Advertising
From Zuckerberg to JFK, how advertisers are deploying deepfakes Katie Deighton, The Drum
The emergence of ‘deepfake’ video, audio and imagery is threatening to undermine our sense of a shared reality. But to what extent are advertisers and creatives colluding in this, and how transparent should they be when releasing synthetic work?
BuzzFeed’s tweaked studio strategy showcases challenges for publisher studio units Sahil Patel, Digiday
BuzzFeed plans to produce 20 digital shows this year, including upcoming projects with Facebook and Snap. When it comes to film and TV projects, the publisher will seek to work with a traditional Hollywood partner, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Videos most engaging in-app ad formats, study finds Shawn Lim, The Drum
A new study on in-app ad pricing and performance has found that the average click-through rates (CTR) of in-app video ads are 7.5 times higher than display ads.
Watch out, Google, Facebook is eating into paid-search budgets Seb Joseph, Digiday
Paid search no longer dominates the performance budgets for advertisers. In fact, some have noticed that paid-social ads on Facebook can deliver better results, such as driving traffic to sites, than they did previously.
Media and Entertainment
Twitch is emerging as a favorite new platform for publishers Kerry Flynn, Digiday
As the Amazon-owned live video platform grows its sales team, publishers like The Washington Post, Cheddar and BuzzFeed have invested in creating specific shows catered to the platform over the last year.
KKR is buying the publisher of Business Insider in a $7.7 billion deal Charles Riley and Hadas Gold, CNN
US private equity giant KKR wants to take the owner of Business Insider private in a deal that values the European publishing company at nearly $8 billion.
The Daily Show Buys Ads on Fox News in DC Inviting Trump to Its Presidential Twitter Library Jason Lynch, Adweek
The local spots will air on Fox & Friends and Hannity through Saturday.
Fox, Agencies Join Addressable Tv Consortium Jeanine Poggi, AdAge
Project OAR’s agency advisory committee includes Publicis, Omnicom Media Group, GroupM, IPG’s Magna Global, Dentsu Aegis, Havas and Horizon Media.
WarnerMedia Hires Chief of Enterprise Inclusion Paul Bond, The Hollywood Reporter
WarnerMedia on Wednesday announced it has named former CAA executive Christy Haubegger its executive vp and chief enterprise inclusion officer, a role where she is expected to oversee the company’s growth in diverse audiences and make sure the workforce represents the markets served.
Social Media and Technology
YouTube channels from prominent white supremacists, white nationalists, and neo-Nazis are still on YouTube, a week after it announced new hate speech policies Paige Leskin, Business Insider
YouTube says that “enforcement will take time,” and that its policies indicate a channel has to get three strikes (videos removed) within a 90-day period in order to be removed.
Alphabet-owned Jigsaw Bought A Russian Troll Campaign As An Experiment Andy Greenberg, Wired
As part of research into state-sponsored disinformation that it undertook in the spring of 2018, Jigsaw set out to test just how easily and cheaply social media disinformation campaigns, or “influence operations,” could be bought in the shadier corners of the Russian-speaking web.
Pandora Debuts Digital Audio Consultancy Ahead of Cannes George P. Slefo, AdAge As brands continue to pour ad dollars into digital audio – the format grew to $2.3 billion in 2018, up 23 percent from the previous year – many marketers are tuning in to how they’re heard and not seen.
Slack’s stock market debut may value the workplace chat app at $17 billion Sonali Basak et al., Los Angeles Times
Slack Technologies Inc. is expected to be valued by investors at $16 billion to $17 billion when it lists its shares publicly next week, according to people familiar with the matter.
Bird just bought its way into San Francisco by purchasing scooter rival Scoot Sean Hollister, The Verge
Bird has bought its way back into the city by purchasing Scoot, one of the two scooter companies that did get permits to operate in San Francisco.
PR and Marketing
Target expands same-day shipping option, marking the latest move in the delivery wars with Walmart and Amazon Lauren Thomas, CNBC
Shoppers will be able to pay a flat fee of $9.99 and have the option to get 65,000 different items on Target.com delivered same day.
BB&T and SunTrust reveal new name. The merging banks had ‘thousands’ to choose from Deon Roberts, The Charlotte Observer
BB&T and SunTrust Banks on Wednesday unveiled the name of the massive bank they plan to create and base in Charlotte through a proposed merger announced this year.
A Buyout Won’t Solve Saks Owner’s Real Issue: Department Stores Are Dying Suzanne Kapner, The Wall Street Journal
A retail empire builder bets one more deal can save Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor from themselves
‘War of the giants’: Disney+’s Ricky Strauss has a lot riding on him Tim Peterson, Digiday
The $7-a-month subscription service, which will launch on November 12, is widely considered a cornerstone of the company’s future.
Amazon’s unique new credit card is a play for low-income Americans Alison Griswold, Quartz
This week, Amazon announced Amazon Credit Builder, a special credit card for US customers who need to build (or rebuild) their credit history.
The Resurrection of Dolce & Gabbana Vanessa Friedman, The New York Times
After last year’s debacle in China, the brand went dark. Now it may be on its way back.
Kohl’s adds adaptive clothing to its three top kids’ brands Kelly Tyko, USA Today
Kohl’s announced Wednesday that it has added clothing designed for people with disabilities into its three largest kids’ brands – Jumping Beans, SO and Urban Pipeline – that look just like clothing worn by their peers but are easier to wear.
J&J, Colgate talc powder lawsuit: Firms ordered to pay nearly $10M Thomas Barrabi, Fox Business
Johnson & Johnson and Colgate Palmolive were ordered to pay a total of nearly $10 million to a California woman who alleged that the consumer product companies’ talc-based body powders contributed to her diagnosis of terminal mesothelioma.
Immigration advocacy group says the tech industry deserves ‘a lot of blame’ Sara Ashley O’Brien, CNN
Onstage at Recode’s Code Conference on Tuesday, RAICES CEO Jonathan Ryan said “the tech industry deserves a lot of blame for what is happening at our borders and assisting and enabling our government to bring to scale and into more efficiency this devastating violation of human rights.”
Lululemon Reports Higher Sales, Raises Full-Year Outlook Aisha Al-Muslim, The Wall Street Journal
Vancouver company is looking to double the revenue of its men’s and digital businesses.
American Airlines plans to use its own execs as guinea pigs to convince people that the Boeing 737 Max won’t crash again Sinead Baker, Business Insider
American Airlines plans to fly its own senior executives will fly on the Boeing 737 Max plane before any regular passengers, in an attempt to reassure the public that the aircraft is safe.
Walmart eliminates Jet president role as it further integrates e-commerce business Lauren Thomas, CNBC
More than two years after Walmart bought Jet.com, the big-box retailer is taking steps to more fully integrate and fold the e-commerce platform into its own business.
Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research
Why Brands Need to Focus on Value Creation Over In-Housing Jon Suarez-Davis, Adweek
The goal of marketing today remains the same as it has always been: winning the hearts and minds of customers to drive sustainable growth. Yet how marketers do this has radically transformed in recent years.
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