ADWEEK’s Agency of the Year honors the advertising agencies setting the standard for where the industry is heading in 2024. ADWEEK values creativity, business results and, ultimately, how agencies treat their people–because it’s the people who drive the business forward. The winners will be revealed in December. The awards: Global Agency of the Year: Excellence…
It’s time once again to assemble the annual ADWEEK 50, spotlighting the behind-the-scenes luminaries in advertising, marketing, media and technology who were essential growth drivers in 2024. ADWEEK 50 isn’t about recognizing the CEO. Instead, it’s about honoring the leaders who keep the operation running efficiently and profitably, and put innovation and team culture at…
In March, NBCUniversal announced it would allow advertisers to buy ads programmatically for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris for the first time. At the time, the broadcast giant said its programmatic inventory would be available through its partner, the adtech company The Trade Desk. ADWEEK has now learned the details of that…
WPP landed top honors across Cannes, winning Creative Company of the Year, while Ogilvy won Network of the Year and client Coca-Cola snagged Creative Brand of the Year. Before learning of those distinctions, CEO Mark Read and global chief creative officer Rob Reilly sat down with ADWEEK to discuss several topics, including its creative offering…
Data company Alliant has hired investment bank BrightTower to conduct a sale process, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Alliant calls itself a data cooperative, which means it’s a hub where brands can add their data to share with other brands. Most of that data is about what consumers bought. Alliant has more…
Last spring, shoppers in Albertsons grocery stores were increasingly sticking to the store’s perimeter–a trend that meant many people were skipping the sweets in the center aisles in favor of bakery items that sit closer to the outside walls of the building. That was bad news for the packaged cookie category, especially for the category’s…
In April 2020, as the Covid-19 death toll surpassed half a million and the country wrestled with uncertainty, confusion and a new thing called social distancing, brands were scrambling for an advertising message that would suit the edgy national mood. Most defaulted to cliches: “We’re all in this together,” “In these trying times,” “We’re there…
In recent months, there’s been a series of notable private equity investments in up-and-coming advertising agencies. Last month, Svoboda Capital Partners invested in creative agency Highdive. In October, Keystone Capital invested in Barkley, which then merged with OKRP. In September, the London and New York-based independent agency Brainlabs nabbed funding from another private equity firm,…
Last year, Mastercard chief marketing and communications officer Raja Rajamannar invited the company’s chief financial officer, Sachin Mehra, to co-lead a session with him at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. It was the first time a CFO spoke on stage in the event’s 70-year history. Rajamannar compared Mehra’s appearance at the festival to…
Last year, Simone Oppenheimer Mandel and Rachel Segall, co-founders of consultancy NBZ Partner, clandestinely began acting as agency search consultants and are now formally launching a new service offering, NBZ Match. The co-founders hope to evaluate a broader variety of agencies than many traditional search consultants and avoid overreliance on well-known shops. NBZ Partner searches…
Ability AI, a martech startup focused on automating media buying across platforms like Meta and Google, secured $1.1 million in a pre-seed funding round today. The investment was spearheaded by SMRK venture capital, with participation from tech experts from firms like Google, Meta, Deloitte and The Economist. With a current valuation nearing $10 million, Ability…
As the number of startups touting gen AI balloons, finding the right one for a brand to partner with is getting more complicated. Diageo, for instance, is working with startup Vizit which lets it rapidly test gen AI content. “The AI engine creates different consumer segments and simulates their responses to our content, allowing us…
There was a time when Megan Lally had doubts about accepting a private equity investment. Now, hot on the heels of inking a new deal with private equity firm Svoboda Capital Partners, the creative agency CEO has a new perspective. Eight years ago, Lally co-founded Highdive, an independent shop known for creating fan-favorite Super Bowl…
Generative AI startup Pactto wants to change how companies provide detailed feedback on creative work by integrating videos and images into the process. With a valuation of $6 million, this 8-person startup is raising $500,000 in pre-seed funding with angel investors from Adobe, Meta, Target, Netflix, and Pixar. (Read the full pitch deck below). Pactto’s…
Remember this simple concept when discussing creative ideas with a client: Do not make Jaws without the shark. This was insight from on-fire agency Mischief regarding how to get a great idea across the finish line. No matter what, hold on to the core idea you agreed to with the client and guard it with…
Google’s big bet on using AI to power ads is getting even bigger in 2024. At Google’s Marketing Live event, which kickstarts today, the tech giant is expected to reveal how ads will look in generative AI-powered search, one week after its full U.S. roll-out. Generative AI search is already poised to change how buyers…
Sustainability tech platform Provenance, which aims to simplify brands’ green claims, today announced it’s raised $5 million in a series B funding round. (Scroll down to view the full pitch deck.) The round was led by the Martin Sorrell-founded venture capital firm S4S Ventures. This is the third funding round for Provenance, following a $2…
Media agencies usually pay publishers on behalf of their clients, but not at the independent shop, Acadia. Its leader, Jared Belsky, has convinced 98% of the marketers he works with to pay suppliers directly, instead of entrusting that to his agency. Belsky, who once led Dentsu’s 360i (now part of Dentsu Creative), told ADWEEK that…
Tipsy Scoop serves up sweet treats like spiked mint chip and vanilla bean bourbon that are meant to deliver a pleasant, light buzz similar to a dessert cocktail. But for years now, fans of the New York-based chain have been yearning for something that hits, well, a bit differently. Through a first-time collaboration with a…
While buzzy AI startups like OpenAI and Stable Diffusion have caught marketers’ attention, many lesser-known gen AI startups have secured investments and contracts with major brands such as L’Oreal, ESPN, Pepsi, and Garnier. AI funding in the U.S. grew by 14% year-over-year in 2023, (OpenAI released ChatGPT in Nov. 2022), raising $42.5 billion across 2,500…
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