Over halfway through one of the strangest and most volatile years in recent history, and there are still plenty of challenges ahead for the ad industry. The IPA Bellwether report for Q2 2020 makes this clear, particularly with the notable finding that budgets have shrunk at their fastest rate in over two decades. With recovery expected to begin no sooner than 2021, some within the industry argue that now is the time for all players to explore and develop the [...]

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Never waste a crisis to affect meaningful change, they say. It’s easier said than done when an entire industry is still trying to figure out how to conduct normal business in this new reality.  Zoom, Google Meet et al are a help. But let’s be honest here, there is nothing more binding from a network-building perspective, than the face-to-face meeting, or the after-work pint in the pub, or – my personal favorite – the ‘power’ breakfast.  Is the virtual meeting to be [...]

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In today’s ExchangeWire digest: Ebiquity announces its initial financial results for 2019; McDonald’s moves its Mainland China media planning to Publicis Groupe; and the ad industry is showing a greater interest in B2B content.   Ebiquity release preliminary financial results   Independent marketing and media consultancy, Ebiquity, has announced its preliminary financial results for 2019. The results remain fairly consistent with those achieved in 2018, although it has seen declines in its revenue, operating profit, and earnings per share. Despite seeing revenue fall from £69.4m [...]

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Last week saw the publication of key advertising performance report, the Advertising Association/WARC (AA/WARC) Expenditure Report. ExchangeWire speaks to figures within the industry to get their thoughts on the report’s findings. Context and sentiment can help brands capture untapped audiences It’s no surprise ad spend has been reined in due to the uncertainty over COVID-19. Cutting back is a natural reaction as brands take time to understand new consumer behaviour and reassess what to have in market. In the mid-to-long-term, and with [...]

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In today’s ExchangeWire news digest: WPP is awarded management of Unilever’s mainland China account; Australia’s Prime Media Group reports a fall in April revenue; and NBCUniversal gets a restructure amid the Coronavirus. WPP wins Unilever’s mainland China account Unilever has put WPP in charge of its Chinese media duties. The move comes after a recently concluded review of the way the multinational FMCG firm’s media operations in mainland China. WPP will now take over managing the planning and buying of Unilever’s media [...]

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In this weekly segment, ExchangeWire sums up key industry updates on ad tech from around the globe. In this edition: the latest AA/WARC report forecasts a fall in UK ad spend; WPP braces itself as it sees Q1 revenues decline; Google sees its ad demand stabilise, sparking a spike in stock value; News Corp Australia partners with Flybuys to share first-party data; and Microsoft is rumoured to be looking to invest in Paytm. AA/WARC report forecasts ad spend to fall to [...]

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The IPA Bellwether Q4 2019 Report, released today 15th January 2020, has revealed a 4% overall increase in marketing budgets, the first such increase since the first quarter of the year. Growth is anticipated to accelerate through 2020 as the business cycle recovers from its current soft spell. Report highlights – Bullish expectations for marketing in 2020-2021 as a result of diminishing political and business uncertainties. – Internet advertising again cited as the primary driver of overall growth in marketing spend, with budgets [...]

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Ahead of ATS London 2019, Tiffany Kelly (pictured below), digital product manager at Lineup, reveals five key strategies which media companies can employ to further their effectiveness, diversify their offering, and increase revenue. Between industry blogs, podcasts and vendor outreach, there is no shortage of content highlighting the latest digital trends. But which trends have been proven to work well for leading media companies today? We review five recent strategies our customers have adopted to successfully drive digital revenue. 1. They are [...]

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As part of a drive to modernise its marketing spend, US FMCG giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) recently announced a shift in priority, moving away from traditional mass marketing methods towards performance marketing channels, as well as reducing ‘agency compensation’ through automation. In this exclusive analysis for ExchangeWire, Hannah King (pictured below), media planning director at agenda21, discusses the potential advantages, and pitfalls, of brands moving to targeted marketing approaches, alongside how existing agency relationships should be maintained. Procter & Gamble’s bold [...]

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The IPA Bellwether Report of Q2 2019, released today Wednesday 17th July, has revealed overall marketing budgets in the United Kingdom have flatlined, with 0% growth observed over the next three months. Confidence in own-company financial prospects has also plummeted to the lowest levels observed since 2011, largely attributed to political uncertainty. However, internet marketing budgets are set to increase by 11.5%, driven by continued technological innovation. Report highlights – Net UK marketing budgets flatline, with 0% growth/decline forecast following +8.7% increase [...]

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