Business

When the telephone began to gain traction, the monopoly of the time, Western Union, decided to get even better at sending telegrams.

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It was probably news to the attendees of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity–if not the world at large–but apparently Paris Hilton had the idea for the metaverse before Mark Zuckerberg. “I was thinking about the metaverse before there was even a name for it,” said Hilton, the featured guest at a panel discussion…Read More

A group of industry vets with experience developing, building, supporting and analyzing retail media networks (RMNs) as far back as 2004, announced a new venture: Colosseum Strategy. Commerce media has swept through the Cannes Lions Festival this year, with major retailers taking up space on the beaches and in the harbor while agencies and tech…Read More

Adtech firm Sonobi is pursuing a sale via investment banking firm BrightTower, according to three sources familiar with the deal. The company, which is backed by private equity firm Cohere Capital, has been in the market since at least September last year and has $35 million in revenue and positive EBITDA, one source said. Bidders…Read More

CANNES, France–The brightest young minds of the advertising world come together each year for the Cannes Young Lion Competition. This year, we asked the two participants representing Team USA, Rachel Findlay and Jessica Nugent, to share their experience. Day 1: We’re in Cannes Between the hot sun and the beauty of the Croisette, the Cannes…Read More

Disney+ and Netflix’s ad tiers are paying off. According to market intelligence company Guideline (owner of Standard Media Index, Lumina and SQAD), streamers, including Disney+ and Netflix, saw massive year-over-year ad spend gains in Q1. Disney+ saw a 210% year-over-year increase vs. Q1 2023, and Netflix saw a 135% increase. “Broadly speaking, we are going…Read More

Near-future science fiction is a fine way to consider our now. Without the reality of today, we can think hard about the tomorrow we’re about to live in.

Summer reads are supposed to be a bit lighter.

Technological change is making our near future a bit harder to dance with, and yet, here are some books I strongly recommend–not because they gloss over our possible futures, but because they give us the scaffolding to look hard at it while we can still make an impact.

Foundry is a thriller about semiconductors. Fast-moving and classic Peper.

When Harley Was One is the very first novel I read about AI. I was 12 years old. Gerrold wrote this a lifetime ago, and yet it will make you think.

The Ministry for the Future is heartbreaking and life-changing. Every human should be offered a copy and encouraged to read it.

The Very Nice Box helps us think about workplace roles (with some marketing and design as a bonus).

The Last Policeman is fabulous metaphor and a great way to get clear about how you’d like to spend tomorrow.

All highly recommended.

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Home design publisher Apartment Therapy unveiled a website redesign earlier this month, featuring new, sponsorable site capabilities and a community forum to foster onsite engagement. The renovation is part of a larger effort from parent company Apartment Therapy Media, which also owns The Kitchn, Cubby and Dorm Therapy, to encourage reader retention and spur registration,…Read More

In this episode of The Speed of Culture, Matt Britton sits down with Cat van der Werff, executive creative director at Canva. Van der Werff shares her journey from an aspiring artist in New Zealand to leading the creative direction at Canva. She also explores Canva’s mission to democratize design, the importance of empowering individuals…Read More

Brand leaders frequently say, “We want to be seen as a lifestyle.” It’s a catchall where audiences are immersed in story, statement, style and sound–integrated across every conceivable platform. So what if LGBTQ+ marketing wasn’t about a month or an event, but actually about lifestyle? Marketing for Pride in 2024 appears to be the quietest,…Read More