Ben Young
Ben Young
April 29, 2022

Edition #367
Goldman invests in tv measurement, Kevin Hart merges his companies and Spotify allows video anywhere.


One big thing

The vibe around advertising right now is a bit weird huh. Elon Musk hating on it. Outcry about Netflix adding advertising. But advertising supports a healthy economy, aiding in product discovery. In a digital attention world, subscriptions have a stronger role to play. And with Netflix’s focus, it seems like most platforms are heading towards a hybrid future. Part subscription, part advertising. You choose. And that’s smart, because advertising makes content more accessible to all. And subscription provides reliable revenue. Spotify is maybe a good example of this with their subscription focused, advertising supported model. But you look at WPP, who is growing YOY, there’s a sign of creativity leading growth in advertising. And that’s exactly what’s needed.

Notable stories this week

  • YouTube is testing ads on its short-form answer to TikTok, Shorts.
  • Sharethrough hires a CMO. And founder Dan Greenberg and native advertising pioneer steps down after 14 years to work on something new. 👏
  • BuzzFeed arrives at upfronts with a vertical ad format, a creator network, and plenty of new programming.
  • Spotify now allows all creators in select markets to publish video podcasts. Video can now be embedded off platform too.
  • Study website Quizlet launches ad platform using native.
  • The Ad Tech vendors helping programmatic go green.
  • CNN+ shut down and subscription cost is driving cancellations.
  • [Long read] How retail media ad platforms are rewriting the wallets garden playbook.

Deals/M&A

Campaign of the Week

Datapoints of note

That’s it for this week.

 


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