Top Stories

  • Alphabet Inc.’s third-quarter advertising revenue rose to a record $33.9 billion, though overall profit, at $7.1 billion, was down 23 percent from 2018, when it was bolstered by the U.S. tax reform law.  While analysts and investors have encouraged Google to explore more ad opportunities in its YouTube and Google Maps units, the company faces regulatory scrutiny over its advertising and data practices. (The Wall Street Journal)
  • Jamie Gutfreund, Hasbro Inc.’s first chief customer experience officer, has left the company after about six months in the role to “pursue other opportunities,” according to a Hasbro representative. It’s uncertain whether Hasbro will replace Gutfreund, who was charged with “consumer-focused strategies that effectively connect the company’s brands with global audiences” and whose job overlapped with that of a chief marketing officer. (Adweek
  • Apple Inc. unveiled its first Pro wearable item, a high-end line of AirPods that follows Apple’s strategy of introducing an upgraded version of its keystone products. The $249 Pro AirPods, which are available to order online now and will debut in Apple stores on Oct. 30, feature noise-cancelling capabilities with a longer battery life, according to Apple. (The Wall Street Journal

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

10/29/2019
Modern Retail Summit
Content Jam
3BL Forum: Brands Taking Stands
10/30/2019
Modern Retail Summit
Sooner Than You Think
11/03/2019
Brandweek
View full calendar

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Advertising

Bank of America grows brand safety team as it recommits to news advertising
Katie Deighton, The Drum 

While a growing number of brands are running scared from advertising against news stories, Bank of America is spending 30% of its entire digital budget in the space.

NBCUniversal rolls out its ShoppableTV ads
Anthony Ha, TechCrunch

NBCUniversal  has been testing a new ad unit that allows viewers to buy — directly from their phone — products featured on the show they’re watching.

54% of marketers say they allocated more ad money to Instagram this year
Kristina Monllos, Digiday

Brand marketers kept their marketing mix steady across the majority of platforms and channels this past year, with the exception of Instagram.

Spotify Loses $10 Million In Revenue From Switching Off Google Ad Stack
Alison Weissbrot, AdExchanger

Friction from migrating off of Google’s ad stack in July caused Spotify to take a roughly $10 million revenue hit in Q3, the company said during its earnings call on Monday.

Ad Tech M&A Is On The Upswing In 2019 As TV And PE Lead Consolidation
James Hercher, AdExchanger

Advertising technology acquisitions are back in vogue.

Media and Entertainment

As Streaming Land Grab Heats Up, Companies Try Giveaways
Jessica Toonkel, The Information 

The video streaming wars are entering a new, more costly phase: new entrants are literally giving away their services. 

HBO Max Is the Streaming Cornerstone of AT&T’s 3-Year Plan
Kelsey Sutton, Adweek

CEO predicts the service will have 50 million subscribers in 5 years.

The Economist is trying to convert its 1m YouTube subscribers into paying members
Lucinda Southern, Digiday 

The Economist has reached 1 million YouTube subscribers and is starting to see signs that these videos are driving referral traffic back to its site, where ultimately it wants people to subscribe.

NRA Officials Found NRATV Messaging to Be ‘Distasteful and Racist’: Lawsuit
Andrew Kirell, The Daily Beast

The NRA continues to blast the creator of its short-lived TV outlet, claiming it strayed from Second Amendment messaging when it put cartoon characters in KKK hoods.

Viacom-CBS Merger Now Expected to Close in “Early December”
Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter

National Amusements, the company controlled by the Redstone family, has voted to approve the merger.

Social Media and Technology

Clicking this link lets you see what Google thinks it knows about you based on your search history — and some of its predictions are eerily accurate
Aaron Holmes, Business Insider 

By clicking a link from Google’s account settings page, users can find out what the tech giant thinks it knows about them based on search history and browsing data from Google-owned sites like YouTube.

MLB Taps Business Students and Machine Learning to Improve Its Digital Experiences
Patrick Kulp, Adweek 

League is Adobe Analytics Challenge’s data partner for 2019.

Instagram Extends Its Restrictions on Content Depicting Suicide and Self-Harm
David Cohen, Adweek

Drawings, memes, posts from films or comics that use graphic imagery are now covered.

‘Way beyond our expectations’: Inside Reuters’ Twitter strategy
Deanna Ting, Digiday 

Despite competition from Bloomberg’s TicToc, Reuters is seeing strong growth for its video content on Twitter.

Teens Explain Their YouTube Obsession (Because Adults Don’t Get It)
Julie Jargon, The Wall Street Journal 

High-schoolers tell the WSJ why they love the video social network, but also acknowledge its dark side: ‘Don’t use it as a babysitter.’

When the Prescription for Teens Is More Social Media, not Less
Andrea Petersen, The Wall Street Journal 

Treatments for children with anxiety and depression increasingly push them to navigate Instagram, Snapchat to build relationships with peers.

Nintendo Scores Huge Smartphone Hit With Mario Kart Tour
Pavel Alpeyev, Bloomberg

Nintendo Co. can finally claim a mega-hit smartphone game with its new Mario Kart Tour, which has been downloaded 123.9 million times in its first month and comfortably eclipsed the company’s previous mobile game debuts, Sensor Tower data showed.

PR and Marketing

Impossible Whoppers are a huge hit at Burger King, fueling its best quarter in four years
Paul R. La Monica, CNN

Popeyes’ spicy chicken sandwich is the only thing in the fast food business that’s hotter than Burger King’s Impossible Whopper. 

Estee Lauder downgraded by Piper Jaffray, who says teenagers are wearing less makeup
Mallika Mitra, CNBC

Estee Lauder was downgraded from overweight to neutral by Piper Jaffray. 

H&M’s CEO is worried that eco-conscious consumers could be bad for fast fashion
Elizabeth Segran, Fast Company 

Karl-Johan Persson, H&M’s CEO, is concerned that growing awareness about sustainability will be bad for the fast-fashion industry and the wider economy.

VaynerMedia Has a New Chief Creative
Ann-Christine Diaz, Ad Age 

Former Grey New York deputy chief creative officer Rob Lenois steps into top role.

Airbnb is letting people book trips with Instagram-famous pets like Pickles the Pig, Nala Cat, and Penni Dog
Alyssa Meyers, Business Insider

Airbnb is letting guests meet animal celebrities after extending its housing options in 2016 to include tourism experiences with locals.

Tim Hortons Drags on Restaurant Brands
Heather Haddon, The Wall Street Journal 

Popeyes and Burger King scored sales with new products, but Canadian chain struggled.

Google owner Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit
Greg Roumeliotis and Paresh Dave, Reuters

Google owner Alphabet Inc has made an offer to acquire U.S. wearable device maker Fitbit Inc, as it eyes a slice of the crowded market for fitness trackers and smartwatches, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research

How using video natively wins more viewers and how to use it as part of your marketing strategy
Sian Hainsworth, The Drum 

Video has exploded on social media with impressive view rates such as the over 500million hours of video watched on YouTube each day. 

Influencer Marketing Has an Implicit Bias Problem
Lenoria Addison, Adweek

The only way to combat it is to challenge it.

Morning Consult