer, who spent five years previously at TiVo, clearly understands both worlds. As such, OMG’s syndicated and investment research teams both report to him. “Historically, there’s research […]

Agencies across WPP’s network will gain access Spotify’s audience insights for better targeting across creative and media. The multiyear partnership between Spotify and WPP’s Data Alliance, announced Tuesday, will grant WPP access to anonymized and aggregated data from Spotify’s 100 million listeners across 60 countries. “The data we have from Spotify will resonate across WPP,” […]

GroupM is refocusing investments around addressable and data-driven media. WPP’s media investment management arm will be split into two pillars, Media Investment and Platform Solutions, the company said Monday. The Media Investment arm will refocus GroupM’s investment strategies around data and platforms, while the new Platform Solutions division will centralize and scale GroupM technology used […]

360i – the digital agency recently recognized by the Forrester Wave – prides itself on its ability to adapt to rapid changes in technology. “Marketers need agencies that are adaptable, but still retain the fundamentals,” CEO Sarah Hofstetter said. Forrester singled out 360i’s strong data chops, its ability to facilitate collaboration rather than competition between […]

“Data-Driven Thinking” is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media. Today’s column is written by Jay Friedman, chief operating officer at Goodway Group. A big milestone hit me recently and unexpectedly: Ten years working in ad tech? It feels like I started just yesterday. But actually, […]

Despite being one of the world’s largest commercial real estate firms, CBRE has a low profile in digital media. Until 2014, all of the 110-year-old company’s marketing was executed through traditional media. Then it hired Paul Suchman as chief marketing officer. An agency vet with a history at Young & Rubicam, OgilvyOne and BBDO, Suchman […]

This is the fourth installment in “PII,” a series featuring the talent that makes the wheels turn in our data-driven advertising world. Read previous interviews with Nazanin Jazayeri, Andrew Klein and Ella Chinitz. When Freddie Liversidge joined Essence in 2013, the agency’s programmatic practice he was tasked with building out had just three people. Now it has […]

When Publicis Groupe shed its trading desk model, the holding company had to train employees across its media and digital agencies to execute programmatic campaigns. The transition was led by Carol Sinko, VP of global learning strategy at Publicis Media, and Rick Ransome, associate director of global learning strategy. On Wednesday, they told attendees at […]

After a six-month sabbatical, Chief Revenue Officer Laura Desmond will leave Publicis Groupe due to a family health emergency, the company announced Thursday. (Press release) Desmond’s term with the organization will end on Dec. 31. Rishad Tobaccowala, the holding company’s chief strategy and growth officer who performed Desmond’s responsibilities during the sabbatical, will continue executing […]

Workflow management software provider Mediaocean will integrate with four demand-side platforms (DSPs) to automate programmatic account management and billing for its agency partners, the company announced Wednesday. The program, announced at AdExchanger’s Programmatic I/O conference in New York City and called Connect Programmatic, launches with DSPs TubeMogul, The Trade Desk, Rocket Fuel and MediaMath on […]

The ability to buy directly from a publisher, both programmatically and through direct integrations, is transforming agency media-buying practices. Premium inventory is going programmatic thanks to private marketplaces (PMPs) and programmatic guaranteed deals. Meanwhile, header technology has reinvented the way buyers connect with some media sellers. These converging trends have empowered more agencies to go […]

IPG plans to boost investments in data analytics and coordinate its database across all its agencies, CEO Michael Roth said Friday during the holding company’s Q3 earnings call. Read the release. “That will be a key focus for us in 2017 – to make sure all the agencies at IPG have a consistent offering in […]

Publicis Groupe’s organic growth rate was stagnant in the third quarter (up only 0.2%, a decrease from 0.7% growth in the same period last year), due to economic uncertainties related to the US election, Brexit and the surge of media reviews in 2015. Revenue for Q3 was 2.32 billion euros (or about $2.5 billion), down […]