THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE “LEGACY”:  Did you ever think you’d see one of the Big Four TV Networks calling out someone else as being too attached to its legacy business?  That’s exactly what happened during an interview on Friday with Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversal’s head of sales, as described in the attached Business Insider link.  Ms. Yaccarino called out the agency Holding Companies for being slow to adopt programmatic buying from the TV Networks because they’re trying to preserve their incumbent buying structure.  Yaccarino’s complaint comes from the slowness of agencies to take advantage of NBCU’s newly-released data platform and programmatic buying tools.  On a certain level this seems ironic since the TV networks benefit most from old school media buying.  But if you play this forward a few years it’s probably a savvy move.  Because if the entire media buying universe shifts to programmatic, legacy players like NBC could get left behind if they don’t transform now.  The other thing this example teaches is that you can be seen as more cutting edge just by saying the other guy isn’t keeping up with the times.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ADS.TXT:  This past May the IAB launched a transparency initiative in digital media called ads.txt.  The concept is a simple text file that’s included within each publisher’s digital profile, which lists the names of all the third party networks/exchanges who are authorized to sell that site’s inventory.  Brands can check to make sure the 3^rd party they’re buying a publisher’s impressions through appear on the list to make sure the seller is legit.  In theory ads.txt should cut down on fraudulent “site spoofing” sales where an unauthorized broker claims they’re selling a premium publisher’s inventory but then burns the impressions on a dummy site and pockets the purchase price.  Although ads.txt adoption by publishers initially got off to a slow start things are now picking up speed.  According to the attached Digiday link, 44% of the top 10,000 publishers now have ads.txt disclosures in their profiles.  I’m guessing this will get up close to 100% within the 12 months, since it’s hard to think of a valid reason not to implement ads.txt.  Such an easy an effective way to clean up our industry.

GETTING INTO THE DETAILS ON RUSSIAN POLITICAL ADS:  It’s official . . . Hillary Clinton is the devil!  At least that’s the comparison being drawn in the Facebook ad (image below), which was purchased by Russian operatives during last year’s Presidential campaign.  This example and dozens more like it were released by the House Intelligence Committee last week, as summarized in the attached Business Insider link.  While the subject matter of the ads vary, the one common denominator is the goal of spreading divisiveness (one group against another) ahead of last November’s election.  The ads are generally pro-Republican/Trump, but there was also a Black Panther themed ad posted by a group going by the name “Blacktivist”, so it seems like the inflaming was happening across party lines.  These ads ran across many of the major Search and Social players, including FB, Google, YouTube, Twitter, etc..  These publishers have vowed to release targeting data behind specific ads which will allow us to connect the dots on who Russia was attempting to influence with specific creative messages.

Have a great Monday guys!

CLEANING UP THE DEFINITION OF IMPRESSION DELIVERY:  Apologies for going deep AdTech on a Friday morning, but there’s a small but important change happening in digital media measurement.  First let me set up the problem.  Over the past few years inconsistencies have started to crop up over the definition of serving a digital impression.  Should publishers get delivery credit for fetching the ad, serving the ad, or when the ad renders?  Right now every agency, tracking vendor and publisher has their own answer to that question, which creates a messy situation when trying to reconcile impression totals and viewability percentages on campaigns.  To address this issue the MRC has proposed a change to the definition of impression delivery, by taking the word “served” out and replacing it with the term “count-on-begin-to-render” (which is a geeky way of saying when the ad begins to appear on the user’s device).  If this is confusing MediaPost has a solid breakdown in the attached link.  I know this may seem like techie minutia, but standardizing the way impression delivery is counted is way overdue for the entire digital media industry.

TECH HARDWARE TAKES ON RETAIL SOFTGOODS:  Of all the predictions eMarketer makes about purchase trends during the upcoming holiday season in the attached link, the most interesting observation is also the least expected.  Could the launch of the iPhone X actually drag down “soft goods” sales in Q4?  Soft goods are things like clothing, bedding, home décor, etc., compared to hard goods which are TVs, refrigerators, etc..  Soft good are generally considered a “want” and not a “need”.  For instance, you may want that new cashmere sweater but you absolutely need a new fridge if your current one breaks down.  Since Want items are discretionary if something else comes along which you want more, like say the new iPhone X, you’ll reprioritize your purchase decision.  And since the X is very expensive ($999), eMarketer estimates that $30B of discretionary spending could be absorbed by Apple this holiday season.  Who ever thought the humble sweater maker would find themselves in competition with Apple?

IT’S TIME TO GET THAT CYBER SECURITY DEGREE:  Yesterday Facebook announced another stellar quarter of user growth and revenue performance during its Q3 earnings call.  But the most interesting comments CEO Mark Zuckerberg made were around the challenges of site security and FB’s planned expansion in cybersecurity, as explained in the attached AdExchanger link.  According to Zuck FB plans to have 20,000 full time cybersecurity-related employees hired by the end of 2018.  For context right now they have roughly 23,000 employees total – so 14 months from now almost half of FB’s employee jobs will be based on protecting the platform?!?  Granted FB has a wide array of security challenges, which include everything from guarding users’ data, to blocking Russian hackers from buying ads to hijack our elections, to terrorist groups uploading nefarious content.  Just the idea of that stat is a sign of the times in an increasingly dangerous online world.

Have a great Friday (and weekend) guys!

TaaS IS COMING TO YOUR DRIVEWAY:  Over the last few months I’ve written extensively about the transformation of the Automotive industry from a legacy  of selling cars to a future of selling mobility through TaaS (Transportation as a Service).  Whether it be autonomous driving cars, driving subscriptions, or rideshare platforms, how we get from point A to point B is going to look much different twenty years from now compared to today.  As part of its Digital Transformation series co-authored by Accenture Interactive, AdWeek is featuring a fascinating article on the role MarTech will play in the future of transportation.  From the AI needed for self-driving cars, to the in-car content we’ll consume (because we’re not driving anymore), to data advancements which will make the path to purchase more efficient than ever, digital technology will have as much impact on transportation in the 21^st century as Henry Ford had on the past century.  Get versed in this stuff now, because TaaS is coming.

RADIO MARRIAGE:  Last Fall Entercom and CBS Radio announced plans to merge into one larger broadcast company.  Since then snail-paced progress has been made on the merger.  Now it looks like we may have a finish line in sight, as reported in the attached RAIN link.  The pair have received DOJ approval on a plan to divest stations in several markets where they’ll exceed the FCC ownership cap, and are expected to consummate their marriage on or around November 17^th.  This is worth noting because the tie-up will create the 2^nd largest radio broadcaster in terms of revenue, and the 3^rd largest from a station count perspective – behind iHeart and Cumulus.  But there’s one important difference about Entercom/CBS that separates it from the other two –  they won’t be saddled with an insurmountable debt which will lead to inevitable bankruptcy.  So maybe they’ll have a fighting chance to succeed.

RADIO DEFAULT:  Speaking of bankruptcy . . . yesterday Cumulus announced that it was not making a scheduled $24M interest payment this week.  This sets up the timetable for a possible bankruptcy.  According to the attached RadioInk link Cumulus’s failure to make this week’s interest payment has started a 30-day countdown clock.  Within this period they can renegotiate debt terms with their lenders (hopefully for a more favorable interest rate), or go into formal default.  If default happens the lender whose interest payment was missed can demand an entire repayment of their note, which will trigger the bankruptcy.  So this is either the beginning of the end for Cumulus as we know it, or a very daring game of chicken to restructure its debt.  Fasten your seat belts.

Have a great Thursday guys!

ADWEEK’S TOP DIGITAL STATS:  AdWeek is out with another roundup of the Top Digital Stats from the past week in the attached link.  It’s a pretty ho hum list, except for one jaw dropping stat in #2.  AdWeek sourced a Deloitte study when it said “consumers are expected to spend 55% of their shopping budgets online this year.”  I reread that sentence and still couldn’t believe it.  So then I went online and downloaded the study for myself – attached  here (Deloitte Holiday 2017).  Then I isolated the questionable stat in the image below.  It turns out that 55% of consumers plan to make holiday purchases online, which is a big difference from consumers planning to spend 55% of their budgets online.  It’s sort of like the classic “let’s eat Grandma” vs. “let’s eat, Grandma” mistake.  Once that was cleared up in my mind the data made a lot more sense.  Regardless of the error, it’s important to understand how Ecommerce is transforming traditional holiday shopping for the majority of us.

THE GAME IS CHANGING ON THE AGENCY HCs:  Yesterday WPP announced its Q3 earnings, and it was pretty rough sledding for the world’s largest agency holding company and its CEO Sir Martin Sorrell.  Total global rev was flat YoY, which was below investor expectations, and WPP lowered their future revenue outlook for the third time this year.  Mr. Sorrell was pressed on two fronts about the disappointing results.  The first question was whether or not business consultancies like Deloitte, PwC, etc. are eating into agency business.  Sir Martin responded with a no (so far), citing the fact that just 1% of traditional agency work is being done by consultancies.  Then he was asked if the aggregation of media spending on Google and Facebook was hurting WPP, since clients were more likely to work directly with digital publishers.  Mr. Sorrell also said no to this, but then a Twitter post of WPP’s own data started to circulate (image below) showing an amazing shift in the top 10 media owners from five years ago to today.  This paints the picture of a new world order across the media-scape which the HCs still need to figure out.

MEDIA BUYER REDOUX:  The lowly media buyer position has become a commodity at most agencies, since this is the roll most likely to be squeezed out thanks to programmatic automation.  But not every agency is reducing/eliminating buyer positions.  In the attached AdExchanger interview Chris Nicholson, the Chief Media Officer at VaynerMedia, said they’re hiring more media buyers than ever for a newly imagined position.  First difference – today’s media buyers are trained in programmatic transacting, data layering, tracking and attribution, and not just buying ratings points at the lowest possible CPP.  Then, in a brilliant move, the Buying (or Investment) arm is integrated with Planning so buyers get planning experience to help them understand how the whole campaign works to meet client KPIs.  I’m not sure if this new approach will save media buying jobs from the dust bins of history, but it’s a novel approach that appears to be paying off at VaynerMedia.

Have a great Wednesday guys!

SPOTIFY CUTTING ITS VIDEO LOSSES:  These days it seems like just about every publisher is finding success with some form of online video.  Everyone that is, except for Spotify, who has struggled to gain audience or develop a video monetization strategy.  For a refresher in 2015 Spotify launched an original content video strategy in an attempt to run an “all things streaming” play.  But last month Spotify’s head of Video Strategy Tom Calderone resigned, and now there are signs of a product retreat.  According to RAIN in the attached link, Spotify has already cancelled an original video content series with Bloomberg.  Spotify is saying this reboot is part of an effort to find a monetization strategy that doesn’t involve recorded music and royalty payments.  Not sure if the “reboot” means they’ll be launching different video products, or if they’re trying to quietly kill on-platform video altogether.  Either way this example proves the business adage that it’s sometime better to stick to what you’re good at and not risk spreading yourself too thin by trying to be all things to all people.

WALMART’S COPYCAT DIGITAL MEDIA SALES PLAY:  Yesterday I posted an article about Amazon’s growing digital media business (here).  Now comes word that Walmart is trying to run a similar play, as described in the attached Digiday link.  Their concept is called Audience Extension, which is designed to aggregate purchase behavior on Walmart.com and its subsidiary retail brands, and then retarget those consumers with contextually relevant third party ads on-platform.  Walmart’s secret sauce lies within WMX, its propriety DMP.  You can see the how the purchase path UX works in the flowchart below.  Admittedly Walmart is pretty far behind Amazon in the retailer-turned-ad-platform game.  But they might be able to catch up by leveraging the power of its 5,000+ store B&M footprint to deliver online purchases better than even Amazon can.  And BTW – if you’re in digital media sales get ready for a whole bunch on new competitors setting up shop on your block!

THE FUTURE BELONGS TO VOICE:  If you think the current Amazon Echo craze is the end all be all of voice-based tech innovation get ready, because we’re only in the top of the first inning in the Age of Voice.  According to an Accenture study in the attached AdWeek link we’re about to see a global surge in voice-based digital assistants that can only be compared to the smartphone revolution from a decade ago.  In the graphic below you’ll see some jaw dropping stats – including the prediction that there will be 7.5B voice assistants in use around the world by 2021, which is more than today’s entire global population.  There are too many stats in the inforgraphic for me to summarize so check out the article for yourself.  And then get ready to ride the Voice revolution!

Have a great Tuesday guys!

AMAZON KICKS AD SALES INTO OVERDRIVE:  Are we about to have a three-horse race in the top tier of Digital media sales?  Based on Amazon’s ad sales surge in its latest earnings call the answer is probably a firm yes.  On Friday Amazon reported its “Other” revenue (which is mostly ad sales), grew by 58% to $1.1B.  To put that number in perspective the current leaders are Google who raked in $24B in Q3, and Facebook whose latest Q2 tally was $9B.  By comparison to the duopoly Amazon is still relatively small, but then again it’s just getting started.  Their secret sauce is a mountain of purchase-based data, which they can use to behaviorally retarget today’s purchasers and model out to serve contextually relevant ads to similar users who might be interested in that same product.  Combine those assets with a proprietary DSP which features a self-service API, and you can see why their digital ad offerings are being well received in the market.  I’d expect more of the same in future quarters.

SHORT FORM “DOUBLE BOX” TV ADS ARE READY FOR PRIME TIME:  We’re starting to see an interesting transformation with the standard Network TV ad unit.  Instead of just running :15s and :30s the networks have been experimenting with :06 ads which were originally created for OLV.  To make things more interesting these ads are being served in a Double Box format (image below) for sports broadcasts, which show a live shot of the game on the left and the ad on the right.  The thinking is that viewers won’t tune out if the ad runs concurrent to the game, so they’re more likely to be paid attention to.  And since it would be really hard to play an entire :30 ad during live sports the :06 option becomes the perfect solution.  As noted in the attached AdAge article, Fox has been the most aggressive network with this new unit.  What began as an experiment during this summer’s Teen Choice Awards has expanded to MLB postseason, and is now being planned for Thanksgiving NFL games.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see this become a normal ad unit across more of the networks.

THE DEMISE OF SNAPCHAT SPECTACLES:   Remember back to early 2016 when rumors of a new wearable tech called Snapchat Spectacles started to surface?  These babies were going to succeed in a way Google Glass couldn’t because they’d link Snapchat’s in-app Lens functionality to the real world and open up a whole new augmented reality (AR) universe for its users.  Snapchat’s PR machine teed up a ton of pre-launch buzz, and the geekarazzi was foaming at the mouth to get their hands on a pair.  Then a little called reality set in, and what happened next wasn’t pretty.  As featured in the attached Tech Crunch link, Snapchat Spectacles were plagued by a five month launch delay, poor manufacturing quality, a lack of AR content, and a “shockingly low retention rate” in which three out of four owners stopped using their Spectacles within the first week.  So nobody bought these things.  And I mean nobody.  At last count over 99% of Snapchat Spectacles haven’t been sold and are wasting away on warehouse shelves.  This goes to show how a hot new idea doesn’t just sell itself.  You have to back up the buzz with a useful product people will actually derive value from.

Have a great Monday guys!

AMAZON BRINGS VIDEO ON-PLATFORM:  In a smart flanking move Amazon is aiming to disrupt YouTube (Google) and Facebook’s booming video ad business by including video content within their platform.  As described in the attached Bloomberg link, Amazon is launching a new program called Enhanced Brand Content.  Within the platform brands will be able to upload sponsored :30 video content next to the usual product descriptions and static display images at a discounted rate.  This has the potential to really work for brands, since they’ll be able to place their best content in front of purchase intenders just as they’re ready to hit the buy button.  I’m guessing Amazon will see an immediate spike in OLV biz as this program roles out.  Then it will be interesting to see if this comes directly out of Goo-FBoo’s video rev pocket.

TURNAROUND AT TWITTER?:  During yesterday’s Q3 Earnings Call Twitter showed some signs that a turnaround may be on the horizon, as reported in the attached AdWeek link.  MAUs were up a little at +4M vs Q2.  And although revenue noticeably declined by 8% YoY, it still topped the Street’s expectations.  The key stat in their recovery has been ad engagements, which soared 99% vs. 2016.  This is due to a strategic pivot Twitter made from display to video.  With video Twitter appears to have figured out how to natively integrate advertising into the user experience.  Things look promising enough that Twitter raised its Q4 guidance to the point that they may actually be profitable in Q4.  That would be quite at 180 turnaround from the position they were in just a few quarters ago.

AND THEN THERE’S IHEART:  On the other side of the financial universe iHeart continues its struggle for survival against a $20B+ mountain of debt.  As reported in the attached RadioInk link, iHeart and its creditors still haven’t reached a deal to keep the broadcaster afloat.  Their senior debt holders want the company to organize its holdings for a “prepacked bankruptcy” (sounds scary), while iHeart is scrambling for alternatives.  Time will ultimately be on the creditors’ side in this tug of war.  While only $700M of iHeart’s debt comes due in 2018, a staggering $7B must be paid back in 2019.  Obviously iHeart won’t be able to make that debt payment (most third world countries couldn’t make that payment), which means they’ll default and go into bankruptcy unless an alternative agreement can be reached before then.  Sounds like a fun spot to be in, right?

Have a great Friday (and weekend) guys!

THE AGENCY-CONSULTANCY LINES ARE BLURRING:  There’s a really interesting transformation occurring in the agency-scape thanks to the intrusion of business consultancies like Accenture, PwC, etc..  In a nutshell the consultants are starting offer media planning as an add-on service, and are effectively winning AOR-type work which used to be set aside for traditional agencies.  Beyond just an efficiency play there’s a preconceived notion that the consultancies are somehow better at business strategy, so they must be better at marketing.  The sentiment in perfectly explained in the attached Digiday link, with the quote . .  “Hold on, this guy is from Accenture; it has to be brilliant.”  So what are the agencies doing to counter this threat?  As noted in the attached AdExchanger link, all four agency HCs are jockeying to provide consultancy-type services, which could effectively flip the script on the consultants.  I don’t think there will be a clear winner or loser in this tug of war.  Instead the line between business consulting and media agency work will become more blurred, and we’ll start to see hybrid organizations emerge – like the Publicis.Sapient example in the AdExchanger piece.  No matter how this plays out the transformation will be fascinating to watch.

IMPRESSIVE GROWTH AGAINST SOME HEADWINDS:  During yesterday’s Q3 Earnings Call SiriusXM announced that it grew their quarterly ad revenue 8% YoY, as reported in the attached RadioInk article.  This is impressive for two reasons . First, Sirius usually competes for broadcast radio dollars instead of digital budgets.  As you know Radio is having another flat-to-down year, so to go +8% in that sector is an accomplishment.  The other impressive stat is that Sirius continues to grow its subscriber base, which self-generates additional ad inventory, despite the fact that US Auto sales are down significantly YTD.  For years satellite radio has relied on free trials in new cars as the feeder system for paid subs.  In Q3 Sirius reported over 300K new self-paying subscribers despite a declining auto market, which is a testament to the strength of their subscription offer.

PUTTING “GUARANTEE” LIPSTICK ON A PIG:  In its latest attempt to legitimize Radio’s ROI, Westwood One is teaming up with Nielsen to launch a new initiative called the Westwood One Guarantee Program, as described in the attached AdWeek link.  According to the article, ”Nielsen will measure return on advertising spend on behalf of the radio campaign”, but offers no details on how this will be accomplished.  The reason there are no details is because it’s impossible to determine if a specific listener heard a radio ad and then made a purchase from the advertiser.  That’s because broadcast radio doesn’t have logged in users.  So they’ll have to use Nielsen’s ratings “estimates” to model out some correlation of the exposed audience to store traffic and/or register sell-thru.  It will be probabilistic at best, but that won’t stop WW1 or the Broadcasters from positioning this as an iron clad guarantee to gullible advertisers.  I don’t know who I feel more sorry for with this one – clients who are sleeping soundly at night on the false belief that their Radio advertising is guaranteed, or the WW1 sellers who can’t sleep at night because they’re peddling this garbage.

Sorry for the rant first thing in the morning.  Have a great Wednesday guys!

COULD OPEN ARCHITECTURE KILL THE AOR?:  Driven by market demand ad agencies are increasingly being forced into Open Architecture relationships with clients, instead of the traditional AOR model.  Open Architecture is when clients can contract agencies on a project-by-project basis, usually piecing together work from several agencies simultaneously.  Of course there’s a huge downside to this for agencies since the workload and billing becomes much choppier compared to steady AOR relationships.  For brands Open Architecture is a way to make agency costs variable instead of fixed, which allows them to save money by simply eliminating projects or switching to lower cost options as needed.  This trend is starting to take its toll on agency bottom lines, as was the case with IPG in their Q3 Earnings Call – AdExchanger has the details in the attached link.  My guess is that we’ll see a trend of more earnings call misses from the agencies thanks to Open Architecture .

SNAP COMES BACK DOWN TO EARTH:  As the realities of flattening user growth and the demands of running a profitable business set in at Snap the belt tightening begins.  As reported in the attached Business Insider link, last week Snap announced it was laying off 18 employees – but that’s not too unusual in the digital media space.  What is notable is where the layoffs came from . . . Recruiting.  It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that if you lay off recruiters you’re not planning a major new hiring push.  The other interesting comment involves individuals’ performance.  According to Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, the company will hire at a “slower rate” in 2018 and that leaders will be asked to make “hard decisions” about their teams and employees who aren’t performing well.  When you consider that Snap’s payroll ballooned from 600 employees in Q4’15 to over 2,600 employees just two years later, you have to wonder how it’s even possible to know who’s performing well and who isn’t.  Both of these are indicators of a digital publisher who’s girding for challenging times ahead.  You have to wonder if this is just a stabilization move for their business or if it’s the first perceptible sign of a decline at Snap.  Only time will tell.

BY GIVING UP ON DONUTS DID DUNKIN’ JUST LOSE THE COFFEE WAR?:  There’s a crazy interesting business case study unfolding before our eyes in the Coffee/Breakfast space.  As described in the attached Inc.com article, Dunkin’ Donuts is in the midst of a brand transformation. They’re trying to become cooler in an attempt to counterpunch against Starbucks who now dominates the Coffee sector of QSR.  First Dunkin’ dropped “Donuts” from its name, based on the logic that the word implies and unhealthy and/or old fashioned lifestyle.  Now it’s cutting back on the variety of Donuts being offered in favor of a more well-rounded menu.  While adding a breakfast warp to the menu isn’t necessarily a bad thing for Dunkin’, the net effect of eliminating Donuts from the brand positioning could be a bigger problem since it’s intrinsic to their brand identity.  By chasing Starbucks in the cool/hipster/healthy swim lane, instead of just dominating a niche they already own, Dunkin’ is making a classic Marketing 101 mistake.  They’re letting Starbucks define who they are instead of just doing their own thing well.  The long-term result of this pivot could be to water down a once proud brand in the wake of a stronger competitor.

Have a great Wednesday guys!

COULD SPOTIFY HAVE AN AMAZON PROBLEM?:  When we think about the Streaming landscape the conversation usually starts with the big two – Pandora and Spotify.  But these companies run very different businesses.  Pandora is the only streamer who’s primarily focused on free ad-supported listening, while Spotify plays in a much more crowded subscription sandbox.  And as it turns out, there’s a new kid on the subscription side who’s starting to throw some sand at Spotify.  That streamer, of course, is Amazon.  As highlighted in the attached Midia Research link and in the graphic below, Amazon has steadily been gaining subscribers – up to 16M worldwide compared to Spotify’s 58M and Apple’s 28M.  The key growth drivers for Amazon subs are their Amazon Prime subscriptions which includes Amazon Music in the bundle, and their Echo platform which features Amazon Music as the default music service.  Given Amazon’s momentum you have to wonder if Spotify’s subscription-centric strategy is making them vulnerable to a much bigger company who’s doing pretty much the same thing, but with a home court advantage within its own ecosystem.  Keep an eye on this one.

THE CURIOUS IMBALANCE BETWEEN SPORTS AND MUSIC MARKETING:  There’s no doubt that Sports and Music are two of the biggest passion points in our society.  We spend so much time and energy on these two pastimes that they’re the ideal place for brands to market themselves.  But would it surprise you to learn that marketers spend 10x on Sports sponsorships as they do on Music initiatives?  According to the attached Marketing Dive link brands spend over $16B annually to sponsor teams, leagues and players, but only $1.5B on artists and concerts/festivals.  So why the imbalance?  The main reason is that Sports are centralized.  Meaning there are very distinct leagues, conferences, teams and big moment events (think Olympics, Word Cup, Super Bowl, etc.), which are easy for brands to plan for and buy in to.  By contrast, Music is more decentralized with randomly timed album releases, concerts, etc., which are harder to make into tent poles of a marketing plan.  Granted there are annual festivals like Lollapalooza and Coachella, and award shows like the Grammy’s and CMAs.  But these are a drop in the bucket compared to daily onslaught of sporting events.  This disparity could represent a true gap opportunity for brands who can zig into Music related sponsorships while the rest of their competitors are still zagging with Sports.

HAVING FUN WITH GDPR:  Finally today, you know I love a good Programmatic cartoon as much as anyone (weird, I know), so this one from AdExchanger caught my eye.  It speaks to the new GDPR regulations which are about to be implemented in the European Union, and the problems this will create for marketers, publishers, networks, and AdTechers.  (If you’re asking “WTF is GDPR and could it happen here?” right now, check out my DG blog post from a few weeks ago for an explanation.)  My only question on this issue . . . wasn’t all this technology supposed to make it easier to do our jobs?!?

Have a great Tuesday guys!