In a deal said to be reshaping the global advertising industry, Omnicom has reached a definitive agreement to acquire a major rival, the Interpublic Group (IPG), in a stock-for-stock transaction. If the deal receives regulatory approval, the New York-based ad giants will combine to form an agency that will be the largest in the world, bringing together ad legends TBWA Worldwide and McCann Worldgroup for what CNBC estimates will be more than $26 billion in annual revenue. The merger joins “world-class, highly complementary data and technology platforms” at a propitious time, thanks to seismic, AI-driven advances in marketing and adtech. Continue reading Omnicom Will Acquire Interpublic in Major Ad Industry Merger

Snap’s investor warning of slow growth ahead has sent shivers through the social media sector, the digital advertising industry, and Wall Street. Though the general messaging that supply chain issues coupled with the war in Ukraine is bad for business is not exactly news, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel’s message that “the macro environment has deteriorated further and faster than we anticipated when we issued our quarterly guidance last month” hit a nerve. Snap lost 43 percent of its market cap on Tuesday, with the social media sector showing signs of drag and analysts forecasting trouble ahead for ad-supported media. Continue reading Dire Snap Forecast Dampens Social Media, Digital Ad Sectors

The audience for streaming audio continues to grow, and advertisers are taking notice. A 2021 survey found that 68 percent of U.S. listeners listened to digital audio in the previous month, compared to 47 percent in 2014. While streaming audio advertising still lags behind traditional radio, changes in consumer privacy policies at Apple and the effect that’s had on social media platforms has prompted brands and small businesses to explore their options. Roughly $5.7 billion will be spent on U.S. digital audio ads in 2022, up 14 percent over 2021, according to Interpublic Group’s Magna media unit. Continue reading National Advertisers Embrace Streaming Audio and Podcasts

Coca-Cola, Kohl’s, Marriott and Zillow Group are among those companies that have reduced or stopped marketing efforts during the coronavirus pandemic. Facebook said its advertising business is “weakening,” and Amazon has cut back on its Google Shopping ads. Advertising giants Interpublic Group and Publicis delayed their financial forecasts, citing an uncertain future. During the Great Recession, said the WARC research group, $60.5 billion in global advertising vanished and it took eight years to “fully recover.” Some observers believe this crisis will be worse. Continue reading Advertisers Reduce, Stop Campaigns in Face of Coronavirus

As Google and Facebook lock up their dominance over advertising dollars, smaller ad tech companies are withering. In 2015, according to CB Insights, venture capital financing for these smaller companies peaked at $2.92 billion. This year, the total dollars going to these firms is slated to be half of that number. As a result, the number of smaller independent firms is diminishing, plummeting 21 percent since 2013. LUMA Partners reported that, by Q2 2018, there were only 185 such companies left. Continue reading Consolidation Is Reducing the Number of Indie Ad Tech Firms

Numerous brands suspended ad spending on YouTube after they discovered some of their ads were appearing alongside videos featuring objectionable content. Video analytics firm OpenSlate is now offering an auditing service to address the issue. Ad companies such as Horizon Media, Magna Global, Omnicom Media Group and Publicis Media are using the service, hoping “to reassure marketers that their ads on YouTube are appearing alongside content that’s safe for their brands,” reports The Wall Street Journal. OpenSlate also provides “a deep analysis to ensure clients are getting what they pay for when they buy ads on YouTube, such as reaching the right target audience.” Continue reading OpenSlate Helps Firms Run Ads With Safe YouTube Videos

The 2016 Digital Content NewFronts runs May 2-13 in New York, featuring 38 companies, and piggybacking with CAA and UTA events. New presenters include AwesomenessTV, CNN, Activision Blizzard, Hearst, NowThisNews, Woven Digital and SheKnows Media. Just prior to the NewFronts, Interpublic’s ad buying arm Magna inked a $250M upfront advertising deal with YouTube. A MyersBizNet survey says media buyers now rank YouTube as the most important outlet, with Hulu, Vice Media and AOL also in the top 10. Continue reading Digital NewFronts 2016: Magna Inks Ad Deal with YouTube

Following last week’s reports that online advertising revenue in the U.S. reached a record $59.6 billion in 2015, and that Google and Facebook claimed the largest share of the digital advertising pie, social giant Facebook announced yesterday that its ad revenue increased 57 percent in the first quarter to $5.2 billion. Notably, mobile ads represented about four-fifths of the network’s revenue. Facebook’s news countered announcements from other tech companies — including Alphabet, Apple and Twitter — all of which released disappointing first quarter figures. Continue reading Facebook Credits Mobile Ad Growth for Major Revenue Jump

Advertising giant Interpublic Group is joining television and radio companies to build and test an automated ad-buying system for TV and radio. The new system will take advantage of new technologies and give traditional advertising equal footing with digital advertising. Despite concerns regarding effects on pricing, the approach may also make ads more effective and more valuable. Some companies have already begun using similar systems in their advertising. Continue reading Interpublic Joins Broadcasters in Automated Ad-Buying System