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Week in Review
Platforms
- President Donald Trump said he approved a deal between ByteDance Ltd., Oracle Corp. and Walmart Inc. that reportedly would give 53 percent equity in TikTok to American investors, avoiding a full sale of the popular short form video app and delaying plans to ban it from U.S. app stores. The deal must still receive formal U.S. approval.
- Amazon.com Inc. launched Luxury Stores, an invite-only platform for high-end fashion designers such as Oscar de la Renta, presenting another hurdle to department stores which have already been struggling amid the pandemic.
- AT&T Inc. will launch a less expensive version of HBO Max next spring that is supported by a “light ad load,” said AT&T Chief Executive John Stankey, joining rivals such as Hulu and Peacock in offering ad-supported tiers after HBO’s 47-year run without commercials.
Advertising
- Facebook Inc. announced a new lineup of brand safety controls for advertisers, allowing them to be more selective about where ads appear within videos published by media partners on the platform, as the Stop Hate for Profit campaign turned its attention to Facebook-owned Instagram.
- “Star Wars” actor John Boyega said he is stepping down from his role as a brand ambassador for British luxury fragrance and candle company Jo Malone London, after the brand retooled his campaign in China and replaced him with popular Chinese actor Liu Haoran in the new version without Boyega’s knowledge.
- Ad sales in the United States fell 7.2 percent in the first and second quarters of the year, with a 23.1 percent drop in linear ad sales — including broadcast, radio, print and out-of-home advertising — that was mitigated by a 5.7 percent increase in digital media sales and a record-setting year in political ad spending, according to the latest Magna U.S. Advertising Forecast.
Retail
- Retail sales in the United States increased 0.6 percent in August, according to the Commerce Department, which also revised its July increase of 1.2 percent down to 0.9 percent, signaling that the country’s retail recovery could be slowing down.
- A Target Corp. store in Minneapolis, Minn. that was destroyed in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd will reopen in mid-November, after what will be “one of the fastest rebuilds of a Target store ever,” said Target Senior Group Vice President Cephas Williams Jr. in a blog post.
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What’s Ahead
- Companies reporting earnings this week include Nike Inc. on Tuesday, Pier 1 Imports Inc. and General Mills Inc. on Wednesday, Rite Aid Corp. and Carnival Corp. on Thursday and J.C. Penney Co. on Friday.
- The Variety Streaming Room is hosting an event with The Trade Desk about connected TV, “The Tipping Point for Connected TV Storytelling and Advertising,” on Sept. 22.
- Inbound 2020 will take place virtually Sept. 22-23, featuring more than 250 sessions by global thought leaders.
- TheWrap’s virtual event TheGrill, featuring media industry executives, is scheduled for Sept. 22-24.
- The Association of National Advertisers’ 2020 Media & Measurement Virtual Conference will run from Sept. 23-24.
- Glossy is hosting its Fashion Summit LIVE featuring top executives from direct-to-consumer, mass and luxury fashion brands Sept. 23-25.
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Events Calendar (All Times Local)
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Morning Consult Brands Top Reads
1) Covid Is Turning Us All Into Hipsteaders
Tiffany Kary, Bloomberg
2) Trump Administration to Ban TikTok and WeChat From U.S. App Stores
Ana Swanson et al., The New York Times
3) One in three Americans would happily never set foot in a store again, a new survey of consumer behavior shows
Grace Dean, Business Insider
4) Nextdoor’s Redesigned Logo Provides a Welcoming Wave
David Cohen, Adweek
5) The insidious racism in today’s TV ads
Sarah Todd, Quartz
6) Amazon Launches Invite-Only Luxury Offering In Another Blow To Department Stores
Adrianne Pasquarelli, Ad Age
7) Translation Teams Up With Nielsen to Measure Cultural Impact
Erik Oster, Adweek
8) Facebook Makes Brand Safety Upgrades As Protest Groups Call For Instagram ‘Freeze’
Garett Sloane, Ad Age
9) John Boyega Will No Longer Be A Jo Malone Ambassador After The Brand Cut Him Out Of The Chinese Version Of An Ad
Ade Onibada, BuzzFeed News
10) The Pandemic Is Accelerating AR Adoption for Retailers and Entertainers
Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer
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