Big isn’t necessarily beautiful
Remember when it seemed like size was everything? That was the thinking a few years ago when telcos AT&T and to a lesser extent, Verizon, proclaimed their plans to become advertising and media juggernauts.
Recently, there have been reports suggesting AT&T is giving up on all this by looking to sell parts of all those businesses.
If that seems fast, a lot has changed since AT&T made the first of these acquisitions, DirecTV, in 2014, followed by AppNexus and what’s now WarnerMedia. Consider:
- Amazon has swooped in to become the No. 3 seller of digital advertising, behind Google and Facebook, leaving everyone else in its dust.
- Cord-cutting has accelerated, to the detriment of DirecTV, and entertainment viewing is increasingly happening on streaming services like Netflix and Hulu where traditional ads are less obtrusive or nonexistent.
- Media companies that are diversified beyond ads have become more valuable. It’s why publications like BuzzFeed are leaning into commerce and investors are plowing money into companies like TuneIn that put podcasts behind a paywall and subscription-based The Juggernaut over media companies that are one-trick (advertising) ponies. And it’s why ad giants like Omnicom are seeking deals with the likes of Netflix and Amazon.
The Netflix way
Netflix’s Reed Hastings’ media blitz gave us much to contemplate (and cringe at) over Labor Day weekend. The company that helped addict us to our screens is full of unorthodox practices like radical transparency around performance evaluations and eschewing performance bonuses.
Ashley Rodriguez broke down the thinking behind the emails that are send to the company when someone is fired and how it was informed by his experience with marriage counseling.
The people running Edelman
As PR firms go, Edelman is a class of its own, as the biggest by revenue and an independent in an industry otherwise dominated by ad holding company-owned firms.
As an independent, Edelman can plot its strategy without being beholden to quarterly earnings deadlines. And as Sean Czarnecki reported, it’s hired top execs from firms like Leo Burnett, Wunderman Thompson, and Chevron as it places big bets on taking share from advertising agencies, proving PR’s ROI for clients, and CEO’s growing need for crisis help.
