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☆ Mark Penn's Stagwell Group is on the hunt for adtech as the ad company continues its acquisition spree
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Stagwell Group, the advertising agency holding group operated by Mark Penn, a former advisor to Bill and Hillary Clinton, is actively looking to buy adtech companies as it continues to grow through acquisitions. Penn's theory is that by bringing such adtech in-house, Stagwell can offer more self-service software to advertisers who want it while also shrinking those clients' ad prices and expanding its own margins. Challenger brand Stagwell is competing for bigger contractsPenn founded Stagwell Group in 2015 with $250 million in funding from investors, including former Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. Stagwell recently made a near-$700-million bid for S4 Capital, another challenger ad company founded by longtime WPP CEO Martin Sorrell, The Wall Street Journal reported. Publicis Groupe has the biggest market capitalization of the largest holding companies, at $28.2 billion, while Stagwell is trading at around $1.6 billion.

Persons: Mark Penn, Bill, Hillary Clinton, Penn, we're, Stagwell, Penn didn't, Ana Milicevic, Milicevic, Brian Wieser, Wieser, Steve Ballmer, Sunny, GALE, Allison, Martin Sorrell, they're Organizations: Stagwell, Penn, Business, Google, Harris Poll, Next Partners, Sparrow, Madison, Challenger, Stagwell Group, Microsoft, MDC Partners, WPP, Publicis Groupe, Veritas, S4 Capital, Street Journal, S4, EMEA Locations: adtech, London

The new missionDeveloping and scaling this cookie replacement has become the new mission for The Trade Desk, one of adtech's greatest independent success stories. While many other adtech companies offered this service, The Trade Desk over the years proved it could do it better. The Trade DeskWith cookies disappearing, The Trade Desk is approaching its first big test. These deals are typically cut with major advertising agency holding companies and don't usually include adtech platforms like The Trade Desk. "These next 12 months for The Trade Desk are going to be difficult and not the experience that you're used to," this person said.

Persons: Jeff Green, Andrew Casale, Brian Wieser, Samantha Jacobs, hasn't, There's, Tom Triscari, It's, they're, Greg Doherty, Jeff, Green, Criteo, Megan Clarken, Dan Salmon, they've Organizations: Trade, Universal, Google, Business, Exchange, Company, BI, Disney, The Washington Post, Yahoo, Wall Street, Projects, CTV, CBS, The, Arete Research, Intelligence, Variety, Street Research

☆ Meta's continued rally could hinge on the fortunes of upstart retailers Temu and Shein
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Temu is owned by PDD Holdings , a Chinese company that moved its principal office to Ireland last year. Meta is expected to report revenue growth of 22% for the quarter to $39.2 billion, according to analysts surveyed by LSEG, formerly Refinitiv. JMP analysts estimated that Temu and Shein spent roughly $600 million and $200 million, respectively, on Facebook and Instagram ads in the third quarter. In December, Temu sued Shein, alleging questionable business practices and a "mafia-style intimidation of suppliers," according to legal documents. Meta isn't the only U.S. internet company effected by the speedy growth from Temu and Shein.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Ma, Shu Zhang, Victor Lee, Lee, who's, Shein, Meta, Pavlo Gonchar, Temu, didn't, Susan Li, data.AI, It's, Chris Mack, Harding Loevner, they've, Mack, Shein confidentially, Mike Gallagher, Gallagher, Brian Wieser, Josh Silverman, Silverman Organizations: Alibaba, China Development Forum, Reuters, Facebook, Hasbro, Unified Commerce, Amazon, PDD Holdings, U.S, Mobile, Meta, LSEG, Getty, CNBC, Cyberspace Administration, China, Street Journal, Google Locations: Beijing, China, Ireland, Singapore, UKRAINE, U.S, United States, Wall, Asia, Pacific, Temu, Meta

☆ 3 big challenges facing Netflix as the streaming wars enter a brutal new phase
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Hollywood stakeholders and analysts alike have declared Netflix the winner of the streaming wars — but the celebration may be short-lived as streaming enters a new phase. Analysts can't say for sure how much more subscriber growth Netflix can add through its cheaper ad tier and password-sharing crackdown, though. Plus, Netflix is about to face big competition for ad dollars from Amazon, which will launch ads on Prime Video starting January 29. Also, Big Tech's ability to fund their streaming services indefinitely could keep subscription prices depressed for Netflix, along with everyone else, Bernstein noted. But now that the strikes are over, some analysts predict Netflix will face a bigger content bill going forward.

Persons: Scott Stuber, Forrester, Mike Proulx, Brian Wieser, Evercore, Peacock, Oscar, Ted Sarandos, Netflix isn't, Gen, Bernstein, Jason Bazinet Organizations: Netflix, Business, Disney, Macquarie Research, Paramount, Citigroup Locations: Canada, North America

☆ Silicon Valley engineers joked you'd go to LinkedIn to retire. Then came the PIPs and layoffs.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Jyoti Mann | Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

"For years, there was a semi-joke that some people in Big Tech go to LinkedIn to retire," a current engineer told BI. Amid a transformative year for the social network, LinkedIn spokesperson Nicole Leverich said the company has continued to prioritize its employees. The golden days of growthSome LinkedIn workers like to reminisce about what one engineer called the "golden days." AdvertisementLinkedIn rates its workers on a scale of one to five, seven workers told BI. AdvertisementA current engineering manager added that the goalposts for performance reviews had shifted.

Persons: —, Satya Nadella, we've, It's, Nicole Leverich, Leverich, you'd, Mohak Shroff, ChatGPT, We're, Ryan Roslansky, Kelly Sullivan, he'd, hadn't, Roslanksy, Brian Wieser Organizations: Service, LinkedIn, Business, BI, Microsoft, Big Tech, Google Locations: Big, Madison

☆ The digital world remade itself and now every company has become an ad seller
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

To use precise consumer data, advertisers now must work directly with the company that owns that data — like the retailer that knows what its customers bought or the media company that knows what its audience watched. Streamers including Netflix are building new ad businesses, while platforms like YouTube are trying to bolster their existing ad businesses with more content, such as live sports. "In a world of less data or worse data, whoever has the least-bad data wins," Brian Wieser, an advertising-industry analyst, told Business Insider. Even companies that aren't traditional retailers, such as Uber and Marriott, have kick-started ad businesses. The pandemic pushed the world to embrace streaming services.

Persons: Ana Milicevic, Brian Wieser, Sephora, Morgan Stanley, Milicevic, Neal Mohan, Vinny Rinaldi, Hershey's, Taylor, it's, Weiser, Wieser, influencers Organizations: Data, Apple, Sparrow Advisers, Walmart, Netflix, Companies, Retailers, Target, Marriott, Amazon, Major League Soccer, NFL, Columbia, Bose, YouTube, Advertising, Comcast, Hulu, Meta Locations: California, influencers

☆ YouTube is facing a reckoning as rivals offer TV streaming scale for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

One holding company exec said for the first time in years, their clients' YouTube spending hasn't increased this year. Execs also cited suitability of YouTube content as an ongoing factor in their spending allocations. YouTube TV , launched in 2017, provides linear and on-demand programming, and parent Alphabet has called it a bright spot for subscriber growth. YouTube also pitches TV advertisers on YouTube Select, which lets advertisers run ads on the top 5% of its most popular programming. And last year, YouTube reached a deal to make NFL's Sunday Ticket games an add-on for YouTube TV subscribers.

Persons: Max, Execs, Adalytics, Dan Salmon, Brian Albert, Albert, Nielsen, it's, we're, execs, Brian Wieser, Wieser Organizations: YouTube, Business, Disney, Paramount, Amazon, Prime, Google, Hollywood, New, Research, US, Netflix, Hulu, Sunday Ticket, Nielsen . Ad, YouTube's Locations: Madison, Wall

His son, Lachlan Murdoch, will become the sole chairman of News Corp and continue as the chair and CEO of Fox, the companies said on Thursday. The transition solidifies Lachlan's role as the leader of the media empire, putting to rest questions of succession within the Murdoch family. Lachlan was appointed CEO of the new Fox Corp. Murdoch controls News Corp and Fox Corp through a Reno, Nevada-based family trust that holds a roughly a 40% stake in voting shares of each company. The shares in Fox and News Corp owned by Murdoch’s children through the trust are a combination of both classes of shares.

Persons: Rupert Murdoch, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson of, Mike Segar, Lachlan Murdoch, Murdoch, Lachlan, Fox, Brian Wieser, James, Chloe, Grace, Wendi Deng, Jonathan Miller, Sumner Redstone, Ted Turner, John Malone, Miller, Helen Coster, Aditya Soni, Dawn Chmielewski, Krishna Chandra Eluri, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Fox News, Fox Corp, News Corp, Fox, Dominion, Systems, Wall, Walt Disney Co, Lupa Systems, Corp, Thomson Locations: York, U.S, Kevin Anderson of South Africa, Australia, United States, American, Reno , Nevada, London, New York, Bengaluru, Dawn, Los Angeles

☆ Reactions: Media mogul Rupert Murdoch steps down as chairman of Fox, News Corp
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Sept 21 (Reuters) - Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, 92, has stepped down as the chairman of Fox Corp (FOXA.O) and News Corp (NWSA.O), ending a more than seven-decade career in which he created an empire spanning from Australia to the United States. His son, Lachlan Murdoch, will become the chairman of News Corp and continue as the chair and CEO of Fox, the companies said on Thursday. The transition cements Lachlan's role as the leader of the media empire, putting to rest questions of succession within the Murdoch family. His son Lachlan Murdoch is seasoned and capable of running the business, but of course there's no replacement for someone like the chairman, Rupert Murdoch, who founded the company and built it over decades." "The media world is unrecognisable from the one he stepped into seventy years ago and the decision to scrap plans to reunite his empire must have smarted."

Persons: Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, Murdoch, BRIAN WIESER, Lachlan, MICHAEL ASHLEY SCHULMAN, Smartmatic, Rupert Murdoch's, JASON BENOWITZ, I'm, DANNI HEWSON, AJ BELL, he's, Mary Berry, he'll, RILEY, THOMAS HAYES, Wise, MATTHEW TUTTLE, ED MOYA, Aditya Soni, Samrhitha, Mayur, Ananya Mariam Rajesh, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Media, Fox Corp, News Corp, Fox, MADISON, WALL'S, Dominion, HOGAN, TUTTLE, MSNBC, Thomson Locations: Australia, United States, Bengaluru

☆ The advertising winter may finally be starting to thaw
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The long advertising winter could be coming to an end in the second half of this year. There are tentative signs that the advertising winter is starting to thaw. Meta, which derives more than 98% of its revenue from advertising, reported revenue well ahead of analysts' estimates for the second quarter. To be sure, some pure-play advertising companies remain challenged. Indeed, on Thursday, the US Commerce Department said the US economy grew by 2.4% in the second quarter, which was up from 2% in the first quarter.

Persons: spenders, Kimberly, Clark, Brian Wieser, Groupe, IPG, Arthur Sadoun, It's, they're Organizations: Companies, Meta, Google, PepsiCo, Wall, Tech, Microsoft, US Commerce Department Locations: Madison

☆ Quiet layoffs are creeping back into the adtech industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Adtech layoffs have continued into this summer — including at some companies that already made cuts. Ezoic, MiQ, Outbrain, and Brightcove are among the adtech companies with recent layoffs. For some adtech companies, the huge wave of layoffs that struck in 2022 and at the turn of this year wasn't the last, amid prolonged economic uncertainty and a tepid ad market. To be sure, the layoff phenomenon isn't hitting all adtech companies, and many that made cutbacks — including those listed above — are aggressively shifting priorities and have open roles listed on their websites. Adweek recently reported a marked slowdown in adtech job openings in 2023, citing recruiters and industry insiders.

Persons: Dwayne Lafleur, Lafleur, Outbrain, Calcalist, Brightcove, —, Marc DeBevoise, MiQ, MediaMath, There's, Sasha Auzins, Brian Wieser, Adweek, Lee Walker Organizations: Meta, Microsoft, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Expand Locations: Germany

☆ As Twitter continues to implode, advertisers pin their hopes on Threads
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Advertisers are eagerly watching how Meta's new Threads messaging app develops over the next few months as they look for a new social channel to reach consumers while Twitter continues to struggle. Meta is currently more focused on building the core Threads product as opposed to monetizing the app, Instagram head Adam Mosseri has said in various interviews and a post on Threads. "It's the most instant onboarding experience I've ever experienced in the history of my career, and my entire career has been in social," Tipograph said. Although it was easy for current Instagram users to create Threads accounts, he said, it's unclear how active they will be on the service. Since Threads is so new, it's unclear which kind of audience Threads is attracting, Tipograph said.

Persons: Natasha Blumenkron, Elon Musk, Blumenkron, Adam Mosseri, Mosseri, Rachel Tipograph, MikMak, Linda Yaccarino, Tipograph, It's, I've, Tal Jacobson, Jacobson, Instagram's Mosseri, Brian Wieser, Wieser, Angelo Carusone, Instagram, Carusone, Musk, Nick Fuentes, antisemite, isn't Organizations: Twitter, CNBC, Tesla, Meta, Perion, Companies, Media Matters, America, Media, Free Press, Tech, Facebook Locations: Instagram

☆ Threads has launched at an opportune time, but it'll be tough to outshine Twitter, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Meta launched Threads social media platform — its answer to Twitter — on Wednesday. 10 million users signed up for Threads in the first seven hours of its launch, per CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Analysts say it could be tough for Threads to outshine Twitter's existing power user base. And even though Threads launching at an advantageous time, at least four Wall Street analysts say it could be challenging to outshine the incumbent. After all, it could be difficult to get Twitter users to move, Billy Duberstein, a portfolio manager at Stone Oak Capital, wrote on the Motley Fool website on Wednesday.

Persons: Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Daniel Newman, Newman, hough, witter, ost.News,, ike P roulx,, rove, ames, rian W ieser, Organizations: Twitter, Morning, Elon, Meta, Futurum, Wall Street, otley, NBC

Besides YouTube's 2.6% first quarter ad revenue decline, Google is facing multiple challenges to its advertising business. While Google's search revenue was up about 2%, Microsoft is in the early stages of a big play to go after it. Matthew Bailey, principal analyst at research firm Omdia anticipates Google will post digital ad revenue growth at around 5% in 2023 and in 2024. Google's monolithic search ads business is starting to see real competitionMost of Google's ad revenue is driven by its ubiquitous search engine. But Amazon, which has a $31 billion ad business, and Walmart, which has a $2.7 billion ad business, grab roughly 80% of retail ad spend.

April 25 (Reuters) - Star host Tucker Carlson's abrupt exit from Fox News is likely to hit short-term ratings but could nudge more mainstream advertisers to consider a network they have snubbed for being too partisan, investors and analysts said. News of his departure on Monday wiped nearly $1 billion from the market valuation of the network's parent company, Rupert Murdoch-controlled Fox Corp (FOXA.O). "It's a huge deal," said Matthew Tuttle, head of Tuttle Capital Management, an investment firm that is betting against Fox shares. The conservative-leaning Carlson's prime-time show was the highest-rated cable news program in the key 25-to-54 age demographic on Fox News - the most-watched U.S. cable news network. It's likely that advertisers who were seeking that audience may have limited other options for conservative news viewership without skewing too conservative."

Google's monolithic search ads business is starting to see real competitionMost of Google's ad revenue is driven by its ubiquitous search engine. But neither pose the threat to Google's search dominance that ChatGPT-powered Bing does today, according to an agency source. But ChatGPT-Bing has a bigger opportunity to grab budgets earmarked for Google search because it will change the entire way consumers search for information. But Amazon, which has a $31 billion ad business, and Walmart, which has a $2.7 billion ad business, grab roughly 80% of retail ad spend. Morgan Stanley recently estimated that adtech firms are poised to win $26 billion out of a $130 billion retail media market by 2025.

☆ Hollywood film and TV writers are preparing for a strike. Here's how Disney, Netflix, and other entertainment giants could weather a work stoppage.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The writers guild asked its members to authorize a strike, which would come at a risky time for Hollywood. Netflix, Amazon, and Disney have content stockpiles that could help them through a work stoppage. A Hollywood writers strike is looming at a precarious time for the media and entertainment industry. During that 100-day strike, more than 60 TV shows shut down and ratings and ad sales dropped. The landscape of entertainment options is "much more competitive than it was during the last writers strike," media consultant Peter Csathy told insider.

☆ From Disney and Netflix to Warner Bros. Discovery, which entertainment giants would be the winners and losers of a Hollywood writers strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A possible Hollywood writers strike is looming at a risky time for the entertainment business. A Hollywood writers strike is looming at a precarious time for the media and entertainment industry. During that 100-day stoppage, more than 60 TV shows shut down and ratings and ad sales dropped. The landscape of entertainment options is "much more competitive than it was during the last writers strike," media consultant Peter Csathy told insider. Paramount also has an extensive live sports offering, which should offer some insulation if writers go on strike.

☆ A startup raised $79 million for its open smart-locker network. Check out the pitch deck it used to raise the funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Maybrit Martschin | Nathan Rennolds | Business Insider Deutschland | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Myflexbox is an Austrian startup that offers a smart-locker network. The company uses an open API to connect operating systems from different delivery providers. Insider has an exclusive copy of the pitch deck it used to raise 75 million euros. To help them achieve this, the founders recently secured 75 million euros, or about $79 million, in new funding. Insider has an exclusive copy of the pitch deck it used to raise the funds.

☆ Elon Musk closed his deal to buy Twitter, and it could cost the platform big with advertisers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Lucia Moses | Lindsay Rittenhouse | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk's $44 billion deal for Twitter has big implications for its advertising-driven business. Musk reportedly will eliminate lifetime bans, and advertisers were already worried Twitter would be less brand safe. This article was updated October 28 to reflect news that Musk closed a deal to buy Twitter. Just before he closed on the deal on Thursday, Musk tweeted a message to advertisers assuring them the platform wouldn't become a "free-for-all hellscape. When Musk balked on following through with the deal, that uncertainty further hurt the company's revenue, Twitter said during its second quarter.

☆ 'The f—ing party is over.' Big Tech companies are scaling back ambitions and canceling projects. Here's what to expect from Silicon Valley as a global recession looks increasingly unavoidable.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-30 | by ( Alex Kantrowitz | Big Technology | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

As interest rates rise, big tech companies are being pushed to cancel projects and rearrange staff. Rising interest rates have focused investors on short-term profitability and companies like Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Snap are responding. This trimming signals the start of a new era for Big Tech, one where runaway spending on tomorrow gives way to unrelenting attention on today. In this era, Big Tech will become more efficient and profitable, but also more vulnerable. These startups' funding sources are drying up and many don't yet have good business discipline, taking some heat off Big Tech.

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