Digiday

Throughout 2024, several major brands announced they were creating their own brand studios that would soon roll out television shows and films. Marketers, it seems, have become more interested in creating entertainment rather than just advertising around it. In February, luxury behemoth LVMH announced the creation of 22 Montaigne Entertainment in partnership with Superconnector Studios. In June, Starbucks touted its own burgeoning studio, Starbucks Studios, with the help of Sugar23. And in August, Chick-fil-A Restaurants revealed its plan for its own original programming focusing on reality TV. That’s just to name a few of the major brands that have been dipping more than a toe into entertainment to create their own studios.

Ad spending in retail media continues to exceed expectations, representing one of the fastest-growing media opportunities on record. However, continued growth and maturation require a dedicated focus among RMNs and their advertisers to overcome data challenges and realize the true potential of this space. Sponsored by Eyeota, a Dun & Bradstreet company.

Liner, a South Korean AI search engine, has been testing ads in the U.S. and Europe using a traditional cost-per-click model. But unlike Perplexity, which is working to attract advertisers with a cost-per-mille (CPM) model, Liner thinks CPC is more measurable. The company is testing three formats: ads that show up above and below an AI-generated answer and another ad format called “generative ads” that shows up within an answer. Tests for ads began last year in the U.S., with generated ad tests since earlier this year. In this piece by Marty Swant, we speak to Luke Jinu Kim, Brad Jashinsky of Gartner, Jim Yu of BrightEdge, Sam Huston of DEPT®, and Jeff E. of Mother.

Podcast subscription businesses are maturing. As podcasters continue to develop this revenue stream, they face a challenge that publishers have grappled with for years: churn. It was a topic that came up at last week’s On Air Fest podcast business summit. More podcast subscription offerings are hitting annual milestones, meaning more data is coming in, and podcasters can start tracking how many subscribers they’re able to retain year over year. Churn is “certainly becoming an increasing priority, particularly for some of our longer-lived subscriptions,” said David Stern, founder and CEO at Supporting Cast, Slate Group’s podcast subscription hosting business. In this piece by Sara Guaglione, we also speak to Steve Ackerman of Sony Music Entertainment, and Sachin Doshi of Podimo. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/eF9xgpCW

It’s definitely trite to describe the state of streaming businesses as being in the “moneyball” era. But it’s true. For one thing, streaming service owners are being more discerning with their dollars when it comes to programming costs. Amazon, Apple, The Walt Disney Company and Paramount, for example, are expected to spend less money on programming in 2025 than in 2024, per MoffettNathanson LLC. For another, more of the money they are spending is going toward live sports, which seems to provide the biggest bang-for-buck when it comes to acquiring subscribers. Story by Tim Peterson

Away from headlines discussing the fissures between government and Big Tech, particularly those with a trans-Atlantic bent, representatives of the digital ad industry are attempting to woo policymakers by underlining their economic impact on the region. Google is poised to face fresh charges, this time for breaching the EU’s Digital Markets Act. The news comes hot on the heels of antitrust authorities in Germany investigating Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework. Both investigations’ primary concern is whether Apple and Google’s policies favor their own technologies over those of third parties.  In this piece by Ronan Shields and Krystal Scanlon, we speak to Daniel Knapp of IAB Europe.

Commerce media is having a moment — and with a market expected to exceed $112 billion in 2025, according to the Winterberry Group, it’s easy to see why. But people keep mixing up retail media and connected commerce, casually swapping one buzzword for the other. They share some DNA, but conflating them is like mistaking the cashier for the entire store. Here’s why commerce media is its own beast, and how marketers are finally waking up to it.  In this piece by Seb Joseph, we speak to Mary Kate Huffman of Blue Chip, Eric Perko of Apollo Partners, and Michael Harrison. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/eXJpgTed

Join us May 5-7 in Palm Springs for Digiday's Programmatic Marketing Summit, where brand and agency executives will come together to tackle their biggest programmatic challenges. Register here: https://lnkd.in/eDPMC74b

According to a new Digiday and Clinch survey, brands and agencies are emphasizing cohesive cross-channel efforts that require more integrated approaches and advanced ad-serving solutions. “Ad serving is no longer a standalone function — it has become the cornerstone of an interconnected ecosystem of platforms and strategies for brands and agencies,” said Oz Etzioni, co-founder and CEO of Clinch. “Navigating this complex landscape requires mastering omnichannel strategies in a fragmented media environment, ensuring compliance with evolving privacy regulations and unifying diverse data sources into actionable insights.” Sponsored by Clinch.

Despite all the fragmentation in the space, despite the political uncertainty, despite the inconsistent and ever-changing algorithms, social media remains an irreplaceable piece of brands’ and retailers’ marketing strategies. And within those strategies, Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms remain the examples of social marketing success. Interestingly, though, whether Facebook or Instagram comes out on top changes on a regular basis, according to Digiday+ Research surveys conducted among brand and retailer professionals every six months since 2023. Before digging into Digiday’s data specific to Facebook and Instagram, let’s talk briefly about social media’s strength among marketing channels. Read the full story by Julia Russell Tabisz here: https://lnkd.in/eD3QTm39