In this week’s Week in Review: Starbucks looks to linear TV to drive growth, MFE weighs up the benefits of a ProSieben tie-up, and Samba TV acquires Semasio.
Top Stories
Starbucks Turns to Linear TV to Drive Growth
Coffee chain Starbucks’s recently hired CEO Brian Niccol, previously CEO and chairman of Chipotle, has been tasked with returning the company to growth in the face of falling demand. And as part of that turnaround strategy, Starbucks will be shifting more money into linear TV.
Speaking on an earnings call following Starbucks’s most recent quarterly results, in which global comparable sales were down seven percent year-on-year, Niccol listed a number of major strategic and operational changes for the company, including simplifying its menu and improving the in-store experience. Starbucks’s marketing strategy will also get a refresh, as Niccol says it had become too focussed on Starbucks’s registered loyalty card holders. And as it looks to reach potential customers with whom it doesn’t have a direct relationship, TV will be a key part of the mix.
“Our newly launched campaign focuses on talking to all customers and elevates the Starbucks brand in a much more visible way through broad reach media like linear TV,” said Niccol. “It reminds customers across age groups that Starbucks serves the best coffee.”
MFE Sees €200 Million Benefit in ProSieben Tie-Up
European media giant MFE-MediaForEurope believes that a tie-up with fellow European broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 would add around €200 million per year in operating profit, Reuters reported this week, citing a source with knowledge of the matter.
MFE has eyed up a potential takeover of ProSieben as it looks to grow its pan-European broadcasting business. It already owns nearly 30 percent of ProSieben, but has stopped short of investing further and triggering a requirement in German law to make a full takeover bid. But the €200 million figure was calculated as it looked for partners to help fund a potential €4 billion bid to acquire ProSieben. The benefits would be derived from lower costs relating to pooled resources, and higher revenues generated by the company’s ability to deliver reach across Europe for advertising partners.
ProSieben has resisted MFE’s advances, but the latter is still weighing up options, and is waiting until ProSieben’s full year results for 2024 to be released next year before deciding its next move, according to Reuters.
Samba TV Acquires Semasio for Contextual Targeting
Samba TV, a measurement company, has acquired Semasio, an audience data and contextual targeting business, the company announced this week. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Semasio has previously raised $80 million in investment funds.
Samba TV said the acquisition enables it to integrate its video data into Semasio’s platform, allowing clients to access contextual relevance across digital, mobile and CTV. The deal will also grow Samba TV’s global footprint – Semasio has over 100 customers in 50 countries across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, and has over one billion stable user profiles.
“Our vision is that AI-generated data and insights will create high-performance, privacy-first advertising solutions, so we are doubling down on that with this acquisition,” said Samba TV co-founder and CEO Ashwin Navin. “Samba’s AI capabilities have been focused on streaming video, but we are now complemented by Semasio’s semantic analysis of the open web. While our competitors are faltering or shutting down, we are accelerating and doing so with the power of GenAI as a tailwind for our business, without compromises to data protections and privacy.”
Semasio CEO Jeff Ragovin will be transitioning leadership of the company to its general manager Zac Pinkham.
The Week in Tech
Vibe Launches AI Tools for SMB Advertisers on CTV
Vibe, a streaming TV ad platform for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), has launched a suite of AI-driven products for SMBs. The suite includes Vibe IQ2, a machine learning tool for optimising ad spend in real time; Vibe Studio, a tool for creating CTV ads “in less than 10 seconds”; and Vibe Connect, which provides direct access to premium CTV inventory. “For far too long, SMBs have been locked out of TV advertising while massive corporations dominate the airwaves,” said Arthur Querou, Co-Founder and CEO of Vibe. “It’s the millions of SMBs that hold the key to untapped growth.”
IAS Explores Potential Sale
Integral Ad Science (IAS), an ad tech business focused on ad measurement and verification, is exploring a potential sale, according to Bloomberg. Sources said IAS has received takeover interest, and is working with Jefferies Financial Group to explore its options. Shares in the company jumped 17 percent following the news.
Ad-Supported Tech Giants Report Growth
A number of the major tech giants reported their Q3 financial results this week, with each reporting growth in their ad revenues. Meta’s ad revenues were up 18 percent year-on-year in Q3, Google’s ad revenues grew by 10 percent, Amazon’s ad sales rose by 19 percent, and Snap’s ad revenues were up by 10 percent.
IAB Europe Launches Certification for Retail Media Standards
Retail media has been heralded as a key growth driver in advertising, recognised by major agencies as the fastest-growing media channel over the next three years. But a lack of standardisation in retail media has posed barriers to investment, with 60 percent of buyers identifying standardisation as the channel’s main growth area over the next 12 months, according to IAB Europe.
The trade body has been working to address these hurdles and establish consistent metrics for buyers to compare retail media investments, publishing its first set of Retail Media Measurement Standards for Europe in April 2024. And today IAB Europe announced the Beta launch of the Retail Media Certification Programme, which the organisation describes as an “industry-first” initiative designed to set standards around transparency, fairness, and accountability in retail media measurement. Read more on VideoWeek.
UK Data Bill Changes Plans on Centralising Cookie Consent
The UK Government has introduced a bill, the Data (Access and Use) Bill, that drops proposals by the previous government to centralise cookie consent mechanisms, such as into browsers. IAB UK said the change reflects “industry concerns” following “sustained lobbying efforts” by the trade group, who claimed that centralising cookie consent could damage the digital advertising industry. “We have been arguing for the law to be changed to allow cookies to be used for ad and audience measurement on an opt-out basis, without requiring consent,” said IAB UK. “We understand that the Government will carry out consultation with industry stakeholders – including IAB UK and our members – to explore this and other potential new exemptions.”
X Falls Short of Political Ad Revenue Goal
X has generated $15 million from political advertising so far this year, according to the FT, falling far short of its $100 million goal for 2024. Analysis by the FT of the top 100 political advertisers on X revealed 42 Republican candidates or political action committees, and 13 Democrats. X owner Elon Musk is currently facing legal action over his plan to give $1 million per day to voters in swing states.
Global Data Regulators Call on Social Media Companies to Protect Personal Information
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), along with 16 other global data protection authorities, have issued a joint statement on highlighting the need for social media companies to better protect personal information. Following an initial statement last year, the ICO said concerns are growing around mass scraping of personal information, including to train AI systems. The regulators called on social media companies to comply with privacy and data protection laws when using personal information, deploy a combination of safeguarding measures, and ensure that permissible data scraping is done in accordance with the law.
The Week in TV
TF1 Launches Self-Serve Platform for Addressable TV
TF1 PUB, the French broadcaster’s sales house, has launched a self-serve platform for addressable TV. The ‘eTVS’ tool is integrated directly into TF1 PUB’s La Box platform, and can be used to create and plan segmented TV campaigns. The tool also enables targeting via geolocation, demographics and household type, according to TF1.
Channel 4 Trebles YouTube Views in 2024
Channel 4 has trebled its views of full episodes on YouTube this year, according to the commercial broadcaster, reaching 1.8 billion UK views across all social platforms. The UK broadcaster hosts full episodes of shows such as Hollyoaks on YouTube in order to attract younger audiences. Channel 4 also reported increased views on TikTok (+86 percent YoY) and Instagram (+39 percent).
Activist Investor Opposes Vivendi Break-Up
An activist investor in Vivendi is opposing the French firm’s proposed breakup, according to the FT. Paris-based asset manager CIAM called the plans, which include spinning off Canal+, “an extreme case of where minority rights are being undermined.” CIAM is urging its fellow shareholders to vote against the proposal on 9th December.
RTL Explores Merger Options for Fremantle
European broadcaster RTL is considering a merger for its Fremantle production unit, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Sources said the Bertelsmann-owned company is exploring options for Fremantle, including selling a minority stake to another production group or private equity firm with production assets. But RTL is reportedly seeking to retain majority control of the business, which owns the Got Talent franchise.
TF1 Posts Ad Revenue Growth in Nine-Month Earnings
TF1 revenues rose 2.8 percent YoY in the first nine months of 2024, the French broadcaster announced on Wednesday, driven by a 4.5 percent increase in ad sales. Streaming service TF1+ saw 39.5 percent growth in ad revenues, while linear revenues climbed 2.2 percent. TF1 also stood by its full-year objectives for 2024, including fuelling its digital growth, “despite a more challenging economic environment for the rest of the year.”
The Week for Publishers
Keir Starmer Says Publishers Should Retain Control of Content in Face of AI Scraping
UK prime minister Keir Starmer said this week that he recognises “the basic principle that publishers should have control over and seek payment for their work, including when thinking about the role of AI”. Writing in The Guardian, Starmer pointed to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act as a means of rebalancing the relationship between publishers and tech companies. However, Labour has come under fire from some media companies over plans to allow AI companies to scrape publishers’ and artists’ content by default, requiring businesses and individuals to proactively opt-out of data harvesting.
Reuters Agrees AI Content Deal with Meta
Meta this week announced that it has agreed a deal with news agency Reuters which will see Meta’s AI chatbot use Reuters’s content to answer questions about news and current affairs. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. While several other AI chatbots have alright signed a number of publisher deals, this is Meta’s first – and indeed its first publisher deal of any type for several years, as the tech business has backed off of its investment in news.
Ex-Hearst Employee Claims Ad Fraud-Linked Wrongful Termination
Michael Smith, a former employee of publishing giant Hearst, filed a wrongful termination lawsuit this week claiming he was fired by the company after reporting multiple cases of potentially intentional ad fraud, The Wrap reported this week. The first issue discovered by Smith related to its ‘Core Audiences’ audience management platform which was delivering campaigns when only one element of an advertiser’s targeting criteria was met, meaning that, for example, a local advertiser’s ads would be delivered nationally. Smith separately found cases where multiple ads would stack on top of each other, and cases of financial malpractice and high levels of fake traffic – with no advertisers receiving refunds in any cases.
National World Partners with Reach’s Mantis
UK local news publisher group National World this week announced a strategic partnership with fellow UK news business Reach’s brand safety and contextual ad tech business Mantis. “Advertisers keen to harness the huge reach opportunities our titles offer are looking for smarter ways to ensure maximum relevance and brand safety as the news cycle continually changes,” said Jade Power, director of digital monetisation at National World, as reported by ExchangeWire. “Our partnership with Mantis enables us to facilitate nimble delivery of contextual campaigns for effective and wide-ranging engagement while ensuring ads are seen beside appropriate stories for each brand. In essence, we can now provide the perfect blend of scale and suitability.”
The Guardian CEO Warns of “Difficult Decisions” for The Observer if Sale Falls Through
Anna Bateson, CEO of The Guardian, has warned that the company will have to make “difficult decisions” about its Sunday title The Observer if a potential sale to fellow UK news outlet Tortoise falls through. Bateson said that The Observer is loss-making, once shared costs are taken into account, and that the Guardian Media Group had already been thinking about The Observer’s future prior to Tortoise making an approach for the title.
The Week for Brands & Agencies
TV and Digital Drove UK Ad Spend to £10 Billion in Q2
UK ad spend reached £10 billion during Q2 2024, according to the latest Expenditure Report from the Advertising Association (AA) and WARC. This marks a 13.4 percent increase on Q2 2023, when the market narrowly avoided contraction. While benefitting from these favourable comparisons, the latest quarter also recorded stronger-than-expected digital growth, alongside strong TV contribution driven by the Men’s Euros. Ad spend on TV climbed 9 percent YoY during the quarter, according to the report, representing the channel’s strongest quarter in over two years. Read more on VideoWeek.
Vivendi Activist Shareholder Opposes Breakup Plan
CIAM, a French assets management company and shareholder in Vivendi, is calling for fellow shareholders to oppose the media company’s proposed breakup, the FT reported this week. The move would see Havas separated out from the rest of the company and listed in Amsterdam, while Canal+ and the Louis Hachette Group would also be listed in different markets. CIAM claims that the split up is an effort from major shareholder Vincent Bolloré to increase his control over Vivendi’s holdings, and that the move undermines shareholder rights.
UK Video Ad Spend Grew 26 Percent in the First Half of 2024
Growth in UK digital ad spend across the first half of the year significantly outpaced GDP growth, according to IAB UK’s latest Digital Adspend research, conducted with MediaSense, as the UK’s digital ad spend grew by 16 percent year-on-year in H1. And video was the standout performer, with total video spend up 26 percent year-on-year, reaching £4.12 billion. This growth means that video now accounts for more than a quarter of all digital ad spend in the UK. Read more on VideoWeek.
Publicis Lays Off Nearly 200 Staff at Digital Agencies
Holding group Publicis has laid off just under 200 staff from its digital experience agencies including Digitas and Razorfish, Ad Age reported this week. The news comes shortly after Publicis Media fired around 100 employees for not complying with the company’s return-to-office policy, though it’s not clear whether these layoffs are for similar reasons or not, according to AdAge.
Total Mediaplus Wins Tony’s Chocolonely’s Global Media Duties
Ethical chocolate brand Tony’s Chocolonely has chosen Total Mediaplus to handle its global media duties including planning, buying, and performance marketing services. Tony’s says that Total Mediaplus’s alignment with its high standards of social and environmental responsibility was a key factor in winning the account – both Tony’s and Total Mediaplus are certified B Corporations.
GroupM Surpasses Goal to Double Investment in Women’s Sports
WPP’s media arm GroupM announced this week that it has exceeded its goal to double annual media spend in women’s sports advertising. GroupM launched a dedicated women’s sports marketplace earlier this year, and GroupM says that over 20 brands within its portfolio have expanded their investment strategies to prioritise women’s sports including Adidas, Adobe, Danone, Domino’s Google, Mars, and Unilever.
WNBA Teams Generated Record $136 Million in Sponsor Media Value
The WNBA’s soaring popularity has translated into major value for sponsors of the women’s basketball league, with WNBA teams generating $136 million in sponsor media value according to Relo Metrics, an AI-powered sponsorship analytics platform. Major brands including Nike, AT&T and Michelob Ultra, benefited significantly from soaring social media engagement according to Relo Metrics, with TikTok seeing a 470 percent increase in engagement per post compared to 2023.
Hires of the Week
Netflix Appoints Nicolle Pangis as VP of Ads
Netflix has hired Nicolle Pangis, previously CEO of Ampersand, as its new VP of advertising, the company announced this week. Pangis fills the gap left by Peter Naylor’s surprise departure earlier this year, though Pangis’s role will be more focused on advertising in the US and Canada specifically, according to Adweek.
This Week on VideoWeek
The Buy-Side View: Q&A with PHD’s Thomas Stimpfig
For Colgate-Palmolive, Brand Building and ROI Measurement Go Hand-in-Hand
Why The Future is Bright for TV Sales Houses
How Austrian Broadcasters Have United Around Programmatic Linear TV
UK Video Ad Spend Grew 26 Percent in the First Half of 2024
IAB Europe Launches Certification for Retail Media Standards
CTV Sellers Must Finds Ways to Differentiate
Here’s How Alphabet, Snap and Reddit Are Using AI to Drive Revenues
TV and Digital Drove UK Ad Spend to £10 Billion in Q2
Ross Appleton, Tubi’s New UK GM, on How Tubi Aims to Crack the UK Market
Ad of the Week
Uber Eats, Brian Cox Goes to College
