For many emerging market economies, remittances have become a lifeline. Inflows surpassed $669 billion in 2023, according to World Bank research, and they now represent significant portions of GDP in these countries, often outpacing foreign direct investment as the primary source of foreign exchange.Β Traditional banks and agents maintain a firm grip on the remittance [β¦]
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Barcelona's mix of affordable cost of living and quality of life has helped create a vibrant startup community β and become a hotbed for the creation of surveillance technologies.
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Any flicker of hope that the ad industry would renew its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in 2025 may be getting dimmer just days into the New Year. Recently, Amazon, Meta, Publicis Groupe and McDonaldβs joined the growing list of companies to revamp (or roll back, depending on who you ask) their DE&I policies.
Last Friday, it was announced that Amazon was seemingly halting its diversity programs, βwinding down outdated programs and materialsβ as part of its broader business initiatives review process last year, according to a internal memo from Candi Castleberry, Amazonβs vp of inclusive experiences and technology, which Amazon provided to Digiday. Similarly, Meta was said to be terminating its major DE&I programs, including those geared toward hiring, training and picking suppliers, according to Axios.
Earlier in the week, Publicis Groupe reportedly cut its DE&I teams, including removing its chief diversity officer Geraldine White from her post of the past four years. Per AdAgeβs reporting, White will continue to work with the holding company on a consultant basis as the company is in the process of hiring Whiteβs successor. Meanwhile, McDonaldβs is restructuring its approach to diversity by retiring its supplier diversity efforts, rebranding its diversity team as the βGlobal Inclusion Teamβ and sunsetting the concept of setting βaspirational representation goalsβ to instead focus on embedding inclusion practices into everyday operations.Β (Meta, McDonaldβs and Publicis didnβt respond to Digidayβs requests for comment. When asked for comment, a spokesperson for Amazon provided Castleberryβs memo to Digiday.)
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Omnicom Groupβs pending acquisition of Interpublic Group seems especially timely in the hindsight of last weekβs Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
A major talking point among the brand and agency executives in attendance was the onset of the so-called agentic era of artificial intelligence, in which AI tools handle multi-step tasks for people like booking a full travel itinerary β or firing off a client brief. In this era, data will be at even more of a premium than it is today
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By this time next week, weβll likely know (though, anything could happen) whether TikTok has gone dark in the U.S. or if the app will continue to exist. So far, itβs not looking good. The likelihood of a ban has creators uneasy, preparing their audiences to follow them on other platforms and hoping to take brand deals elsewhere. Meanwhile marketers are questioning refunds, readying contingency plans and sorting out where theyβll move ad dollars.
It seems, all things considered, that marketers are prepared for the short-order effects of a TikTok ban should that come to fruition. What remains up in the air, however, are the long-term effects for brands should TikTok be rendered unusable in the U.S. Sure, there are other short-form video alternatives that stand to benefit (YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels) but short-form video wasnβt the only appeal of the platform. TikTok has been a cultural spigot of sorts for marketers in recent years β theyβve looked to the app not only for whatβs trending and to tap into those trends but to understand potential audiences and various cultural niches. So what happens when that spigot is shut off?
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Influencer agencies have embraced generative AI applications over the last year, as they seek to cut the time taken to arrange creator involvement in brand campaigns.
The client reaction to those solutions has been mixed. But in recent months, agencies operating in this space have found one area with clear application for AI tools βΒ brand safety.
Creator vetting can consume up to βa few days to a couple of weeks, depending on the depth of analysis,β said James Clarke, senior director, digital and social at PepsiCo Foods U.S. AI solutions aim to cut that time down to a matter of minutes.
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Itβs barely halfway through January, but publishers are already kicking off a busy year as they prepare for the inauguration and what another βTrump bumpβ might mean for them. But before that, about 50 publisher professionals took some time to reflect on 2024. What they told Digiday+ Research in a fourth-quarter 2024 survey is that revenues were up last year and media companies had a successful 2024 β but that success didnβt extend to the media industry as a whole.
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Blue Origin announced late on Monday afternoon that it planned to make a second attempt to launch the New Glenn rocket at 1 am ET (06:00 UTC) on Tuesday. But then, a couple of hours later, the company said it would move the launch until Thursday.
Although the company provided no information about why it was slipping the launch two more days, it likely involved both technical work after an initial launch scrub on Monday morning, and concerns about weather early on Tuesday.
In its short update on Monday afternoon, Blue Origin confirmed earlier reporting by Ars that the first launch attempt on Monday morning was scrubbed due to ice buildup on a vent line. "This morningβs scrub was due to ice forming in a purge line on an auxiliary power unit that powers some of our hydraulic systems," the company said.
Β© Blue Origin
