Madison and Wall: Saturday Summary

For the week ending May 26, 2023

Below is a summary of some of key data points and ideas from my regular publications during the past week:

Agencies and AI: Ongoing Investments in People Limit Risks From Technology

..In which I connect Elon Musk’s under-investment in Twitter, Bud Light’s recent marketing controversy and why traditional creative agencies will be fine in a world of generative AI, so long as they continue to invest in people.

Agencies and Principal-Based Trading: New Omnicom Disclosures Help Industry Analysis.  A new disclosure from Omnicom helps to better quantify the size of their principal-based trading business, and highlights that even as some marketers prefer complete transparency, many others are content to evolve their overall agency relationships.

Media and Business Demographics.  Large businesses take share in every economy I’ve ever looked at.  It’s a headwind for growth for media that have historically focused on smaller businesses, and a tailwind for those focusing on larger ones.

US Audio Ad Revenues Fell -5% in 1Q23; Growth Needs To Emerge Beyond Advertising.  Audio-related advertising, including all of its evolving forms such as streaming and podcasting, collectively declined in the first quarter, and not only in the United States.  With marketer spending on the medium unlikely to grow in the future, the industry needs to invest in new revenue streams in order to expand.