What Are You Holding?
Agency holding companies haven’t lost their taste for M&A. Problem is, the ad industry is running short on consolidation options.
So holdcos are starting to look for targets beyond the traditional creative and media agency world, Adweek reports.
Publicis is the most visible example. Over the years, it’s acquired Epsilon, retail media SSP CitrusAd and ecommerce analytics firm Profitero. Its latest move – shelling out $2.2 billion for LiveRamp in May – is its most ambitious acquisition yet.
But now, as Adweek puts it, Publicis must “prove to LiveRamp clients – which include all of its competitors – that it can continue to operate the technology fairly.”
And that raises an uncomfortable question. If LiveRamp is no longer impartial middleware, is it still the same old LiveRamp? You can bet that every rival agency will be asking its brand clients exactly that.
Not every deal comes with that kind of conflict-of-interest baggage, though. Other holdcos are focusing on different kinds of add-ons. Some are buying agentic infrastructure, while others are focusing on sports and sponsorships. Influencer and creator marketing, like Accenture Song’s acquisition of Whalar in June, is another big category.
In short, the era of buying more agencies is fading. The new game is bolting on anything that can make the old agency model smarter, stickier or harder to dislodge.
Teamwork Makes The Dream Work
One of the biggest draws of creator marketing is its authenticity: real recommendations from a real person. It’s also one of the biggest roadblocks for marketers.
Brands need to strike a balance between highlighting their own messages while still ensuring that the creator’s voice comes through. Otherwise, the post just feels like another commercial.
Per eMarketer research, US spending on influencer marketing is expected to increase by 15.7% this year, hitting $13.7 billion by 2027.
But in order for influencer marketing to prove successful, the influencers themselves need some say in the brief and planning. Otherwise, as Piet Southey, managing director of creator agency Billion Dollar Boy tells Digiday, engagement will suffer “because the audience knows it’s not a real piece of content.”
Olive oil brand Kosterina learned this lesson firsthand. Following “some unsuccessful posts where the influencer did exactly what we asked them to,” says CEO and Founder Katina Mountanos, the Kosterina is now choosing to be “less prescriptive” with its creative briefs for influencers.
Corporate Creators
Speaking of creators, there’s another trend happening now where social influencers are being given CMO-adjacent titles at brands. In practice, these roles often amount to an exclusive deal to promote the company across social channels and, in some cases, to launch their own product lines.
Take Nadya Okamoto, a successful entrepreneur and business‑focused TikTok creator. She’s now CMO of social networking and events company Pie and also serves as “chief creator officer” at investment startup Cherub, which is an advisory role, she tells Marketing Brew.
Not that it’s a totally new thing for brands to lean on personalities as a marketing engine. Remember back in 2024 when minimalist wallet brand Ridge struck a “chief creative partner” deal with Marques Brownlee, a popular YouTuber who does consumer tech product reviews?
These creator arrangements are worth applauding, because they tap YouTube and TikTok creators with real creative chops. Less so a parallel trend involving the rise of B2B “creators” and LinkedIn influencers posting on behalf of their startups or tech companies. The world could do with a little less of that “thought leadership.”
But Wait! There’s More!
How Japan Airlines will track its new ChatGPT ad strategy. [Ad Age]
Several popular Samsung smart TV apps contain code that shares the owner’s internet connection with strangers, potentially putting millions of Samsung smart TVs at risk of hijacking. [TechCrunch]
Lifestyle influencers say they’re earning less and feeling the squeeze as the creator economy cools. [Vulture]
Snapchat won’t let creators monetize fully AI-generated videos, but it still wants you to please, please, please use its AI tools. [Tubefilter]
ICYMI: The Vanderhooks are relaunching MySpace! [Mashable]
You’re Hired!
Outfront taps UM Vet Huw Griffiths as its chief data officer. [MediaPost]
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.
