Month: March 2019

Programmatic will be key to Spotify’s ability to scale as it expands from a music platform to an audio platform with spoken-word content. Since launching its audio capability in 2016, Spotify’s programmatic business has grown to capture 20% of all ad revenue on its platform. In addition to a self-serve platform launched in 2017 that… Continue reading »

The post As Spotify Wades Into Podcasts, Programmatic Is Top Of Mind appeared first on AdExchanger.

Less than two months after Kate Middleton and Prince William tied the knot in Westminster Abbey with 2 billion people watching, the couple stepped out for a day at the Epsom Derby. Wearing a white dress, jacket and fascinator, the new Duchess of Cambridge’s outfit drew attention–but mainly because of the pair of nude patent…

Fallon didn’t have to look far for its new chief executive. The Minneapolis-based agency promoted Rocky Novak to the position after nearly six years as managing director of Fallon’s Minneapolis headquarters. He replaces Mike Buchner, who transitioned into a chairman role at the beginning of the month. A 35-year agency veteran, Buchner had served as…

Panoply Media–which changed direction last fall via eliminating its podcast production team and investing in its technology platform, called Megaphone–is rebranding and renaming itself. After signing new partners to its platform, including iHeartMedia, Vox Media, Himalaya and Cadence13, Panoply Media will now take on that platform’s name, Megaphone. The new name cements Panoply Media’s transition…

The Financial Times has bought a controlling stake in consumer publisher The Next Web, marking its first acquisition in continental Europe.

The FT didn’t disclose the terms of the deal, which will see it take ownership of the Amsterdam-based media company’s website The Next Web and the TNW Conference, an annual event that draws 17,500 attendees from around 3,500 companies a year, according to TNW. The move will beef up the publisher’s own live global events business, FT Live, which produces 150 different events a year across categories ranging from the FT Innovation Summit in New York to Managing Assets for UK Insurers. Ticket prices range from €149 ($169) to €799 ($905) for the TNW Conference.

The FT’s subscriptions model is typically more business-to-business focused than most national publishers, which will mean some adjustment is needed to cater for TNW’s editorial tone and mandate which has been more consumer-facing. Events are a popular method for publishers looking to diversify their revenue base.

Around 70 percent of TNW’s revenue comes from events, advertising and its Amsterdam start-up tech hub, and each area accounts for a similar-sized proportion of revenue, according to TNW CEO Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten. “That shows the strength of the brand the way we have structured the business. It’s not one thing that keeps us all floating,” he said. The remaining 30 percent comes from smaller parts of the business such as its consultancy unit and business-to-business data products.

“This completely fits with the FT’s strategic development, said Douglas McCabe, CEO of media research firm Enders Analysis. “Though TNW’s broad remit, and very different tone from the FT, will not be entirely without their challenges.”

TNW was founded in 2006 and has 86 staff in its Amsterdam office. The next event TNW2019 will take place in May. The FT will program part of the event and will co-host TNW’s The Assembly, a gathering of technology leaders, industry figures and key policy makers, according to the FT.

TNW is an open-access site with a global audience of over 3 million monthly unique visitors spanning markets including the U.S. and U.K., according to comScore. The TNW site will remain open access, and there are no plans to put it behind the paywall, said Veldhuijzen van Zanten.

TNW began acquisition enquiries two years ago but wasn’t tempted to court any venture-capital funding, according to Veldhuijzen van Zanten. “VC money in general comes with a sense of urgency, and not in a good way. You can’t take VC funding and not have a clear plan to an exit in the forseeable future. We weren’t interested in it. We wanted to find a partner who could help us grow.”

The TNW Conference and operations will continue to run separately, and will not be integrated within FT Live.

“TNW is an established and profitable business that produces one of the largest and most critically acclaimed tech startup events in Europe, said Angela Mackay, global publisher of FT Live. “There are clear synergies between TNW and FT Live, in sharing audiences and delivering the FT’s world class journalism on live stages in Europe.”

The FT has made a string of acquisitions over the last few years, including research and thought-leadership based firm Longitude, and media company Alpha Grid. In January the FT invested in digital media publisher Sifted, a site which focuses on technology innovators and entrepreneurs, as part of ongoing plans to expand its technology-themed editorial products.

The post The Financial Times buys The Next Web to beef up live events business appeared first on Digiday.

MillerCoors has appointed Jack Morton as its lead agency partner for experiential, sports, music and entertainment marketing, following a review. Jack Morton will work with MillerCoors to develop a new approach to revamp its sports sponsorship marketing and develop a comprehensive enterprise partnership strategy. Based in Chicago, the Jack Morton team will be responsible for…

Competition from Amazon.com has pushed grocers to focus on home delivery and lower prices. Now it is taking aim at supermarkets’ high-profit products: those found in the beauty aisle.