Digiday

B2B buyers expect relevant, connected buying experiences, but fragmented customer data and buying signals make it difficult for organizations to deliver a unified experience. As AI raises the stakes, organizations need a connected data foundation to turn buyer signals into meaningful insights. Partner insights from Adobe. https://buff.ly/ZHrtcFD

The Telegraph adopted a video-first approach to its podcast strategy after seeing viewership and video engagement grow this year. The U.K. news publisher’s podcast audience has grown 161% year over year, according to a company spokesperson. Weekly average YouTube views are 2.4 million for its three daily news podcast shows, including “The Daily T,” “Ukraine: The Latest,” and “Iran: The Latest.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/etC85WyW In this piece by Sara Guaglione, we speak to Matthew Bayley, The Telegraph’s executive editor of audio and visuals; and Nic Newman, senior research associate at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Linda Boff, the former CMO of GE – and current CEO of independent marketing services group Said Differently – has seen agencies of all stripes and sizes come and go. If they’re not putting the client first, they’re not doing job one. Story by Michael Burgi. https://lnkd.in/dxmC2pcv

OpenAI’s ads business is now running at a $1 billion annualised run rate, just six months after launch. That figure comes from multiplying current monthly ad revenue by 12, so it’s a snapshot of where things stand today rather than money already booked over a full year. “We’re at the beginning of a new chapter for advertising, with AI creating entirely new ways for businesses and people to discover one another,” said David Dugan, vp of global ad solutions. “Reaching $1 billion in ARR in under 200 days shows the scale of the opportunity ahead.” Read the full story by Seb Joseph and Krystal Scanlon here: https://lnkd.in/erdjHUcA

Cindy Rose OBE has been in charge of WPP for a year. So far, her tenure is best judged by examining the decisions deferred as much as the ones she’s taken. At the time of writing, the London-listed agency group’s share price has almost recovered from last year’s exit from the FTSE 100 (its first-half results saw shares initially jump 30%, its biggest increase on record) while the company’s performance in the pitching room has also improved. Two thirds of the way through the year, per COMvergence data shared with Digiday, WPP Media has won just over $3 billion in fresh accounts, by estimated media value, while accounts lost totaled $2.81 billion, with a retention rate of 43%. That’s a favorable contrast with last year’s 16% retention and lost accounts equalling $6.98 billion. That recovery hasn’t dispelled years of revenue decline, the debt sitting on its balance sheet or the fact that the minutiae of previous CEO Mark Read’s recovery efforts are currently being dissected in a class action lawsuit in New York. But it does show a cautious optimism that wasn’t there last September. In this piece by Sam Bradley, we speak to Rosie McKeith, partner at SI Global; and Forrester principal analyst and vp Jay Pattisall. https://lnkd.in/e2dnRm-T

Digiday Sunday Poll

Digiday Sunday Poll ICYMI

Agencies are often expected to have all the answers for their clients, and pre-empt any issues before they even arise. Behind the scenes, though, the way they operate can be a different story. In this edition of our Confessions series, where we trade anonymity for candor, a former exec from an independent ad agency talks through the frustrations they’ve had with the way their company operated on the inside. Story by Krystal Scanlon. https://lnkd.in/g7-pDncU

Creator marketing is racing toward AI ad-stack automation, but risks turning trust into inventory. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gk7Tj2wK In this piece by Kimeko McCoy, we speak to Natalie Silverstein, chief innovation officer at Collectively; Thomas Markland, founder of the global creator agency HYDP; Gregory Curtis Jr. MBA, director of brand and growth at Empower Media; and Gabe Gordon, Reach Agency CEO.