OMD tops global and US rankings. S4 Capital acquires programmatic platform MightyHive. Google launches AI-driven audio news feed – and shoots blank ad. Inside China’s plan for global media dominance. Elle goes large with consumer driven event at Saatchi Gallery while Liberty Media could buy major stake in iHeartMedia.
OMD tops global and US rankings
Omnicom Media Group’s OMD has come out tops in consultancy COMvergence’s annual ranking of the top global and US media agencies.
They are ranked by using projected 2018 buying billings and market share.
OMD tops both the global and US list, highlighting its dominance.
The report estimates that OMD collected $18.3 billion in billings for 2018 and has a market share of 6.3% globally. In the US, the network gained an estimated $7.9 billion in media buying billings and a market share of 6.1%.
For more information, published by AdWeek, click here.
S4 Capital acquires programmatic platform MightyHive
Sir Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital has aquired MightHive, Mumbrella Asia has reported. In an official statement, S4 Capital said it had taken “an important second strategic step” by merging with the “market-leading programmatic solutions provider for future thinking marketers and agencies”.
S4 Capital paid $150 million for the entity, and MightyHive will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sorrell’s new age/new era digital advertising and marketing services company.
MightyHive co-founders Pete Kim (CEO) and Christopher S. Martin (COO) will join the S4 Capital board of directors while also remaining in their roles running the day-to-day operations. It has offices in San Francisco, New York, Sydney, London, Stockholm and Singapore.
Mumbrella Asia has the full story, here.
Google launches AI-driven audio news feed
Tech giant Google has added to its stable of offerings, launching a a radio-style, on-demand audio news feed.
The service will be available on smart speakers, and personalised through the use of Google’s in-house artificial intelligence programme Google Assistant.
Through partnerships with several over a dozen news organisations, Google will deliver the audio feed in a way similar to its smartphone news feed.
To find out more, published by eNCA, click here.
Google also had a bit of an advertising hiccough this week… which cost it around $10 million. It seems it accidentally published a blank dummy ad, which was live for about 45 minutes in the US and Australia.
It was an “honest mistake” that came from an advertiser training exercise, Google said.
The full story on Campaign is here.
Inside China’s plan for global media dominance
The Guardian ran a fascinating piece, analysing media goings-on in China, particularly how the country’s state-run broadcaster is evolving, recruiting more foreign journalists to spread the good word of the state around the world.
Well worth the read, the piece explores how the Chinese state has shifted from a reactive, defensive approach to a proactive, direct stance.
You can see the full story, published by The Guardian, here.
Elle connects with consumers at experiences event
Elle magazine in the United Kingdom hosted its first major event in its campaign to increase the brand’s bond with consumers. Over 4 000 people joined the magazine and beauty brand partner, Feelunique, at the Saatchi Gallery in London where rooms were dedicated to beauty, fashion, talks, workshops and wellness… just ahead of Christmas.
For example, major department store, Harvey Nichols, offered hair and beauty makeovers before guests posed in front of a camera to have their picture printed as the front cover of Elle while sportswear brand Lululemon created a wellness studio offering yoga and exercise sessions, and some of its products were also available to purchase.
Read all about it on Campaign.
Could Liberty Media buy stake in bankrupt iHeartMedia?
iHeartMedia defaulted on $20 billion of debt from a leveraged buyout by private equity firms Bain Capital and Thomas H Lee Partners in 2008. But online competitors such as Pandory and Spotify impacted on the company, and the recession gave it another smack. Now iHeart’s creditors have voted in favour of restructuring and could take it public in February 2019.Kantar launches consumer profiling tool
Kantar Media has launched a consumer profiling tool for media planning based on its TGI survey data in 22 countries, Research Live has reported.
“The ‘TGI Global Quick View’ draws on data from a sample of 60 000 respondents, including online interest and attitude data, media preferences and online shopping habits,” it said.
Users of the tool – including brands, agencies and media owners – can cross-reference its global data with individual TGI national studies from the countries included.
For more, visit Research Live here.
