Future of Media: Agency review rush, Snap's AR roadmap, cinema's ad strategy

The purpose of a media agency

Facebook, Dyson and Coca-Cola are reconsidering their global media accounts. After a quiet 2020 for pitches, the industry is now facing significant upheaval.

Senior reporter Chris Sutcliffe explored what clients are after in this latest wave of pitches reminiscent of 2015's mediapalooza.

Spoiler alert - they demand agility, data and e-commerce from media partners. So here's how the agencies are trying to meet those new needs.

Snap's ad reality

We're all jaded. It's official. I'm going to remind you how remarkable the tech we have at our fingertips is. And that brings me to Snap.

Brands are ACTUALLY selling things using augmented reality filters. It's not a gimmick anymore. Sure it's not for everyone but here is a true example of brands creating bottom-line helping content that people want to engage with. So I interviewed them about the development.

We dig into Snap's history of Lenses and how it finally clicked with the e-commerce efforts.

And if that interests you, I quizzed TikTok, Facebook, Snap, Pinterest and Twitch on reinventing shopping with social commerce a few weeks back.

This tech will attract a greater share of media budgets going forward. Especially now advances in measurement make it more of a performance than brand-building channel.

Grab your popcorn

Let's go to the biggest screen now. The moving pictures industry, you know, the movies. We're STILL waiting on the latest James Bond movie. And Godzilla vs Kong was forced to premiere on Amazon. Cinema advertising was the worst affected by the pandemic - for truly obvious reasons.

But they'll be back soon (in some form) with fewer outlets and therefore less inventory. Sutcliffe (he's been busy) explored what I hope will be a glorious return. Can the sector reignite the passion of audiences, and just as importantly, advertisers in the coming year? We explore here.

Now indulge me for a bit on the evolution of cinema. I've a real urge to watch classic cinema and live events on the silver screen. TV finales too surely? Imagine all those Line of Duty fans crammed into an Odeon. I may have watched Wandavision in the cinema every Friday too... We've missed the social viewing experience. Cinema needs to break its reliance on tentpole movies the way these movies have broken their reliance on cinema.

Further reading

• Roku has fully killed the Quibi name

• UK digital ad spend growth slowed to 5% in 2020

• Verizon Media, once the home of the 'super cookie' is now talking up ID-free targeting

• Outbrain's ready for IPO - this time without Taboola

• WPP commits to hit net-zero across its entire $60bn media supply chain

• Facebook and YouTube need to rethink their cannabis policies

• Facebook's also lifted Clubhouse's features - [Facebook, you can't be everything to everyone, stop reacting and start innovating]

• And my big read this week, the European Super League marketing autopsy: where football's breakaway went wrong

• Omnicom CEO says tech is a salve to cookie-less future as group’s results pip forecasts

That's all for this week. If you missed the last issue, read it here. You can subscribe to our other briefings here.