Meredith Kopit Levien

M&A in the ad industry is everywhere in the trade press right now — and for good reason. Who’s selling? Who’s buying? Why now? Few people have a better handle on those answers than Luke Rowell, Partner at CIL Management Consultants. That’s why I was thrilled to have him join me on the Giants of Media podcast. In this episode, we cover: 💡 Why Q2 2025 was a record quarter for CIL (hint: a lot of companies gearing up to buy or sell) 📉 The real reasons behind a slower M&A market in 2024 and early 2025 🚪 How founders can prepare themselves — and their businesses — for an exit 🏢 The different types of buyers out there, and what drives their decisions …. If you want to understand the forces shaping ad industry M&A right now, this is a conversation worth tuning into.

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This week, Magnite unveiled the next generation of the SpringServe video platform with the support of Disney Advertising, LG Ad Solutions, Paramount Advertising, Roku, Samsung Ads, Warner Bros. Discovery, GroupM, Omnicom Media Group, and The Trade Desk. This is a significant milestone in our efforts to create a simpler, smarter advertising workflow for both media owners and buyers. We’re excited about what the future has in store and the value this will bring to the industry. Learn more here: https://magnite.smh.re/1E1

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🚨 #SCOOP in ADWEEK: McCann New York is eliminating its CCO and head of growth roles as part of a major leadership restructure. Shayne Millington and Suresh Raj will depart the agency, with their responsibilities absorbed by McCann Worldgroup North America execs Britt Nolan and Michelle Tang. The move reflects a broader shift to streamline leadership and elevate roles tied directly to the work—amid ongoing account losses and ahead of IPG’s proposed merger with Omnicom. 📍 Full story here: https://lnkd.in/g3UnSiHT Additional reporting by Brittaney Kiefer. #agencies #exclusive #agencynews #marketing #advertising https://lnkd.in/g3UnSiHT

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Advertising and subscriptions will remain the core revenue drivers for news publishers in 2026, per Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. We're redoubling our efforts to support monetization for news publishers at DoubleVerify this year to ensure advertisers understand -- and can capitalize on -- the powerful brand-building opportunities news audiences present.

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Advertising revenue has become the unifying force #reshaping content strategy across all platforms. An analysis of #TV and streaming markets across nearly 50 territories shows how this shift from subscription-only models to ad-supported #revenue streams is fundamentally altering what gets made, how it gets promoted and which audiences get prioritised. Read my full article published in The Media Leader via the link in the comments below. 👇 📺 🤓  https://lnkd.in/epqkNMhG

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The conversation around video podcasts was REAL at Upfronts this week. As Lillian Rizzo at CNBC says in her piece - "The growing emphasis on podcasts during Upfronts is helping to cement the format as value added in the media landscape". Full article here - http://bit.ly/43uvJ3j It's a topic Meredith Klein (she/her) and I were just discussing on Clarity's new #SeekingClarity podcast. As Meredith puts it, it's all pointing to a greater trend we've been watching emerge - "There's an integration and overlap of the content that you're getting on both earned media but also with traditional, non-traditional and social media." 🎧 More on our discussion around the Role of New Media in Integrated Communications here: https://lnkd.in/gkhzkkXu

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RETHINKING TV REACH ESTIMATES As we do more runs using our new TV AD Cume facility, which estimates the reach/frequency of national TV ad campaigns based on the TV rating's "commercial minute viewing" numbers and, separately, on ad attentiveness, it is becoming painfully obvious that advertisers are not getting the coverage they think they are paying for, Despite rating fragmentation it is still possible to "reach" about 70% of a target group per month if you spend enough and use both linear TV and streaming. But when you factor in ad attentiveness---counting only those who see at least two seconds of any of your commercials, you are hard pressed to get to the 50% mark--except for older adults. And the same point applies to frequency. If you think that your target group reach is "seeing" 5-6 of your commercials per month think again--the real number is more like 2-3, not 5-6. Which raises another question--why monthly reach? Most ad campaigns for a given product positioning strategy last three years or longer--not 30 days. How did we decide that monthly reach was a meaningful time frame for evaluating reach or frequency? The answer may surprise some. Here it is. When advertisers and agencies first went to Nielsen and inquired about their total reach--not just the ratings of a particular telecast----Nielsen's panel had only 1,000 homes and to get a sample that reflected an extended time frame--a week or a month or longer, Nielsen needed a "unified" sample of homes that supplied data for every day in that period. As many homes dropped in and out due to the Audimeter's mechanical failings or, more commonly in those days, due to their one set blowing a tube, Nielsen settled on four weeks as the maximum duration as that would guarantee a sample of about 500 homes--beyond that it would have severe sample size issues. So four-week reach/frequency was established as the industry's media planning time frame but it had nothing to do with marketing or advertising, it was simply a dictate caused by Nielsen's then small panel size. But times have changed and maybe it's time for media planners to start showing clients what their proposed plans look like on a more dynamic basis--weekly, plus monthly,plus quarterly, and then yearly--not just an average month. That way the brand manager and CMO can see how their ad campaign really develops its reach across time. As for the numbers, themselves, isn't it also about time that they reflected ad attentiveness? If you ask the agencies about ad attentiveness most will claim that they "consider it" in devising their recommendations to clients, but how many media plans actually show clients what their ad attentiveness reach/frequencies might be and how many present reasonable alternatives for consideration based on these findings? The answer, I'm sorry to say is not many. Any thoughts about how we can change this, guys and gals?

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SiriusXM Media is leading the great debate on #podcasting. Our latest report unpacks five trends shaping the industry and what advertisers need to know. Get it now: https://bit.ly/4ngPuTv

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This week, Magnite unveiled the next generation of the SpringServe video platform with the support of Disney Advertising, LG Ad Solutions, Paramount Advertising, Roku, Samsung Ads, Warner Bros. Discovery, GroupM, Omnicom Media Group, and The Trade Desk. This is a significant milestone in our efforts to create a simpler, smarter advertising workflow for both media owners and buyers. We’re excited about what the future has in store and the value this will bring to the industry. Learn more here: https://magnite.smh.re/1Dm

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Local digital advertising needs its own ad tech stack in order to be truly profitable and effective, says Ribeye's @Edward McLoughlin in an op-ed on @TVNewsCheck today. Fascinating. #media #technology #advertising https://lnkd.in/etXW53vu

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FTC Drops Antitrust Case Against Omnicom Group Last week the FTC dropped their #antitrust objection to Omnicom Media Group acquiring Interpublic Group (IPG), a tacit acknowledgment that the two companies, combined, are operating in a highly competitive market and should be allowed to pair. To put this into perspective: The top four agencies, while very large on their own, WPP, Omnicom Media Group, Publicis Groupe, and Interpublic Group (IPG) had total revenue in 2024 less than Google’s Q1 2025 quarterly revenue (respectively $59.3B vs $66.9B). Years ago companies like Google and Meta were not competitive to agencies. But today it would be fair to say the largest tech companies are trying to encroach on what an agency does. Meta, for example, recently announced a new suite of AI-powered tools in Facebook to make ad creation simpler and sophisticated. The Wall Street Journal wrote in June: "Meta Aims to Fully Automate Ad Creation Using AI" and Joanna Stern showed just how far AI is come. Sir Martin Sorrell - WPP alum and CEO of S4 Capital Group (Monks) - spoke with journalists Mike Bird and Ethan Wu from The Economist last week and commented - bluntly - on the likely contractions coming to agencies due to #AI ("Robo-Copy - Will AI eat the ad industry?").  While he noted that AI will be an opportunity for agencies, he also shared “I think the impact on employment is going to be significant.” “I think the changes are as significant clearly as the internet or smartphone, probably more so.”  Given these emerging changes in competition for agencies, more #consolidation is likely to come - and should be allowed to happen.  #Agencies should have the freedom to innovate, acquire, and invest as needed to compete.

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The biggest deal in advertising history closed last week and ADWEEK was all over it with wall-to-wall coverage. Audrey Kemp broke news of the deal closing late Wednesday before Thanksgiving. On Monday, she and I reported on Omnicom's new structure and leadership, including news that the company would sunset iconic agencies DDB, FCB Global, and MullenLowe Global and lay off a 4,000 staffers. In addition: 💥 Brittaney Kiefer looked at the staggering numbers behind the deal, as well as the most memorable campaigns from the three agencies being closed 💥 Robert Klara broke down the need-to-knows behind the deal, looked at why new McCann Worldgroup CEO Tyler Turnbull is the one to watch, and traced 123 years of M&A history that led to the Omnicom of today 💥 Rebecca Stewart told us who's who on Omnicom's new leadership team 💥 In addition to sneaking her way into Omnicom Media Group's first town hall post-merger, Kendra Barnett broke news that IPG Mediabrands' top exec is out and looked into why principal media buying is a huge motivator of the deal 💥 Kathryn Lundstrom and Lauren Johnson scouted out the retail media tech firms Omnicom could buy to bolster its commerce offering 💥 William Bradley examined what all means for the TV market as a new world's biggest media buyer enters negotiations 💥 And Ryan Joe and I chatted about it all in this week's episode of Adspeak Keep following along with our coverage, there's tons more to come as the fallout of the acquisition continues.

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- TV holds attention for longer and leaves a lasting impression - Viewer attention costs less on TV. In a recent survey I conducted with Dominic Finney of Ascentinel, 8 out of 10 client and agency budget holders said they were confident that premium video delivers value – despite high CPMs. The research by Peter Field and Karen Nelson-Field strongly supports this view. Big screen, quality content, and a premium ad environment deliver superior results. It’s the kind of research all media needs – and it’s good to see it. Here’s a gold nugget from the article: "We need at least 2.5 seconds of attention before any memories are reliably created. Less attention than this, and memory impacts can actually be negative for secondary brands, whose ads are often misattributed to the brand leader – probably worse than not advertising at all!" What the research doesn’t cover is the opportunity that high-attention environments offer for quality ad creative. Longer, brand-led storytelling is a bit out of fashion at the moment, with the focus on “shorter is better”. But based on this research – is that a massive miss? At DAIVID 🦩 Creative Data, we’ve seen that longer cuts which take time to deliver an emotional payload – especially those that go beyond the category norm – are often the ones that cut through the noise, create memories, and ultimately drive outcomes. https://lnkd.in/eKy53FqC

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“MIPCOM’s addition of BrandStorytelling and the revamped MIP Creative Hub is a solid move toward this integration. It acknowledges that the next wave of global co-productions will likely feature a creator in the lead seat, not a studio exec in a corner office. Expect the lines between content creator, media company, and brand studio to collapse further. YouTube’s Cannes flex is a reminder that the old silos no longer hold.” My comment: Yes.

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As brands and agencies brace for economic volatility, proactive steps are essential for ensuring media investments remain effective. From scenario planning and prioritizing transparency to competitive intelligence, it’s vital to prepare for varying economic conditions. Historical insights show that brands maintaining advertising spending fare better and recover faster. Marketing leaders must keep tone sensitivity in mind as consumers become more deliberate about spending. Adaptation is key. #MarketingStrategy #EconomicUncertainty #Advertising #BrandGrowth #MediaInvestments #Leadership #ScenarioPlanning

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BREAKING NEWS: Omnicom’s $13.5B acquisition of Interpublic Group (IPG) creates the world’s largest agency group, reshaping the competitive landscape with unmatched scale in data, media, and technology. The move sets a new industry baseline for fully connected, accountable, and intelligence-driven marketing solutions. adobo magazine #thewordoncreativity READ THE FULL STORY HERE: https://ebx.sh/LgKsJv

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