Miscellany on 7 November 2018: Disrupting advertising
In miscellany this morning, for those moments when you’re not hitting ‘refresh’ on the US election results:
And Don Draper wept: If you’re in the advertising business, you’ll want to read a couple of Wall Street Journal stories back-to-back. “The rise of the internet battered industries from newspapers to retailers, but it was a gold mine for the world’s major advertising companies. Until now,” the Journal argues, noting that “Madison Avenue is under intense pressure to change and no one has yet discovered a path to renewed growth.” Among the agency types worst-hit, it argues, are non-digital media-buying agencies, PR firms, ad agencies and direct marketers. The problem? Google and Facebook are cutting out the middlemen. Read:
The two pieces are part of a Heard on the Street series on what digital disruption in the ad industry means for traded players. We’re keeping an eye out to see if there’s a third installment.
The high priests of Davos have banned three Russian business leaders from attending the World Economic Forum under pressure from the United States. Among them is Oleg Deripaska, whose bid to dodge US sanctions we noted yesterday.