Advertising 

• A media investigation found that many media agencies and marketers have agreed to legal settlements after audits of media agency contracts, with three people familiar with recent settlements saying the deals don’t involve cash, instead being paid out in the form of media, and require all parties to sign a nondisclosure agreement. But the deals don’t allow the clients to audit the media provided, which means clients cannot learn how much the media agency paid for it or how it was obtained.

• Facebook Inc. is allowing a “very small number” of advertisers to place ads in its feeds under the groups tab, though the test will not make any changes to the platform’s ad targeting and will not allow advertisers to target members of specific groups. 

Marketing

• Facebook, which has been accused of antitrust and data privacy violations, dropped out of the top 10 in Interbrand’s annual Best Global Brands report, coming in at No. 14 this year from No. 9 last year, as the estimated value of its brand fell 12 percent to $39.9 billion. Apple Inc. came in at No. 1, followed by Google and Amazon.com Inc. 

• Google partnered with Domino’s Pizza Inc. to deliver the new Pixel 4 phones to more than 50 influencers and YouTube creators and 5,000 phone salespeople in a special box that places the device above an actual Domino’s pizza. The packaging is designed to encourage recipients to use the phone’s gesture-based features while eating pizza.

• Tony Weisman, Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc.’s chief marketing officer, said he is leaving the company on Dec. 1 after two years in the role, during which he oversaw the removal of “Donuts” in the company’s brand name and introduced the Beyond Sausage Sandwich and other menu items. While the company searches for a replacement, its marketing department will report to Dunkin’ Brands CEO Dave Hoffman.

• It’s not even Halloween, but Cost Plus World Market Inc. is kicking off the winter holiday advertising season with a 95-second ad, “The Tradition,” from barrettSF, which tells the story of a father passing on his childhood holiday traditions to his children. The ad will run on the Hallmark Channel and on Hulu.

• KFC is selling 500 “Seasoned Tickets,” for $75 each, on StubHub, which will grant the ticket holder a weekly order of 48 KFC chicken wings for nine weeks and a final order of 96 wings in the 10th week. The deal, which provides subscribers with 528 wings at a $406.99 value, will be promoted throughout the fast-food brand’s football-themed ad spots.

Legal matters

• Anheuser-Busch InBev SA ratcheted up its legal battle with Molson Coors Brewing Co. by filing a counterlawsuit that contends a MillerCoors employee in February received secret recipes for Bud Light and Michelob Ultra from an Anheuser-Busch employee. MillerCoors, whose spokesman denied the allegation, sued Anheuser-Busch in March over a Bud Light Super Bowl ad that MillerCoors said falsely suggested that Miller Lite and Coors Light used corn syrup.

• Earnings this week include Harley-Davidson Inc. and Hasbro Inc., Snap Inc. and Skechers USA Inc. on Tuesday; Boeing Co., Microsoft Corp., eBay Inc. and Morningstar Inc. on Wednesday; 3M Co., Southwest Airlines Co., Hershey Co., Comcast Corp., T-Mobile US Inc. and Twitter Inc. on Thursday; and Verizon Communications Inc. on Friday.

• Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit on Oct. 21-23 will be looking at the shifting nature of power as Silicon Valley shapes Hollywood, Washington and Wall Street. Speakers include Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger, Goop Inc. founder Gwyneth Paltrow and Viacom Inc. CEO Bob Bakish.

1) Amid NBA-China Clash, U.S. Consumers Indifferent Toward Global Business Dealings
Joanna Piacenza, Morning Consult

2) It’s only $4.99. But Costco’s rotisserie chicken comes at a huge price
Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN

3) Google Teams Up With Domino’s On Special Pixel 4 Deliveries
Jessica Wohl, Ad Age

4) Amazon Surges and Facebook Falls Again in Report on Brand Value
Nat Ives, The Wall Street Journal

5) Donald Trump Gets Hog-tied In Graphic Billboard Running In Times Square
I-Hsien Sherwood, Ad Age

6) Safari’s new private browsing mode provides a new path around publisher paywalls
Max Willens, Digiday

7) Dunkin’ CMO Tony Weisman Steps Down
Josh Sternberg, Adweek

8) Elizabeth Warren Takes Swing at Facebook’s Political Ad Policy in Scathing Stunt
Sara Jerde, Adweek

9) Millennials have dinner parties, they just don’t call them that
Nisha Chittal, Vox

10) The Hidden Truth About Media Rebates: Agencies Are Paying Settlements, But They’re Not Being Disclosed
Jack Neff, Ad Age