When Amazon killed its TikTok-style feed, Inspire, last month, most advertisers were unsurprised. In their eyes, it just didn’t seem to have gained any real interest.

“It never really felt like it had enough traction, in terms of scale, to invest more than an initial test for many brands,” said Joe O’Connor, senior director of innovation and growth at Tinuiti. O’Connor noted that his team didn’t see much adoption from their clients, so they weren’t shocked that Amazon sunsetted it.

And while Amazon was nowhere near reliant on the video feed to generate any significant revenue, it’s still a little surprising that even the biggest e-commerce player couldn’t make social commerce work.

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Brand Safety

Amazon, Google and verification vendors among ad tech cohort under fire from U.S. senators over child safety shortcomings Read More

A little over a month ago, a bombshell report documenting ad tech’s shortcomings in stopping the monetization of child sexual abuse material raised the ire of senior politicians and prompted leading names to tighten up their operations.

Since then, the industry debate has been intense, with a growing chorus calling for more vendor transparency. And with that has come some confusion as to how the industry’s leading demand-side platforms will respond.

IAB CEO David Cohen made his philosophy clear on how the industry should move ahead. “Instead of pointing fingers, it may make sense to talk about the misalignment of incentives … move the conversation from efficiency at all costs to effectiveness and starve bad actors from monetization,” he said in a LinkedIn statement.

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Being a working mother has never been easy — but in today’s world, the challenges are piling up faster than ever. 

International Women’s Day (March 8) is a moment to celebrate progress — but also to confront the realities that women, particularly working mothers, still face every day. 

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For Austin, Texas-based ad agency GSD&M, throwing a party during SXSW is a must.

The agency has called the city home for 53 years, according to GSD&M CEO Duff Stewart, and the party is a way to participate in the the South by Southwest festival and represent its hometown. What started as backyard concerts in 2009 has morphed into a mini-festival on the Monday night of SXSW, where somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 attendees will make a stop at the agency’s fete. Throughout the years, acts like The Hold Steady, Gary Clark Jr., Toro y Moi, Charley Crockett and Reggie Watts have taken the stage at GSD&M’s party.

The shop will kick off its 13th annual party at its headquarters in downtown Austin tonight, with Band of Horses headlining. Ahead of this year’s event, here’s the story of how the parties came to be, how they’ve grown, handled the pandemic and continue to this day, straight from the people who’ve built them.

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Roblox is ramping up its advertising push in 2025 — but the platform’s creator studios say they’re paying the price.

As Roblox has started selling more ads and sponsorship opportunities directly to brands, in-game creator studios argue that the shift is cutting into their own earnings — fueling growing frustration over how monetization is being shared.

For years, Roblox’s creator studios — in-game agencies that employ individual creators to build custom-branded worlds or integrate clients’ brands into their pre-existing experiences — have been among the metaverse platform’s most staunch supporters. Many of them have official partnerships with Roblox through the Roblox Partner Program, and have charged brands such as Vans and Nascar hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to design and build bespoke experiences and items. 

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As Google continues its legal battle in the search antitrust case, the giant is moving forward with expanding new search features powered by generative AI.

Last week, Google debuted an experimental “AI Mode” for search to let users ask follow-up questions. The feature, powered by the company’s new Gemini 2.0 model, will provide answers, real-time information, multimodal answers, and links within AI Overviews. The feature also uses Google’s ranking system from its knowledge graph with real-time data about places and products.

Google’s updates came just days before the company and the U.S. Dept. of Justice on March 7 filed final remedy proposals before a scheduled hearing in court next month. The DOJ’s proposal includes forcing Google to divest its Chrome browser, increasing transparency for its search ads business and introducing rules for data transparency and search partner interoperability. Google’s proposal includes barring exclusive pre-install deals for search, chrome and its Gemini assistant.

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A common story around the world of media agencies — notably holding company shops — is one of bolting on digital and lower-funnel expertise to their historical brand-building chops. In the case of iProspect, that expertise is flowing in the opposite direction, at last in its North American offices. 

Digiday has learned that North American CEO Liz Rutgersson, who took over in fall 2023, has moved three Dentsu veterans onto her executive leadership team — all three of whom bring broader more traditional chops to the team to widen out the agency’s ability to deliver up and down the funnel for its clients.

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WPP, no stranger to financial strains as of late, is facing another major headache. Though it’s not decided yet, one of its biggest spending advertisers — Coca-Cola — is considering a new partner for its biggest market in North America, according to three sources with knowledge of the account.

If Coca-Cola does opt for a change, Publicis Groupe is the frontrunner to handle its media dollars in North America, which is reportedly worth $620 million in the U.S., according to Comvergence data — but likely closer to $700 million including Canada, according to those sources.

Even if the account were to change, WPP isn’t being shut out entirely. It remains Coca-Cola’s global marketing partner under the OpenX model, which includes media and creative. And while the media account in North America is in flux, those same sources say the region’s creative business is expected to stay put.

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The Trade Desk (TTD) and media agencies are drifting apart — a conscious uncoupling that crept in slowly but is now moving fast. 

Agencies say their spending isn’t climbing like it used to, while The Trade Desk is busy chasing direct deals with advertisers. It’s not a full on breakup yet, but both sides are clearly eyeing other options. 

One holding company media buyer, who exchanged anonymity for candor, told Digiday that rising client investment in CTV — and the many DSPs that can be used to place such spend — meant their agency was becoming less reliant on The Trade Desk over time.

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When you think of influencer marketing, you typically picture brands working with a younger creator to target Gen Z (ages 13-28) or Gen Alpha (up to 12 years old). That’s not always the case. As the influencer marketing space and creator economy continues to grow, so-called silver influencers, or creators from Gen X (45-60 years old) and boomer generations (ages 61-79) are increasingly catching marketers’ attention.

Progresso Soup and Harmless Harvest, a coconut product company, are eyeing the older cohort of creators to earn some cultural cache and boost brand awareness. They’re not alone. Brands’ interest in Gen X and Boomer influencers has been on the uptick in recent years, according to previous Digiday reporting. Alaska Airlines, Mountain Dew and clean beauty brand Ilia have made similar campaigns over the past few years.

“They’re still [linear] TV watchers. But also, it’s a pretty social group,” said Maria Carolina Comings, vice president of the sweet and savory business unit at General Mills, referring to the soup brand’s 55-plus consumers. “So one of the places we went to was TikTok.”

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Creator company Whalar Group opened its doors to a newly-built co-working and production space in Los Angeles for creators in February. Named The Lighthouse, it’s not exactly a school, but not exactly an office either. For Whalar, the intention is to gather creators in one place and see what comes of it, whether that’s business ventures, funding or other creative pursuits, explained Neil Waller, co-founder and co-CEO of Whalar Group.

“Now, a week after when the space is open, I just see people talking to each other and agreeing to do things with each other just by the nature of being around each other,” Waller said in late February. “It’s literally everything we could have like dreamt of coming to fruition.”

The Lighthouse is a members-only place for creators to connect with fellow creators, work on attracting brand partnerships and access professional resources. That’s why Whalar sees it as akin to a university campus that aims to not just provide a networking and production ground for creators, but also act as a vehicle for brands to recruit talent — and prove that all these services under one roof can work as a business.

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The latest ad fiasco might suggest otherwise, but some marketers are finally shedding one of their deepest programmatic misconceptions.

Turns out, fixating on low-fee supply chains, or prioritizing ad tech intermediaries with the cheapest fees, was never the magic fix they hoped for. If anything, it’s looking more like a game of chasing rebates than a revolution in efficiency.

The cracks started showing when the math stopped adding up. 

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When Greg Swan first attended South by Southwest (SXSW) 17 years ago, it “cracked open” his world. 

“It’s a culture of people who start with ‘yes’ versus start from a ‘no’ or ‘we can’t’,” said Swan, senior partner and Midwest digital lead at Finn Partners.

Being surrounded by attendees with that mindset makes it a crucial stop for Swan, who has over the years changed his networking approach for the festival. Instead of seeking out the hottest parties, Swan now hosts what he calls “stranger dinners” each night, where he gathers eight to 10 attendees for dinner to talk about what they saw and debate ideas. That’s his plan for this year’s conference, which kicks off today and will run through March 15th in Austin, Texas.

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Gabriela Maestre, vp, global creative solutions, Nexxen

Last year, there was a major uptick in the buzz around generative AI and emotional creative analysis, particularly in marketing. Since then, both tools have become indispensable for optimizing performance and increasing output, with advertisers and publishers using them to enhance audience engagement, personalize content for specific demographics and drive conversions. 

The challenge, though, is figuring out how best to harness these tools — individually or in combination; a question that’s fueled industry-wide debate for months.

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Publicis Groupe has agreed to acquire ad tech firm Lotame, expanding the holding company’s global identity and data-management capabilities.

The terms of the deal, announced today, weren’t disclosed. However, the company said it’s invested more than $1.5 billion in acquisitions over the past six months. The efforts are part of a broader push to build out Publicis Groupe’s CoreAI platform, which launched early last year, alongside updates for the Paris-based company’s major AI investments.

The purchase also marks a significant expansion of its global identity and data capabilities, especially in APAC and Europe, where its new acquisition has a strong presence. Lotame was already Publicis Groupe’s data partner in both regions and helping to power CoreAI applications. Publicis also plans to expand its publisher network by integrating Lotame with Epsilon’s first-party tagging system to help publishers navigate cookie deprecation.

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TikTok wrapped up a successful year in 2024, even with a murky future ahead. Brands’ usage of the platform started strong and increased, and their marketing spend followed. But 2025 is shaping up differently. TikTok’s ban in the U.S. has officially moved from an uncertainty to a reality. Sure, it’s on hold for now, but a very real clock is ticking in a very real way.

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Pinterest is gearing up for a big 2025, doubling down on visual search, expanding its global footprint and rolling out more performance-driven tools to woo long-tail advertisers.

Visual search has always been core to Pinterest’s DNA, so it’s no shock that it’s a top priority, especially as the platform tries harder to stand out from the competition.

In conversation with Digiday, Matt Crystal, Pinterest’s vp of performance, said that the team would have “a lot to share later this year,” though didn’t provide any specifics. However, he did suggest that these announcements will be “uniquely Pinterest and no one else can really do it in the way we can,” and will “open up a tremendous amount of opportunity for our advertisers.”

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This week’s Media Briefing looks at the role Apple News+ plays in publishers’ audience and revenue ambitions. Execs told Digiday they are seeing continued growth in engagement — and therefore revenue — on the platform, which is a welcome change from the unstable referral traffic ecosystem.

• Apple News+ is a “growing” source of audience and revenue

• The LA Times pulls AI bias meter, The Wall Street Journal reorganizes tech coverage and more

Apple News+ audiences are ‘growing’

Publishers are feeling quietly optimistic about Apple’s latest efforts to develop its news subscription product.

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In 2025, content creators are no longer afraid to share their political opinions — and it’s created a headache for brands looking to engage in influencer marketing without prodding the hornet’s nest.

People have debated politics on the internet for years, but the political turmoil of 2024 and early 2025 has spurred many creators to be more vocal about their beliefs, particularly within the gaming space. Last week, for example, livestreamer Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa — who is primarily known for her hot tub and ASMR streams — ignited a firestorm of controversy after a clip of Siragusa mocking LGBTQ activists went viral on X. A representative of her team declined to share an on-the-record comment on the situation.

Siragusa’s comments were the latest of many political statements made by once-apolitical content creators within recent memory. Over the past year, the leading esports organization FaZe Clan endorsed Donald Trump, and creators who had previously focused on gaming content, such as prominent Twitch streamers Zack “Asmongold” Hoyt or Steven “Destiny” Bonnell, pivoted to spend most of their time discussing current events like the U.S. presidential election and the conflict in Gaza. (Hoyt and Bonnell did not respond to requests for comment prior to the publication of this story.)

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During the halcyon days of the 2010s, business growth rates in the online ad industry were buoyant, as advertisers clamored for ‘media-firsts,’ and VC-backed tech firms competed at a breakneck pace in an industry land grab.  

However, during the subsequent decade, a more somber atmosphere prevailed as the industry matured, despite the overall industry registering double-digit growth, with the sector surpassing $309 billion (15% growth) for the first time.

While these numbers appear healthy, eMarketer researchers also note how the industry’s annual growth rates consistently averaged more than 20% in the decade prior. Hence, a plateau is starting to emerge, and the sector is taking a Darwinistic hue. It is in this climate that ‘Joint Business Plans,’ a.k.a. ‘joint business partnerships’ or JBPs, are an increasingly common tactic to remain on clients’ media plans.      

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