Advertising Perspectives

As companies continue looking for ways to reach the expanding creator economy, Squarespace is spending more time marketing to people who maybe aren’t your average entrepreneur. Founded nearly two decades ago, the website builder has ... read more

Google may have yet to deprecate the third-party cookie in its Chrome browser, but publishers have been dealing with the online tracking mechanism’s absence in browsers like Apple’s Safari and Mozilla’s Firefox for years. And ... read more

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts • Stitcher • Spotify Publishers’ commerce businesses can take many forms nowadays, from earning small commissions with in-article affiliate links to creating an entire direct-to-consumer (DTC) product line that turns a ... read more

Social media bots may represent just a sliver of an app’s total users, but it turns out they may be generating more content than we thought. While media agencies find bot content concerning, some say ... read more

BetMGM, which offers online sports betting, teamed up with Intersection, an OOH technology company, to produce a digital outdoor advertising campaign to reach sports fans attending events at MetLife Stadium. NJ Transit’s signage and advertising ... read more

Across the marketing and media industries, there is endless speculation about what the world without third-party cookies will look like — or, in fact, if that world will ever be a reality. We’ve already covered ... read more

This year, given the current economic uncertainty, the pressure on the fourth quarter is amped up for marketers. That might be one of the reasons some are planning to offer holiday sales incentives earlier in ... read more

Mo Said has been faking it for years. For the better part of his advertising career, the Pakistani-bred creative has bluffed everything from his accent and his name to his interests, with the hope of ... read more

Publishers looking for a bit of good news in their search for sustainable ways to scale their data sans third-party cookies may have gotten some — thanks to data clean rooms. More specifically, the match rates ... read more

Every downturn, like clockwork, publishers try to remind marketers why they should buy their ads directly from them — or at least as directly as possible. It’s a pitch that goes something like this: if ... read more

As publishers continue to deal with the demise — or at least diminishment — of the third-party cookie, they are feeling compelled to adopt virtually every identity technology seeking to replace the cookie, but they ... read more

The blows to advertising revenue have been brutal for news publishers, particularly for those that are primarily monetized through programmatic advertising and don’t have subscription revenue — like The Independent’s U.S. edition.  TALKING TRANSPARENTLY ... read more

After acquiring the esports holding company ReKTGlobal in July 2022, technology firm Infinite Reality is using its newfound inventory of gaming and esports properties as a launchpad for its own metaverse platform. Although Infinite Reality ... read more

Matthew Tilley, executive director, marketing, Vericast With the holidays right around the corner, the economy may force some consumers to adjust their plans and stretch their dollars even further. While some shoppers may rein in ... read more

After two years of ‘virtual networking’ Dmexco is back IRL with many thousands of execs in the space converging on Köln, Germany for thought leadership and networking after so much has changed, but yet so ... read more

A major challenge for pretty much anyone with a podcast these days is the issue of discovery. As more and more publishers invest in podcast production, it’s becoming harder to find and grow an audience. ... read more

Search has become a key component of media companies’ strategies for attracting young audiences online and through platforms like TikTok and YouTube, as speakers from NBC News and Remezcla discussed this week during the Digiday ... read more

Employers are navigating a delicate balance when it comes to the return to the office. Many are faced with weighing flexibility with finding ways to get employees to return to work from a physical office. ... read more

There’s a lot of uncertainty in the air right now — just in time for publishers to decide on their plans for next year. We found out earlier this month that about two-thirds of publishers ... read more

Snapchat has a lot of work to do if it wants to win back advertisers.  Its top ad sales execs have left at a time when media dollars are leaking from the platform. The direction ... read more

Maybe it’s because Climate Week took place last week, but the volume of sustainability-related news and announcements from agencies, marketers and ad-tech firms that flooded reporters’ inboxes the last two weeks has been almost overwhelming. ... read more

IMAX Corporation is making streaming capabilities a bigger focus for its business. Today, the company has acquired SSIMWAVE Inc., a company that provides media and entertainment companies with AI-driven video quality solutions to help ... read more

Local television just received a major upgrade in measurement tools: Measurement service Comscore and agency holding company Dentsu unveiled a yearlong test of advanced analytics use in local investment that takes the medium far beyond ... read more

The era of connected TV expansion and fragmentation is coming to a close, and evolution — and maybe even consolidation — are what media companies and advertisers are preparing to address in 2023. In whatever ... read more

Much has been written about how the almighty algorithm shapes our taste in everything from food and music to movies and books, but Penguin Random House is leaning into TikTok’s major #BookTok trend to help ... read more

Vice News is prioritizing its social media efforts on TikTok, Twitch and Instagram to build trust and grow its “core audience” of 18-to-35-year-olds, according to Katie Drummond, svp of global news and global editor-in-chief of ... read more

In this week’s Media Briefing, the Digiday media team recaps the top challenges and areas of innovation that publishing executives discussed during this week’s Digiday Publishing Summit. Survey says: ‘This quarter sucks’BDG lays of Mic ... read more

Obvi, a startup supplement brand based out of New Jersey, is overhauling its marketing strategy, carving out a new budget for TikTok ads. At present, Obvi is spending an estimated 25% of its marketing budget ... read more

Elysian Brewing has partnered with NBCUniversal to target beer drinkers with a limited edition, pumpkin-flavored beer, Chucky: A Killer Wit Beer. In celebration of all things Halloween and horror, this beer is a limited release ... read more

Peppered with criticisms from separate global government bodies over its use of public data, the ad industry’s digital vanguard is convening at Dmexco this week where transparency is being preached from the pulpit. Although, trust ... read more

Programmatic platform Teads on Wednesday enhanced its media offering by adding connected TV ad inventory, allowing brands potential access to some 2 billion unique users. Digiday has learned. During beta testing, Teads partnered with various ... read more

As change continues to sweep over the marketing and media industries, the number of consultancies looking to guide them keeps growing. The latest entrant, UpperRight, has set its sights solidly on the middle market, guided ... read more

Considering the collapse of the crypto market, some publishers and advertisers might be wondering whether it’s still worth investing in blockchain experimentation. But for crypto publisher Decrypt, this technology has been a key component of ... read more

It’s September, so that can only mean one thing for marketers: the start of budgeting season. And this year it’s turning out to be more headache-inducing than ever.  Intel on jobs, inflation and consumer spending ... read more

Shake Shack has Hot Ones on the menu. The American fast-food chain has partnered with Hot Ones, a YouTube interview series where celebrities eat progressively hotter hot sauces, to build awareness for its brand and ... read more

The esports organization G2 Esports has been embroiled in controversy since Saturday, Sept. 17, when its CEO Carlos “ocelote” Santiago posted a video of himself partying with Andrew Tate, an anti-feminist influencer who has drawn ... read more

As we get further into the year, it is becoming more clear that the advertising industry is trending a bit more toward the pre-pandemic way of life: People are heading to more events this fall, ... read more

Content licensing for three of Vox Media’s verticals will soon be handled by Wright’s Media, an agency that works with publishers to grow their licensing businesses. Wright’s Media will be in charge of selling badges ... read more

This week’s Future of TV Briefing features an interview with Telemundo Streaming Studios’ Juan Ponce on how the market for streaming shows has shifted with services altering their risk profiles and investment strategies. ‘Everything is ... read more

A clear indicator of a media segment’s growth potential is how many agencies pay close attention to it. By that measure, e-commerce and retail media rank quite highly, as GroupM issued a deep dive ... read more

Dmexco is back and while many are still trying to figure out the role of the Germany-based conference when it comes to the global circuit, ad tech’s key talking points have moved on considerably after ... read more

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts • Stitcher • Spotify Advertising is taking a hit from the economic slowdown. For some advertisers with podcast and audio budgets, they want to reach more listeners efficiently rather ... read more

Marketers are beginning to unveil their marketing strategies for the World Cup, which will take place from late November to mid-December in Qatar this year.  The location and timing of the tournament, which happens every ... read more

Two acquisitions announced last week are indicative of the M&A activity for ad tech still on the horizon, sources told Digiday. In the first instance, the identity of MiQ’s successful suitors was made public — ... read more

Vodka brand Grey Goose is taking its experiential marketing up a notch with virtual experiences. Specifically, the Bacardi-owned brand is leaning into the metaverse, most recently for an activation with the US Open Tennis Championships. ... read more

OpenWeb — a company that builds online engagement tools for publishers — has hired its first chief marketing officer as it builds more ways for media companies to expand both their audience size and advertiser ... read more

Marcela Martin joined BuzzFeed at a precarious time for all media companies, but perhaps especially for a publicly traded one that, by extension, is open to public scrutiny. Then again, in the midst of the ... read more

Ad-supported streaming audiences complain about being besieged by the same ads over and over again. This streaming ad overexposure issue has also aggravated advertisers that want their campaigns to attract customers, not annoy them. But ... read more

Axe body spray is dedicating more ad dollars to esports, gaming and entertainment-based marketing channels to attract a bigger share of Gen Z shoppers. Axe isn’t alone in its push into esports and online gaming. ... read more

Influencers have quietly become the new power brokers of media. Whether it’s through social media or livestream platforms, these content creators have become cultural ambassadors across food, sports, skincare, gaming and much more. Some influencers ... read more

Some Black-owned publishers have seen an increase in ad revenue after some agencies started spending more on their channels. However, securing — and maintaining that funding — remains a challenge for many Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs. With ... read more

With summer in the rearview mirror, in-person events are in full swing this fall. But a number of publishers have found the costs associated with hosting such events have gone up as a result of ... read more

As more brands toy with NFT-based loyalty programs, coffee shops and sailboats could soon be the next acid tests for whether the promises of Web3 are compelling enough for users to sign up. Last week, ... read more

Since 2014, Estonia has been in the midst of a self-described “digital transformation.” All of the nation’s public services are accessible through a straightforward online portal, and individuals outside Estonia can apply for “e-residency” to ... read more

Online commerce shops aren’t turning out to be the golden ticket to revenue diversification that some publishers were expecting. But the media companies that are still operating storefronts on their owned-and-operated sites are not trying ... read more

Sponsored by Outbrain As publishers pursue the critical goal of revenue diversification, competing KPIs have become a significant blocker — not only slowing the pursuit of revenue streams but also compromising the user experience. ... read more

Now that fall has firmly set in we can look back to Digiday’s second annual golf outing, held at Galloping Hill Golf Course in Kenilworth, N.J., and attended by more than 150 publishing executives, to ... read more

Nothing focuses the mind on financials like an economic downturn. Even so not every financial figure is as revealing as it sounds. Take Traffic Acquisition Costs (TAC), for example. There was a time when these ... read more

If imitation is the highest form of flattery then publisher Minute Media’s latest venture is a paean to ad tech. To be clear, it built its own. The sports publisher is now the proud owner ... read more

Tara Parker-Pope is doing it again: 15 years after founding the wellness vertical at The New York Times, Parker-Pope debuted her latest project on Sept. 12 — a health and wellness hub at The Washington ... read more

Call it a reality check. Facebook, Instagram and TikTok are now pulling back from social commerce after betting big on it booming following a pandemic-induced spike in online sales. Don’t call it a complete U-turn, ... read more

Aerie hasn’t retouched photos for its ads since 2014 — an effort that’s helped the brand generate headlines and stand out among its competition as it shows what people really look like while wearing their ... read more

The New York Times-owned The Athletic is in the ads business. No news there. The question is “why?” It’s not because the publisher suddenly realized that its subscriptions-focused sports title didn’t scale nine months after ... read more

This week’s media briefing explores the evolving relationship between publishers and advertisers as the pressure mounts to justify marketing budgets with actual proof of driving revenue. Time crunchDPS previewThe Verge challenges Twitter, The Athletic ... read more

In the never-ending search to better optimize media buying and planning, many new tools have come and gone. One that seems to be sticking around is attention metrics, which aims to measure the attention paid ... read more

Dr. Squatch, a direct-to-consumer men’s personal care brand, partnered with NFL pro quarterback Justin Herbert to target football fans through television and social media. The DTC brand, founded in 2013, released a 60-second ad with ... read more

The powers that be have yet to make an official ruling about whether we’re in a recession, but that hasn’t stopped businesses from factoring a recession into their plans for the coming months. Earlier this ... read more

Bichoi Bastha, Chief Revenue and Business Officer, Dailymotion There were 87.3 million Snapchat users and 78.7 million TikTok users in 2021 alone, amounting to billions of hours of views as user-generated content maintained its surge ... read more

Pressure is mounting on the U.S. Senate to pass marriage equality legislation as fears of a potential rollback by a future Supreme Court ruling heightens. At least two companies are rolling out marketing campaigns around ... read more

This week’s Future of TV Briefing checks in on where the TV advertising industry’s measurement shift stands heading into the new season. Taking measureSmart TV’s share of streaming watch timeAmazon’s enigmatic entertainment arm, Twitch’s loosened ... read more

Truly, a direct-to-consumer skincare brand created in 2019, has invested in TikTok to increase brand awareness among its target consumers, Gen Z and millennials, who are spending more and more time on the app. ... read more

In marketing, it seems the biggest constant is change. These last few years have presented some of the biggest uncertainties in the industry — from the global pandemic and social justice issues to climate change ... read more

As e-commerce and retail media have separately made their mark on the media buying and selling business over the last decade — most notably over the last two years — one consultancy believes it’s time ... read more

During a hearing held today by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Peiter Zatko — a cyber security expert, well-known hacker and recent Twitter executive whistleblower — quoted the writer Upton Sinclair in his opening remarks to ... read more

The affiliate industry has expanded, providing advertisers with more opportunities to achieve their marketing goals. While affiliate partners have traditionally been seen as only providing value through awareness, interest, desire and action, more recently they’re ... read more

Bridgepoint Group has been confirmed as the latest private equity partner of MiQ as the U.K.-based ad tech firm evaluates potential consolidation moves to either bolster its international footprint or broaden its operational expertise. In ... read more

As publishers emerge from the fog of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s becoming increasingly clear that many aspects of the industry have changed permanently — including the workforce itself. Digiday+ Research surveyed publisher professionals several times ... read more

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts • Stitcher • Spotify The summer can be a slow period for many companies, however the economic downturn, supply chain issues, rising inflation rates and world events like the ... read more

Even as conversations around the economic downturn ramp up, marketers say they’ll continue to invest in out-of-home advertising, which has spent the last year on the rebound amid the pandemic. “A lot of the ... read more

Mailchimp is targeting marketers where they’re spending their time: on social media. The email marketing company is aiming to appeal to marketers by targeting them on apps like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and more with ads ... read more

Even while Roblox gets ready to roll out updates to appease marketers’ growing appetites for the metaverse, consumer advocates warn the platform has left a bitter taste in the mouths of some users. On Friday, ... read more

At a time when advertising across many sectors is slowing down, podcast and audio investments might remain strong in the next year. The audio business is continuing to grow on platforms, from live streams to ... read more

Sanja Partalo is no stranger to cutting deals and seeking to outsmart investments for agencies. The former head of strategic development and partnerships at WPP worked with both Sir Martin Sorrell and current CEO Mark ... read more

After 90 years of slinging its iconic sliders, Atlanta-based fast food chain Krystal is looking for new ways to not just boost brand awareness, but retain relevance with each new generation of customers. Especially as ... read more

The IAB Tech Lab’s seller-defined audiences specification is one of many, many digital ad industry efforts to replace the third-party cookie with purportedly privacy-friendly alternatives. It’s effectively a cohort-based targeting method packaged with a nutrition ... read more

When recession looms, barter booms.  Nowhere is this truer (in marketing) at the moment than with influencers.  Don’t take Digiday’s word for it. Here’s one from the coalface of influencer marketing, courtesy of Emily ... read more

A few unionized Gannett employees stood outside Citi’s Global Technology Conference in New York City on Friday morning to get the attention of Gannett CEO Mike Reed inside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown. Five people ... read more

No matter how crazy things get, you can always count on one thing: marketers will find a way to shoehorn their brands into any situation.  So when Queen Elizabeth II died yesterday (September 9th) it ... read more

The combination of sky-high college tuition prices and low, stagnant wages has led to crushing student debt for some journalists. But U.S. President Joe Biden’s initiative announced last month could provide a little relief, with ... read more

In the hype-fueled world of esports, chief financial officers tend to get less credit than prominent CEOs such as Hector Rodriguez or Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag. But as a recession looms and esports orgs scramble to ... read more

The Federal Trade Commission yesterday began the next step in its process of gathering information that will help inform whether to propose new privacy regulations for how companies can collect, use and share consumer data ... read more

TikTok is rolling out new advertising options ahead of the holiday shopping season that it hopes will entice marketers and creators. Three new features will allow advertisers to link their products in in-feed videos, advertise ... read more

Yesterday, two major brands in audio had competing product debuts on separate coasts. In Cupertino, California, Apple debuted the second generation of the AirPods Pro. In New York City, Bose debuted its new QuietComfort EarBuds ... read more

Direct-to-consumer meat brand ButcherBox is looking to reach new audiences, especially parents, with a short form video series featuring social media influencers who are also parents. After a ButcherBox survey found that 79% of Americans ... read more

This week’s Media Briefing recaps the major events and trends from the summer as the season comes to a close. Summer recap3 questions with The BBC’s Jonathan AspinwallVice Media explores a deal with Saudi-backed ... read more

Duke and Dame, a regional whiskey brand based in Florida, has spent the last year beefing up its digital marketing efforts, testing social video ads, influencer marketing and digital audio, to get in front of ... read more

Agencies are getting savvier at using artificial intelligence as data comes into greater focus as marketing and information technology are becoming more entwined. Some studies back this up. For example, 81 percent of marketing and ... read more

Companies across the media and marketing industries are bracing for what a potential recession would mean for their businesses. And while we’re not technically in an official recession, Digiday surveyed 55 publisher professionals to find ... read more

With the NFL football season starting this week, Pepsi is launching new sweepstakes targeted at football fans through Instacart that will let a family stay in a branded tiny home for the 18 weeks of ... read more

On June 16, the gaming and esports energy drink company G Fuel let go seven of its talent managers, one day after five of them contacted HR to report their CEO’s use of offensive language ... read more