What happened to J. Walter Thompson, the world's oldest ad agency
Hi! Welcome to the Insider Advertising daily for November 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: Inside ad agency J. Walter Thompson's rise and fall, which digital media companies could get acquired next, and Fox News' Trump backlash.
The rise and fall of J. Walter Thompson, the world's oldest advertising agency
- Patrick Coffee looked at J. Walter Thompson, the world's oldest ad agency whose ad revenue has sharply declined.
- JWT suffered from a faltering digital transformation, financial pressure at the holding company level, and a lawsuit accusing its former CEO of sexism and racism that scared potential clients and hires away.
- The agency stands as a cautionary tale and reflection of an industry shaken by changes in consumer behavior and the rise of Facebook and Google.
Read the full story here.
10 digital media companies that are hot acquisition targets, including Patch and TheSkimm
- BuzzFeed's acquisition of HuffPost has sparked speculation about which other digital media companies could be acquired next, reports Lara O'Reilly.
- Experts expect dealflow to be plentiful in the months ahead, especially as SPACs and private equity firms circle the digital media sector.
- We asked eight digital media experts to predict which digital media companies could get acquired in the coming months.
Read the full story here.
Fox News is under a siege of its own making from Trump
- Jake Lahut writes that President Donald Trump has gone from being a Fox News superfan to waging war against the network. He is encouraging his supporters to watch more MAGA-friendly channels like Newsmax and One America News Network.
- Fox News is now under a siege of its own making as the hosts recognize Joe Biden as the president-elect and increasingly challenge Trump's baseless election-fraud claims.
- Fox News' favorability ratings among Republicans fell by 13% after the election, according to Morning Consult.
Read the full story here.
More stories we're reading:
- A former exec is suing Daniel J. Edelman Holdings, alleging disability and racial discrimination (Business Insider)
- Is Silicon Valley finally dead? (Business Insider)
- General Mills, Kellogg, and other food manufacturing giants could snap up these 5 wildly popular food brands, an industry insider says (Business Insider)
- A TikTok exec who holds 'growth strategy sessions' with brands explains 6 key takeaways for success on the app (Business Insider)
- Spotify needs more than a cup of Joe (Wall Street Journal)
- Facebook's AI mistakenly bans ads for struggling businesses (Bloomberg)
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.