The 10 things in advertising you need to know today
1. We spoke to Pinterest cofounder Evan Sharp about the company's plans for world domination. On Thursday, Pinterest announced that finally just over half of its 100 million+ monthly active users are international.
2. Facebook crushed expectations, and its stock soared. Facebook reported its Q1 earnings on Wednesday afternoon, beating expectations on the top and bottom lines.
3. Here's how much time people spend on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger every day. People are spending nearly an hour every day scrolling through Facebook status updates, liking Instagram posts, or chatting on Messenger.
4. Marissa Mayer was "outraged" people were comparing Yahoo to AOL. Yahoo is a fraction of the size of Google and Facebook, but the three companies still largely compete in the same digital advertising space.
5. A US Olympic runner is auctioning off ad space on his shoulder. Olympian and six-time US 800 meter champion Nick Symmonds is auctioning off nine inches of ad space on his right shoulder on eBay.
6. Yahoo caved to the man who wants Marissa Mayer fired and announced four new board members. On Wednesday, Yahoo announced that it reached a settlement with Starboard Value, the activist investor that's been calling for the complete overhaul of the current board and management.
7. 11 things other CEOs could learn from Marissa Mayer's struggle to turn around Yahoo. Here are a few lessons, according to a Quora thread.
8. Watch out: "The end of VC welfare on ad spending" means trouble for a lot of companies. The worry is that if the VC-funded startups start cutting back on ad spending, that means less revenue for internet companies whose businesses are based on advertising.
9. 13 celebrities you had no idea were in TV commercials as kids. Many of Hollywood's most familiar faces kicked off their careers by starring in TV commercials as kids.
10.WPP, the world's largest advertising agency holding group, reported a 10.5% year-on-year lift in revenue to £3.08 billion ($4.48 billion) in its first quarter. Net sales grew 8.1% in sterling and 2.2% in dollars, although the company warned that clients "generally remain cautious."