Ad holding company IPG takes aim at Accenture and consultants

Hi! Welcome to the Insider Advertising daily for October 27. I'm Lauren Johnson, a senior advertising reporter at Business Insider. Subscribe here to get this newsletter in your inbox every weekday. Send me feedback or tips at LJohnson@businessinsider.com.

Today's news: IPG takes aim at consultancies like Accenture, Inspire Brands eyes buying Dunkin', and the financial PR pros to know.

Ad holding giant IPG has roped in a former Deloitte Digital exec and invested $5 million to launch a new consulting firm geared at CMOs

• Interpublic Group has launched a new consulting firm called Black Glass that focuses on chief marketing officers and competes with Accenture and other consulting firms, reports Tanya Dua.
• Black Glass' pitch is that it can help clients like BMW make fast business decisions using IPG's data hub Acxiom among other outside data sources, financial modeling and a network of internal and external experts.
• IPG said it's invested close to $5 million into the consulting group and plans to invest more.

Read the full story here.

• Arby's parent company Inspire Brands is in talks to acquire Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins.
• With more than 13,000 Dunkin' locations and about 8,000 Baskin-Robbins locations around the world, the deal would more than double the number of restaurants controlled by Inspire Brands.
• Inspire Brands has been building a fast-food empire, buying chains including Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy John's, and Sonic in recent years.

Read the full story here.

15 top financial public relations experts CEOs are scrambling to hire, with shareholder activism and bankruptcies on the rise

• Financial communications is flourishing as corporations, private equity, hedge funds, and other investment managers scramble for help managing high-stakes situations, activist shareholders, investor relations, and more.
• Sean Czarnecki identified 15 of the most-sought financial PR pros.
• They come from established firms and startup agencies like FTI Consulting, Reevemark, and Brunswick Group.

Read the full story here.

More stories we're reading:

• A Spotify exec describes how the company is trying to reshape podcasting now that it has a robust group of creators and listeners on its platform (Business Insider)
• A senior Facebook exec speaks out again on its 'frustrating' gaming fight with Apple: 'The industry needs this to happen.' (Business Insider)
• Hotels are trying to attract families with gourmet cooking classes, cabana classrooms, and yoga breaks as kids continue with remote schooling across the US (Business Insider)
• Marketers try new data tools to navigate pandemic (Wall Street Journal)
• Twitch, Amazon slammed by RIAA and major industry groups for using unlicensed music (Variety)

Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow! You can reach me in the meantime at LJohnson@businessinsider.com and subscribe to this daily email here.

— Lauren