Advertising

Publicis turnaround remains a work in progress

3 Feb 2021

The 11 bln euro ad agency’s fourth-quarter revenue rose more than expected thanks to its U.S. arm. Cost cuts protected operating margins, too. But a lack of detail on data group Epsilon, acquired in 2019, makes it premature to salute Publicis’ desired digital pivot.

Martin Sorrell’s new ad group benefits from youth

18 Jan 2021

Less than three years after WPP ousted the 75-year-old his S4 Capital is worth 3 bln pounds. A digital boom means its shares trade on a multiple more than three times his former employer’s. The challenges remain much the same: integrating new deals and sustaining growth.

Corona Capital: Tesla’s Apple snub

23 Dec 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Tesla boss Elon Musk asked to meet with Apple back in the day, and got rebuffed. Musk’s company has been the better investment recently, especially during the Covid-19 period. That doesn’t mean Tim Cook missed out.

Corona Capital: Private jet deal

17 Dec 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Blackstone bets that plutocrats will be back in the air before the rest of us.

Corona Capital: Movie releases, Ads, Running

4 Dec 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: HBO Max uses its muscle on movie releases; advertising wins some and loses some; Brooks’ beast year.

Ad market recovery is all about Amazon

2 Sep 2020

Jeff Bezos’ firm was the top U.S. spender last year, splashing out some $7 bln in advertising. If it allocates the same share of revenue in 2020, it could more than offset slumps at other big advertisers. That may leave media firms even more reliant on the e-commerce colossus.

Alphabet’s moonshots are falling back to earth

30 Jul 2020

The $1 trln Google parent is struggling more than rivals. Second-quarter revenue fell by 2% while Facebook's sales increased. The maturing business faces more ad competition. And the non-core projects that were once intriguing these days look more like dead weights.

Ad problem shifts from newspapers to Facebook

29 Jul 2020

News organizations struggled as ads shifted to digital platforms like Facebook – which benefits from journalism but doesn’t pay for it. A new law could change that, helping newspapers but leaving the social network with a growing dependence on the one source proving tenuous.

Bezos’s D.C. delivery hangs on lawmaker wish lists

28 Jul 2020

Amazon’s CEO faces his first congressional hearing, joining peers from Apple, Google and Facebook who have sat in the hot seat before. Those grillings were mostly grandstanding by ill-prepared politicians. If they have upped their game, Bezos and Co face more of a challenge.

Twitter user growth trumps ad slide in long term

23 Jul 2020

Lockdowns have encouraged people to try the $29 bln social network. Users were up 34% year-on-year in the second quarter. Advertisers have pulled back. But Twitter’s problem has always been attracting more devotees. After the pandemic, newcomers will remain – and ads will return.

N.Y. Times’s next boss may not have Trump to thank

22 Jul 2020

The Gray Lady named Meredith Kopit Levien as its new CEO during an auspicious time: It’s enjoying a market value not seen in nearly 20 years. The upswing coincided with President Trump’s election and a surge of subscribers. The streak may be broken after the election.

Seller wins in eBay’s $9 bln classifieds auction

20 Jul 2020

Norway’s Adevinta, controlled by media conglomerate Schibsted, won the race to buy the U.S. group’s online-listings business, Reuters reported. It may struggle to make a decent return. EBay, however, gets a good price and the chance to gain from likely consolidation in Europe.

Sugar war divides food group fitties from fatties

10 Jul 2020

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to ban junk food promotions, the Times reported. The pandemic is spurring a new crackdown on unhealthy snacks. Giants like Nestlé were already curbing their sweet cravings. Others like Cadbury-owner Mondelez have less room to shape up.

Facebook’s new best friends are a weakening link

8 Jul 2020

Small firms account for a large chunk of the social network’s ad revenue. The pandemic has also made them more dependent on the platform just as big companies from Ford to Unilever boycott it. But a Covid-19 surge may hurt the minnows when CEO Mark Zuckerberg needs them most.

WPP boss gets best of both worlds with PR mash-up

7 Jul 2020

Finsbury and two other companies owned by the $10 bln advertising giant are uniting. The trio’s managers will hold nearly 50% of the new company. CEO Mark Read, who keeps control, benefits if they do well while a simpler structure lets him focus on chasing dwindling ad revenue.

Tencent’s hot sauce fraud exposes expired tech

3 Jul 2020

The Chinese video-games titan appears to have been taken by crooks pretending to work for Lao Gan Ma, a popular spicy condiment, using a forged company seal to ink an advertising deal. Such old-fashioned methods have embroiled others including SoftBank. Digitisation is overdue.

Corporate boycotts expose an inconvenient truth

26 Jun 2020

Brands like Ben & Jerry’s and Verizon are pulling ad spending from Facebook because of racist content. It’s as if capitalism sprouted a conscience. But much as some might claim otherwise, companies just aren’t wired to drive social change. The possible exception: Facebook itself.

Cable networks risk post-virus vicious cycle

7 May 2020

Live sports are a big reason Americans tolerate pricey pay-TV packages. The lack of games is an excuse to cut the cord. Yet the NFL and others will want more for broadcast rights to make up for empty seats. That could push cable bills higher, and more subscribers toward the exit.

Jeff Bezos puts shareholders in the corner

30 Apr 2020

Amazon’s revenue jumped 26% in the first quarter. Conditions are just right: more online shopping and a growing pool of jobless people from which to hire. But shareholders will have to join the queue, thanks to a giveaway of some $4 bln to customers and staff. It's classic Bezos.

Facebook goes on viral offensive

29 Apr 2020

While Alphabet is cutting costs, Facebook will hire 10,000 people and just did its biggest deal since 2014 in India. Revenue growth fell to 18% last quarter, but the $550 bln social network is not slowing down. Mark Zuckerberg can afford to ignore any reluctant shareholders.