Month: January 2024

You can now publish a bespoke version of ChatGPT that you’ve trained yourself. The marketplace for these custom GPTs is open to the public and works in a way that’s similar to Apple’s App Store.

The 2023 Emmy nominations were announced last July 12, so everyone can be forgiven for forgetting the whole thing.

While artificial intelligence was a major theme across the Consumer Electronics Show this year, agencies and marketers are trying to move past the hype — and seeking real investment and applications across the media spectrum.

“There isn’t a marketer in the world that hasn’t seen a compelling AI demo at CES,” said Henry Cowling, chief innovation officer of Media.Monks, “but we’re in a moment when marketers have to show the receipts — as the commercial model of the advertising industry is going through a paradigm shift, moving from hours to outputs.”

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As independent agency Exverus Media turned 10 this month, its president Bill Durrant reflected on growth of the Los Angeles-based media shop — and how the industry has evolved over the course of the agency’s decade of business.

Now with more than 40 employees, Exverus has developed into a $10 million agency that’s generated 145% growth over the last three years. Durrant attributes this to long-term relationships over the years with clients including Premier Protein, MasterClass and New Belgium Brewery.

In an interview with Digiday, he shares his views on cookie deprecation, what he forecasts for agencies this year — and his expectations of generative AI in coming years.

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Three years ago, advertising agencies committed to spending a certain percentage of their media budgets with minority-owned publishers to help get more dollars flowing to historically under-funded businesses.

But to access those budgets, agencies are pushing Black-owned media companies to prove that they are non-white owned, according to conversations with four media execs. At stake, they say, is the money set aside by advertisers to support non-white media companies following the the media reckoning spurred by the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

Who’s asking for these accreditations?

Black-owned publishers told Digiday that they are being asked — or encouraged — by ad agencies like Dentsu and Publicis to get accredited by third-party companies that, in some cases, have been around for years.

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With CES 2024 behind us, it’s clear many in marketing and beyond see plenty to be excited about with AI — and also plenty to be fearful about in the coming year.

Unsurprisingly in Las Vegas last week, AI was inarguably one of the hot topics. Major brands and startups alike spent the week touting new AI chatbots for everything from cars and bikes to smart TVs and personal devices. Meanwhile, other companies harnessed the past year of generative AI hype to show off platforms for making AI avatars, gaming experiences and other uses for health, tech and homes. 

Despite all the talk about AI on- and off-stage, some marketers noticed many exhibitors weren’t touting AI in their booths. Eric Hunter, a brand strategy consultant at Performance Branding Consultants, said the more mature tech companies on the showroom floor weren’t making it a “single point of differentiation” and instead focused on the benefits that come from embedding it into larger solutions.

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After years of fierce debate, much handwringing, and political point-scoring (not to mention delays), it seems Google Chrome is now on course to pull support for third-party cookies by the end of the year. 

However, many out there still need to be convinced the eventual implementation still won’t run past the Dec. 31, 2024 deadline. Ergo, it’s worth clarifying a few facts on the current state of play.

The Trade Desk has proven a prominent critical voice of Privacy Sandbox, and in June, Jeff Green told Digiday it would be a “strategic mistake” to push ahead with its trajectory.  

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One venture capitalist says most startups in 2024 will likely not get a second look for funding without a solid marketing strategy.

Golden State judges rule that Gilead can be sued for taking too long to develop an HIV drug.