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CMO TLDR: Your Weekly Marketing Brief

Weekly Digest - May 23, 2025

Author

Peter Brendan
May 23, 2025

CMO TLDR: AI Reshapes Media Landscape, TV Markets Splinter

Upfronts

TV Upfront Season Points to Cautious Ad Market with Premium Content Focus

Media agency executives predict a bifurcated 2025-2026 TV upfront marketplace characterized by quick deals for live sports and extended negotiations for general entertainment, as political and economic uncertainty drives advertisers to seek greater flexibility while competing intensely for premium content. NBCU emerged as a potential winner with its 2026 lineup of major events including the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics, while agency leaders noted increased emphasis on first-party data, improved CTV ad formats, and creator partnerships. Despite years of currency measurement debates, Nielsen remains the industry foundation as buyers prioritize strategic partnerships over investment volume amid competing industry challenges

Artificial Intelligence

How publishers are actively testing agentic AI to hike productivity

Leading publishers Hearst, Thomson Reuters, and DPG Media are aggressively deploying agentic AI to streamline workflows and boost efficiency across departments. At Hearst, the technology has slashed account research time from 40 minutes to just two minutes while reportedly increasing average sale values by 153%. Publishers emphasize these tools are meant to enhance productivity rather than replace staff, with executives noting improved employee morale and the ability to reallocate human resources toward more strategic, relationship-building activities.

Google and Amazon Unveil AI-Powered Ad Tech Suites at Industry Conferences

Google introduced AI-driven ad placements in search responses and AI Mode, requiring advertisers to use Performance Max campaigns and broad match settings to access the new inventory. Amazon expanded its Publisher Cloud data clean room to all online video ads and launched Canvas, a no-code ad format design tool for publishers to create high-engagement formats without development work. Both tech giants framed their announcements as consumer experience improvements while effectively tying advertisers deeper into their respective ecosystems.

Google's integration of Adelaide's Attention Unit (AU) metric into Display & Video 360's custom bidding could replace easily manipulated viewability measurements as the media quality standard, according to Jaguar Land Rover North America's digital marketing director Danny Zhu, who says the capability now allows advertisers to compare attention scores across Google, social media platforms and open web publishers while streamlining high-attention PMP curation.

Belgium's Court of Appeal ruling on IAB Europe's Transparency and Consent Framework maintains the €250,000 fine while establishing that consent strings are personal data and making the trade body a joint controller of the consent mechanism that powers 80% of European websites' tracking permissions, though stopping short of prohibiting programmatic advertising or holding IAB Europe responsible for subsequent data processing by vendors.

Supply-side platform Magnite has established a unique integration with Amazon Publisher Services that allows Amazon to operate within Magnite's platform, giving publishers like DirecTV unified demand and centralized reporting while expanding the SSP's access to connected TV inventory on Fire TV devices as Amazon continues to dominate retail media with nearly $14 billion in Q1 ad revenue.

Global CMO appointments fell to 1,215 in 2024 from 1,297 the previous year as companies pivot toward more revenue-focused positions, with chief sales officer roles surging 58% and chief revenue officer roles climbing 17%, according to leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates, which noted men dominate these alternative positions despite women filling about half of all CMO placements.

Publicis acquired influencer marketing platform Captiv8 (price undisclosed), its second creator economy purchase after July's $500M Influential deal, strengthening its digital advertising arsenal as U.S. influencer marketing spend approaches $9.3B by 2025.

As Google's AI Overviews transform the digital ecosystem, publishers are pivoting from traditional SEO and traffic metrics to diversified revenue streams and IP protection strategies while grappling with zero-click searches and content strip-mining, a fundamental shift that's redefining the publisher-platform relationship.

Key Article Takeaways - TLDR

  • Leverage AI for Productivity Gains: Publishers are boosting efficiency and sales value using agentic AI. Marketers should explore AI to streamline workflows and enhance strategic capabilities.

  • Navigate the Evolving TV/CTV Ad Market: Prepare for a bifurcated TV upfront season by seeking flexibility and focusing on premium content. Adapt to the growing importance of first-party data, improved CTV ad formats, and new CTV inventory access points like Magnite's deal with Amazon Publisher Services.