Meet Business Insider's 10 execs transforming the advertising and media industries

Hi! Welcome to the Insider Advertising daily for September 11. 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.

First, we're looking for nominations for the rising stars of brand marketing. Submit nominations here by Monday.

Today's news: The 10 people transforming advertising and media, QR codes return from the dead, and a look at how Amazon's ad business is poised to grow.

2020 was supposed to be a blockbuster year for media and advertising, but the challenges have only accelerated the industry transformation

• Business Insider named 100 people transforming business this week — including 10 people from the advertising and media industries like Justin Schuh, Google's director of Chrome engineering, Hulu president Kelly Campbell, and Scott Stuber, head of original films at Netflix.
• The executives are working to solve big problems like helping marketers navigate the future of ad targeting, streaming, and the rise of direct-to-consumer brands.
• The list reflects the massive changes that swept across the industry as a result of the coronavirus. Before the pandemic, the ad industry was forecasting a blockbuster 2020 with the Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the US presidential election. Instead, advertisers have slashed spending, which has led to layoffs at ad agencies and media companies.

Read the full story here.

QR codes are defying skeptics and making a comeback, with big brands including Burger King, CVS, L'Oréal, and Walmart jumping on board

• QR codes are making a comeback in the pandemic for things like coupons and contactless payments, reports Tanya Dua.
• Platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest have also rolled out their own versions of QR codes while Chinese apps Tencent and Alibaba are putting standards around the technology.
• "QR codes allow you to put a digital experience on a physical surface, and become pretty important tools in a world where more consumers are going digital and contactless," said Jason Goldberg, chief commerce strategy officer at Publicis.

Read the full story here.

These charts show how Amazon's ad business could surge even higher thanks to its pandemic-fueled rise in grocery and household sales

• Amazon's ad business has benefitted from the boom of consumer-packaged goods brands selling their products online due to the pandemic.
• Wall Street firm Jefferies raised its estimates for Amazon's advertising revenue by 2% to $23.5 billion in 2021 and $49 billion in 2025.
• The firm estimates Amazon could add $12 billion in additional advertising revenue if the company's able to capture just 1% of the total ad and trade spend by CPG companies.

Read the full story here.

More stories we're reading:

• Google says it will block autocomplete search suggestions that could sway voters ahead of the US election (Business Insider)
• Facebook announces a new college-only social network called Facebook Campus, 16 years after launching as a student-only social network (Business Insider)
• Netflix's CEO says the company wants to build franchises like 'Star Wars' and 'Harry Potter' but has a 'long way to go' (Business Insider)
• Russian state hackers reportedly tried hacking into a Biden campaign firm (Business Insider)
• WarnerMedia eyes spring debut for HBO Max's ad-supported tier (Digiday)
• Megyn Kelly launches into podcasting with new venture (Wall Street Journal)

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

— Lauren