The Wall Street Journal reports that P&G is increasing pressure on major digital platforms like Google and Facebook to improve safeguards and verification around advertising delivery. Recent commitments for data to be audited by the Media Rating Council is "not enough" according to P&G's chief branding/marketing officer Marc Pritchard. He added that he's "encouraged by the recent progress" but that "it's not enough until the verification and audits are actually implemented." The timing is unlikely accidental as upfront season looms and we expect big marketers like P&G to come in with as strong a hand as possible, thus P&G concluded "We don't want to waste time and money on a crappy media supply chain." We'll see what type of data and verification digital and TV platform sellers can bring to the table this year as measurement may prove a key theme in how funds are allocated in the upfront. (Source: WSJ, RBC Capital Markets)
P&G's Pritchard at ANA; Apple Acquiring a Studio? -- RBC Capital Markets
