WPP

The founders of six AI startups offer insights on the founding journey and what problems their companies are solving.

Inside Coca-Cola’s pivot from TV advertising to influencer marketing; Netflix inks another exclusive video podcast deal with iHeartMedia; and Madison & Wall predicts slow US ad spend growth in 2026.

Generative AI is the new ad land obsession: a shiny promise of a fully autonomous world of self-driving advertising.  But behind the hype lies the costly delusion that automation can replace judgment and more content somehow means better marketing. We’ve entered the age of machine-made abundance, where content can be generated faster than it can […]

A former exec sues WPP over an alleged retaliatory firing; Jolt acquires Volta Media from Shell; and AI defamation litigation is on the rise.

Meta is profiting from fraudulent ads; LLMs are taking advantage of SaaS pricing policies; and agencies aren’t going under… yet.

WPP aims to turn around faster; YouTube TV tips the carriage deal market; and Roblox takes its time on video ads.

WPP puts AI tools in the hands of brands; YouTube’s dynamic sponsored segments could redefine creator monetization; and Hollywood is getting into “microdramas.”

Delivery apps are launching social networks now; Google is the latest Big Tech company to write a huge check to Trump; and ad agencies of all sizes apparently aren’t big enough.

Why is Publicis still winning?; The Dollar Shave Club gets into influencer marketing; and publishers are tossing their cultural critics aside.

Dentsu might sell its overseas business; a Prebid update worries the buy side; and Washington State imposes a new ad tax.

Walmart has some new rules for third-party sellers; WPP wins Mastercard; and marketers should get into VTubers.

AI Overviews are even dinging Google Search ads’ traffic; WPP downgrades its earnings forecast; and Google’s AI competitors launch their own web browsers.

Have agency holdcos put too many eggs in the AI basket?; Temu has come back to us now at the turn of the tariff tide; and Cloudflare wants to help sites from getting scraped.

Open Intelligence is WPP’s Media’s new solution to help advertisers make sense of their data and use it in more ways, with a longer-term goal of decentralizing data.

For proof of the uncertainty facing marketers in 2025, look no further than the industry’s ping-ponging projections for ad spending. WPP Media’s revised forecast is just the most recent example.

Mark Read is exiting WPP at the end of the year; the CEO of DeepMind is important, we swear; Google’s major SEO swings have changed the game.

Sports sponsorships can play well for small brands; Perplexity was first to AI search ads, but advertisers waited for Google; and GroupM officially rebrands to WPP Media.

WPP’s GroupM is getting a new name; there’s no such thing as a TikTok ban at NewFronts; and Meta’s ad growth prospects might be plateauing.

Etsy sellers aren’t feeling great about the US tariff situation. Plus, X’s data licensing and subscription revenue is increasing.

WPP has bought InfoSum, a data clean room and collaboration startup. Terms of the deal, announced on Thursday, were not disclosed.

The process of setting up curated private marketplaces for bespoke audiences and vetting what inventory gets included can be incredibly time-consuming for agency teams.

Getting dozens of ad agency partners around the world to work together is like herding cats – but Colgate-Palmolive was able to do it.

Sonos’s woes ding The Trade Desk; WPP’s AI investments may not keep Coke from switching to Publicis; and feminized Swedish tobacco products find an audience in the US manosphere.

Pinterest is being overrun with low-effort generative AI slop. Plus, Stagwell partially credits its 14% growth last year to – you guessed it – AI.

WPP shares dipped to a four-year low on after posting its 2024 earnings results. Plus: How brands are courting virality.

Enjoy this weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … 

DirecTV expanded its stake in addressable TV ad platform Invidi on Wednesday. It’s now the majority owner.

Mohegan and LiveRamp partner on a “casino media network;” Criteo hires its new CEO from the agency side; and Publicis Groupe consolidates

IPG buying Node continues the trend of agencies trying new business models; IPG and Publicis support principal-based buying while WPP opposes it; and billionaire owners believe controlling their newsrooms will win back public trust.

Mediaocean has a new certified partner program. Plus, Google’s “site reputation abuse” search update is cratering publisher affiliate revenue during the year’s busiest shopping season.