Walmart's advertising business is rattling agencies

Hi! Welcome to the Insider Advertising daily for October 30. 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: Walmart rattles agencies, WPP hires McKinsey for five-year plan, and CEOs field investor questions about influencers.

Walmart is trying to build a big ad business, but some agencies that control a big chunk of the $17 billion market worry they're getting pushed out

• Walmart is ramping up its advertising business by partnering with a handful of adtech firms that help marketers buy and manage ads.
• I reported that some small e-commerce agencies say that Walmart is pushing advertisers to work directly with the adtech firms, cutting out ad agencies.
• The agencies also said Walmart has limitations that could lead clients to move ad dollars from Walmart to Amazon.

Read the full story here.

Ad giant WPP hired McKinsey and created its first 5-year plan, and it shows how the company wants to grow after deep cost cuts

• Ad holding company giant WPP created its first five-year plan, said people with direct knowledge of the matter, reports Patrick Coffee.
• Former WPP executives said it shows how the company wants to move from cost-cutting to growth as its traditional advertising business struggles.
• The five-year plan signals a departure from the past, when WPP ran its business on a quarterly basis and sometimes discussed long-term plans that weren't formalized, said a former WPP financial executive.

Read the full story here.

Retail brands like Kohl's, American Eagle, and Express are touting their work with influencers to investors. Here are the key takeaways from our analysis of over 50 mentions on earnings calls.

• Dan Whateley reviewed hundreds of company transcripts to see how CEOs talk about working with influencers.
• Influencer marketing was once viewed as experimental marketing, but CEOs now often field questions about them from investors.
• Abercrombie & Fitch, Vera Bradley, American Eagle Outfitters and ad holding WPP have all specifically called out 16-year-old TikTok star Charli D'Amelio to investors this year.

Read the full story here.

More stories we're reading:

• PR giant FleishmanHillard CEO lays out how the firm is having its 'best year ever' despite taking a hit during the pandemic (Business Insider)
• Never-ending early holiday deals are sure to cause deal fatigue this year, experts warn. It's like endlessly 'hearing Christmas music before Thanksgiving.' (Business Insider)
• TikTok just slapped its rival Triller with a countersuit over patent infringement claims, and Triller's CEO said he looks forward to a 'David and Goliath' fight in court (Business Insider)
• Shopify beats quarterly revenue estimates as more merchants sign up during the online-shopping boom (Reuters)
  
• DoubleVerify receives $350M investment boost, ahead of its reported IPO (AdExchanger)
• Facebook charged Biden a higher price than Trump for campaign ads (The Markup)
• Digital media entrepreneur launches personal finance platform for Latinos (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