Month: June 2023

Two of the most prominent demand-side platforms in ad tech have held talks in recent weeks with potential outcomes including Viant purchasing MediaMath, a deal that would take one of the most longstanding names in the sector onto the public markets.

The exact nature of the proposals on the table is unclear, albeit it is widely understood that MediaMath – an ad tech company whose 2022 refinancing round saw its founder and original CEO Joe Zawadski exit – has been exploring a sale since 2020.

Investment bank Houlihan Lokey is understood to be advising on any potential deal, following an April 2023 report by Insider, with separate sources citing executives at each of the concerned parties.

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As artificial intelligence’s ubiquity intensifies pretty much anywhere you look across the marketing and media landscape, there’s a growing awareness that there are risks inherent in this ultra-powerful new technology. Whether enough steps are being taken to mitigate risks remains a huge question mark.

Agency holding company Publicis Group announced on Monday it’s the first of its competitive set to join the Coalition for Content Provenance Authority (C2PA), to advocate for responsible use and management of AI (especially generative AI). It’s similar to what the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) did for raising awareness of and securing brand safety.

Comprised of several major ad tech, software and media firms, including Adobe, Microsoft, Intel and the BBC, C2PA was formed in 2020 to “advance the future of responsible digital media creation, publication and sharing,” as described in Publicis’ announcement.

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This week’s Future of TV Briefing dives into the fraying relations between free, ad-supported streaming TV platforms and channel operators. 

• The FASTs and the furious
• CNN’s CEO isn’t ready for his closeup, Directors Guild averts a strike, women’s sports rise in value, TV ad sellers settle suit and more

The FASTs and the furious

The key hits:

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Spotify is canceling six shows and laying off 200 people (2% of Spotify’s overall workforce) as it merges its Gimlet and Parcast podcast units into a combined Spotify Studios operation and tries to become profitable.

According to a company spokesperson, Spotify is shuttering five Parcast shows and one Gimlet show, including:

• Disappearances 
• Solved Murders 
• Unexplained Mysteries 
• Cold Cases 
• Unsolved Murders 
• Conviction 

These cuts are in addition to the 11 podcasts from Gimlet and Parcast that Spotify canceled last year. Nearly one-third of Parcast and Gimlet union members were laid off in October last year. In January, Spotify let go of 6% of its staff.

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Google, Amazon and Apple. YouTube and Dawn. Android. Netflix. Walmart. These familiar names have the highest levels of “brand fandom,” according to a new study from Stagwell’s global insights and strategy agency the National Research Group (NRG). While it’s another accolade for marketers at some of the nation’s most popular brands, which tend to appear…

McDonald’s is celebrating the birthday of its furry purple mascot Grimace with an epic party. The nostalgia-fueled campaign by agency Wieden+Kennedy New York features limited-edition products, a TV commercial, an 8-bit video game and a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Charities. The effort kicks off June 12 with an ad showing Grimace ringing in his…

On advertising’s biggest stage of the Super Bowl, it takes a higher level of creativity to stand out. That is why Diageo whisky brand Crown Royal decided to take a risk, by using its spot during a quintessentially American event to pay tribute to Canada. The ad starred Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl (who is…

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wins again.