Kendra Barnett’s Post

NEW for The Drum: X, née Twitter, is filling the role of global head of marketing for the first time since Leslie Berland's departure in 2022 following Musk's $44bn takeover. Angela Zepeda, who most recently served as CMO of Hyundai Motor Company (현대자동차), will take the post, according to an announcement from Linda Yaccarino today. With ad revenues and user engagement sliding, Zepeda steps into the role at a critical moment for the social platform. #x #twitter #social #socialmedia #marketing #advertising #platforms #media #adspend #adrevenue #app #digitalmedia #digital #tech #technews

Media experts expect to see a technological overhaul at Paramount Global, following its merger with Skydance Media, which is expected to be completed in 2025. Key elements of this transformation may include advancements in gaming, software and AI-driven personalization, as well as a revamp of Paramount+, complete with new advertising offerings. And while David Ellison will serve as CEO, it's his father, Oracle cofounder and chairman Larry Ellison who may be pulling the strings, as an FCC filing indicates that he's secured a controlling stake in the new venture. My analysis for The Drum: #media #entertainment #streaming #ctv #paramount #skydance #manda #merger #acquisition #digitalmedia #advertising #digitalstreaming #digitalvideo #paramountplus #tech #technews #finance

Antitrust regulation doesn't sleep. Just three days before the U.S. Department of Justice faces off against Google in a Virginia courtroom over allegations that its adtech business violates competition law, the UK regulator Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has levied new antitrust charges against the tech titan today. The CMA alleges that Google leveraged its outsized role in the digital ads market to give unlawful preference to its own adtech products and services – particularly its ad exchange. My story for The Drum: #adtech #google #advertising #digitaladvertising #digital #digitalmedia #media #digitalads #programmatic #adexchange #ssp #dsp #mediabuying #mediaselling #mediaplanning #marketing #antitrust #competition #competitionlaw

Another week, another U.S. Department of Justice v. Google antitrust case headed to the courtroom! Following last month’s landmark ruling from a federal judge that Google illegally operated a monopoly in the online search market, the DOJ is set to face off against the tech titan again over another antitrust case, beginning Monday. And this case is even more of a doozy: the DOJ accuses Google of monopolizing ad servers, ad networks and ad exchanges, claiming that the company's practices have stifled competition, driven up costs for advertisers and hurt publishers along the way by hoovering up an ungodly share of ad revenues. The trial could potentially result in the breakup of Google's adtech business, with the DOJ seeking the divestiture of Google’s Ad Manager platform to restore competition in the market. Google denies the government's allegations, arguing that its products are interoperable with rivals' and beneficial to both advertisers and publishers. The case's outcome could have far-reaching implications for the infrastructure of the digital advertising landscape, competition in adtech and the future of digital publishing. Get up to speed with my overview of the case for The Drum, which spells out the DOJ's allegations, the arguments we can expect each side to make, and key predictions from top antitrust and adtech experts (like former DOJ antitrust attorney and Federal Trade Commission vet John Newman, Cornell University law prof and director of competition policy research Dr. Erik Hovenkamp, adtech oracle and Mobile Dev Memo analyst Eric Seufert and Check My Ads Institute director of intelligence Arielle Garcia). Grab your popcorn. #antitrust #competitionlaw #adtech #google #doj #antitrustlaw #competition #tech #technews #media #digitalmedia #digitaladvertising #advertising #mediabuying #dsp #ssp #digitalpublishing #digitalmarketing #marketing #techpolicy

NEW from me for The Drum: Political ad spend during the 2024 election cycle is set to reach up to $12bn, shattering previous records. More dollars are going into digital, with major investments in CTV and streaming in particular – channels that are proving attractive for low CPMs and strong audience targeting capabilities. Nonetheless, linear TV remains king in the political ring. But the influx of political spend in the media ecosystem may inflate inventory costs, ultimately causing a ripple effect in the world of brand advertising. Story includes commentary from: EMARKETER's Jeremy Goldman; Assembly Global's Tyler Goldberg; and VML's Jennifer Kohl #politicalads #campaignspending #politicaladvertising #politicalcampaign #2024election #marketing #advertising #digital #digitaladvertising #ctv #tv #socialmedia #media #trumpvance2024 #harriswalz2024 #uselection #harris #trump

NEW for The Drum: Manipulated images of Kamala Harris and Taylor Swift shared on social media by Donald Trump toe the line between satire and misinformation, experts suggest, reigniting debate about how platforms should police doctored and AI-generated political content. My analysis below. Includes commentary from Henry Ajder, Shawn DuBravac, PhD, CFA and Laurel Aynne Cook #ai #artificialintelligence #media #syntheticmedia #manipulatedmedia #deepfake #deepfakes #politics #election #uselection #2024election #politicalmedia #politicaladvertising #misinformation #disinformation #fakenews #advertising #marketing #digital #socialmedia #brandsafety

NEW for The Drum: SAG-AFTRA has struck a deal with AI startup Narrativ for the digital reproduction of actors' voices in audio ads. The arrangement includes consent requirements and two-year caps on licenses. Plus, actors can negotiate their own fees. The agreement, some experts say, sets a new precedent for the ethical deployment of AI in the digital advertising space. My analysis below. Featuring commentary from: Narrativ co-founder Benjamin Gottdiener; technologist Shawn DuBravac, PhD, CFA; Waymark CEO Alex Persky-Stern #audio #ai #artificialintelligence #advertising #media #digitalmedia #genai #generativeai #aiaudio #aivideo #aimedia #voice #voiceacting #acting #sagaftra #hollywood #entertainment #content

NEW from me for The Drum: Trump rejoined X in a major way on Monday, not only posting a series of campaign ads but also joining owner Elon Musk for a two-hour live-streamed (and glitch-ridden) interview on the app. But as the platform's war with advertisers reaches a fever pitch – with the company levying a new lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) – will the former president's return repel ad spend further? Ad industry leaders are divided. Full story below, with commentary from Hooligans (part of K Logic Group)'s Tim Lim; Stagwell's David Sable and Check My Ads Institute's Arielle Garcia. #brandsafety #brandsuitability #contentmoderation #brand #advertising #marketing #digitaladvertising #twitter #x #platforms #media #digitalmedia #trump #politics #biden #kamala

We'll be live in 10 min here on LinkedIn Live, discussing the growing value of video in B2B marketing. Tune in at 10 am ET for a lively conversation with LinkedIn's Penry Price, Merkle's Sonya Hand, Initiative's Kandace B.: #B2B #B2Bmarketing #B2Badvertising #digitalvideo #videoadvertising #ctv #ott #streaming #digitalmedia