The Media Leader Podcast

As TikTok continues to develop what it says is a full-funnel advertising solution, such as through increased commerce capabilities, how it measures its advertising and drives effectiveness becomes increasingly important to marketers.TikTok’s head of client measurement for Europe, Israel and global gaming, Steve Lockwood, joins Jack Benjamin to discuss the company's approach to measurement and how the industry needs to rethink the practice for the contemporary era.Lockwood reveals, for example, why he has soured on last-click attribution and explains what new measurement standards need to be considered in the post-cookie future. The pair also discuss TikTok’s ongoing research into attention measurement and how the platform is working to collaborate on cross-media measurement initiatives like Project Origin in the UK.Highlights5:57: Why TikTok views itself as an entertainment platform more than a traditional social platform8:21: Why last-click attribution is an outdated model for measurement and what a better model is19:57: Where does attention measurement come into play for TikTok, given its short-form focus?24:36: How much TikTok is like TV from a user perspective and a measurement perspective29:05: TikTok as a true full-funnel offering---This episode was edited by our production partner Trisonic.Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderThreads: @TheMediaLeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader

Former prime minister Gordon Brown, culture secretary Lucy Frazer, shadow culture minister Chris Bryant and Ofcom chair Lord Grade had lots to tell the UK media and advertising industry at the LEAD 2024 conference on 8 February.But what do senior industry professionals really think of what they heard from the politicians and what will likely happen next?Omar Oakes and Jack Benjamin discuss conference highlights from the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London and get instant reactions from Thinkbox CEO Lindsey Clay, IPA effectiveness director Laurence Green, UM chief strategy officer Enyi Nwosu, IPA research director Belinda Beeftink, and ITV's business development director Jason Spencer. Excuse the audio quality being less than perfect amid the hubbub!With thanks to the conference hosts: the Advertising Association, the IPA and Isba.---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderThreads: @TheMediaLeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader

Columnist Nicola Kemp joins host Jack Benjamin, editor-in-chief Omar Oakes and reporter Ella Sagar to unpack earnings results from swathes of Big Tech companies, including Meta, Amazon, Google, Spotify and Snap.The group discusses the big winners of earnings season and whether media has become too concentrated in fewer, more dominant players. As US senators ponder regulation of social media, Kemp and Oakes consider moral and business arguments for doing so."We have this huge existential crisis as an industry in terms of what we are actually doing to adequately police these [social media] platforms, because clearly what we're doing is not enough, particularly when it comes to the impact on children's mental health," said Kemp.Also mentioned: TikTok and Universal Music Group's fallout; Fox, Disney and Warner Bros Discovery's new live sports streaming service; what the latest Barb figures say about streaming growth; Apple Vision Pro's upsides and downsides; and whether Super Bowl ads matter as much as they used to.Highlights:5:13: Disney, Fox and Warner Bros Discovery's live sport offering7:27: Meta's impressive earnings and an "unprecedented moment" at last week's US Senate hearing14:10: Why Snap doesn't want to be considered "social media"18:30: Spotify's new non-exclusive podcast distribution strategy and growth in audiobooks23:23: Is Amazon more of an advertising company than a retailer?27:33: Does Google have a future-proof business model?31:10: Adspend is continuing to consolidate: is this healthy for the industry?34:50: Quick hits: Spotify takes aim at Apple; Apple Vision Pro reactions; TikTok and Universal Music Group's fallout; UK SVOD dips despite global uptick; Super Bowl Sunday.Note: During this episode there were two mentions of United Music Group. This was supposed to be Universal Music Group. ---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderThreads: @TheMediaLeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader

At The Year Ahead 2024, Charlene Williams, Pearl & Dean's group senior operations and business analyst, and member of our Future 100 Club, pleaded with industry leaders to renew their focus and care towards diversity, equity and inclusion. Was the message received?Williams discusses this on the podcast this week alongside host Jack Benjamin and special guest Sam Tidmarsh, Adwanted Events' head of conference production.The trio also delved into cinema's road to recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, how advertisers are leaning in to in-person events and experiences, and whether stay-at-home habits die hard when it comes to movies.Highlights:2:30: Why stagnating progress on DEI is leading to a talent exodus11:54: How are advertisers leaning in to the high-attention environment in cinemas?15:30: The slow but continuing post-pandemic box office recovery26:57: Impact of the writers' and actors' strikes on cinema this year31:50: Awards season predictions---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderThreads: @TheMediaLeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader

At last month's The Year Ahead 2024 event in London, media's current and future leaders convened to discuss what is likely to happen in 2024 and what they would like to happen over the course of the year.Editor-in-chief Omar Oakes and reporter Ella Sagar were on the scene to interview a number of delegates. One key question they asked was: if you could wave a magic wand, what would you do to improve the media industry in the year ahead?Responses varied greatly. Some called for a creativity renaissance, while others warned of the need to be better on sustainability and DEI practices.Interviewees included: TikTok UK general manager Kris Boger; UM London CEO Kara Osborne; Clear Channel UK managing director Richard Bon; Newsworks insight director Heather Dansie; Pearl & Dean group senior operations and business analyst Charlene Williams; Initiative chief digital officer Lauren Ogúndèkó; and Acast managing director, international, Megan Davies.---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderThreads: @TheMediaLeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader

The medium is the message. A well-known phrase in this industry, but how do you quantify how much that is true?Richard Kirk, joint chief strategy officer at EssenceMediacom, sat down with Ella Sagar to unpack what this means in practice through new research into "signal strength," which Kirk explained "is very likely to be an enduring thing that does not change much."Kirk also debunked some misconceptions about the correlation between time spent and actual cost of media with how special or trusted consumers perceive a media channel to be.Read Kirk's corresponding Strategy Leaders column: How to map media quality for physical and mental measuresHighlights01:04: What can we learn from God's agency brief?04:40: Signal strength and peacocks08:55: Four big findings13:09: Young people much more open to suggestion of advertising16:39: Two key ingredients for signal strength18:51: Communicating signal strength and outcomes to clients20:19: How to use signal strength in planning31:38: EssenceMediacom's eight "out there" 2024 predictions35:25: Why are you passionate about media?---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderThreads: @TheMediaLeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader

Columnist Nick Manning returns to the podcast alongside host Ella Sagar, editor-in-chief Omar Oakes and reporter Jack Benjamin to discuss the latest results from Netflix and why Omnicom's recent acquisition of Flywheel reflects the increasing importance of digital commerce and retail media.The group also looks at a number of recent industry reports, including last month's US Association of National Advertisers programmatic study, last week's IPA Bellwether Report and, out this week, the Advertising Association/Warc Expenditure Report and the IPA Agency Census.Highlights:0:40: Why Omnicom's acquisition of Flywheel could change the face of adland6:32: Is marketing a "bellwether" sector any more?12:29: Netflix's financials: where is growth coming from?21:36: ANA programmatic study shows staggering digital waste34:35: IPA Agency Census – nothing to write home about37:36: S4 Capital lowers forecasts38:50: BBC Mid-Term Review – reports of lack of trust in the organisation are overblown---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderThreads: @TheMediaLeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader

Like other social media companies, Reddit has made big changes over the past few years as it seeks to become a more attractive digital platform for advertisers. These include a redesign in 2018, changes to its API last summer and a broader focus on sharing video content. A subset of Reddit users has at times decried such changes, even as they make Reddit a more commercially viable platform.Much like TikTok and Pinterest, Reddit is billing itself as the place for communities to form online. The old saying goes that there is pretty much a subreddit for anything you could imagine, from the Premier League to celebrity gossip to global news. That also includes unseemly topics, for which Reddit tackles using volunteer community moderation.Reddit says it can offer opportunity for brands looking to reach audiences in ways that are often hard to find elsewhere. Gamers and tech enthusiasts, for example, go to the platform for news, product recommendations and crowd-sourced knowledge.Paul Peterman, Reddit’s senior managing director, large customer sales, North America, joined host Jack Benjamin to discuss the future of the platform, its usefulness to advertisers attempting to reach niche communities and whether changes made to please advertisers risk alienating its existing user base.“If traditional social media is people you know really well talking about things that you may not care that much about, then community is people that maybe you don’t know talking about things you care deeply about," said Peterman.Highlights3:22: Impressions of CES5:29: Why Reddit sees itself as a "community of communities" as opposed to a more traditional social media9:14: How should marketers target hard-to-reach audiences like gamers?18:01: The relationship between AI and Reddit communities20:48: Reddit's embracing of the ad community and its relationship with users23:31: Reddit's content moderation strategy27:10: The transitioning of social media from "me" to "we"---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderThreads: @TheMediaLeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader

Cass Naylor, strategic advisor at Purpose Union and co-director of advocacy at Outvertising, returns to the podcast alongside host Omar Oakes and reporters Ella Sagar and Jack Benjamin to unpack 2024 predictions in media and advertising and what was said by industry leaders at The Media Leader's annual Year Ahead event.They discuss their anxieties around AI-generated content spreading misinformation and disinformation during an election year, whether the ad market will remain strong throughout the year and why tech companies continue to lay off staff.The quartet also touch on the latest IPA Bellwether Report, the future of Kantar Media and the runaway success of Mr Bates vs The Post Office on ITV.A special shout-out to Ella, who featured on BBC Radio 4 this week to discuss Amazon Prime Video's new ad tier. Be sure to give her a listen.Highlights:10:29: Trepidation and frustration with AI-generated content14:36: What explains recent job cuts across the tech sector?16:37: How this year's elections and developments in AI will impact trust in media33:00: Gerry D'Angelo and Lindsay Clay want media to rediscover its sense of creativity35:47: IPA Bellwether's optimistic outlook for 202437:17: Netflix and Disney's CES announcements38:52: Will Kantar Media be sold?41:09: Does ITV's Mr Bates vs The Post Office prove we're underrating the power of TV?43:52: Future 100 Club pushes for progress on DEI and talent retention---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderThreads: @TheMediaLeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader

Cookies are deprecating on Google Chrome – finally – although they aren’t going away all at once. Just 1% of Chrome users have seen the cookieless future so far, with more to come over the next year.In response, many media agencies, media owners, publishers, adtech companies and, well, just about everyone wise in the digital media industry have been hard at work creating new advertising solutions to allow marketers to target consumers online without infringing on their privacy.One such company is Havas Media, which earlier this month announced a relaunch of its Converged platform that can act as an AI-powered solution for transparent, cross-platform media planning.Host Jack Benjamin sat down with Havas Media Group’s chief data and product officer, Laura Kell, to talk about Converged, life after cookies, data privacy and what she thinks of the current media agency model."When you look at what the cookie actually delivers, it delivers short-term media metrics to track performance against and it delivers quite short-term targeting options," Kell explained. "I don't believe these are the ways brands actually grow their business."You need to properly understand people, not just look at what [they're] doing online and the websites they go to."Highlights2:03: What advertisers need to know about where we are in the process of cookie deprecation5:58: Do cookies deliver effective media results?7:33: Havas' relaunch of Converged as a post-cookie product15:35: The value of first-party data in a cookieless future23:50: How should media agencies adapt to better fit their clients' needs?---Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media. LinkedIn: The Media LeaderThreads: @TheMediaLeaderTwitter: @TheMediaLeader YouTube: The Media Leader