Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.
Amazon Earns The Bronze
Is it time to retire references to the advertising “duopoly”? Amazon doesn’t always get name-dropped in conversations about advertising in the same breath as duopoly members Google and Meta. But as Eric Seufert notes on Mobile Dev Memo, the tech conglomerate has become a “behemoth” in the space, both as a publisher and a retail media network.
In Q2 this year, Amazon’s advertising revenue grew 20% to a whopping $12 billion, more than double what it made at the end of Q3 2020. As of last quarter, advertising also now represents 9% of the company’s overall net sales.
Seufert attributes part of this success to the huge amount of transactional first-party user data that Amazon can put toward things like its recent Prime Video ads, which it first announced back in 2023.
That data also doesn’t seem to pose as much of a privacy risk as that of other advertising powerhouses, which may be why the EU hasn’t gone after Amazon as much as it has Google or Meta – although the FTC’s currently pursuing antitrust lawsuits against all three. (But then again, maybe it means Amazon has street cred with the other accused monopolies?)
Holding Pattern
Agency holding company Omnicom is creating a new organization to bring its major agency brands under unified leadership, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The newly launched Omnicom Advertising Group will include BBDO, DDB, TBWA and other Omnicom agencies, and will be led by Troy Ruhanen, President and CEO of TBWA Worldwide.
The reorg should allow the company to pursue AI deals at the holding company level, rather than having individual agencies strike their own deals, Ruhanen says.
The new company structure could also improve client relations. Agencies are increasingly responsible for tasks beyond traditional campaign planning, including tech-related services like data consulting. Having agencies under the same leadership makes it easier for clients to “fully access the resources of the company,” says Jay Pattisall, VP and principal analyst at Forrester.
Combining agency brands under one roof is becoming a trend as digital advertising gets more resource-intensive – and reliant on AI. Last year, WPP combined two of its agencies in a move CEO Mark Read said was intended to integrate creative, media and production for AI-based solutions.
Battle Of The RMNs
Retail media networks are battling it out for ad budgets not already eaten up by Amazon (the “behemoth,” see above) or Walmart.
But to catch the attention of buyers, RMNs have to prove they have better data, measurement and scale than the competition. The result is a frenzied mating dance between RMNs and partners that can improve their first-party data and off-platform offerings, Digiday reports.
Earlier this month, for example, Macy’s Media Network expanded its relationship with a tech company that specializes in customer acquisition, Rokt, to improve ad offerings such as email, audio, paid search and direct mail. Not to be left behind, Lowe’s and Home Depot both rebranded their retail media offerings to showcase revamped ad offerings like loyalty programs.
“The [RMNs] with the largest first-party data sets are the ones that are going to be successful,” says Mike Feldman, SVP of global head of retail media at VaynerMedia.
Off-platform is also a growing focus for RMNs trying to win buyers over with scale – especially through connected TV, where retail data creates an opportunity to target shoppable TV ads. Perhaps the most notable example is Walmart’s recent acquisition of smart TV maker Vizio, which is still under regulatory review.
But Wait, There’s More!
OpenAI is in talks for a funding round that would value it above $100 billion. [WSJ]
BlackRock to auction off SellerX, an Amazon ecommerce aggregator once valued at $1 billion. [Bloomberg]
YouTube shows videos promoting do-it-yourself firearms to minors, despite promising it wouldn’t. [Bloomberg]
Wendigoon becomes the latest YouTuber to buy into creator-owned management company Mana Talent. [Digiday]
How brands can push through Gen Z’s “compassion fatigue.” [Ad Age]
Telegram founder Pavel Durov’s arrest has tech execs worried they’ll be held personally liable for what happens on their platforms. [NYT]
The FTC’s case against the Kroger-Albertsons supermarket megamerger hinges on fears of rising grocery prices. [NYT]
You’re Hired!
Warner Bros. Discovery adds Shauna Spenley as the new global marketing officer of direct-to-consumer. [Adweek]
Shopify hires Microsoft alum Mikhail Parakhin as its new chief technology officer. [The Information]
OpenX promotes Matt Sattel to CRO. [LinkedIn]
