Village Soapbox: Omnicom, DPAA, The CW, Verizon Media, Discovery, Ampersand and NewsNation

This Week in the Knowledge Exchange

I remember ten years ago or so I was in a creative media brainstorm and brought up the concept of using QR codes to a response of blank stares. While QR codes didn't exactly take off at first, the pandemic has made them cool and essential. Find out how QR codes are bringing a new dimension to Out of Home Advertising for OUTFRONT's clients in Max Siegelman's Inspire Desire: On the Go, We Grab-and-Go.

If you are as big a fan of The CW as I am, you'll recognize that most of their shows, not just the DCU, feel, well, CWish! That's intentional and Steve Gidlow looks at some of the newest members of The CW family from across the pond in The CW Explores Alternative Series for Upcoming Original Programming.

Alli Romano looks at how Pandora is helping to instill confidence in the public at large to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations. Get the details in Digital Audio Helps Spread Positive Word on COVID-19 Vaccines.

Carly Whiteford, strategy director at OMD EMEA recently gathered insights to advise on the state of global travel and the changes to expect, as the world reopens. She shares those insights with all of us in Travel in the Post-COVID Era: Tracking Emerging Trends Impacting the Industry's Rebound.

Jacqueline Cutler gives us a delectable preview ofFood Network's latest show, Chef Boot Camp in Food Network's "Chef Boot Camp" Aims to Get Cooks Out of Hot Water.

There are positive signs of strength in the media economy. Bill Harvey uncovers those signals and provides some guidance in Early Indicators of Rebound and Other Recent Signals.

For most of us, we are able to empathize with those to whom bad things happen and then move on with our lives. For journalists whose role is to focus on those things, it is often much harder. Erich J. Prince looks at the impact that this can have on their psyche and how they cope (and sometimes don't) in Why Aren't Journalists Sadder? (Part One).

Don't miss this video interview between Shannon Pruitt, president of content and managing director at MDC and Barry Frey, president & CEO of the DPAA as they talk about reimaging how we work and innovation. When two industry luminaries of this caliber converse, you want to listen. Watch the interview Content is Queen -- Data-Led Storytelling.

In this week's episode of The Storytelling Revolution, Raquelle Zuzarte speaks with Nature's Fynd CMO, Karuna Rawal, about a scientific discovery that has the potential to replace today's proteins with something far more earth-friendly. Learn all about it in Feeding Optimism Through Bold Discovery.

There is a mad dash in the ad industry to hold on to some level of audience targeting in light of Google's recent blockbuster identity announcement. Verizon Media's Varun Bhangwan presents one such option in Don't Get Left Behind in the Cookieless Future.

Our industry was hit hard in 2020, but each of us has a chance to lift up our friends & colleagues who need help and may be struggling to re-enter the industry. Read my thoughts in my column But Wait, That's Not All….The Garden (aka Madison Square Garden).

This Week in Advancing Diversity

In this week's episode of The Pool, Philip McKenzie speaks with Ampersand vice president communications & culture, Natasha Dure, who says "Change doesn't just come with a stroke of a pen. It comes with a change of attitudes, behaviors, and it needs to come with consequences." Hear more of her thoughts in Bringing Culture to the Table at Ampersand.

In Women Advancing, Kate Byrne speaks with NewsNation anchor Nichole Berlie about the responsibility and ability of women who have platforms to amplify other voices. Watch this riveting and informative interview, NewsNation Anchor Nichole Berlie Talks to The Power of Women in the World of Broadcast News.

Elliot Lum, vice president of talent strategy & program development at the ANA talks about their effort to motivate Gen Z to consider marketing as a career. Read the article and don't miss the video created by the ANA in Discovering "The Best Jobs You've Never Heard Of" with ANA.

This Week in Media

Publicis Groupe, parent company of data giant Epsilon has signed on to be a partner of The Trade Desk's Unified ID 2.0. This agreement will allow Publicis to use their proprietary ID product, Core ID together with Unified ID 2.0, in theory providing Publicis clients with a more robust audience targeting system.

In a letter published in Revolt.TV, Sean "Diddy" Combs has called on American companies to allocate at least 15% of their advertising budget to Black-owned media.

In a fairly expected 180 degree move, the Cannes Lions will be a digital only event in 2021. MediaLink has promised a live, in-person New York City connection-to-Cannes event.

SPACs are the rage these days. OOH company, Lamar Advertising has launched a special purpose acquisition company, Lamar Partnering Corporation, with a proposed base offering of $300 million.

Unilever has launched a global media review, including North America. Reported global ad spend in 2020 was $1.8B with U.S. at approximately $529MM as measured by Kantar.

According to a recently released study by Pew, 81% of Americans say that they use YouTube, up from 73% in 2019.

A Florida state bill that would require corporations to destroy data after one year and allow individual consumers to sue for small infractions, has the support of Governor Ron DeSantis and bipartisan support. The bill is moving quickly through the state legislature.

In a burst of good news for movie theaters (and Theatrical Advertising budgets), Godzilla vs. Kong brought in an initial five day total of $48.5MM domestic, even with the film being available for free to HBO Max subscribers.

The WWE will host WrestleMania 37 exclusively on Peacock as part of its $1B rights agreement.

Have a great weekend!

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The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.com/MyersBizNet.