The mood at Party City was far from festive Friday, as CNN reported that the retailer will abruptly shut down its stores and let all employees go at the end of the day, ending a run of nearly 40 years. Party City specialized in items such as balloons, Halloween costumes, and party goods, and CNN...
Omnicom Media Group (OMG) is bringing on PHD exec Katie Klein as chief investment officer, it shared with ADWEEK. Klein previously held the same role at subsidiary PHD USA. In her three years there, she built an integrated investment arm serving clients including Burger King, Delta Airlines, Diageo, Priceline, Uber, and Volkswagen Group. Prior to...
Helene Dick has joined independent creative agency Special US as head of strategy, the agency shared with ADWEEK. She will report to Special Group CEO Kelsey Hodgkin. Dick is a seasoned agency executive, having spent more than two years prior at TBWA\Media Arts Lab as executive director of strategy for the Apple account, where she...
Former IPG and Amazon Ads exec Amy Armstrong will join Publicis Groupe as chief revenue officer, a new role at the holding company, on March 1. Armstrong joins from Amazon Ads, where she was director of global customer development since June 2022, following five years as CEO of IPG Mediabrands' Initiative. Prior to that, she...
Dick's Sporting Goods has a new executive to lead its retail media network. David Young has joined Dick's as a vice president to oversee the ad business. The retailer launched its retail media network, Dick's Media Network, in 2022. He brings more than 20 years of experience in managing media and ad networks, most recently...
The House China Select Committee began issuing reminders on Friday that it is serious about the potential ban of TikTok in the U.S. starting Jan. 19. Committee chair Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and ranking member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) sent letters to Apple, Google, and TikTok Friday reminding them that barring a change in TikTok's...
The maxim that "all press is good press" was put to the test this week at Indian beauty startup YesMadam, which is dealing with the fallout from campaign that used a false layoff notice to shed light on workplace stress. According to several reports, employees at the company completed an internal wellness survey and then...
When Quicken Loans rebranded as Rocket Mortgage in July 2021, it sought to align the product with its parent company's (Rocket Companies) brand while showcasing its use of technology throughout the home buying process. Now that it's built some awareness with the new name, Rocket Mortgage is giving its brand a refresh. In partnership with...
IPG Mediabrands plans to lay off 103 people on Jan. 2., according to a WARN notice filed in the state of California. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires companies with 100 or more employees to provide notifications of facility closures or mass layoffs 60 calendar days in advance. IPG Mediabrands filed the WARN...
Publicis Groupe is taking boutique agency network LePub global, including its initial foray into the U.S. LePub will add to its presence in Amsterdam, Johannesburg, Milan, Mexico City, Rome, Sao Paulo, and Singapore, starting with its first U.S. hub in New York. Offices in Bogota, Dubai, and London will follow in 2025. Barilla and Heineken...
Mastercard wants to help small and midsized businesses harness the power of artificial intelligence. The payments company began a pilot Monday of a generative AI chatbot tool Mastercard Small Business AI, designed to help SMB owners in all categories, regardless of what stage their business has achieved. "AI can't replace the power of human connection,...
Reddit became the latest platform to dip its toes into the artificial-intelligence-powered search waters with its announcement Monday that it is expanding its test of Reddit Answers. The company said people come to its platform for advice, answers, and perspectives, and AI-powered search that surfaces discussions, hot takes, information, and recommendations from communities and conversations...
Nadja Bellan-White, who has been serving as CEO of creative agency M&C Saatchi SS+K since January, was promoted to CEO of M&C Saatchi North America Group. Prior to joining M&C Saatchi Group, Bellan-White spent three years as global chief marketing officer at Vice Media Group. She brings extensive agency experience, as well, with nine years...
TikTok took a hit in Washington, D.C., Friday, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a law that requires Chinese-based parent company ByteDance to sell the popular video-sharing social platform by Jan. 19 or see the application banned in the U.S. The likely next step for TikTok and ByteDance is an...
Interpublic Group has sold experience design and technology agency Huge to private equity firm AEA Investors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. As part of the transaction, AEA Investors will combine Huge with Hero Digital, a customer experience company it already owns. AEA Investors said the combined agency will become one of the largest...
Publicis Groupe is looking to ride the growth wave of its Publicis Connected Media unit--which includes its digital experience agencies, martech firm Epsilon, influencer marketing shop Influential, investment arm PMX and Publicis Media--with several executive moves, highlighted by the promotion of Dave Penski to lead all Connected Media operations. The aim of Publicis Connected Media...
TikTok shared the year's most memorable businesses, creators, cultural icons, moments, and trends on its platform in the U.K. with Wednesday's release of Year on TikTok 2024. Man in Finance landed @girl_on_couch a talent agent and a record deal, but it was just one of 2024's top memes, joining Brat Summer from @charlixcx, "very demure,...
It's not all fun and games for toy manufacturer Mattel, which was hit with a class-action lawsuit Tuesday over a high-profile packaging error on dolls depicting characters in Universal Pictures' Wicked. Law firm Poulin Willey Anastopoulo filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of South Carolina resident...
Airbnb is serving up its new holiday spot, "Santastrophe," just in time for Thanksgiving in a continued effort to demonstrate the benefits of properties available for rental via its platform compared with hotel rooms. "Santastrophe" is the latest installment in the company's "Get an Airbnb" campaign, a series of short, animated films, developed by its...
The latest diversity, equity, and inclusion domino to fall is also the largest, as retail colossus Walmart confirmed that it is scaling back or eliminating related initiatives, including no longer using the term DEI in official communications, reviewing grants to Pride events, and not renewing the racial equity center commitments. Anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck claimed...
