Month: July 2018

Remember when IHOP freaked out the entire internet after announcing it would no longer be called the International House of Pancakes and instead would become IHOb, International House of Burgers? It feels like years have passed since then, but it’s only been a month since that fateful day. The good news is that the name…

On Monday, Pivotal analyst Brian Wieser informed investors he will begin covering Criteo and The Trade Desk as his first ad tech stocks. Wieser covers large entities across the media and marketing sectors. His smallest previously was Interpublic Group, which has a $10 billion market cap. But when investors began asking him more about ad… Continue reading »

The post Analyst Brian Wieser Takes On Ad Tech’s ‘Big Two,’ Criteo And The Trade Desk appeared first on AdExchanger.

Austin-based creative agency GSD&M is launching a strategy studio consisting of general marketing strategists and decision sciences specialists. Through the creation of the new model, the agency hopes to meet increased client demand for strategic leadership from creative agency partners, delivering comprehensive strategic leadership and deeper insights to clients by combining its strategic practices in…

A wave of layoffs hit Brooklyn-based ad agency Laundry Service today. About 10 percent of the staff — about 45 people across the business and across the company’s offices — were put on a 90-day notice period, with their last day at the company set to Oct. 9.

The company’s parent, Wasserman, confirmed the layoffs, and said the company will also see new leadership take the reins: Founder and CEO Jason Stein will also be leaving to “pursue new entrepreneurial endeavors,” as is chief creative officer Alyson Warshaw. Chief strategy officer Jason Kelly also transitioned to a “consulting” role earlier this year, according to a company rep. Laundry Service and Cycle Media will now be led by COO Jordan Fox, managing director Amy Hellickson and CMO Mike Mikho, who are all existing employees.

“Jordan, Amy and Mike are each vibrant leaders with very complementary strengths and experience,” said Casey Wasserman, chairman and CEO of Wasserman, of which Laundry Service and Cycle are wholly-owned subsidiaries. “I have no doubt that, under their guidance and with my unconditional support, the companies will continue to grow and deliver great work.”

There was a client loss attributed as one of the causes, but the company is also shifting to account for a new structure.

Laundry Service was founded in 2011, doing mostly online video. The agency has gone through multiple iterations. It’s most recent one was a foray into media. Laundry Service founder and CEO Jason Stein grew out of the agency Cycle Media, a media company focused on Instagram and influencer content.

Laundry Service is now part of Cycle Media, an umbrella organization that last year got $150 million in investment from sports marketing firm Wasserman, which has a controlling stake in the company. The plan, according to Stein, was to use that money to acquire more companies. Agencies are known to invest in media companies, but this was part of a new trend in the industry, mimicking others like Gary Vaynerchuk-founded VaynerMedia’s parent acquiring PureWow last year as well.

Laundry Service, which moved to a shiny new, industrial-chic space with sweeping views of both Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges in Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighborhood last year, had a string of successful years recently. Headcount was somewhere in the vicinity of 450 and the agency was on track to hit about $70 million in revenue last year. It also picked up some hot new accounts last year like Papa John’s, which was notable because it was picked as the pizza company’s new creative agency, which to many in the industry was proof it had gone beyond doing social media.

The post Laundry Service lays off 10 percent of staff, founder Jason Stein out appeared first on Digiday.

Creative agency Laundry Service and its production wing Cycle went through a large-scale “restructuring” today, parting with founder and CEO Jason Stein as well as dozens of staff members. Wasserman, the talent management company that acquired Laundry Service in 2015, confirmed Stein’s departure in a statement. It also confirmed that three leaders will succeed him:…

At this year’s World Cup, two teams were hard to root against. Japan’s team reminded everyone about the importance of courtesy by not only cleaning up their locker room but leaving a thank-you note to their Russian hosts. The Swedes, however, may have taken the prize as the most likeable team, and not just because…

House lawmakers sent letters to the CEOs of Apple and Google parent Alphabet, seeking information about how they handle smartphone users’ personal data such as location information.

FreeWheel and Operative said Monday that they have partnered on an initiative called “Premium at Scale,” which lets advertisers buy digital and addressable TV inventory in one place. NBCU is the first media brand to sign on. Traditionally, ad sales on linear TV and digital have been very separate processes with very different measurements. Since… Continue reading »

The post FreeWheel And Operative Launch Initiative To Bridge The Buying Gap Between Digital And Addressable TV appeared first on AdExchanger.

For Evian, it’s out with the old and in with the new. As of today, the brand is saying goodbye to its iconic babies campaign, which it first rolled out nearly 10 years ago, and is debuting a new creative campaign in the United States. The new campaign, “I Wanna #Liveyoung,” pays tribute to the…

Across all 12 NATO member countries, a median of 61% approved of the alliance last spring. Many Americans say NATO does too little to solve global problems.