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☆ China Raids Offices of WPP Unit GroupM, Detains Executive
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( Patience Haggin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Foreign companies are increasingly wary of doing business in Chinese cities such as Shanghai, where GroupM’s offices were raided. Photo: Ying Tang/Zuma PressChinese police have raided the Shanghai offices of GroupM, a media-investment group and unit of London-based WPP , and detained an advertising executive, said a person familiar with the matter. Police questioned other local executives during the raid, including GroupM’s Chief Executive in China Patrick Xu, the person said.

Persons: Ying Tang, China Patrick Xu Organizations: Zuma Press, WPP, Police, GroupM’s Locations: Shanghai, London, China

Branding signage for WPP, the largest global advertising and public relations agency at their offices in London, Britain, July 17, 2019. The fourth, GroupM China’s CEO and country managing director for WPP China, Patrick Xu, was questioned by police but not detained, the person said. Calls to GroupM's office in Shanghai to seek comment went unanswered and Xu did not immediately respond to an email requesting a response. An employee stationed in the closest police precinct to WPP's Shanghai office said police could not comment. Police visited U.S. management consultancy Bain & Co's Shanghai office in April, then in May, state TV aired a program showing a raid of consultancy Capvision Partners' offices.

Persons: Toby Melville, GroupM, Patrick Xu, Xu, Mark Read, Mintz, Capvision, Bain, Casey, Laurie Chen, Alison Williams Organizations: WPP, REUTERS, Rights, WPP China, Financial Times, Outdoor Holdings, SEC, Police, Bain, Co's, TV, Capvision Partners, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Shanghai, China, Beijing, Co's Shanghai

Branding signage for WPP, the largest global advertising and public relations agency at their offices in London, Britain, July 17, 2019. The fourth, GroupM China’s CEO and country managing director for WPP China, Patrick Xu, was questioned by police but not detained, the person said. An employee stationed in the closest police precinct to WPP's Shanghai office said police could not comment. "As our fourth largest market globally, China will continue to play a crucial role in WPP's long-term growth strategy. Police visited U.S. management consultancy Bain & Co's Shanghai office in April, then in May, state TV aired a program showing a raid of consultancy Capvision Partners' offices.

☆ Uber is moving its $600 million ad account from WPP to Omnicom
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Uber is switching its $600 million ad buying business from WPP to rival Omnicom, according to two people familiar with the matter. Uber began a competitive pitch for its media business in March. Florian Adamski, Omnicom Media Group CEO, said in a statement that its agencies would make its "strategic data capabilities" central to its work for Uber. Omnicom media agencies have notched up a handful of sizeable wins since the beginning of July. New business has included the $585 million Beiersdorf account, the $150 million global HSBC business, and the $150 million brief from lottery operator Allwyn Entertainment, according to marketing industry tracker COMvergence.

Persons: Omnicom, WPP's, Uber, IPG Mediabrands, David Mogensen, Florian Adamski, WPP's GroupM, Adweek, IDComms, It's, Sean, Diddy, Combs Organizations: WPP, Omnicom Media, Omni, HSBC, Allwyn Entertainment Locations: Asia, Pacific

☆ Disney starts drafting broadcast TV’s grand finale
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

It was pretty much the only way to watch “Gunsmoke” or “Howdy Doody” until cable networks arrived in force in the 1980s, bundled together for a monthly subscription fee. For Disney, ABC represented a watershed moment. Look deeper and the big broadcasters attracted only one in five viewers, while one in three watched cable networks. The TV group, excluding cable networks such as Fox News, generated an EBITDA margin of nearly 12% for the year ending June 30. Assume any deal includes cable networks such as Disney Channel and National Geographic.

Persons: Walt Disney, Bob Iger, ”, Howdy Doody, Fox, Rupert Murdoch, Michael Eisner, Iger, what’s, “ Abbott, Singer, Morgan Stanley, Disney’s, they’re, reckons Morgan Stanley, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam, Aditya Sriwatsav, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Magic Kingdom, ABC, Disney, ESPN, Charter Communications, American Broadcasting Company, NBC, CBS, Capital Cities, RJR Nabisco, Paramount Global, Comcast, Warner Bros Discovery, Fox, Paramount, National Football League, NFL, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Bloomberg, Apple, Nielsen, BET, Wall Street Journal, Charter, U.S . Federal Communications Commission, Local, Disney Channel, Geographic, Apollo Global Management, TPG, Walt Disney, Thomson Locations: U.S, United States

☆ Exclusive: Musk-owned X's content moderation shift complicated effort to win back brands -former exec
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

'X' logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, U.S., July 30, 2023. "I didn't always have access to other people who were doing (brand safety) work," he said of his time at Twitter. Before acquiring Twitter, Musk had criticized the platform for limiting free speech by removing certain content and having a politically liberal bias. Still, Brown said he felt supported in his brand safety work by Musk and Ella Irwin, Twitter's then-head of trust and safety, who resigned days before Brown. FALLING REVENUEOn Monday, Musk said X's declining ad revenue was primarily due to pressure from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Persons: Carlos Barria, AJ Brown, Musk, Linda Yaccarino, Brown, NBCUniversal, Ella Irwin, Twitter's, AJ, Jonathan Greenblatt, X, Sheila Dang, Kenneth Li Organizations: REUTERS, Elon Musk, Twitter, Brand Safety Institute, BSI, Kroger, Defamation League, Anti, Defamation, ADL, Center, X, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, Dallas

☆ Two measures of global corporate health flash red
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Moller-Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) lowered its estimate for global container trade this year as companies reduce inventories and higher interest rates and recession risks in Europe and the United States drag on global economic growth. The company, one of the world's biggest container shippers, said it expects container volumes to fall by as much as 4%. Maersk controls about one-sixth of global container trade, transporting goods for retailers and consumer companies such as Walmart (WMT.N), Nike (NKE.N) and Unilever (ULVR.L). The International Monetary Fund last week said that it expects global economic growth to slow this year, led by advanced economies even as food prices have come down and the March banking turmoil has been contained. It expects the global growth to slow to 3% this year and next, from 3.5% last year.

Persons: Jon Nazca, . Moller, Mark Read, Grey, Sophie Lund, Yates, Hargreaves Lansdown, Swift, David Jackson, Josephine Mason, Catherine Evans, Deepa Babington Organizations: Triple, Majestic, REUTERS, Maersk, WPP, Walmart, Nike, Unilever, Reuters, Ogilvy, Apple, Amazon.com Inc, Companies, Global, Nissan, Caterpillar, Monetary Fund, DHL Group, Thomson Locations: Strait, Gibraltar, Algeciras, Spain, U.S, Europe, United States, Beijing, slowdowns, China

☆ Two measures of corporate health flash red
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Persons: Jon Nazca, . Moller, Mark Read, Grey, Sophie Lund, Yates, Hargreaves Lansdown, Josephine Mason, Catherine Evans Organizations: Triple, Majestic, REUTERS, Maersk, WPP, Walmart, Nike, Unilever, Reuters, Ogilvy, Apple, Amazon.com Inc, Companies, Global, Nissan, Caterpillar, Monetary Fund, DHL Group, Thomson Locations: Strait, Gibraltar, Algeciras, Spain, U.S, Europe, United States, Beijing, slowdowns, China

☆ Digital ad vultures descend on TV’s carcass
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Jennifer Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, July 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The digital advertising hunt is back on. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsAlthough Meta and Alphabet dominate the digital ad market, there’s plenty of money yet to fight for. Comcast (CMCSA.O), for example, said on Thursday that U.S. ad revenue at its NBC Universal media division fell 5% and overall EBITDA was down nearly a fifth. Despite the volatile nature of advertising revenue because of its close links to economic trends, it also typically generates healthy operating margins. It’s no wonder then that Amazon.com (AMZN.O), Walmart (WMT.N), DoorDash (DASH.N) and many more are descending on TV’s carcass.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Jerome Powell, WPP’s, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Meta, Google, Uber Technologies, Netflix, Facebook, YouTube, Conference Board, Federal, PepsiCo, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Comcast, NBC Universal, Walmart, Thomson Locations: New York

☆ Netflix says subscribers to its ads plan have doubled. Meet the 19 execs driving the streamer's aggressive push into advertising.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Netflix said in its 2Q earnings that subscribers to its ads plan have doubled over the previous quarter. Peter Naylor, VP of global advertising salesPeter Naylor, VP, global advertising sales. Netflix has also brought on several directors and other roles in ad sales who've worked at Hulu, Snap, and elsewhere. Chad Rumminger, who focuses on automotive accounts, from automotive ad sales at Twitter. Julie Taylor Green is head of US vertical ad sales; she was TikTok's director of global business solutions before that.

Persons: execs, they're, Jeremi Gorman, Peter Naylor —, Netflix salespeople, Nielsen, DoubleVerify, Kelly Metz, They've, Gorman, Peter Naylor, who've, Naylor, Julie DeTraglia, Kinsey Tamberrino, He's, Hulu playbook, Adam Gerber, Gerber, he's, it's, She's, Asaf Davidov, DeTraglia, Jon Whitticom, Whitticom, that's, Kinsey Osberg Tamberrino, Michaela Giovengo, Valerie Bischak, Doug Brodman, Victoria Morris, Amy Newton, Joanna Read, Eric Berman, Chad Rumminger, Morgan Tully, Nicole Sabatini, Julie Taylor Green, Chris Smutny Organizations: Netflix, Hulu, ABC, Microsoft, Omnicom Media, Yahoo, Gorman's, ABC Television Group, Disney, Comcast, Viacom Media Network, Amobee, Twitter, Google, Amazon, Tech, Gaming, Entertainment Locations: Hulu, TikTok

☆ Ukrainian-founded Duolingo rival Preply banks $70 million to push into A.I.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Preply, a language learning platform connecting people with tutors, raised $70 million of fresh capital to ramp up its use of artificial intelligence, the company told CNBC exclusively. The equity portion was led by Horizon Capital, a venture capital firm focused on investing in emerging entrepreneurs, particularly Ukrainians. The funding adds to a $50 million Series C funding round Preply raised last year, and takes its total funding raised to over $170 million. It comes as Duolingo, a competitor to Preply, has been incorporating OpenAI's GPT language processing software to enhance its app's personalization to users. Horizon Capital raised $125 million for a startup fund aimed at backing Ukrainian founders.

Persons: Kirill Bigai, Dmytro Voloshyn, Serge Lukianov, Preply, Preply's, Max Lytvyn, Alex Shevchenko, Dmitriy Zaporozhets Organizations: CNBC, Horizon Capital, Reach Capital, Hoxton Ventures, Bain, Horizon, Google, Samsung, Amazon Locations: Ukraine, U.S, GroupM, Ukrainian, Preply, Russia, Moscow

☆ Advertisers are returning to Twitter after Linda Yaccarino calmed fears over content moderation. But now brands like Disney, Microsoft, and the NBA have ads placed next to neo-Nazi propaganda.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Brands that pulled ads over content concerns have returned to the platform since it named a new CEO. But big names like Disney, the NBA, and Adobe had ads placed next to antisemitic content this week. However, those same brands are returning to market their products and services on Twitter with Yaccarino at the helm. "They appear to have restricted that specific search, and not anything else — so they haven't moderated the actual content," Caraballo told Insider of Twitter's response. She added: "It just goes to show that the site is rife with extremist content, and yet brands are returning.

Persons: Elon Musk's, Linda Yaccarino, —, General Mills, Musk, Yaccarino, they've, Musk —, haven't, Alejandra Caraballo, Caraballo, Hitler, she'd, It's Organizations: Elon, Brands, Disney, NBA, Adobe, NBC Universal, Microsoft, Twitter, GM, Audi, Street, Harvard Law School Cyberlaw Clinic, Nazi, Southern Poverty Law, ESPN Locations: Israel

☆ With talk of a Tesla Gigafactory coming to France, Elon Musk heads to the country's biggest tech event
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The tech billionaire has said Tesla is hoping to make a major investment in the country. Next week, Musk has a chance to tackle both. Musk getting on stage with the chairman of Publicis at Vivatech should help Twitter's cause here, unless the tech billionaire says the wrong thing. After that gathering, Musk said Tesla was looking to make a significant investment in the country. By the way, Insider advertising reporter Lara O'Reilly will be at Vivatech too next week.

Persons: Elon Musk, Tesla, Elon, Musk, He's, Maurice Lévy, Linda Yaccarino, WPP's GroupM, Emmanuel Macron, Lara O'Reilly Organizations: Tesla, Twitter, The New York Times, Times, Renault, Peugeot Locations: Paris, Vivatech, France, Germany

☆ Top ad group says Twitter no longer 'high risk' after new chief appointed- FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 19 (Reuters) - Top advertising agency GroupM has told its clients that it no longer considers Twitter "high-risk" and is "cautiously optimistic" about the appointment of Linda Yaccarino as its new chief, the Financial Times reported on Friday. Yaccarino will take over the social media platform beset with challenges and a heavy debt load, after she spent several years modernizing the advertising business at NBCUniversal. WPP-owned GroupM had last year labelled Twitter as a "high risk" platform for advertising following Elon Musk's takeover. The group had been waiting for Musk to repopulate his senior leadership team and working with Twitter on improving "brand safety", it added. GroupM and Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ 10 things in tech: Musk believes remote work is morally wrong, BookTok a kingmaker, and AI press releases
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Michael Cogley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It will be interesting to see what enlarged role social media stats will also have on the publishing industry, given TikTok has assumed the position of a literary kingmaker. But before I pitch you my novella that's sure to be a social media hit, let's jump into today's tech news. He also revealed that he planned to rehire some of the thousands of staff he laid off after he assumed control of the social media giant. A new PR tech company is using AI to write press releases. Apple unveiled a new set of accessibility features this week, including "Personal Voice," which aims to replicate a user's voice with AI after 15 minutes of training.

☆ These 18 top Netflix execs are driving its advertising push under head Jeremi Gorman as the company makes its first big TV upfronts pitch
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Peter Naylor, VP of global advertising salesPeter Naylor, VP, global advertising sales. Netflix has also brought on several directors and other roles in ad sales who've worked at Hulu, Snap, and elsewhere. They are Kinsey Osberg Tamberrino, who is Publicis' main point of contact, and who spent eight years at Hulu, rising to director of advertising sales. Chad Rumminger, who focuses on automotive accounts, from automotive ad sales at Twitter. Julie Taylor Green is head of US vertical ad sales; she was TikTok's director of global business solutions before that.

☆ 'We're in a marketplace that is fighting for attention', says GroupM CEO McDonald on the media space
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via Email'We're in a marketplace that is fighting for attention', says GroupM CEO McDonald on the media spaceCNBC's Alex Sherman and Kirk McDonald, GroupM CEO, join 'Last Call' to discuss the state of the media space as major media companies vie for ad dollars and others declare bankruptcy.

☆ WPP Says Growth Target on Track Despite Softness From Some Tech Clients
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The WPP headquarters in New York. Chief Executive Mark Read said the company has seen some slight softness from some of its technology clients following several years of increasing budgets. Photo: WPPAdvertising holding company WPP PLC says it is on track to hit its organic growth target this year as other parts of its business help offset lower spending from some technology clients. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CMO Today CMO Today delivers the most important news of the day for media and marketing professionals. The measure strips out currency fluctuations, acquisitions, disposals and costs such as expenses billed to clients.

☆ WPP, Like Ad-Company Rivals, Says It Expects 2023 Growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Megan Graham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

WPP PLC is the latest major advertising holding company to say it expects continued growth in 2023 as clients keep spending on its services. PREVIEWWPP said like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs increased 6.9% in 2022 and 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Total revenue in 2022 was £14.4 billion, equivalent to about $17.3 billion, while revenue less pass-through costs was £11.8 billion. Chief Executive Mark Read said that consumers have continued to spend, and clients have continued to invest in their brands. Omnicom Group Inc. and Publicis Groupe SA both said they expect organic revenue growth this year of 3% to 5%.

Not only have marketers been pausing ad spend en masse, YouTube is also battling TikTok for audiences and content creators. Industry insiders credit Mohan with building out the ad products that made YouTube Google's main growth engine for so many years. Tal Chalozin, CTO and cofounder of the adtech company Innovid, said that Mohan's expertise stretches across all of YouTube's ad business, particularly adtech. "He was leading product for the launch of YouTube Premium and YouTube TV, and the growth of YouTube Music," said one former YouTube employee. "It's now Neal and YouTube against TikTok, and that's the existential battle for short-form video monetization and creators," Norman said.

Advertising meme account @digital_chadvertising had decidedly humble beginnings on its way to becoming a popular outlet for industry workers to voice their frustrations, connect with each other and share marketing news. @digital_chadvertising has since gained nearly 80,000 followers on Instagram while mocking everything from industry acronyms to Twitter’s recent advertiser exodus. That does not match the Instagram followings of the leading ad trade publications, but it tops those of large ad-agency networks and other industry accounts. Some prefer formats and platforms that don’t fit the strict definition of a meme but still use the meme world’s sardonic tone to target an industry niche. “The line is so thin between meme and work with my specific niche,” said @digital_chadvertising.

As they've grown, creators on this platform have created media kits to pitch brands. Nadja Marrero, a skincare and beauty influencer, even landed more brand deals because of these techniques. However, many creators often have to reach out to brands to get these deals, which is where media kits come into play. Influencers typically email this media kit, tailoring it to the brand they're pitching, and then negotiate their rates with the brand. Here are 10 examples of real influencer media kits from TikTokers (arranged by follower count):

☆ Apple is looking for a top sales executive to spearhead a giant advertising push in sports and streaming. Here are 16 execs who could score the job.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Netflix also conducted a search before hiring two Snap executives, Jeremi Gorman and Peter Naylor, to lead its new ads business. XandrLesser, a longtime digital ad executive, has extensive experience working on issues around the future of digital marketing. McDonald has a ton of other digital ad sales and publishing experience. She helped launch Modi Media, ad buying giant GroupM's addressable TV business, before joining TV adtech startup Cadent. UnivisionValentino runs Disney's digital ad business as EVP, client and brand solutions.

☆ Twitter executives told advertisers to get used to Elon Musk's unpredictability as the company continues hemorrhaging ad dollars, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter executives have told advertisers they must get comfortable with Elon Musk's unpredictability, according to The Information. Advertising was by far the most significant source of revenue for Twitter before Musk took over. Twitter executives are reportedly becoming increasingly desperate to bring in additional revenue as some prior ad spending dries up. The downturn in spending comes as Twitter executives have told advertisers – who notoriously prefer uncontroversial content surrounding their ad campaigns – that they need to start getting comfortable with CEO Elon Musk's unpredictability, The Information reports. Advertising was by far the most significant source of revenue for Twitter before Elon Musk took over in October of last year.

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