Two of the bigger macro trends in the online ad industry of late, programmatic buying and native advertising, don’t seem to have much in common—as one is about automation and the other about custom branded content with lots of heavy lifting.
In the finals of four big reviews, BBDO has a shot at adding about $25 million to its revenue line if it runs the table—or getting burned out trying. The Omnicom Group agency is making four final presentations in five weeks. The first—for the Wells Fargo creative account, with estimated revenue of $12 million to $13 million—took place last week at the bank’s San Francisco headquarters. This week comes the Legacy anti-tobacco foundation pitch, followed next week by Papa John’s and, finally, CVS the week of March 10.
As you read this, Americans are in the process of dropping $1.9 billion on Valentine’s Day flowers—much of it going to buy the 224 million roses grown just for the amorous holiday. Surprising facts? Here’s another: While most people assume that the local flower shop is making a killing at this time of year, a good many florists are merely breaking even—or even losing money. “People don’t understand the economics of what happens to the money they spend on flowers,” said Bonnie Bank, who runs Superior Florist in midtown New York.
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago has employed scratch-off advertising on bus shelters around the city to hype its newest exhibition, The Way of the Shovel: Art as Archaeology. The ads were printed on backlit, clear plastic. Scratching off the opaque topcoat reveals cool artwork underneath. Since an ad campaign requiring real digging with actual shovels would have been prohibitively costly, difficult and unsafe, this is probably the best way to reinforce the theme of the exhibition.
PlaceIQ has raised $15 million in a Series C funding round led by investor Harmony Partners, while Iris Capital has come on board as a financier for the first time.
From the peanut gallery at Reddit comes this amusing, fake Audi ad that plays off the four-rings snafu during the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Classical paintings replace advertisements on Paris billboards in "OMG, Who Stole My Ads?"—a series of provocative photographs by French artist Etienne Lavie. The project recalls last summer's "Art Everywhere" program in England, led by Innocent Drinks co-founder Richard Reed, which saw reproductions of 57 popular works replace ads on 22,000 out-of-home ad sites, including billboards, bus shelters, tube stations and office buildings.
Thanks to sugar, savings or both, Big Lots—and its suddenly endless supply of reduced-price Hostess products—just makes moms want to dance. Big Lots recently struck a deal to become the "Official Hostess Thrift Outlet," replacing Hostess Thrift Stores, which were closed when Hostess Brands went into bankruptcy in 2012. Beginning today, you'll be able to get Twinkies, CupCakes, Zingers, Fruit Pies and other Hostess snack cakes at Big Lots for up to 40 percent off.
Maxus has turned to an executive with experience at publishers and cable networks to lead its content development in North America. As content director, Lori Greene will work closely with North American chief strategy officer Mark Egan and branded content executives at GroupM, the larger group that oversees all WPP Group media agencies. So, while Greene may hire associates to bolster Maxus' content offering, she'll primarily look to leverage existing services at GroupM to meet the needs of Maxus clients, explained Egan.
