• Spotify Technology SA unveiled a significant redesign of its homepage, which now includes a vertical, video-heavy feed meant to better integrate the platform’s array of offerings and encourage organic content discovery. It’s the latest user experience update by a major technology to mimic features native to ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok. (The Verge) 
• TikTok announced plans to spend more than $1 billion annually to protect European users’ data amid growing national security concerns by global governments over the app’s ties to China. The effort, dubbed internally as “Project Clover,” will include building two new data centers in Ireland and one in Norway by the end of the year. (The Wall Street Journal)
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will not renew a $54 million contract with Walgreen Boots Alliance Inc. that allows for the procurement of specialty prescription drugs used in the state’s correctional health care system. The announcement comes just days after Newsom tweeted that California was “done” with the pharmacy chain in response to its decision not to sell abortion pills in 20 Republican-led states. (Axios)

A Brand’s Guide to Gen Alpha

Morning Consult 

Did AI write that press release? Stagwell’s Taylor is here to punch up your PR pitches

Sam Becker, Fast Company

Launching at SXSW, the tool will be part of a suite of new AI-powered products aimed at public relations professionals.

CTV Reaches 98% Of U.S. Households, Global Programmatic Ad Spend Tops $3B

Karlene Lukovitz, MediaPost

As of the end of second-half 2022, advertisers could reach 98% of U.S. households through programmatic buys, according to estimates from fraud protection and compliance analytics platform Pixalate. The U.S. reach is up by 48% from the end of 2019, when it was at 50%, per the company’s CTV Ad Supply Chain Trend Report for the period.

How AI Can Help Make Ads More Memorable

Hana Yoo, AdExchanger

Genero, a creative and content production platform, is working with creative testing startup Memorable AI to figure out what makes some ads stickier than others.

VideoAmp Hires Its First CMO as Ad-Measurement Race Heats Up

Patrick Coffee, The Wall Street Journal

The tech company plans to pitch its services to marketers more directly, beginning with this year’s upfronts.

Brands like Pepsi, Ally, Mondelēz, and Coty reveal how they’ve scored big returns by advertising in video games

Ryan Joe, Insider

Advertising in video games represents a big opportunity for brands to get in front of a large, engaged audience.

Paramount Global Launches New Marketing Campaign “Popular is Paramount”

Jill Goldsmith, Deadline

Paramount Global today announced a new brand positioning and trade campaign around the tag ‘Popular is Paramount’ to reflect “the company’s indisputable strength in making popular content and content popular for every audience.”

WWE in talks with state gambling regulators to legalize betting on scripted match results

Alex Sherman, CNBC

WWE is in talks with state gambling regulators in Colorado and Michigan to legalize betting on high-profile matches, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Guardian returns to Apple News in UK as commission terms improve

William Turvill, Press Gazette

The Guardian left the platform in 2017 but has been drawn back by new sales opportunities.

Google to launch fund to support Taiwan’s media outlets

Reuters

Alphabet Inc.’s Google said on Wednesday it will launch a T$300 million ($9.8 million) fund over the next three years to help boost the Taiwanese media’s continuing operations and digital competitiveness. Google has in some countries to negotiate commercial deals and pay news publishers for their content, though not in Taiwan.

Documents From Fox Defamation Suit Spotlight Tension Between Prime-Time Hosts and News Personnel

Keach Hagey et al., The Wall Street Journal

Newly released court documents from a defamation case against Fox News over its 2020 election coverage show a deep fissure in the network between high-profile prime-time opinion hosts and other personnel who were deeply skeptical of election-fraud claims. 

The Washington Post offers bundle subscription with Headspace app

Sara Guaglione, Digiday

The Washington Post began offering a subscription bundle this week with the meditation app Headspace. It’s an effort by the Post to market its recently expanded wellness coverage to those that aren’t frequent Post readers, and to increase its subscriber base by targeting those interested in verticals beyond its core politics and news stories, said Michael Ribero, chief subscriptions officer at The Washington Post.

iHeartMedia Launches Podcast Network for LGBTQ+ Voices With JoJo Siwa, Laverne Cox and More

J. Clara Chan, The Hollywood Reporter

As part of the Outspoken network, Siwa will executive produce and host her own podcast for the audio giant. 

Spotify Bolsters Video Podcasts With Markiplier Deal

Peter White, Deadline

The move comes as the Daniel Ek-led company has been growing its video content, launching video podcasts in 180 markets last year. Popular video podcasts on the service include Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy and Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain.

Meta’s Instagram back up after brief global outage

Reuters

Meta Platform’ Instagram was back up for most users after a global outage, the photo-sharing platform said on Thursday, adding that an hours-long technical issue has been resolved.

LinkedIn Faces Growing Complaints From Recruiters Over Rising Prices

Mark Matousek, The Information

A core pillar of LinkedIn’s revenue growth in recent years, its recruiting services business, is under pressure as customers rebel against the company’s prices.

Elon Musk apologizes after mocking Twitter worker with disability

Jacob Knutson, Axios

Elon Musk apologized on Monday after publicly ridiculing a Twitter employee on the social media platform and speaking dismissively about the worker’s disability.

From marketing to design, brands adopt AI tools despite risk

Matt O’Brien and Haleluya Hadero, The Associated Press

Even if you haven’t tried artificial intelligence tools that can write essays and poems or conjure new images on command, chances are the companies that make your household products are already starting to do so.

Nissan Promotes U.S. CMO to Global Role and Hires Kia Marketer

Hans Griemel, Ad Age

Executive moves include promoting Allyson Witherspoon and the retirement of Infiniti Chairman Peyman Kargar.

Shein, Temu in fierce fight over US market for $10 dresses

Arianna McLymore and Casey Hall, Reuters

Online fast-fashion retailer SHEIN and its newer rival Temu are in a race to win shoppers’ attention for their inexpensive China-made goods.

For this year’s March Madness, ESPN is encouraging basketball fans to trust their guts

Alyssa Meyers, Marketing Brew

The multichannel campaign features three 15-second ads depicting people having epiphanies about their brackets.

SunnyD Vodka Seltzer Draws Fascination, Fury; Behind the Rise and Risks of Crossover Drinks

E.J. Schultz, Ad Age

New drink joins other products that blur category lines, including Mtn Dew Hard Seltzer, raising the possibility of regulator scrutiny.

Alpha-male ‘bromeopathy’ is getting more support from mainstream wellness brands

Liz Flora, Glossy

“Bro science” and “bromeopathy” influencers are selling manliness in a bottle, and major companies are signing on.

Nike taps new head of women’s, DEI

Cara Salpini, Retail Dive

Nike on Tuesday announced changes to senior leadership across both its direct-to-consumer and human resources divisions, ushering in a new vice president and general manager of women’s, as well as a new chief of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Walmart will derive more profit from services, ad sales in next 5 years

Reuters

More of Walmart’s future profitability is likely to come from its sales of ads on Walmart.com and from fees it collects from merchants using its online marketplace and delivery services, than from sales of merchandise at its 10,000 stores, its chief financial officer said.

The Perk-Cession Is Under Way at Some Companies

Ann Marie Chaker, The Wall Street Journal

Big companies from Silicon Valley to Wall Street are scaling back the office extras many employees have come to expect.

Business Schools Soften Admissions Requirements to Scoop Up Laid-Off Tech Workers

Paul Keegan, Bloomberg

Layoffs in the technology industry may have raised the anxiety levels of job-hunting MBA graduates. But they’ve led many business schools to try to tap into what they see as a growing pool of prospective students.

The Satisfaction of Viral Quitting

Carol Pogash, The New York Times

On TikTok and YouTube, workers are sharing their stories of leaving their jobs, giving them a sense of power over often untenable situations.

Women’s Return to the Workforce Piles Momentum on a Hot Economy

Sarah Chaney Cambon and Lauren Weber, The Wall Street Journal

American women are staging a return to the workforce that is helping propel the economy in the face of high inflation and rising interest rates.