Michael Monheim

Today's marketers are turning to nontraditional advertising formats to garner consumer attention, thanks to a highly fragmented marketing environment where mass media moments are few and far between. Mother New York strategist Evan Giordano sums it up nicely: "You can’t rely on advertising around a piece of culture anymore and expect that anyone and everyone will see it, because they won’t.” #Marketing #NontraditionalFormats #MarketingTrends

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A recent report by Sounds Profitable and CoHost showed that Branded Podcasts is finally taking shape in CMO's marketing planning. High Satisfaction: 90% of brands are satisfied with their podcast’s performance, showcasing its effectiveness in marketing. Brands Need Support: 42% of brands feel under served in podcast marketing and competitor research, highlighting opportunities for industry innovation. #brandedpodcasts #audio #media #impact #authenticity BrandAudio Branded Podcast Media

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Big news in ad land. Will this merger work? It’s not surprising Omnicom and IPG want to merge given that the big bloated ad holding cos are way overdue for consolidation. They are losing control of ad spend which is the cornerstone of their outdated biz model. And now they’re trying to pivot fast. But, will a merger solve for this? My take? This merger buys them time. It’ll work if they streamline in a hard and painful way. That means a lot of job cuts and some new hires. And it means a totally new structure of how services are designed and delivered. That means reducing the hold co layer (useless expensive overhead) and blowing up all the agency silos. No more P&Ls that fight each other. Refocus to deliver what clients want. Services that are agile, specialized and seamless. And refocus to be the client advocate- something they’ve lost sight of. Having worked for IPG, Omnicom, WPP and Publicis during my career, I’ve seen that they are all alike and share the same challenge. I fear the newly merged holding co will cut everyone below them - not themselves. And they don’t understand how to design for the future given most of them don’t understand digital media or technology. What do you think? How can this merger be successful over the long term?

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What can European specialist media businesses learn from US niche publishers? Summary of best practice based on my in depth report for Media Makers Meet which included 20 case studies of B2B and consumer specialist media businesses in the US.

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I'm nervous about tomorrow, but it gave me a little extra comfort to weigh in on this year's election. CBS Sunday Morning News was a chance to go mainstream with the perspective I can bring. I got the "walk and talk" shot with David Pogue and I got emails from my family and friends who watch the show. In this business I'm in, we're responsible for help shaping messages and experiences that define what people think about brands. Hopefully based on a truth. Can't say the truth piece feels quite as true anymore for political ads. Although that was probably debatable about marketing as a whole, unfortunately. And It's harder than ever to unify people around a message-- we've moved beyond the broad message to much more niche. In many ways good because there was an assumed bigger perspective that left many out. But we're also losing a shared narrative, which makes truth impossible. And in media today we must navigate the complexity of platforms and subculture to try to align people around a set of values and beliefs, if not a message. We must try and break through peoples' bubbles-- that they aren't even aware they are a part of. Or maybe they are and don't care. Luckily with brands we still have to play the long game. So we haven't gone all negative. We need to build the brand over time. In politics, fear of what could happen can be more unifying than the hope and belief of real change. It's an all or nothing for candidates, so they have to go all in. They don't just have a low sales quarter. The winner of the election controls the next 4 years. The loser gets nothing. However while fear can serve as a unifier or at least a barrier to voting for your opponent, it doesn’t work as well as a motivator for most. I just hope we've given people enough to show up for: pride, hope, optimism, joy--belief that moving forward is a good thing.

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How Adelaide is helping publishes like the NYT realize the value of their inventory.

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I had the pleasure of joining Lou Paskalis, Tim Brown and the Association of National Advertisers to attempt to move the needle on buying quality media in lieu of cheap CPM inventory of questionable origin. Our panel dialogue, "Is the Programmatic Juice Worth the Squeeze," concluded it is because, among other things, quality media produces outcome metrics that matter. Drilling in specifically on news media -- a publishing category that continues to be in a world of hurt, Lou writes in AdExchanger that "... many presenters attempted to debunk the myth that brands that advertise adjacent to divisive or provocative content risk exposing themselves to backlash. Stagwell Global released research that showed virtually no difference in purchase intent for brands when their ads appeared next to editorial content, whether it was inflammatory or not. The question remains: Will marketers overcome their gut feelings in light of compelling research to the contrary?" I am always encouraged by this type of research, but I've come to expect that I'll be discouraged by the lack of change in media spend across trusted, professional journalism. IMHO, what we need to demonstrate *in addition to* these consumer sentiment findings is the hard data that shows equal or better RoAS (or other measurable outcome metrics) in the news content category. Evidence supports my hypothesis of better results in news vs. other content categories. For example, one recent TRUSTX advertiser experienced a 2.5x decrease in cost-per-acquisition on a campaign that was 59% targeted within news domains. News works because it's a lean-in environment where the audience is actively engaged. I am begging brands to give news a second chance. And not because its any advertiser's duty to save journalism, but because the stuff just works.

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Consolidation of two of the bigger networks makes financial sense, given the challenges of the industry in these last years - which doesn't look like it's likely to change anytime soon with acceleration in areas like AI, automation and the perennial battle for talent. Having been involved in acquisitions and mergers down through the years, there will need to be a clear plan to unlock the value quickly, and move beyond the numbers at play - as the game isn't simply one of sheer size and scale anymore. Clients want nimble, flexible teams, scalable value add tech plus a good sprinkling of smarts and creativity. Operationalising that in a workable model is the key to future success. Easy to say, challenging to realise. If this comes to fruition then 2025 could get interesting...

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And Then There Was One Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder and non-executive chair of Paramount Global, is wavering on the potential sale of the media conglomerate, according to recent reports. Redstone has been exploring various options for Paramount, including a potential acquisition by Skydance Media. However, she has been sending mixed signals in recent days regarding her willingness to sell the company. What will be her final decision? #media #streaming #entertainment

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PACSUN, which opened a virtual mall on Roblox earlier this year, looks to further narrow the gap between digital and physical channels with its new #holiday advertising campaign #Fashion retailer PACSUN unveiled a holiday campaign, which positions the PacVerse as a community-driven fictitious destination featuring an upside-down world, icy wonderland and futuristic airport terminal. “Virtual brand worlds are an important part of the future, and part of what is so exciting about these immersive virtual concepts is that the discovery for our consumer is both fluid and the #creativity has no boundaries,” said Brie Olson, president at Pacsun. The commercial is airing on Pacsun’s digital and social channels, while exclusive #content will be shared via TikTok, Instagram, #Snapchat, YouTube and Discord. The campaign also has out-of-home, digital and #influencermarketing elements. The retailer has also teamed up again with virtual #influencer Lil Miquela, who was previously utilized in its back-to-school campaign. Similar to Pacsun, American Eagle’s holiday plans factor in a #metaverse presence with a holiday store launching in Roblox’s Mt. Crescent world, where the brand serves as the exclusive #retailer. American Eagle Outfitters Inc. has seen over 30 million virtual clothing try-ons to date in its existing Roblox store. Despite challenges with measuring ROI, brands continue to experiment with immersive experiences as they try to engage with #GenZ audiences.

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The average tenure of Fortune 500 CMOs shows signs of stabilizing, though volatility remains high at leading consumer brands. According to Spencer Stuart’s latest report, the average #CMO tenure was 3.1 years in 2023. Further, 71% of all Fortune 500 CMOs were acting in that function for the first time, a figure that climbs to 74% among the top-100 advertisers. 58% of Fortune 500 CMOs were promoted from within last year, up from 54% in 2022, according to Spencer Stuart. This trend was more apparent at #B2B firms, where 63% were likely to do an internal hire versus 53% of #B2C brands. 68% of exiting Fortune 500 CMOs either being promoted internally or taking a lateral or larger role elsewhere, the report said. Taco Bell for example appointed brand chief Sean Tresvant as CEO while Starbucks in March named global #marketing chief Brady Brewer to chief executive of international operations. #marketing #leadership

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CMOs are betting on creativity and genAI despite mounting pressure. There is a renewed confidence in #creativity among global CMOs, with 83% believing that creative ideas can transform businesses, according to Dentsu Creative’s 2024 CMO Report. “What we’re hearing from clients, and our survey confirms, is that they need and value creativity more than ever,” said Abbey Klaassen, global brand president of Dentsu Creative The annual global survey of 950 chief marketing officers and 25 CEOs in the U.S. also revealed that 79% of respondents feel #marketing is a key driver of business transformation. Additionally, more CMOs view #generativeAI as an enhancement to their business rather than a threat. Still, the execs are dealing with mounting pressure around how to predict trends, invest in #innovation and keep pace with the current buzz around #AI.

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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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I’ve seen a lot of change in the television industry over the past 25 years, but nothing comes close to the velocity of today’s new developments. Well, I suppose “new” is relative, as what was old becomes new again. As this excellent article puts it, “The streamers that had been quick to destroy the old network TV formula are now looking to emulate it.” Commercials? ✔ More linear-like programming? ✔ Cable-like bundling? ✔ These kinds of course corrections from major streamers are exciting for us as we continue to seek opportunities for our clients in a dynamic and evolving landscape. https://lnkd.in/eaZ_BHv9

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B2B awards can be a lucrative opportunity in many industries. But you need to understand the motivation for awards to construct a profitable business model. Best practice tips in this article. #b2bawards #b2bevents #b2bmedia

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While I can’t speak to the legitimacy of the accusations herein, this is still a worrying situation for advertisers everywhere. Publications whose reputations are staked on their image of legitimate business are not what many may expect to be perpetrators of MFA Ad fraud. That being said, we can better understand ad fraud by looking at the incentive changes on the supply side of these AdTech deals. Ad fraud particularly harms multicultural publishers, as their reach and impact receive decreased impact when improperly assigned to Ad spaces. #AdFraud #AdTech #ProgramaticSupplyChain

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Calling all marketing and media leaders. We spoke to over a 1000 marketers around the world about their current strategies for building growth. Surprise surprise there's also a bit in there about news and today it feels like the world needs trusted journalism and trusted news sources more than ever. And what's more the media and adveritising industry seems to agree. Take just about any conference or event this year and support for premium publishers has been high on the agenda and yet news avoidance is real and publishers of all types are still being penalised for outdated blocklists and tools that still don't understand the difference between safety and suitability. What's encouraging is the increasing number of conversations taking place across the publisher community that are pushing back on this, but far more importantly, the growing evidence that contrary to what some may think, news is in fact good for business. CNN International Commercial WORLDMEDIA GROUP LTD. Stagwell

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