Agencies

Can Netflix do live programming? Plus, efficiency gains from generative AI are causing some ad agencies to rethink how they bill clients.

Brands need more automated tools for buying podcast ads at scale, says Publicis Groupe. Now, Barometer will provide brand safety rankings for all of Acast’s podcast inventory to assist pre-campaign planning.

For Carat US Chief Investment Officer Carrie Drinkwater, data is essential to driving success – but it’s not the whole story.

Prohaska Consulting debuted the ProNews Collective, a private marketplace of premium news publishers whose ad inventory will be exclusively available via Index Exchange.

Move over, Mr. Met — it’s Grimace’s time to shine. Plus, Zeta Global has acquired email marketing and identity company LiveIntent for $250 million.

For two days, retail media luminaries gathered to discuss how best to expand the category’s effectiveness (and budgets) for brands and advertisers – without, of course, overlooking how the end goal consumer will react.

Why streaming TV might adopt the cloud-usage model for content; MAGNA projects strongest ad market in two decades; and “go woke, go broke” gets proven wrong, again.

Albert Thompson, a buy-side veteran with 20+ years of experience, weighs in on attention metrics, the value of MFA sites, brand safety backlash and how publishers can improve their inventory.

Day Two of the Google antitrust trial in Alexandria, Virginia on Tuesday was just as intensely focused on the intricacies of ad tech as on Day One.

Artificial intelligence is often incorrectly touted as a one-size-fits-all solution to any problem. But Omnicom’s new generative AI virtual assistant, Omni Assist, is narrowing AI’s focus to solve for specific agency challenges.

In today’s newsletter: Google Demand Gen is the industry’s latest over-attribution controversy; data from third-party brokers might not be worth it; and The Trade Desk launches a CTV operating system.

Ranjana Choudhry has spent decades on the buy and sell side. Now, she’s getting into ad tech. AdExchanger spoke with Choudhry about her new role and about her side hustle training the next generation of marketers.

Adelaide used this latest cash injection to boost its valuation to $60 million ahead of an all-stock acquisition of Rita, an Amsterdam-based data marketplace with a focus on the EU.

Sensodyne wanted to do more than just get a sense of whether people were paying attention to its TV ads – it also wanted to optimize for attention.

Enjoy this weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … 

Many of Publicis’ fastest-growing and most strategic business units – including CitrusAd, Profitero, Epsilon and Conversant – earn a large chunk of their revenue from other agencies. Is that a problem?

Shares of WPP took another thumping yesterday. Plus, advertisers are getting post-lawsuit cold feet about X all over again.

Advertising is still Reddit’s meal ticket – but until its ad revenue tops the $2 billion per year mark, it can’t really be considered competitive with other social platforms.

In today’s newsletter: Netflix drops its ad prices to slightly less outrageous levels; X sues GARM, alleging it led an ad boycott for ideological reasons, not brand safety concerns; and how TV manufacturers have laid the groundwork to take ad dollars from streamers and cable.

AI-powered systems should make the humans that use them smarter, says WPP CTO Stephan Pretorius. “It has to be people first, not technology first.” Plus: why “technology doesn’t destroy jobs, it destroys tasks.”

With attribution-based platforms taking over, there aren’t many ways for an advertiser to bet (and win) big. Plus, what about the Google advertising ID? 

Some brands are turning away from larger media agencies in favor of smaller, independently run shops. Plus, licensing sports content is Reddit’s next revenue diversification play.

If you were wondering whether Brian Lesser was planning to take some time off after handing the CEO reins of InfoSum to Lauren Wetzel last week – here’s your answer.

The next Google Search core update is expected in “the coming weeks.” Plus, The TV industry moves slowly, but it’s going FAST now.

Google is testing a new badge for shopping-related searches on some mobile devices. Plus, should brands have political opinions?

IPG announced what it’s calling a Climate Action Marketplace built in partnership with SeenThis and PubMatic to make it easier for marketers to do the sustainable thing.

Shoppable TV ads may encourage sales, but they lack the measurement and performance benchmarks advertisers expect. Buyers must create their own benchmarks – and can only do so by actually testing these new ad units, including with their upfront budgets, says Mike Fisher, executive director of investment innovation at GroupM US.

The Global Media Sustainability Framework, which was announced Monday during a panel at Cannes, saw collaboration across all parts of the industry. Supporters include the 4As, IAB, Dentsu, Google, GroupM, L’Oréal, Omnicom, Publicis Groupe, Mastercard, Meta and Unilever.

Between 2019 and 2021, two-thirds of advertisers bought ads on sites flagged for repeatedly publishing false or misleading content, a recent study found.

While agencies push for more programmatic buying options, publishers want to maintain control in TV ad buying negotiations – and particularly over their “premium” content.