LinkedIn detailed new ways it is introducing to keep content professional and ensure that members feel safe. Starting Tuesday in Canada, France and the U.S. who either report content or have content that they shared removed from the professional network will receive notifications with more information, and LinkedIn said this will roll out to more…
Facebook quietly scrapped a long-standing rule earlier this month that limited the space that text could occupy in ads to 20%. The social network did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Social media consultant Matt Navarra shared the notification some advertisers received from Facebook last week in a tweet. BIG news for Facebook advertisers:…
A voting rights group is broadcasting a warning about the state of American democracy by using a technology often feared for its own potential to subvert democracy. A new campaign from nonprofit RepresentUs and agency Mischief features deepfakes of authoritarian leaders Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un issuing ominous pronouncements about the dangers of voter suppression…
With a coronavirus vaccine unlikely to arrive until next year, shopping mall foot traffic still down by 37%, and a gaggle of leading retailers mired in bankruptcy proceedings, few believed that the 2020 holiday season was going to look anything like last year. Even with fat cats like Amazon and Walmart poised to welcome the…
The Walt Disney Company has sold video ad-tech firm TrueX, which it acquired as part of its $71.3 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox, to mobile and location ad-tech company Gimbal. Gimbal is buying TrueX to cash in on the connected TV boon, which has accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic as people stream more content…
After Prime Day didn’t take place this past July due to Covid-19 issues, no one really thought Amazon would cancel its biggest shopping event of the year. Last week, rumors of a new date began to circulate, and now the brand has finally confirmed that Prime Day will take place on Oct. 13… and Oct….
The Nov. 3 election is only weeks away and tech platforms are still tinkering with their policies on taking political ad dollars. Google told advertisers Friday that it will not allow election-related ads to run on any of its platforms after the polls close nationwide. Google spokesperson Charlotte Smith confirmed the decision to Adweek after…
Frequently, flyers know Scott Keyes on a first-name basis. The founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights, a newsletter that fulfills the very promise of its name, Keyes considers himself a “friend who happens to be a flight expert” to an audience of nearly 2 million, helping users save on international flights. But, in the midst of…
A new startup wants to make video production as easy as choosing a spokesmodel, a tone of voice and typing out a script. Bangalore-based Rephrase.ai raised $1.5 million this week in a seed round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and AV8 Ventures for a platform that uses the same technology behind deepfakes to allow brands…
IPG media agency network Mediahub is growing with the addition of Minneapolis-based media agency CompassPoint. Also part of the IPG family, CompassPoint will move from McCann WorldGroup to Mediahub through the remainder of 2020. With the completion of the transition, Mediahub’s new combined billings will be over $2 billion, and it will have over 550…
The most popular tourist destinations in Colombia are often bustling year round with couples, families and business partners. But circumstances have been atypical this year, and Colombia has been largely closed to travelers. According to database Statista, the hotel occupancy rate in Colombia in March 2019 was 64.9%, compared to 14.9% in March 2020 after…
Key Insights: P&G’s Marc Pritchard says marketers are disadvantaged by the current upfront model. Guaranteed low rates plus access to premium inventory make RTB unattractive to major advertisers. In June, the Association of National Advertisers called for a “transformative shift” to the upfront as the novel coronavirus pandemic sent TV’s long-standing ad-buying process into upheaval….
Following Uncle Ben’s decision to change its name to Ben’s Original on Wednesday, Cream of Wheat’s announced its own similar rebranding decision. According to Cream of Wheat, the Black chef that has appeared on its packaging for over 100 hundred years is based on Chicago master chef Frank L. White. Due to backlash from consumers…
The Facebook NPE Team detailed updates to its Tuned app for couples, dividing them into three tenses: present, past and future. Tuned was released for iOS in April, when it was described in its iTunes App Store listing as, “A private space where you and your significant other can just be yourselves. With Tuned, you…
As telecom behemoths Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile duke it out for market share, the spotlight falls less often on America’s No. 4 carrier, UScellular. But while the Chicago-based telecom may have only 5.1 million subscribers (compared to Verizon’s 94 million), it does enjoy a low churn rate (read: loyal subscribers) thanks in part to the…
In a followup to its Valentine’s Day #SexResponsibly campaign about consent, Absolut Vodka is encouraging fans to be responsible with the ballot box this fall. In the run-up to Election Day, the Pernod Ricard-owned spirit brand is urging drinkers to #VoteResponsibly–and wait to imbibe until after hitting up the polls on Nov. 3 (or before…
As social justice protests continue across the U.S., some people cannot or choose not to participate because of Covid-19. While there many ways to contribute to movements like Black Lives Matter, those who literally want their voice to be heard on the streets can make use of Say It With Me, a tool that lets…
LinkedIn introduced its first major visual redesign in five years, for both desktop and mobile, along with the official rollout of LinkedIn Stories and other new features today. LinkedIn, which has seen a surge in use amid the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic that put more employees working from home, wanted to create a “warmer…
United Airlines has launched a pilot program that gives its customers access to a rapid Covid-19 test before boarding a flight. Starting on Oct. 15, United passengers flying from San Francisco International Airport to Hawaii will have the option of taking a rapid test at the airport. The test, made by Abbott and supplied by…
Welcome to First Things First, Adweek’s daily resource for marketers. We’ll be publishing the content to First Things First on Adweek.com each morning (like this post), but if you prefer that it come straight to your inbox, you can sign up for the email here. After 74 Years, Uncle Ben’s Will Become Ben’s Original Uncle…
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