The 10 things in advertising you need to know today
Good morning. Here's everything you need to know from the world of advertising today.
1. French media giant Vivendi has made an offer to buy a $2.56 billion controlling stake in media agency group Havas from its chairman Vincent Bolloré. Bolloré also owns a controlling 20% stake in Vivendi, so it's likely that the offer will be accepted, according to The Wall Street Journal.
2. Snapchat's underwriters still love the company, even after disappointing first quarter earnings. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs left their price targets unchanged at $28 and $27 respectively, citing strong audience engagement.
3. Improbable, a secretive UK startup specialising in VR, has raised $502 million from Softbank. Improbable's technology underpins virtual worlds, and this is one of the biggest rounds of funding ever received by a UK startup.
4. Advertising's richest man thinks Amazon's new Alexa device with a camera is going to be a good way to sell stuff. Martin Sorrell, CEO of holding group WPP told Bloomberg the camera would be a "very powerful medium to engage with the consumer."
5. The Trade Desk's shares are up after the company beat on its first quarter earnings. Revenue was up 76% year on year to $53.4 million, and the company upped its projected earnings for 2017 from $270 million to $291 million.
6. IPG Mediabrands CEO Henry Tajer left the company after just two years because some of the group's media agencies were struggling to win new business, according to AdExchanger. Tajer hired new staff and overhauled the leadership at agency Initiative and Ansible, but insiders said this created "pressure cracks."
7. There's an ad tech battle for quality, as demand-side platforms tell supply-side platforms to clean up their inventory or risk being cut off, according to AdExchanger. The idea is to reduce ad fraud, which costs advertisers billions each year.
8. Music lyrics site Genius has branched out into clothing. Genius launched the 1997 Clothing line on Thursday inspired by pop culture from, unsurprisingly, 1997.
9. Thailand is threatening Facebook with legal action unless the social media company removes 131 pages that criticise the royal family. Crticising the monarchy is illegal in Thailand, and Facebook has already removed hundreds of posts that flout the law.
10. Apple TV is going to get Amazon Prime Video this summer. The addition plugs one of Apple TV's biggest holes.
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