Author: Geek Planet

[ad_1] The number of retailers launching their own media, commerce, financial, travel (you get the point) networks continues to grow. At this point, more than 250 retail media networks exist globally, according to retail media intelligence platform Mimbi, and they’re all fighting for the same ad dollars. To better compete, retail marketing networks have spent the past few months rebranding their names and logos, hosting events and retooling their offerings. At the same time, RMNs are moving beyond on-site search and display ad opportunities and opening up ad formats with creators and streaming services. All signs point to retail media…

[ad_1] To borrow from David Mamet’s sleeper 80s film, Things Change, sometimes it’s the “guy behind the guy” who gets a little attention, even if the guy doesn’t necessarily want it. So it is with Siberia, an independent design studio/agency based in New York that does the behind-the-scenes legwork to help clients refresh their brands and digital presences. The firm works with a variety of clients, including Ford, Comcast and Bloomberg, but shared work it’s done for a newer client.The James Beard Foundation (JBF) — a venerable name for anyone interested in food, be they chefs, restaurateurs, philanthropies or gourmand…

[ad_1] The squeeze on agency holding companies keeps getting tighter. WPP’s year-end revenue slump, paired with lackluster outlook for 2025, is just the latest twist in an ongoing identity crisis for legacy ad giants. In fact, things have gotten so dire that holdco CEOs have mastered a specialized dialect, one designed to downplay their troubles while keeping investors from panicking. Here’s a guide to what they say versus what they really (might) mean. What they say: “We are in a period of transformation.”What they mean: “We have no idea how to fix this, but we’ll throw around words like ‘AI’…

[ad_1] Walmart’s ad business grew 27% year over year in 2024, according to the company’s recent earnings report, netting the retail giant $4.4 billion in global ad revenue for the year. That growth has come as Walmart has continued to evolve its ad offerings. This week, for example, the company announced a new Application Programming Interface (API) for Walmart Connect that allows ad tech platforms to create and manage tools for display campaigns — a move that buyers see as Walmart setting the stage to transition display campaigns from managed service to self-service. As Walmart’s retail media network matures, buyers…

[ad_1] Amazon just raised the walls of its walled garden. Last week, the company finally pulled back the curtain on its long-awaited Alexa overhaul, a chattier, more personalized and supposedly more useful version of its voice assistant. Generative AI powers this new version, called Alexa+, which is available beyond just Echo devices, spreading across car infotainment systems, connected TVs and anything else running Alexa. This is Amazon’s latest attempt to deliver on the grand vision it pitched a decade ago: making voice as intuitive for controlling devices as touch. So far it’s been more gimmick than game-changer, but early reactions…

[ad_1] Amazon’s ads business is muscling in on the same ad tech players that once fueled its rise.Granted, it’s been edging into that cottage industry for years but its latest moves make those earlier steps look like a warm-up. Recently, Amazon has been rolling out features and services that were once the domain of companies like Skai and Pacvue. As Amazon tightens its grip, some casualties may be inevitable. Amazon’s UnBoxed event last November revealed the writing on the wall. The tech behemoth announced a flurry of announcements and new tools, including a complete overhauling of its demand-side platform (DSP).…

[ad_1] This research is based on unique data collected from our proprietary audience of publisher, agency, brand and tech insiders. It’s available to Digiday+ members. More from the series → Interested in sharing your perspectives on the media and marketing industries? Join the Digiday research panel. 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,…

[ad_1] 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…

[ad_1] The presence of leading executives, including Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, at President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration led many to believe that Big Tech would have a smooth course in the coming years, especially in any antitrust trial.  So, when it emerged that Google met Justice Department execs, encouraging them to roll back earlier proposed remedies, including the divestiture of web browser Chrome, in its search antitrust trial, many assumed its political influence would win out.  However, developments later in the week suggest those efforts — Bloomberg claimed last week that Google’s arguments centered on maintaining the tech…

[ad_1] This research is based on unique data collected from our proprietary audience of publisher, agency, brand and tech insiders. It’s available to Digiday+ members. More from the series → Interested in sharing your perspectives on the media and marketing industries? Join the Digiday research panel. It’s been just over two years since YouTube started a revenue share program for Shorts. Last year saw a growth in brands’ usage of YouTube, but this year usage has dropped off. At the same time, more brands are spending just a little on marketing on YouTube while a lot fewer are spending a…