Andrew Meaden

Are good times a-coming? It is interesting to see that UK ad spend grew by 9% to hit ‘new highs’ in Q1 2024. The UK advertising market grew 9% to £9.2bn during the first three months of 2024 Hmm. As Marketing spend is definately a “positive sign” and this industry is one of the “driving factors” in the UK’s economic recovery.... Is this the beginning of a turn? How is it feeling out there? Positive? Gloomy? Interesting to see if you are feeling more positive for the rest of the year? (I am) ....or is it just a blip? What are your thoughts?

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Today's report from Madison and Wall on IPG's results contains an interesting comment. Noting that IPG is behind Omnicom and Publicis in principal-based trading (aka Inventory or Proprietary Media), M&W states the following: "...because essentially all large clients by now accept that their agencies participate in these activities, additional growth opportunities will surely follow". Brian Wieser, CFA and his team are nearly always on the money but this time I'm not sure they are right. It is possible that all large clients know that their agency groups do this, but this is not the same as agreeing to do it. There are big advertisers who don't agree with the principle and practice of principal -based trading and do not allow it. The recent study by Association of National Advertisers showed that understanding of it is far from universal (although this wasn't only 'large' advertisers). Principal-based trading delivers very little advantage to advertisers compared to the benefits to the agency groups, and advertisers need to jump through many hoops if they agree to it but with limited upside. It is interesting that Publicis and WPP have engaged in trading blows over their reliance on this. It is far from certain that Principal-based media is the panacea it appears to be for the big groups. Steve Boehler

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Is #effectiveness in reverse, and is #strategy not chasing after the most important questions in a brief? A great point from our recent Outside Perspective huddle, asking "Is strategy sick?" - where we gathered Matthew Hook, Tash Walker and Lucy Barbor to discuss the state of strategy in advertising. The full huddle is available on our website, where you can join our community of #independent and #freelance strategy people, or if you can share a brief to reach thousands of folk with smart, insightful takes on your business and your category.

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Trust is advertising has improved albeit from a very low base. Although media remains at 26% and on par with government (which given the current state of UK politics certainly says something). Trust is the hardest to build and the easiest to loose. We talk about it a lot with the clients we work with as it's so essential for brands. Advertising quality remains a key driver "Chiefly, whether a consumer finds an ad enjoyable is most important to creating trust. Other main reasons cited for trusting ads include whether the ad provided useful information, whether there existed a clear value exchange for viewing the ad and whether it made some social contribution" On the other hand, bombardment remains the biggest challenge to it "The feeling that ads are not only seen too frequently but also get in the way of enjoying the content they are bought against. Additional distrust drivers include whether ads target vulnerable groups, issues related to data privacy and targeting, and advertising deemed “unhealthy” to people or the environment. So good to know things are improving, but essential with the rise of AI and automated creative that we keep the user experience of the consumer as a priority. Otherwise the small gains will evaporate in a flash. It's something we've been really leaning in on at DAIVID 🦩helping advertisers measure creative quality quickly and at scale so they can measure all of their content. For our media partners we are helping with best practice creative playbooks for new formats that get the UX right.

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Thank you Festival of Media for an amazing opportunity to be a part of the judging panel for the 2024 awards! After reading countless global entries, scoring them, watching case study videos over six hours, and having a spirited dialogue on brand work, here is what I took away: 1. There is an art to debating with people - It's a conversational sparring match in which intellectual intentions yield respectful disagreements and civil resolutions. 2. Human truths add meaning to lifeless products - Not every product from a brand has a needed purpose in our lives. The products aren't the star of the lifestyle show we all individually star in ("Previously on Being Me") and often need an injection of humanity to make it make sense. 3. Internal bias is a reflection of our absorbed experiences - That voice inside your head, the internal dialogue and debate you have within yourself to be heard, to be right, to be loudest, to be fastest, to be better, to be smarter, CONSTANTLY needs to be checked. Shelving my psychological proclivities in place of the actual definition of the award category being judged and listening to my gut instinct when it comes to inclusivity and marginalized experiences being catapulted into the mainstream via advertising. 4. The global outlook on life > the local lens on life - In other parts of the world, brands show up in a way that replaces or challenges the government. They provide philanthropic solutions for those with no way forward or connect people to possibilities that change the immediate quality of their lives. Thank you Leah Mellard for the coordination throughout the entire process! #wavemaker #awards #media #judge #panel #creative

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NEW: Guideline's US team unveils the first visibility into the #PremiumProgrammatic market (PMP and PG deals), showing Premium's share of total #Programmatic ad spend has doubled in four years to be near 50% of the total. The new insights also include #DigitalCPM pricing detail, showing #OTT (BVOD) CPMs via Premium Programmatic score a 10% premium v #OpenExchange deals. Contact Guideline to learn more. #realdata #marketinganalytics

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This is a very well-informed and detailed examination of the complex and murky area of 'principal-based' media buying with particularly insightful comments from Ruben Schreurs It shows just how difficult it is for Advertisers to truly know what is going on in their name and with their money, so seeking independent advice, the tightest contractual terms and the most thorough audit rights are all vital to avoid the many elephant traps. But why has the world of media reached a point where the advertiser has to count their fingers after they've shaken hands with their media agency? Radical new approaches to accountability and transparency are needed, but these have to include a grown-up discussion about terms of business. We can't get to a point where fees are zero and all the margin is made on media trading, surely?

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Solid overall performance for Omnicom in Q2 with Advertising, Media and Experiential leading the way, but Asia Pacific continues to be challenging   John Wren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Omnicom said: "Our 5.2% organic growth in the second quarter drove solid growth in adjusted EBITA & EPS, with good performance in our larger markets and disciplines. With the rapid adoption of Gen AI, creativity and talent matter more than ever to address the breadth and complexity of consumers. To serve our clients with the best, most advanced capabilities, we continue to strategically align our agencies and invest in robust data and technology, scaled content and production, e-commerce, and retail and performance media - all embedded in our industry-leading Omni platform."   Having set organic revenue growth expectations at between 4% and 5%, delivering 5.2% in Q2 (4.6% for H1) must have been satisfying for Wren to announce.   Key to this was 7.8% organic growth in the Advertising & Media discipline, which represented 53.1% of total revenue in Q2. Another discipline with very strong performance was ‘Experiential’ which saw 17.6% growth off the back of 9.5% in Q1, but this is off of a relatively smaller base of just 4.8% of total revenues.   However, these overperformers were offset by underperformance in all other disciplines: Precision Marketing, Public Relations, Healthcare and Execution & Support grew by 1.4%, 0.9%, 2.0% and 1.2% respectively – well below the 5.2% average for the quarter. But the most challenged discipline for the second quarter in a row was the curiously named Branding & Retail Commerce which saw a 3.8% organic decline (Q1 it was also down 3.8%).   It would seem that the online / retail commerce bubble off the back of Covid has worked its way through, whilst consumer appetite for experiences – physical experiences in particular – have grown. Not really new news.   The geographic split of Omnicom’s revenues shows four regions performing well: US (which is 52.8% of total revenues), UK, Euro Markets & Other Europe and Middle East & Africa grew 6.3%, 6.9%, 4.5% and 8% respectively. Latin America showed very impressive organic growth of 24.5%.   But these were pulled down primarily by a 0.1% decline in Asia Pacific. The other region that saw a decline was Other North America, which was down a rather large 8.3%. Whilst it is a small proportion of total revenue at 3% there is a story behind this to watch. Over the last week it has emerged that BBDO, TBWA and DDB are coming together under the name of Omnicom Advertising Group. I should imagine that the independent agencies in Canada are rubbing their hands in glee. In the press release Wren stares that “we continue to strategically align our agencies”. Again, not really new news – a major group streamlining its businesses and brands … but sad for someone who has been in this world for a little while as I have. Some great analysis from The Drum with a little quote in there from me...

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Hey fellow performance video advertisers, did you know iSpot.tv does creative testing? Years ago, it all began when iSpot acquired Ace Metrix. https://lnkd.in/gCYhUD4A Response isn’t everything - don’t risk compromising your brand. It’s never been easier to pre-test your creative and gain amazing insights into how consumers feel and think about your creative and brand. Today, you can have the best of both worlds by building positive brand awareness while generating results but to do so effectively requires pre-testing your creative to gain valuable consumer insights!

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Media Marketing Compliance helped the Association of National Advertisers study the market for 'Principal' (or 'Proprietary') Media, and the results have landed. The report is incredibly thorough and provides great guidance for advertisers. While not a new phenomenon, PM is increasing dramatically and becoming a much more controversial way for Media Agencies to make extra profit at the expense of transparency into their true revenues. Advertisers should take a firm view on whether this is in their best interests.

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How is the role of the CMO changing? 🤔 In our latest episode of The Undiscovered Metric, Tamsin James from MSQ Partners shares her insights. With 18 years in marketing and media at top UK agencies like Maxus and Wavemaker, Tamsin shares her insights on overcoming the challenges of her new role and driving growth in a fast-paced industry. Want to see the full episode? Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dUukPV5u

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‘We’ve seen just how savvy advertisers have been’: Industry reacts to latest AA/WARC report The latest Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure report painted a prettier picture for the future of UK adspend than perhaps both the Q3 IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) Bellwether report and Autumn Budget would lead many to expect. To see whether or not the positive predictions from the report hold much weight within the industry, PMW spoke to several marketing leaders for their immediate reactions. Read all of their insights via the link in the comments. With views from: Christopher Hogg Lotame Elliott Millard Wavemaker Jacinta Faul SocialChain Patrick Reynolds BlueConic Jason Warner SBS Joseph Worswick OpenX Mark Debenham Adverity Andrew Mole pubX Virginie Dremeaux FreeWheel Jonathan Manning Medialab Group Andy Jones Samsung Ads Steve Mchenry Yahoo Edmund Mullins StackAdapt Maren Seitz Analytic Partners Alex Cheeseman Outbrain #performancemarketing #advertising #brand #data #research #budget #adspend #investment #economy

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Why did Disney+ have a good quarter? Because it’s a a babysitter disguised as a streamer. Disney+ added 4.4 million customers last quarter, massively beating Wall Street expectations. And Disney swung its second consecutive quarterly streaming profit. Not only that, but Disneys streaming profit isn’t so far off from the profit it made from its linear TV networks last quarter - which I think is more impressive given it was Q3 of an election year. Was it because of content investment? Perhaps. Inside Out 2 hit theaters in June and was on Disney+ by September, and excitement to watch the original might have perked up subscribers in June. Similar effects could have been seen for Deadpool in July. And Agatha All Along hit in September as well. Was it because of other factors? Likely. Hulu is now a tile on Disney+, making it a better one stop shop for streaming. But Disney+ raised its prices in the summer. Surely that would have driven subscribers away, vs. drawn them in. So what happened? I think the real reason is seasonal. Kids were out of school in the summer. And parents needed something extra to entertain them. The streamers that will win are services that not only have strong brand power, but extremely strong utility. Disney as a brand had the cache to increase prices and not drive away customers. But it also had the undeniable benefit of being a must have for certain people in the household - the children. The services that win today are more similar to utilities than indulgences. Netflix has all the content you’d ever need. Prime has all the shopping you’d ever need. Spotify has all the audio you’d ever need. And Disney has all the kids content you’d ever need. This is why Hulu, in the long run, will peter out - if you try to finish the sentence of, “all the ____ you’d ever need,” you couldn’t. It’s why Peacock is trying to have all the sports you’d ever need - but this may be a losing battle, given how fragmented the space is. And all the reality TV you need is a strong value prop for some, but has a ceiling. And it’s why Paramount+ and Max don’t really have an end game. All the Yellowstone you’d ever need? Is that worth paying $12 / month for? We’ll find out. And Max has incredible HBO content but doesn’t produce it consistently to deliver. So kudos to Disney+ on a strong quarter. But I wouldn’t get over your skis here. The real test is driving demand when the kids are in school. And when ad revenue comes back big to the TV networks in Q4 and beyond from sports being back on. And especially without big shows coming down the pipeline, although Moana 2 could have the same impact as Inside Out 2 earlier this year. The real test is Disney+ succeeding this quarter. Not last quarter. Let’s watch it.

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I’ll be joining a panel on the topic of “consent or pay” on Thursday at the IAB Tech Lab #InternationalSummit. There is a great deal of complexity associated with this topic that publishers across Europe have been grappling with for months, which perhaps the binary framing of the topic could never fully articulate. Covering this all on the panel would be unachievable and unfair for the audience. But this challenge is a profound one for many publishers, with the stakes overlapping with regulation, long-term strategic vision, and substantial revenue. From the outside, the implementation of these models might seem like a facile approach. Indeed, in some instances, they possibly are, but for others, it’s the outcome of months of consideration, testing, and planning. They reflect, I believe, a symptom pervading the advertising industry currently, which is a matter of increasing data scarcity. Stricter regulatory enforcement, generative search models, third-party signal loss, suggestions of central consumer cookie controls—all of these create a squeeze on the data that is available for monetisation, which is what then, rightly or wrongly, is giving rise to the consent or pay model for now. In being binary, consent or pay models will divide opinion, part of which makes them an interesting topic for debate. To date, it’s been a matter only publishers have had to contend with, but the presence of these models reflects a growing set of challenges that relate to all aspects of the digital advertising industry. For that alone, it is worth all our time to better understand the context.

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Loving this discussion on #generative #search and new consumer journeys. Thanks Jean-Paul Edwards OMD Worldwide and Peter Loell OMD Danmark!

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A few thoughts on the impact of generative search on commerce with the great Peter Loell.

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