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Deep Dive

Deep Dive 19 Mar 2024 - 12 min read
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Meta’s News Media Bargaining Code rug-pull lit up the media sector and has government, regulatory and lobbyist wheels belatedly spinning. Upwards of $70m in publisher cash is about to evaporate, leaving Google the only game in town for an already stressed news media sector. Smaller publishers fear Meta pulling news from its feeds in Australia – as it did when Canada attempted to strong-arm the social media giant into paying news publishers – will lead to potentially existential audience and revenue hits. Not to mention a "bin fire" of disinformation. And there could be widespread carnage if the Federal Treasurer ‘designates’ Meta, as is probable, forcing the tech giant into an independent arbitration process which by law means it will have to pay what the arbitrator rules between one of two fixed bids from Meta and media companies. And it would likely have to pay more media companies. Some argue Meta’s concerns for Australian designation means it will set international precedent for other countries to hunt billions more for news media – triggering a full-scale exit of Facebook and Instagram in Australia rather than pay and kick-start a costly global movement. That could cause chaos for small businesses – and the economy. News Corp chief Michael Miller, Nine publishing boss Tory Maguire, Private Media CEO Will Hayward, Capital Brief chief Chris Janz and the co-architect of the news media bargaining code, former comms minister Paul Fletcher, unpack where Australia heads next.

Deep Dive 26 Feb 2024 - 10 min read
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When it comes to principal-based media trading, AKA arbitrage, “we can argue about the pros and cons but collectively [marketers] are saying that they kind of accept, if not sometimes prefer, that model,” says Madison and Wall founder and one-time WPP global business intelligence chief Brian Wieser. It’s no coincidence that two of the “most aggressive” proponents of buying ad inventory from media owners and on-selling it to clients with handsome markups saw their respective media businesses notch double-digit growth in 2023. Publicis and Omnicom also have the most bullish growth forecasts for 2024. Yet their broader business strategies and models are almost polar opposites and Wieser sees a structural fault line widening across the major holdcos – unified businesses that sideline individual agency brands at Publicis and Dentsu versus traditional multi-brand models at WPP, IPG and Omnicom. Both can work, says Wieser, but he thinks those with fewer silos are “more likely to thrive” and suggests very few marketers still care about conflict, one of the original reasons for holdcos running lots of agencies. Dentsu is tracking closer to Publicis on consolidation but the Japanese firm hasn’t executed like the French. One positive for Dentsu, per Wieser, is “it’s hard to imagine it getting any worse”. Regardless of model, he sees a single key differentiator in determining holdco winners as IT services firms streak ahead and the big platforms use generative AI to eat further into agency turf: Investment ambition, or lack thereof.

Deep Dive 20 Feb 2024 - 8 min read
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Deep Dive 15 Feb 2024 - 10 min read
 
Deep Dive 12 Feb 2024 - 10 min read
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Deep Dive 6 Feb 2024 - 12 min read
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Deep Dive 29 Jan 2024 - 10 min read
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Deep Dive 22 Jan 2024 - 8 min read
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It’s taken a couple of years, but the LinkedIn-backed B2B Institute’s mission to flip business-to-business marketing’s focus from performance to brand building – encapsulated by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute penned 95:5 rule – is starting to land, crucially in the boardroom and exec leadership echelons. LinkedIn’s polling of B2B CMOs and CFOs suggests most are planning to spend more on brand this year and are beginning to grasp that rational, product-focused messaging doesn’t cut it. The likes of MYOB, Canva and MailChimp are setting the creative standard, reckons LinkedIn’s Global VP of Customer Science and B2B Institute Global Head, Melissa Furze. But there’s still a long way to go, as Adobe’s APAC and Japan VP of Digital Experience Marketing, Duncan Egan will attest. Adobe, he admits, is challenged with brand awareness – or more accurately, category awareness, when it comes to being known as a CX company versus its Photoshop legacy. He’s hoping to change that with a full-funnel push – and convince the sales-focused short-termists that brand both fuels demand and ultimately speeds conversion.

Deep Dive 14 Dec 2023 - 10 min read
 
Deep Dive 5 Dec 2023 - 10 min read
 
Deep Dive 5 Dec 2023 - 8 min read
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Deep Dive 30 Nov 2023 - 10 min read
 
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