Zach Kubin’s Post

I'm sensing a trend.... Media by Mother is Ad Age's small media agency of the year. CROSSMEDIA USA formalizes their partnership with JOAN Creative. Giant Spoon just announced their first ever chief media officer. What was old is new again... Independent agencies are reconnecting media and creative. Many say that it was a mistake to ever spin media off from creative. But my view is that it was a good thing. It made media teams stronger. With better strategic thinking. And stronger client management skills. Separation gave them a seat at the table -- as equals to other agency counterparts. It gave them respect. So, why do I celebrate this trend? Because I agree that media and creative are stronger together than separate. In the past, it wasn't a partnership (no matter what rose-colored glasses you wear). But these independents are now demonstrating that it can be. I look forward to seeing what's next. Kudos to all those who are forging a way forward by bringing back the best of the past. #agency #mediaagency #reconnecting #thefuture

The changing demands of consumers are being picked up by businesses who are looking for new growth verticals. While there are many areas in which sales and growth can be driven by advertising alone, in many ways, consumers are more willing to engage with and participate in conversations and communications that are brand-driven. This makes advertising less of a one-way channel and instead part of a two-way relationship. While digital media is the obvious example one can point to illustrating this new dynamic, OOH advertising can also be used to engage and build community with audiences through innovative techniques and strategies to use not only brand recognition but also the context and story behind a brand. #OOH #Innovation #Marketing #DigitalMedia

What does it take to build a more responsible future for media? According to industry leaders like Matt Bourn from the Advertising Association, Kunal Nagpal from InMobi, and GroupM's Sargi Mann, it takes collaboration, transparency, and a commitment to sustainability. Learn more about the strategies they're implementing from their insightful GroupM Rooftop discussion at Cannes Lions: https://lnkd.in/geVZaVQ8 _ #GroupMCannes

In today's article from Digiday, Joanna Ruttner, our VP Director of Strategy and Planning, highlights key findings from our sports fan study and explains how Involved Media incorporates client brands by considering platform consumption of in-game and post-game content for each sport. https://lnkd.in/e-vMkNQ6

I needed to take a few days prior to commenting on this Ad Age article. I'll just say it's been frustrating at times, to say the least..BUT I'm built for this! On a daily basis, I remind our team; "We're doing things the right way, the results will come" I know it's frustrating, I know they're disappointed when brands or agencies don't follow through especially when we've done everything the right way. Here's the thing though, we're getting stronger and stronger EVERYDAY! We're focused on our mission to be the best TV Network across Travel Media. We've secured the #1 sports brand NFL (live games), we have LIV Golf, we have original series, we've secured and will soon announce 3 more major sports deals in the next week. We're doing things the right the way. Measurement; Any agency or brand can see ReachTV inside Nielsen. Pull our audience and viewership from NMI. Our Live sports is measured by iSpot. Data: We have over 500M 1st party devices, we've successfully integrated into the agency data platforms Epsilon, Acxiom, M1, Omni, Choreograph, Catalina, etc. etc. WE'VE DONE THE RIGHT THINGS, THE RESULTS WILL COME! Here's just a small sample of the economic impact of airports and travel; Newark 29.2 Billion Annual Economic Impact, 137K jobs, 12.5B in wages JFK 45.4 Billion Annual Economic impact, 238K jobs, 19.1B in wages LGA 13.6 Billion Annual Economic impact, 62K jobs, 6B in wages This is just the NY airports! Over $90B annually, over 400K jobs, and $37B in wages To all of the people and I say people because it's the people that make things happen, I want to say "Thank you!" To the people that haven't partnered with us yet, I want to say "Thank you" because you represent our growth and we represent yours. #streamingtv #ctvooh #blackownedmedia #livesports #nfl #livgolf #halloffame #originalseries #agencies #brands #firstpartydata #publicis #spark #starcom #ipg #magna #um #rapport #omnicom #omd#phd #heartssciences #wpp #groupm #kinetic #essencemedia #dentsu #carat #havas #horizon #apex #omnet #verizon #walmart #geico #stellantis Publicis GroupeIPG MediabrandsIPG HealthUM | Universal McCann GmbH Starcom Spark FoundryGroupM EssenceMediacom Mediahub WorldwidedentsuCarat USAWPPHavasHorizon MediaBillupsVM1 ( Zenith Media + Moxie )PubW StellantisMcDonald's Amazon Melissa Shapiro Talia Raviv Dani BenowitzKathy Doyle Deidre Smalls-LandauPhilippe KrakowskyRyan LaulMichael Roca Geoffrey Calabrese Jessie SchwartzfarbGonzalo Del FaKirk McDonaldLance MaerovProcter & GambleGEICODiageoMoët Hennessy Rodney Williams ReachTVAmanda Romano Ad Age https://lnkd.in/e7JcWcJ7

As you see from my content I am reading, watching and thinking about challenges, opportunities and future of news media industry a lot. And sometimes completely unrelated pieces of information create a unique perspective on a certain subject. That's one of those cases. In the comments below you can find first a hilarious Bill Maher's video where he is crushing a modern trend of catastrophizing and exaggerating the news to create click-bating titles that will generate maximum possible page views. Highly recommend to watch. Very funny and very true :) Completely unrelated is the recent interview between Deputy CEO of RTL Group Elmar Heggen and RTL Magyarország CEO Gabriella Vidus Vidus discussing different topics, including the consolidation of the media industry. And by the way, from this interview, I found out that the attempted merger with DPG Media België in the Netherlands was blocked by the competition authorities. Returning to my original thoughts, it's important to note that the growth of most modern big news media companies is not primarily due to the organic growth of the audience and overall ad revenue. In rare exceptions, it's because of the ability of smart people to create quality content and, with the right audience management strategy, generate significant subscription revenue. However, the majority of growth in big companies like RTL, Ringier AG, DPG, and Bonnier Publications A/S is driven by mergers and acquisitions. These companies are expanding their portfolios through acquisitions of sports portals, classifieds sites, e-commerce platforms, and other ancillary niche media sites & newspapers. It means that if you are not among these big groups and don't have massive traffic, as news media, you won't be getting traffic from Google (search of Discover), you won't be getting interest from advertising media agencies, your programmatic eCPM will be very low, and any attempts to generate click-bate titles will not help you. It didn't help BuzzFeed News with its massive investment or VICE Media with all its scale. Your only options are to sell your business to a bigger player, move into specialized content, and make money directly from your audience through newsletters, industry reports, etc. Specialization and a niche audience are your mantra for survival. #newsmedia #onlinemedia

This is #mediapositive to every single person who has work good enough to be recognised in Campaign UK media awards. Congratulations. It's always harder than you imagine, and time goes faster than the free drinks at a media party. But with 186 entries within media agency categories, 96% of them have come from media agencies within the Top 20 (Campaign School report billing 2023). Just 3.7% have come from agencies outside of this, six agencies:  Total Media, Bountiful Cow, Yonder Media, dentsu X, Flourish Direct Marketing & Craft Media London As a small agency, getting your work through the volume of entries from the top 20 means that this recognition means so much more. The truth is it is harder to cut through and at £500 an entry and £7,000 a table even entering these awards is a huge investment for smaller agencies and one that they have to be super selective at making.  We also want to  #mediapositive to Spark Foundry for Benriach, Total Media for Greene King, Propersnacks (for yourselves), M&C Saatchi Group for The Ben Kinsella Trust, the7stars for Ka Drinks, Goodstuff for Gu. Six entries with a reported media investment across 2023 of circa £4m Vs the shortlist pool of over £2bn (2023 AdIntel) Congratulations to you specifically and the teams involved in these, because you were starting with a huge disadvantage. Despite that you got a shortlist, and managed to get a panel to see the great work you did. So what's that huge disadvantage? You are not spending millions every month, and therefore don’t enjoy that latent awareness within the judging room, and the familiarity that comes from having eight or nine figure media budgets and creative budget to match. You don’t in short, have availability bias.   We've been guilty of this in the past, drawing on the deeply woven tapestry of knowledge and emotion regarding a significant brand (age, adspend and recency being some of the factors) rather than trying to be deliberate about the work in front of us.  And this surely has to be impacting the shortlist of the ‘under £250k’ category: Walkers, Lloyds, Sky, Channel 4 & Audible are all shortlisted, brands which have spent heavily (and consistently) outside of this ‘campaign’ who are being compared to Ben Kinsella Trust, Mitchum deodorant and Gu. If you are fighting with these giants and holding your own you should really celebrate your achievements At Craft we passionately believe good strategy drives business growth and should be available to all clients, not just the biggest spenders in media. And maybe we need to find another way to surface and celebrate the real depth of planning and effort that happens on the longtail and not just for the already highly familiar and famous.  Well done to everyone involved in every entry, and I wish you all the best of luck come the 18th April. But a particular well done to those whose cream has risen to the top in challenging circumstances - we see you especially and we tip our Crafty hat. #mediapositive 💛

Media Business is facing some core challenges - change of consumer behavior, rise of social media, shift to digital steaming & AI. How to adapt TV for the future? The change in media consumption is already affecting media companies & channels globally. This report presents some interesting perspectives from international experts inside WBD & others💡Warner Bros. International Television Production Deutschland GmbH

Witnessing the Super Bowl's historic viewership of 123 million US households presents a profound lesson in the evolving landscape of consumer engagement and the unparalleled power of live events. This year's game not only showcased the Kansas City Chiefs' victory over the San Francisco 49ers but also highlighted the magnetic appeal of integrating popular culture with sports—exemplified by Taylor Swift's influence on drawing a diverse audience, including young female fans, to the NFL. This phenomenon emphasizes the importance of creating multifaceted marketing strategies that leverage popular culture, celebrities, and significant events to broaden audience reach and enhance brand appeal. The Super Bowl's impact extends into various industries, from the monumental advertising spends—where brands invested $7 million for a mere 30 seconds of airtime—to the music industry, where artists like Usher and Beyoncé capitalized on the event for massive exposure. This demonstrates the value of strategic partnerships and the potential for live events to serve as powerful platforms for brand storytelling and audience engagement. In an era where digital transformation is at the forefront, the Super Bowl's success story is a reminder of the enduring appeal of live sports and events as a unique medium for connecting with consumers on a grand scale. Moreover, the NFL's ability to dominate US television ratings amidst a declining traditional TV viewership landscape is a testament to the power of content that captivates and unites audiences. As we move forward, let's embrace the insights from this year's Super Bowl, recognizing the potential to infuse our marketing strategies with the same level of innovation, inclusivity, and cultural resonance that made the event a landmark in live sports broadcasting. #LiveEvents #MarketingStrategy #BrandStorytelling #AudienceEngagement #Innovation #Inclusivity https://lnkd.in/dYbhbrJ6

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