Month: April 2024

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Not It! The broadcaster-backed joint industry committee (JIC) is celebrating its certification of Comscore and VideoAmp as national TV currencies this week. But it also draws attention to the standoff between the JIC and the media and measurement companies that won’t join. Nielsen […]

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The efficiencies of generative AI

Between the two ends of the publisher-AI company relationship spectrum (copyright infringement lawsuits vs. licensing deals), a fair number of publishers are exploring the capabilities of this technology to streamline their business-side operations. 

Last fall, BDG, BuzzFeed and Trusted Media Brands shared how they were testing AI copilots and private chatbots to make their sales organizations more efficient — and ultimately more productive. Now, Time and The Wall Street Journal are looking for other methods of using generative AI internally to both improve their teams’ efficiencies as well as create more turnkey offerings that will speed up the rate of doing business. 

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Cadent’s headline-grabbing $324 million acquisition of performance marketing company AdTheorent has set ad tech circles buzzing. Is this the long-awaited thaw signaling a resurgence in mergers and acquisitions?

It certainly seems so, with Walmart throwing down $2.3 billion for Vizio, Triton Digital scooping up AI brand safety startup Sounder, and LiveRamp dropping $200 million on Habu.

However, the deals themselves are not the only important aspect; it’s the overall atmosphere surrounding them.

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After spending years developing their own esports leagues in-house, game publishers have given up the ghost in 2024, handing the reins over to third-party league operators to keep their competitive scenes alive. It’s an end of an era — and a chance for the industry to become more sustainable in the long run, if it isn’t too late.

During the boom days of esports, publisher ownership of events and leagues was the industry’s dominant business model. Riot Games and Activision Blizzard charged investors millions of dollars in franchise fees for the right to field teams in in-house leagues such as the Overwatch League and League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), then spent millions of dollars of their own to produce spectacular world championships and flashy homestand events.

But over the past 12 months, publishers have made it clear that they are looking to divest from esports. Instead, they’re partnering with third-party vendors to run their leagues. Activision Blizzard still runs its Call of Duty League with a skeleton crew, but has handed both “Overwatch” and the lower levels of “Call of Duty” esports over to ESL/FACEIT Group.

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As it aims to expand data and artificial intelligence strategies and services for its clients, independent digital agency Mod Op, Digiday has learned, will launch an internal AI practice this week called AI Council.

It’s part of Mod Op’s aggressive acquisition strategy over the past year, with an aim to boost its creative and tech capabilities — as well as to rebundle creative and media assets under one roof. More purchases are planned or in progress, said Eric Bertrand, CEO of Mod Op.

In the past 12 months, Mod Op has closed five acquisitions — with another creative agency purchase in progress and another full-service agency in discussions. Mod Op did not share terms of these deals or its budget. The goal with AI Council is to establish a practice in AI and machine learning across all its strategic business units, from media to digital, as the company grows and positions itself as an AI advisor for clients.

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In this week’s Digiday+ Research Briefing, we examine how the rapid growth of retail media networks is making it hard for marketers to decide where to spend, how agency spending on TikTok has dropped sharply in recent months, and how Amazon is hoping more marketers will hop on board with its DSP, as seen in recent data from Digiday+ Research.

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Mint CEO Lorenzo Larini says Zalis is “a huge advocate of diversity and inclusion, which to us is very important. It’s a narrow view when you look at those working in advertising, tech and AI.”

Kristen Wiig brings to a new campaign her character’s signature weirdness and the awkward, sometimes supernatural anecdotes that she overshares with fellow staff and freaked out customers.

A California appellate court confirmed this week that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak can attempt to sue YouTube over videos that used his image as part of a cryptocurrency fraud.

With TikTok facing a potential ban in the U.S., Facebook may be attempting to provide younger consumers with a new hub for video consumption. The full-screen video player will facilitate a variety of
video types including short-form Reels, long-form videos and Live content.