In the midst of the rapid advancements in generative artificial intelligence, Adweek’s weekly AI summary provides an overview of the most recent updates, regulatory activities and business developments in the world of generative AI.

On the policy side

On Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden is set to sign a comprehensive directive on AI to limit its risk, per Bloomberg. The White House is hosting an event on “secure, safe and trustworthy” artificial intelligence on Monday, with the participation of certain tech industry executives. The forthcoming executive order will likely introduce policies mandating assessments for AI models before federal agencies can use them to streamline visa requirements for overseas technology workers, the Washington Post reported earlier this week.

On the tech side

Microsoft’s investments in generative AI have begun to yield revenue, per its latest quarterly earnings. While Microsoft initially informed investors that its AI investments wouldn’t yield significant outcomes until 2024, following the broader availability of its products, The New York Times reported that the company shared that three percentage points of Azure’s growth could be attributed to generative AI products, including Microsoft’s access to OpenAI’s GPT-4 language model.

In contrast, Google parent company Alphabet’s shares experienced its most significant decline at 9.5% since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, primarily due to Google Cloud unit’s revenue falling short of analyst expectations, per CNBC report. Meanwhile, during the earnings call, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that ads will remain integral to its generative AI-powered Search experience. “I think with the AI work, there are subscription models as a possible path as well,” he added. Responding to a question about Performance Max, Google’s chief business officer, Philipp Schindler said, “It’s delivering outstanding ROI,” and advertisers are, on average, seeing over 18% more conversions at a similar cost per action. 

Regarding investment priorities, AI will take the forefront for Meta in 2024, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on the earnings call this week. The investments constitute both engineering and computer resources, he said. Meanwhile, Meta’s augmented and virtual reality division, Reality Labs, saw an operating loss of $3.74 billion for the quarter, per the earnings, totaling the company’s losses close to $25 billion since the beginning of last year. However, the company indicated that its initiatives to expand its product offerings in the AR/VR space will increase Reality Labs’ operating losses “meaningfully year over year.” 

Forbes gives journalism a generative AI lift with Adelaide, its news search tool using Google Cloud, the publisher announced yesterday. “The launch makes Forbes one of the first major news publishers to provide personalized, relevant news content recommendations for its global readers leveraging generative AI,” the publisher said in a statement. Adelaide is trained on Forbes stories but only news covered in the last 12 months. 

AMC is bringing new capabilities to linear TV advertising.

Today, AMC Networks announced programmatic ad buying across three of its linear networks following a successful pilot in September. Beginning this month, programmatic buying is live and operational on all programming on AMC, WE tv and BBC America.

The offering, which launches in partnership with FreeWheel, The Trade Desk and Canoe Ventures, allows advertisers to purchase linear and digital ad inventory in one unified campaign using existing programmatic buying platforms. According to the company, this creates better management of reach and frequency while also opening up new incremental linear audiences for advertisers who were previously digital only.

L’Oréal, working with agency Omnicom Group, participated in the pilot program as the first national advertiser to purchase ads programmatically.

“We were excited to be the first brand to pilot this important advancement in how TV advertising is purchased, which aligns well with our interest in automation and efficiency and being able to buy all forms of inventory together as part of the same process,” Shenan Reed, senior vp and head of media at L’Oréal USA, said in a statement.

The Trade Desk and AMC Networks also ran promo campaigns during the pilot in September, with AMC’s promos focusing on The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon and the company’s annual FearFest programming event.

“Programmatic buying offers enhanced targeting, greater efficiency and has been the preferred way to transact on digital platforms for years, but until now has never been possible for national linear television commercials,” Evan Adlman, executive vice president of commercial sales and revenue operations for AMC Networks, said. “During this pilot, we were able to deliver seven distinct creative executions to viewers simultaneously as part of the same national linear commercial slot, through a real-time biddable process.”

AMC Networks stepped up its efforts in addressable in 2022, bringing the offering to linear TV, starting with the final season of The Walking Dead. Today, the company sells addressable spots in every hour of its live linear and VOD inventory across AMC, WE tv and BBC America.

“This innovation brings together two extremely timely advertising technologies to help advertisers reach and engage with current and prospective audiences: programmatic ad buying and addressable TV advertising,” Mark McKee, general manager, FreeWheel, said, noting the offering brings “greater control, automation and efficiency in the overall TV ad buying process.”

The announcement is just AMC Networks’ latest ad-related rollout, with the company launching its ad-supported version of AMC+ in September.

Keith Dawkins’ journey from a small New Jersey town to the helm of the Harlem Globetrotters and Herschend Entertainment Studios is a story of transformation and vision. His forward-thinking approach to marketing and leadership is reinvigorating this iconic brand, propelling it into the 21st century.

In a new episode of Marketing Vanguard, Dawkins talks about how he’s continuing to inspire change and innovation with the iconic basketball team.

Listen in to hear more about how as President, Keith is continuing to push the brand into new markets while resonating with broader audiences.

Stream the new episode below and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or find it on Spotify.

In 2022, Booking.com showed up at the Super Bowl for the first time with a spot starring Idris Elba. It booked a second ticket to the Big Game in 2023, making a comeback with actress and producer Melissa McCarthy.

For Natalie Wills, vp of brand at Booking.com, these star-studded multi-channel campaigns are emblematic of how the travel giant is increasingly walking the line between brand building and performance marketing.

“Historically, we’ve been quite a performance-led organization, but in the last couple of years, we’ve really been delving into brand,” she explained during a panel hosted by Adweek at Social Media Europe.

She added: “In markets where our brand is stronger, our performance campaigns deliver better results.”

Designing content for every platform

“Somewhere, Anywhere,” blended both. It didn’t just air at the Super Bowl. It ran in the U.S. and across Europe, where McCarthy’s voice was dubbed in 15 different languages and recorded audio for a host of different 15- and 30-second commercials that ran on streaming platforms, online and social.

Booking.com’s preferred partner for social, YouTube, is playing a huge role in helping the brand scale these kinds of campaigns. It’s not just selling the brand ad space, though. The Alphabet-owned video giant is working with Wills’ team from a creative perspective, helping tailor content to make it as efficient as possible.

It’s an approach that is helping Booking.com’s marketing spend work harder, said Wills, and it’s opening up new ways of working, including collaborations with influencers and creators.

“We need to make sure we’re designing content for every platform. If you’re making a traditional ad, it can be difficult to get the plethora of content you need for every different channel,” she said.

“That’s why the creator space is exciting. Yes, as a brand, you have to relinquish control and scale content to lots of different channels, but it’s going to perform better long term,” she continued.

Booking.com is now testing ads across YouTube’s TikTok rival Shorts, including a recent Eurovision campaign starring former winner Conchita Wurst.

Next, Wills is testing connected TV advertising on the platform, as YouTube’s data showing 45% of viewers are watching via their TVs.

“That’s a huge consumer trend of people watching Shorts. There’s a lot of potential there,” said Google senior industry manager Abi Akakpo.

You can find insights and exclusives from Social Media Week Europe here.
 

In a recent interview at Brandweek, Mayur Gupta, CMO of Kraken, shared his unique journey and perspectives on the role of marketing leadership in driving business growth. Gupta’s background as an engineer has provided him with a valuable systems thinking approach to marketing, allowing him to navigate the complex landscape where technology, data, and creativity converge.

In a candid conversation, Gupta emphasized the importance of balancing short-term impact and long-term brand building, stating, “The resilient brands are the ones that truly believe in the serendipity and irrationality of marketing.”

Gupta also shed light on Kraken’s mission-driven approach, exemplified by their recent partnership with Williams Racing in Formula 1, where they used prime real estate on the racing cars to educate the world about the potential of cryptocurrency. He explained, “We are founded by two incredible co-founders who are literally crypto OGs … we needed a platform to reach hundreds of millions of people around the world to educate them about the substance of crypto, not just the volatility.”

Listen to this episode to hear how Gupta is showcasing the dynamic and mission-driven nature of marketing leadership in the crypto industry.

Stream the new episode below, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or find it on Spotify.

In this captivating interview, Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer and president of healthcare business at Mastercard, shares his remarkable journey from a background in chemical engineering to becoming a marketing visionary.

Rajamannar’s passion for learning is deeply ingrained in his DNA, dating back to his childhood. He follows a routine that has become a cornerstone of his life: dedicating at least five and a half hours every weekend to pure, uninterrupted learning. This commitment, he explains, is his form of self-indulgence—a testament to his unwavering dedication to personal growth.

Listen to this episode to discover how Rajamannar’s commitment to learning and innovation has shaped his career and the marketing industry as a whole.

Stream the new episode below, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or find it on Spotify.

Reach the right audiences in the right moments with Amazon Ads. With a wide range of owned channels and creative ad formats, Amazon Ads helps brands seamlessly deliver innovative, immersive ad experiences for brand marketing, performance, and everything in between. From streaming to shopping to gaming and beyond, connect with consumers in the places they love to be. Learn more.

After being on strike since May 2, Hollywood writers have a contract to return to work.

Following 5 days of negotiations the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers(AMPTP) released a surprising joint statement late last week that progress was being made. Sunday night came the news that a deal had been reached.

“What we have won in this contract — most particularly, everything we have gained since May 2nd — is due to the willingness of this membership to exercise its power, to demonstrate its solidarity, to walk side-by-side, to endure the pain and uncertainty of the past 146 days,” a WGA rep wrote in a note to members.

The impasse focused on issues such as pay, the size of writers’ rooms, AI and royalties and residuals. The AMPTP and the WGA have frequently been at odds, often jostling in the media. The recent talks, which included studio heads including Disney CEO Bob Iger and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, had both sides looking to make a deal.

Guild members will still need to vote to accept the deal, which includes most of the demands—including increased royalty payments for streaming content, and protections against AI. Final details will not be released for several days.

Not long after the Writers went on strike, the actors’ main union, the Screen Actors Guild of America, joined the WGA on the picket line. Negotiations between actors and producers are still ongoing.

How we got here

Talks resumed Wednesday between the WGA and the studios following nearly a month of silence. Conversations had been ongoing since then.

Following Hollywood’s strikes, the entertainment industry screeched to a halt, with actors and writers refraining from promoting their work and projects continually being pushed. Several movies were moved to 2024 and major productions, including the Emmys, were delayed for months.

The lack of new scripted projects also wreaked havoc on fall TV schedules, with several networks making last-minute changes, leaning into reality programming and repackaging existing cable shows, such as Yellowstone, by giving them broadcast debuts. Meanwhile, the programs that tried to come back without writers, including talk shows hosted by Bill Maher and Drew Barrymore, were ultimately delayed again after receiving the ire of picketers and backlash online.

“I am grateful that the two sides have come together to reach an agreement that benefits all parties involved, and can put a major piece of California’s economy back to work,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement.

Addressing ads

The overall impact on advertising also remains to be seen.

Buyers previously told Adweek the strikes didn’t affect TV upfront talks dollar-wise, with sports and unscripted content expected to take the bulk of the viewership for fall.

However, in an Innovid survey in August, 72.8% of brand and agency professionals acknowledged that the writers and actors strikes would impact their advertising plans, with 45% saying that they planned to diversify their inventory and media channels and another 16% saying they would decrease their budgets.

For now, Q1 content is still up in the air. After all, productions take months to put together and make it to consumers’ screens. So even with a deal nearly done, this story is to be continued.

In a candid conversation with Fernando Machado, the CMO of NotCo, we delve into the remarkable journey that led him from the shop floor of a factory to the forefront of marketing innovation. Machado shares his unique career trajectory, insights into the power of AI in the food industry, and the importance of responsible marketing.

Listen to this episode to hear how Fernando Machado’s career path from engineering to marketing innovation exemplifies the importance of embracing diverse perspectives and using technology like AI to drive positive change.

Stream the new episode below, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or find it on Spotify.

Reach the right audiences in the right moments with Amazon Ads. With a wide range of owned channels and creative ad formats, Amazon Ads helps brands seamlessly deliver innovative, immersive ad experiences for brand marketing, performance, and everything in between. From streaming to shopping to gaming and beyond, connect with consumers in the places they love to be. Learn more.

Hours ahead of the first Monday Night Football game of the season last week, Disney and Charter ended a carriage dispute that restored ESPN to nearly 15 million cable television customers. Prior to the agreement, headlines proclaimed the deal between the two companies would change TV forever.

That didn’t quite happen.

Both sides made concessions, with the deal guaranteeing Disney its more than $2 billion in carriage fees as channels such as ESPN, ABC and FX were restored. For its part, Charter received the chance to offer various Disney streaming services alongside some of its Spectrum cable plans. However, rather than Charter ultimately walking away from Disney or the House of Mouse implementing an innovative streaming bundle strategy, the results weren’t necessarily the “transformative” agreement that was promised.

“It certainly puts to rest the current hand-wringing over what this means in the bigger picture,” Paul Verna, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence, told Adweek, adding, “I think it just accentuates the urgency that everyone has to try to make a profitable transition to digital.”

According to Verna, the deal doesn’t change the underlying issues in the push to streaming.

Though media companies want to shift to OTT, monetization has proven difficult, making billions in carriage fees increasingly important, even if linear isn’t “core” to a company like Disney, as CEO Bob Iger infamously told CNBC. Meanwhile, the cable distributors don’t want to be in pay TV indefinitely either, as internet delivery is a more profitable alternative, but abandoning millions of customers is easier said than done, especially when you’re trying to get a piece of the streaming pie too.

“Those dynamics haven’t changed just because these companies walked to the edge of the cliff and walked back,” Verna said.

Walking to the edge of the carriage deal cliff involved a lot of sparring in the media, with Disney running ad pods directing consumers to Hulu as an alternative and Charter CEO Chris Winfrey proclaiming things like, “If we’re moving on, that’s OK.”

But all the talk was just talk, and TV advertisers and consumers were collateral damage.

‘Backup plans upon backup plans’

With the channel blackout between Charter and Disney taking place from Aug. 31 to Sept. 11, millions of consumers were stuck without access to major sporting events, including the U.S. Open and college football. Meanwhile, marketers were left wondering what would happen to their ads.

“Every client that had anything related to that blackout was asking the question of, ‘Well, what happens with that? What’s the backup plan?’” a media buyer told Adweek, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Further complicating the situation for advertisers, sports were thought to be a safeguard during the ongoing Hollywood strikes. But with blackouts threatening NFL games, marketers were resorting to “backup plans upon backup plans,” the buyer said. And, though there are always alternative ways into the market, considering things like YouTube TV’s sports offerings or even The CW adding ACC games, it seems those backup plans will be more important than ever moving forward.

“At a macro level, if you look at how big shifts in any sort of marketplace or consumer goods happen, this may have been less the thing that changed it forever and more like the real canary in the coal mine that indicates that there could be bigger changes coming,” according to the buyer.

Familiar change

But even with changes on the horizon, such as traditional cable bundles going away or new mix-and-match possibilities between streaming and linear, the TV landscape might look more familiar than previously thought.

For instance, Philip Inghelbrecht, CEO of Tatari, told Adweek that, whether Disney and Charter made a deal or not, carriage disputes are here to stay.

“Fast forward three, five years—in my opinion—we’re going to be in the exact same situation as we are today in terms of carriage deals,” Inghelbrecht said. “Instead of carriage fees for cable, it’s going to be streaming. Because when all these deals come up for renewal, all the networks need that money.”

Verna calls the future of the industry “a bit of a whack-a-mole game,” with more and more carriage disputes undoubtedly popping up. And though this deal didn’t change the TV landscape, it’s a prelude to the ones that will, with the analyst noting that change happens “slowly and then all at once.”

“It’s like a Jenga game where it looks solid, you pull some blocks off the top and that thing is still standing,” Verna said. “But at some point, one of the support blocks comes off, and the whole thing tumbles.”

Vinco Ventures, which was poised to acquire the tabloid the National Enquirer earlier this year, as well as its sister publications Globe, National Examiner and the National Enquirer U.K., has in recent months become embroiled in a saga so sensational that it could have been plucked from the pages of the Enquirer itself.

Vinco Ventures initially sought to acquire the celebrity gossip titles in February through a joint venture for $100 million.

But by July, the deal had fallen apart, and a series of internal power struggles, lawsuits and executive arrests—including the incarceration of its one-time co-CEO, former MoviePass chairman Ted Farnsworth—has since consumed Vinco Ventures. 

The resulting disarray has left the fate of the National Enquirer and its sister brands uncertain; they remain under the ownership of existing owners, a360 Media. The company did not respond to Adweek’s request for comment.

The dramatics surrounding the National Enquirer and its thwarted attempts to sell itself reflect both the challenging economics of digital media, as well as the bleak M&A landscape for the sector.

“The universe of buyers for digital media is smaller than it’s ever been, and the price of media assets has fallen dramatically,” said founder of The Rebooting Brian Morrissey. “When those factors come together, you open the door to an entirely new set of buyers.”

The almost-acquisition adds yet another salacious chapter to the story of the National Enquirer, whose last few years have been marked by controversy. 

In 2018, its parent company was fined by the Federal Election Commission over a 2016 “catch and kill” scheme related to former President Donald Trump. In 2019, a360 Media tried to sell the National Enquirer to magazine distributor James Cohen for $100 million, but the deal never closed.

Bankruptcy and lawsuits at Vinco Ventures

After abandoning its attempt to acquire the National Enquirer in July, Vinco Ventures has struggled to remain operational, losing key executives, its status as a publicly traded company and the business of several of its portfolio companies, according to court documents and public filings.

In August, Farnsworth, the architect of the failed National Enquirer acquisition, was arrested in New York. He had been indicted by the SEC last November on charges stemming from his time at MoviePass, according to court documents.

Under his bail conditions, Farnsworth was forbidden to cross state lines without notifying his parole officer. After he traveled from New York to Florida in July, he was arrested and is now being held in a Miami detention center, according to prison records.

Representatives for Farnsworth did not respond to Adweek’s request for comment.

Tumbling share prices

Vinco Ventures has similarly struggled. In November, January and April, the company failed to submit financial records required from publicly traded firms, prompting warnings from Nasdaq that it was at risk of being delisted.

In June, three of its five board members abruptly resigned, and the company was delisted from the Nasdaq in July, according to SEC filings. 

It can now be traded only over-the-counter, and its stock, which traded for $20 per share last September, is currently valued at less than $1. All regulatory information has been removed from the company website. 

Collapsing assets

The company, which owned a roster of more than a dozen media, entertainment and technology firms, has also seen several of its assets collapse in recent months. Had Vinco Ventures succeeded in acquiring the National Enquirer, the publisher would have been a part of this portfolio.

Earlier this month, one of its portfolio companies, Lomotif, entered bankruptcy proceedings, according to court documents obtained by Adweek. 

The Singaporean company, which launched in 2014, was acquired by Vinco Ventures for $125 million in February 2021 and positioned as a TikTok rival.

Neither the Lomotif app nor the website has worked for months, according to Shadwrick Vick, a retail investor who has filed a lawsuit against Farnsworth and other Vinco executives. 

Companies ceasing operations

AdRizer, another Vinco Ventures portfolio company, also ceased operations this summer, according to a person familiar with the matter. Vinco Ventures acquired the ad monetization platform for $108 million in October 2021.

A third company, Mind Tank, filed a lawsuit against its portfolio peer AdRizer earlier this month, according to court documents obtained by Adweek. 

Several of the remaining Vinco Ventures portfolio companies have simply continued operations despite a lack of communication from Vinco Ventures, according to the person. 

While the company lists James Robertson and Chris Polimeni as executives on its website, neither they nor a company representative responded to Adweek’s requests for comment. It is unclear whether Vinco Ventures is currently an operational business.

Compounding the situation, a group of Vinco Ventures retail investors have brought a number of legal suits in Nevada against Farnsworth and other Vinco Ventures executives, led by Vick.

They allege, among other charges, that Farnsworth and Vinco Ventures have engaged in self-dealing and self-enrichment, diversion of assets and unlawful funding transactions.

“[Farnsworth] took the company down to zero while pocketing the profits,” Vick said. “The SEC caught wind of [MoviePass], and shareholders caught wind of this one. I think that there is still a chance that we could still wind this company back up.”