| | Media Buyer & Planner Today | | | | | | | | | #1 Sorrell Steps Down as WPP CEO | | Martin Sorrell, 73, who has led agency holding company WPP since 1986 resigned abruptly on Saturday amid an investigation into his activities by the company's board. Mark Read, who is CEO of WPP agency Wunderman, and Andrew Scott, WPP's corporate development director and CEO for Europe, will fill a joint roll as WPP CEOs, at least in the short-term, according to multiple reports. Sorrell issued a lengthy statement, summarizing his accomplishments, including creating media agency GroupM. Reed, who joined Wunderman in 2015 has been one of those rumored to be a successor to Sorrell, prior to his resignation. | | WHY THIS MATTERS: WPP is the world's largest agency holding company with revenue of about $19.7 billion and 134,000 employees worldwide, so this is a major position that is being vacated. But WPP's revenue and earnings have been on the decline in recent years as agencies have faced competition from consultancies moving into their area of business, and also from clients who are moving agency roles into their own companies. But Sorrell's departure will be felt by WPP. Tom Denford, co-founder of media consultancy ID Comms, says Sorrells exit leaves a gap at the top of WPP and also within the ad industry. "He has been the de facto leader of the industry for years," Denford says. During testy times, "he was a calm, rational voice for an emotional industry." | | Three Takes: Campaign | WSJ | B&C | | | | #2 Macy's Launches Media Review | | The financially-troubled retail giant recently put its U.S. media planning and buying up for review, Adweek reports. Incumbent media agency is Dentsu Aegis' Carat and Macy's says the review is "part of its normal practice to review agencies after five years." BBDO New York is creative agency for Macy's and is not involved in the review. Carat has handled media for Macy's since 2012 when it beat out MEC, Starcom, Initiative and Razorfish in a review. | | WHY THIS MATTERS: Macy's is a sizable ad spender, having allocated almost $500 million on U.S. advertising last year, according to Kantar Media. A Macy's spokesperson said the review was not triggered by dissatisfaction with Carat which he called a "valued partner of Macy's." | | A Take: Adweek | | | | #3 Local Stations Turn to Live Streaming | | Local TV stations are increasingly turning to live streaming of local news and sports as a way to reach millennials and to bring in additional ad revenue, Adweek reports. When the Major League Soccer season kicked off last month, Real Salt Lake fans were able to watch their team in Dallas via local NBC affiliate KSL-TV's new app, RSL on KSL which livestreamed the matchup. The free, ad-supported app will carry more than 90 live matches on the station's OTT platform. In Atlanta, WXIA-TV has published investigative, episodic video stories on its website before airing them on TV. And in Tyler, Texas, KLTV livestreams its content all day in tandem with traditional broadcasts. TV stations can also livestream via multi-platform OTT services for content like their local newscasts. Or, like within Raycom, each station can livestream news via their own apps. | | WHY THIS MATTERS: Local stations, much like the national broadcasters, are realizing that they have to put content where viewers will see it. And younger viewers are watching less traditional TV. Says Joe Fiveash, senior VP of digital media and strategy at Raycom, "OTT is not going to be OTT as we presently know it five years from now. It's just going to be television." | | A Take: Adweek | |
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| | 30 | | Dollars in billions that tech vendors made on $64.4 billion spent on programmatic advertising worldwide last year, according to Magna Global data analyzed by marketing intelligence company Warc. The "tech tax" accounted for 55% of all programmatic spend, Warc says. | – Reported by eMarketer
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| | CBS Wins With Country Music Awards | by Michael Malone
CBS took the prime ratings crown Sunday, as the Academy of Country Music Awards led the net to a 1.8 rating in viewers 18-49, and a 7 share. ABC was second at 1.4/5.
60 Minutes lost 27% for a 1.1 on CBS, then the ACM Awards did a 2.1, same as last year.
On ABC, America's Funniest Home Videos grew 33% to 1.2 and American Idol dropped 13% to 1.3. ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopolous' sit-down with James Comey did a 1.7.
Fox did a 0.7/3, as Bob's Burgers scored a flat 0.8 and The Simpsons went up 11% to 1.0, then Brooklyn Nine-Nine did a 0.9 and a second episode a 0.7. Last week's Brooklyn rated a 0.8. The Last Man on Earth lost 14% for a 0.6.
NBC had a 0.6/2. Dateline was good for a flat 0.6 and Little Big Shots and Genius Junior a 0.7. Little Big Shots lost 22% while Genius Junior was flat. Timeless fell 17% to 0.5.
Univision rated a 0.5/2 and Telemundo a 0.4/.2. | |
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| • LAURA FORMAN was named executive director of brand strategy at MDC Partners Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal. She was previously a group planning director at Ogilvy. According to an Adweek Agency Spy report, she founded her own strategy boutique, Forthought, and also served as VP and an account planner for Deutsch LA, as a planning director for Fallon, and as an account planner at Goodby Silverstein & Partners.
• DAVID KRUPP was named chief executive officer and partner at independent out-of-home agency Billups. He was most recently CEO at another out-of-home agency, WPP's Kinetic North America. In total Krupp spent more than 12 years at Kinetic, including a stint as president of Kinetic U.S. Prior to that he was an associate media director at Starcom.
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