Murdoch’s Pick to Run The New York Post Bets On the Web and Celebs – Keith Poole joined The New York Post after transforming the website of The Sun, a Murdoch tabloid in London.
Mr. Poole has more experience in attracting online readers than his predecessor. Before joining The Sun as its digital editor in 2016, he helped make The Daily Mail’s U.S. website a must-read for followers of celebrity gossip.
“At The Sun, it’s all they focus on,” said Chris Spargo, a reporter who worked at both of Mr. Poole’s prior employers. Mr. Poole also sees The Daily Mail as The Post’s main rival, several people with knowledge of the Post newsroom said.
Apple, Spotify and the New Battle Over Who Wins Podcasting – A pair of announcements this week— Apple Inc.’s introduction of paid podcast subscriptions and Facebook Inc.’s new partnership with Spotify Technology SA to spur discovery and listening on the social network’s platforms—are the latest for a rapidly growing medium that is attracting top talent and top dollar.
“With Apple making its move into subscription, there is this platform war emerging,” said Josh Lindgren, head of Creative Artists Agency’s podcast department.
Podcasting, already on a tear before the coronavirus pandemic, exploded in popularity during the lockdown, and is on track to bring in more than $1 billion in revenue this year from advertising in the U.S. for the first time. An estimated 116 million Americans, or 41% of the U.S. population over the age of 12, are now monthly podcast listeners, an 11% increase over 2020, according to Edison Research and Triton Digital. [WSJ]
First-party data is the lifeblood of any brand’s marketing efforts, and 86% of the marketers surveyed for this year’s Nielsen Annual Marketing Report recognize its importance. – Despite the acknowledgement, however, overall confidence in data quality is universally low. For example, 41% of the marketers at large companies (defined in the report as organizations with marketing budgets of more than $10 million) view data accuracy as a challenge.
Data is the key to developing the personalized experiences consumers are seeking, yet first-party data typically highlights brand-specific interactions. So in that regard, first-party data does not provide information about consumer behavior away from any given brand. Second- and third-party data provide brands with information about what consumers do when they’re not directly engaging with the brand. For true omnichannel marketing efforts, marketers need information beyond direct brand engagement. Surprisingly, especially when customer acquisition is a top priority for marketers this year, brands have yet to embrace data partnerships as a way to enrich their own first-party data. [Nielsen]
Americans and Advertisers Are Hopeful About Travel – A recent survey, shows that seven-in-10 Americans are eager to begin traveling via plane and booking a vacation as soon as they’re able. Overall, adults 35-49 were among the most eager to enjoy these activities as soon as COVID restrictions are lifted.
This is good news for advertisers who are looking to lead the travel industry as we exit the pandemic by riding the wave of this growing consumer optimism. With travel one of the hardest hit industries by the pandemic, marketers certainly have a high hill to climb to get back to pre-pandemic levels. Advertising spending in the travel industry dropped 77% year-over-year during COVID-19 as of February 2021. [Nielsen]
Comscore Reports TV Viewing Engagement for Week Ending April 11, 2021 – “As expected, the men’s NCAA basketball championship topped the charts for this week’s broadcast rating and ranked second in stickiness. Spanish-language programming continued to garner significantly strong audience loyalty despite being lower on the ratings side, with Enamorándonos topping even the NCAA men’s basketball championship in stickiness.” said Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst, Comscore. [Comscore]
HBO Max Renews Selena Gomez’s Cooking Show SELENA + CHEF For A Third Season – In season three, Selena will continue her cooking adventures at home with a new roster of all-star chefs that will help her whip up delicious dishes. Like in its first two seasons, each chef will highlight a different charity each episode. To date, the series has raised $360,000 for 23 nonprofit organizations.
What’s new on HBO Max this May – Angelina Jolie In “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” “Tenet,” “In Treatment,” New Dark Comedy Series “Hacks” And “Adventure Time: Distant Lands – Together Again” Arrive On HBO Max This May
The Walt Disney Company Presents the 2021 NFL Draft – The Walt Disney Company will kick off its presentation of the 2021 NFL Draft on Thursday, April 29, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on ESPN, ABC, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio and the ESPN App. Coverage will include 1,500 creative elements, 450 player highlight packages and 35 player vignettes. ESPN and ABC will document the three-day event with 50 cameras and more than 50 microphones following live action in Cleveland, more than 40 additional cameras at the homes of Draft prospects and another 32 cameras offering looks into each NFL Draft room. [ESPN Press Room]
Apple TV+ announces new music docuseries “1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything” – Apple TV+ announced “1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything,” an immersive, new docuseries that will explore the musicians and soundtracks that shaped the culture and politics of 1971. Executive produced by Academy, BAFTA and Grammy Award winners Asif Kapadia (“Amy,” “Senna”) and James Gay-Rees (“Amy,” “Senna,” “Exit Through the Gift Shop”), the eight-part docuseries will premiere May 21 on Apple TV+. [Apple]
DTC Advertisers are Changing Up Their Programmatic Spend – As brands seek to build awareness across different channels, the most recognizable DTC brands aren’t spending as much in programmatic as they used to.
In 2021 to date, 1,400 DTC brands spent $60.9mm in programmatic advertising. This is down 44% in spend from 2020, in which 1.2k brands spent $87.6mm during the same period.
The increase in advertisers, along with the decrease in spend, indicates that though some DTC brands have moved spend away from programmatic advertising, it is still a popular format for younger brands.
New DTC brands advertising in the programmatic space in 2021 include: Proper Cloth Face Masks, Zinus Mattresses and EditorX [MediaRadar]
