• General Motors Co. has started offering voluntary buyouts to all of its U.S. white-collar employees with five or more years of tenure, part of a broader effort by the company to improve efficiencies as it prepares for a global economic downturn. The automaker expects the buyouts, which include a lump sum payment and other severance-based compensations, to cost $1.5 billion before taxes this year. (CNN)
• Roku Inc. announced that its first-ever internally-designed smart TVs will be sold exclusively through Best Buy Co. Inc. stores and on the retailer’s website. The streaming and device company also unveiled a suite of platform updates, including the addition of a Local News hub to its Live TV Home menu. (CNBC) 
• Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. plans to shut down all of its remaining 17 Field & Stream stores catering to outdoor sports like hunting and fishing. The retailer said it will instead focus on expanding its experiential store concept, called House of Sport, which currently only operates in three locations and features interactive spaces like climbing walls, batting cages and golf simulators. (Retail Dive)

Finding Success with In-Game Advertising

Interactive Advertising Bureau

Havas Group Reports 6.8% Growth For 2022

Steve McClellan, MediaPost

Total net revenues for the year were 2.59 billion euros (approximately $2.47 billion), up 15.8%.

Ad Buyers Press for CTV Transparency as Alcohol and Casino Ads Found on Children’s Shows

Catherine Perloff, Adweek

Ahead of the upfront season, buyers are still grappling with a lack of transparency around what they are buying in connected TV environments. 

How 20 years of Google’s AdSense changed the internet

Chris Stokel-Walker, Fast Company

The targeted ad initiative was initially launched as “content targeting advertising” 20 years ago this month.

Microsoft Ad Chief Wilk Steps Down, Sainsbury-Carter Steps In

Laurie Sullivan, MediaPost

Rob Wilk, corporate vice president and global head of Microsoft Advertising, announced in a LinkedIn post on Thursday he would step down. Kya Sainsbury-Carter will replace him. 

‘Saturday Night Live’ Post-Production Editors to Strike April 1 Show

Jazz Tangcay, Variety

Barring an agreement with producer NBCUniversal, the 12 to 20 editing crew members have announced that they intend to halt work and disrupt the show should bargaining sessions in their bid for pay inequities and health benefits continue to stall.

With Its Future at Stake, the Academy Tries to Fix the Oscars (Again)

Brooks Barnes, The New York Times

The awards telecast has been losing viewers for years. New leadership wants to reverse that starting Sunday, and ensure the financial well-being of the organization.

Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch dismisses $1.6 billion defamation case revelations as ‘noise’ 

Oliver Darcy, CNN

“I think a lot of the noise that you hear about this case, is actually not about the law and it’s not about journalism,” Murdoch told the audience at Morgan Stanley’s annual Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference.

Netflix improves its TV subtitles amid growing demand

Jess Weatherbed, The Verge

The size and style of text can now be adjusted to make Netflix TV subtitles easier to read as audio quality of dialog seemingly gets worse.

Apple launches its new classical music streaming app for pre-order

Sarah Perez, TechCrunch

Apple is launching a new music streaming service focused on classical music. Based on its 2021 acquisition of Amsterdam-based streamer Primephonic, the new Apple Music Classical app will offer Apple Music subscribers access to over 5 million classical music tracks, including new releases in high-quality audio, as well as hundreds of curated playlists, thousands of exclusive albums, and other features like composer bios and deep dives on key works, Apple says.

Facebook’s top 4 priorities this year and its pitch to creators, according to its top exec Tom Alison

Sydney Bradley, Insider

Meta has a plea for creators: Don’t forget about Facebook!

Content creators say they struggle to keep up with their audiences as social media platforms evolve

Julian Cannon, Digiday

As the social media landscapes continue to evolve, with platforms’ ever-shifting focus, the continuing pivot-to-and-from-video, the algorithm and audience changes, social media content creators have been caught in the middle. They say dealing with the constant jostling is time consuming and difficult to manage.

Reddit is shutting down its Clubhouse clone Reddit Talk

Ivan Mehta, TechCrunch

After Clubhouse’s rise to fame, every platform rushed to build a clone. But in the last year or so, the format’s popularity has faded and companies are rethinking their priorities. On Wednesday, Reddit announced that it is shutting down its live audio product Reddit Talk on March 21 — two years after its launch.

Meta is cutting its Reels Play bonus program on Instagram and Facebook

Mia Sato, The Verge

The Reels Play program paid creators to hit benchmarks for short-form videos on Instagram and Facebook, but now it’s coming to an end.

TikTok wins US trademark trial over Stitch video feature

Blake Brittain, Reuters

Bytedance’s TikTok Inc persuaded a federal jury in Los Angeles on Thursday that its Stitch feature does not violate trademark rights belonging to British video-editing company Stitch Editing Ltd.

Meta is working on a decentralized social app

Ivan Mehta, TechCrunch 

If there is a social media phenomenon getting some kind of popularity, Meta will try and jump in. We have seen the company copy different kinds of formats ranging from Stories to short videos after seeing the success of other platforms. Now, the Mark Zuckerberg-led company is working on a decentralized text-based app.

‘Sheer panic’ has gripped Silicon Valley VCs and founders amid worries that the startup industry’s most important bank is in trouble

Anne Sraders et al., Fortune 

Silicon Valley Bank—one of the most prolific lenders and banking institutions in the private market ecosystem—announced that it was selling off securities and seeking to raise billions in a public share sale to cover steep losses on its balance sheet.

As video games become cultural juggernauts, marketers still struggle with buy-in

Peter Adams, Marketing Dive

Even with massive hits like “The Last of Us,” marketers face obstacles around convincing leadership and moving beyond “opportunistic” strategies.

Puma is pushing further into web3 and fashion

Zofia Zwieglinska, Glossy

German sportswear brand Puma announced an upcoming, 10,000-strong PFP NFT project on February 10 to celebrate its 75th anniversary. The launch plays into current company objectives: It’s investing in building its fashion and web3 communities, and broadening its web3 education in-house. 

Walmart Chips Away at Amazon’s Lead in a Key Area: Wealthy Online Shoppers

Spencer Soper and Brendan Case, Bloomberg

Launched in 2020 as a competitor to Amazon Prime, Walmart+ is resonating with higher-income households eager to fend off inflation. At $98 a year, Walmart+ costs $41 less than Prime and offers many of the same perks, such as shipping discounts and video streaming. Walmart’s subscription service also has benefits Amazon can’t match, including discounted fuel at gas stations around the US.

Hellmann’s addresses food waste with temperature-sensitive ‘smart jar’

John Glenday, The Drum

The mayonnaise brand is trialing new packaging that warns when fridges are running warm.

The modern crisis communications playbook

Eleanor Hawkins, Axios

In the age of social media, companies, brands and public figures are just one viral TikTok or tweet away from a full-fledged public relations crisis.

Zulily announces layoffs, again

Kaarin Vembar, Retail Dive

Zulily on Monday announced that the company is eliminating “a number of positions” within its corporate teams. 

Morning Brew lays off 40 people

Sara Fischer, Axios

It’s the second round of layoffs for the digital news outlet that targets millennials since last November, when it shed 14% of staff.

Elon Musk Is Planning a Texas Utopia—His Own Town

Kirsten Grind et al., The Wall Street Journal

The entrepreneur is laying plans for a new community outside Austin next to Boring and SpaceX facilities, dubbed Snailbroo.

Corporate offsites are back, but remote work has given them a new purpose

Paige McGlauflin, Fortune

Today’s corporate offsites are not the same as those of yesteryear. Pre-pandemic, these retreats were akin to glorified field trips or, for some companies, corporate frat parties where employees had unlimited access to booze and top-of-the-line entertainment.

Next Big Job Cuts Will Be in Finance and Health Care, Data Show

Alex Webb, Bloomberg

Companies with declining revenue per employee and slumping stock prices seem most likely to reduce head count.