Vans Inspires Change With a Focus on Community and Inclusion

As more athletes continue to use their platforms to engage with their communities, skateboarding is becoming another sport that is inspiring a culture to be more inclusive. In an effort to empower, uplift and connect with the sports community, Vans is continuing to use their platform and partnerships to put all communities–including marginalized athletes–at the…

Cannes Lions Festival Organizers Commit to Real-Life Return in June 2022

As expected, The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has confirmed that it will return to a real-life, in-person format in 2022. The tentpole advertising event, owned by Ascential, has been unable to run in person for the last two years due to Covid-19 risks but has now confirmed it will once again run in…

PepsiCo Drinks In the Data to Find Sports Fans

If Pepsi’s going to be the drink of choice of a new generation of sports fans, it’s going to need next-generation data to figure out who they are. During the Brandweek Sports Marketing summit, PepsiCo’s head of sports marketing and partnerships Justin Toman told Adweek’s consumer product goods reporter Paul Hiebert that “unsexy” data and…

Watch the 2021 Edition of Elevate: Publishing

From Oct. 26-28, leaders from publishing and media came together to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the shifting technological landscape. Attendees learned how companies like Vox Media, The New York Times, Group Nine Media and Playboy, to name a few, are using technology to grow subscriptions and develop new ad revenue strategies. With three…

Digital Subscriptions and Personalization: Building Newsrooms Fit for the Future

This year, New York Magazine has tackled ambitious journalism from millions of women who are leaving the workforce to America’s year of racial reckoning. David Haskell, editor in chief, New York Magazine, joined Adweek’s Elevate: Publishing event to discuss building a newsroom that’s fit for your purpose and the future. Prioritizing digital subscriptions and diverse…

After the Pandemic, What Does the Future Hold for Events?

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve seen a shift from in-person to virtual events. More recently, we have seen the rise of hybrid events. Although each event brings its own benefits, few believe the limitless audience of a virtual event is worth the in-person trade-off of a live event. Financial Times’ Orson Francescone…

Tips from Kyra Media on Conquering TikTok

James Cadwallader is optimistic about the potential of TikTok, and he’s the first to admit it. “TikTok is going to eat the entire social media space,” the co-founder and chief creative officer told Adweek in a Tuesday morning session of Social Media Week London. “If you look at what’s going on in Asia on other…

The New York Times’ CEO Meredith Levien on Balancing News and Lifestyle Products

What comes up must go down. When Covid-19 hit, publishers of all stripes saw historic traffic highs translate to historic subscription highs. Not all of them could be kept. The New York Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien, Adweek’s Publishing Executive of the Year, explains that, after a year of historical subscription growth, some churn is…

The New Yorker Festival Generates Its Second-Highest Revenue Ever

In its second year in a hybrid format, The New Yorker Festival generated its second-highest revenue ever. This trailed only its 2019 event, which was the 20th anniversary of the festival and attracted 20,000 in-person attendees. This success points to the future validity of hybrid events for publishers, despite some of the difficulties in the…

IMDb TV Is Turning AVOD on Its Head

AVOD is an essential tool that all TV networks must arm themselves with to stay ahead in today’s streaming wars. That includes Amazon, where IMDb TV viewership grew 138% year over year, with viewers spending roughly 5.5 hours per week on average on the free, ad-supported streaming. IMDb TV co-heads of content and programming, Lauren…

How Brands Can Elevate Ad Sales With Multicultural Marketing

Since the pandemic began more than a year ago, the TV industry has undergone a seismic shift as every media company reconfigures itself to adapt to a new, streaming-centered reality. Univision’s recently launched PrendeTV service is at the forefront of this transformation–the first Spanish language, free, ad-supported streaming service built exclusively for U.S. Hispanics. Donna…

Using Data to Build an Effective Connected TV Strategy

The use of connected TV (CTV) has exploded in the past couple of years. In fact, U.S. upfront CTV ad spending will surpass $4 billion in 2021 alone, which translates into a 50% uptick year-over-year. According to recent projections, this will increase to $6 billion next year. Brands are eager to get in on the…

How Disney+ and Discovery+ Are Leveraging Cultural Touchpoints to Reduce Churn

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, streaming services experienced record amounts of growth. Now, as people begin to venture outside more and more, these services are battling subscriber churn once again as they try to hold onto those new audiences. For Lisa Holme, Discovery+’s group svp of content and commercial strategy, keeping consumers engaged comes down…

Why Bravery Is Necessary for Brand Partnerships

When the popular Adult Swim series Rick and Morty joined forces with Wendy’s in June to unveil a themed pop-up restaurant in Los Angeles, along with two new drink mixes–Mello Yello Berry Jerryboree and Mello Yello Portal Time Lemon Lime–it was a risk. The animated sci-fi show had teamed up with other companies in the…

How Shondaland Aims to Own the ‘Future of Television’ With Hits Like Bridgerton

In 2005, Shonda Rhimes’ production company Shondaland had its first series, the medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, premiere on ABC. Eighteen seasons, 16 years and 10 other TV series later, Rhimes is set on taking over television’s next frontier. “I really was looking towards the future of what television was. I was looking for another hurdle…

How ViacomCBS’ Netflix Experiment Helped Evil Shift Homes From CBS to Paramount+

When the supernatural thriller series Evil premiered on CBS in September 2019, it became an instantly acclaimed hit among critics, who praised the writing and performances on the chilling series. Despite the praise, though, it struggled to find a linear audience–which is when ViacomCBS turned to Netflix to try an experiment. “We all in our…

How a Bet on Virtual Events Is Paying Off for TechCrunch

In January, the operations team at TechCrunch made a difficult call: no matter how tempting, all events would remain virtual for the remainder of the year. Now, the fruits of that decision have become evident. The Yahoo-owned publisher is on track to record its best year of revenue in company history, an achievement in which…

Stella Artois’ Solstice Celebration Shows Its Evolving Approach to Hybrid Events

Publishers’ live event organizers have had to grapple with unusual logistical nightmares amid this delta variant period of the pandemic. As Stella Artois eagerly returned to experiential marketing this summer, the beer brand has emphasized the hybrid digital-physical nature of concerts to manage any last minute issues. Whether it’s changes in health ordinances or attendance…

Triller Aims to Empower Black Creators With Conference in September

Video sharing platform Triller is giving its Black online content creators across entertainment, lifestyle, fashion and sports a way to boost their profiles with marketing decision makers at Fortune 500 brands at an in-person showcase in Atlanta next month. The inaugural Black Creators Conference presents a chance for Black videographers to network and collaborate on…

With Covid Cases Rising, Publishers’ In-Person Events Face a Curveball

For publishers planning to bring back in-person events this fall, the delta variant has posed an unwelcome hurdle. Group Nine brand Thrillist announced its return to in-person events this morning with a new franchise, the Thrillist Block Party, a celebration of local culture and commerce that will kick off with an outdoor festival in Manhattan’s…