Media Buying

Google’s I/O showcases bold AI integration across products: The announcements show its marketplace strength but it’ll need an effective monetization strategy to beat the competition.

Prime Video hosts first upfront show: Amazon unveils a star-studded lineup of new series, movies, and sports content to attract advertisers.

Economic pressures reduce marketing budgets as percentage of revenues: CMOs respond by prioritizing AI to enhance efficiency and ROI.

At NBCUniversal’s Upfront, ads and content share center stage: Return on ad spend, AI concerns, and streaming-first projects were all featured.

US digital audio ad spend will reach $7.12 billion this year, according to our March 2024 forecast.

Key exec departure reflect's Spotify's podcast pivot: The company thinks a shift to less exclusive shows and more video content is part of its future.

US social video spend is still growing, reaching 45.2% of total digital video ad spend, or $48.89 billion, this year, per our March 2024 forecast. But that share growth is slowing, with rates increasing just 1% between 2024 and 2026.

OpenAI considers creator privacy features and whether ChatGPT should engage with adult content: The genAI sector faces tension over content moderation and profitability. A technical fix remains elusive.

Meta’s legal battle over ad viewership metrics signals a bigger problem: Advertisers are expressing growing discontent with the platform, which is launching new features to make amends.

Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney will launch a major streaming bundle for Max, Disney+, and Hulu this summer: The strategy aims to curb subscriber churn and simplify consumer choices.

Meta’s latest AI advertising rollout reveals a significant shift: Free, broad access to AI creative will help win favor with brands, but ethical quandaries are unresolved.

Walmart Connect, Disney team up to give advertisers proof of performance: Instacart and NBCUniversal are similarly joining arms to empower brands to better target consumers and get closer to closed-loop attribution.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how Meta could take the GenAI space by storm, the likelihood that rapid AI development and deployment backfires, and how advertisers are viewing Threads as it approaches its first birthday. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Jasmine Enberg.

Reddit's user base grows by 37%, revenue up 48%: Despite a $575.1 million loss, new ad offerings and AI deals hint at a bright future.

A major rebound for Disney's streaming sector: Losses cut dramatically to $18 million, while Disney+ adds 6.3 million subscribers thanks to key partnerships.

“The pace of change and innovation is accelerating, and that's bringing with it a lot of big new challenges for advertisers to navigate,” our analyst Jasmine Enberg said during our recent Outlook and Strategies for 2024’s Second Half summit. “It's also bringing pockets of new opportunities as ads become ubiquitous across platforms, creators reshape strategies, and AI powers it all.”

TikTok's NewFronts showcases AI-curated ads and partnerships: Despite regulatory scrutiny, the platform shows no signs of being distracted in its efforts to pursue ad dollars.

Google’s new DSP centralizes video inventory, but there’s a catch: The exchange is the only platform that hosts YouTube inventory, leaving little room to opt-out.

Google faces a new challenge as OpenAI prepares to unveil search: The startup could launch a search engine prior to Google’s I/O AI updates. But its revenue model remains unclear.

New AI advertising tools introduced by Meta: Updates are designed to boost Reels campaign performance with advanced creator filtering and dynamic product ads.