Groq, which is backed by investment arms of Samsung and Cisco, said the data center will be in Helsinki, Finland.

As holding companies look to acquire each other to get even bigger, and private equity firms seek out independent agencies to buy and merge with others, there’s another direction some agencies have taken: the ESOP route. 

Employee Stock Ownership Plans, boiled down to their essence, are when an owner or founder sells his or her stake in an agency to the employees who all receive stock in the company, most often held in a trust. The employees are often fully vested within a few years of the transaction — and usually (but not always) cash in their value if they leave the company.

ESOPs have gained some favor in the media agency community since the pandemic, for a few reasons. For one, it’s a way of literally giving employees a stake in the health and future of their shop. It’s a way of trying to ingrain whatever culture has developed, as well as a retention and hiring tool. And for private owners, it’s a means of succession — a way of selling the agency without selling out to PE or a holdco. It can even be used as a shield against an unwanted acquisition. And it can have tax benefits too for the owner looking to cash in.

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The first half of the year brought no shortage of bluster: Amazon gunning for DSP dominance, Google locked in an antirust staring contest, publishers scrambling to offset traffic losses to generative AI, and Publicis staking up wins like its trying to corner the market. But somewhere between the sizzle and spin, fault lines are forming. Now’s a good moment as any to take stock — and make a few bold calls about what’s coming next. 

Google will start to soften its stance with third-party ad tech to appease the U.S. Government, as the Justice Department readies its regulatory scythe

The U.S. Department of Justice is pursuing a potential breakup of Google’s advertising technology business, alleging it holds an unlawful monopoly over the digital advertising supply chain, with the remedies phase of its ad tech trial due to start in September. 

Of course, this follows Justice Brinckema’s ruling in favor of the DOJ, and although Google has signalled its intention to appeal the decision, a process that would prolong the case by a matter of years, in anticipation of or response to such a remedy, Google is likely to offer several olive branches. 

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Marketers are waking up to the sea changes in consumer behavior triggered by the emergence of “zero-click” AI search. Some are moving faster than others, though.

B2B advertisers and brands that use a direct to consumer (DTC) sales model — and which often rely on organic and paid search as a means of dragging customers to the digital till — are taking preventative action now, rather than waiting for ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google’s AI Overviews to put a dent in their marketing strategy.

Consider the case of business travel company Amex GBT. To date, according to CMO Alisa Copeman, it’s relied heavily on paid search as a means of drumming up leads. Its customers — companies needing to arrange travel for staff on a regular basis — often do their research before committing, inevitably using search. “We have a buying journey that is very lengthy,” said Copeman.

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As Yahoo’s creator program matures, the company is increasingly evolving from a publisher into a creator platform in its own right.

Yahoo launched Yahoo for Creators, a creator publishing platform, in March 2024. In the year and three months since, creators have taken on a more visible role on Yahoo’s homepage, with a dedicated creator vertical and creator content appearing alongside traditional publisher content on the Yahoo app and in the company’s newsletters. 

The OG internet giant is looking to secure its piece of the creator economy, and it’s brought on big-name creators such as Nick DiGiovanni to help accomplish the task. Yahoo now has 135 lifestyle-focused creators in its program. 

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For most of the last 50 years since the upfront was an integral part of marketers’ plans to advertise on TV, the buying bonanza usually wrapped up business between TV sellers and buyers before the July Fourth break. That is definitely not the case this year, for a few reasons. 

According to three heads of investment at major agency groups, the multi-billion dollar marketplace is being slowed down for three reasons: its increasing complexity, discrepancies with Nielsen’s latest ratings system, and lingering confusion over which agency is responsible for upfront negotiations with clients that have recently moved their business from one holdco to another.

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A clash between rival criminal ransomware groups could result in corporate victims being extorted twice, cyber experts warn

The S&P 500 is up more than 20 per cent since mid-April

Employers will have to be more deliberate in the training they offer junior staff

The U.S. President lamented the spectacular collapse of his alliance with Elon Musk, framing the tech billionaire’s new political party as a personal betrayal from a man he recently supported.

Adoption of artificial intelligence is booming, but without the right infrastructure — from chips to cooling — most companies risk falling behind

Just hours after Elon Musk boasted of a major upgrade, his AI chatbot Grok went on a rampage, pushing hateful tropes, inventing fake news, and suffering a bizarre identity crisis.

With a September deadline looming, a new report says TikTok is building a replacement app for its 170 million American users as part of a sale to an Oracle led group.

This is the best Prime Day deal on a laptop.

Amazon just dropped the price on this best-seller again, and this time the cut is seriously steep.

This extra-large cooler is perfect for chilling drinks and snacks with friends all summer long.

Enjoying a quality VPN doesn’t have to be expensive! And how about getting an antivirus as a bonus? Don’t miss this unmissable deal from Surfshark.

SanDisk is the leading brand for external SSDs.

On Friday morning, Elon Musk declared, “We have improved @Grok significantly. You should notice a difference when you ask Grok questions.”

A new image from Apple leaker Majin Bu provides a new look at the repositioned Apple logo on the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro. Last week we got our first look at what the new Apple logo placement would look like, though this new image provides a much clearer picture.

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