Table of contents for January 2, 2017 in Adweek

If nothing else, 2016 taught the world that data security has become incredibly critical. In the fourth quarter alone, Yahoo saw more than 1 billion accounts breached, Hillary Clinton’s emails were infamously hacked and ultimately doomed her run for the White House, and Twitter, PayPal, Spotify, The New York Times and other publishers experienced lengthy outages. What’s more, 2017’s promised proliferation of Internet of Things technology—everything from smart crockpots to connected cars to personal robots—will make consumer information as equally imperiled as it is rich. “Vulnerabilities are inherent to all internet communications,” said W.L. Donaldson, CEO of security player Nomx and former United States Marine Corps webmaster at the Pentagon. So to kick off a new year of technological innovation, we tapped into his expertise to provide a quick tutorial…

At first blush, a résumé highlighting work with Jay-Z, Common and Alicia Keys making its way to the top of the pile may seem like an odd move for an ad agency, but that’s exactly where Gimel “Young Guru” Keaton’s CV landed. The celebrated audio engineer in December joined Omnicom Group’s The Marketing Arm to become the shop’s first chief music strategist, a new role that will be creative and consultative, according to Larry Weintraub, The Marketing Arm’s chief innovation officer and president of music. “There’s not a pitch that you go into, especially if you’re trying to reach young people, where you’re not talking about how important music is,” said Weintraub, noting that clients like State Farm, AT&T and Hilton Hotels have been asking more and more for music-based…

Adweek (USPS 458870, ISSN 1549-9553) is published weekly, 37 times a year with 2 issues in July, August and December; 3 issues in January, February, March, June and November; and 4 issues in April, May, September and October. Publisher is ADWEEK, LLC, 825 Eighth Avenue, 29th floor, New York, NY 10019, (212) 493-4100. Subscriptions are $249 for one year, $449 for two years. Canadian subscriptions are $299 per year. All other foreign subscriptions are $349 (using air mail). Subscription inquiries: (844)-674-8161; outside the U.S.: (845) 267-3007. Registered as newspaper at the British Post Office. Canadian Publication Mail Agreement No. 41450540. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: MSI, PO BOX 2600, Mississauga, On L4T OA8. Periodicals postage is paid in New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send all UAA to…

Dentsu chief executive officer Tadashi Ishii said last Wednesday he will resign this month after leading the network for more than five years. The announcement came one day after The Japan Times and other local outlets reported the country’s labor ministry had referred Ishii and the Dentsu organization to federal prosecutors. Officials reportedly recommended filing unspecified charges over the December 2015 suicide of a young Dentsu employee who attributed her own death to a culture of “overwork. “I feel deep responsibility as a person overseeing management of the company,” said Ishii as quoted by The Japan Times. “I will take full responsibility and will step down at a board meeting in January.” Dentsu the next day posted the following statement on its website: “Today a case against Dentsu Inc. and…

Jan 16 Brand Storytelling Spotlight on the winners of Adweek’s inaugural Arc Awards and why you should be at the Brand Storytelling Conference. SPECIAL SECTION BRAND STORYTELLING GUIDE Jan 30 Super Bowl A play-by-play preview of the brands vying for fans’ hearts and minds on game day. Feb 13 Media Agency of the Year Our annual salute to 2016’s standout media agencies. Feb 20 The Mobile Issue: Mobile Marketers An in-depth look at the latest innovations in mobile media and the those setting the top trend-makers. SPECIAL SECTION MOBILE MARKETING GUIDE Feb 27 Agencies 3.0 A play-by-play preview of the brands vying for fans’ hearts and minds on game day. SPECIAL SECTION 2017 WORKING MOTHERS OF THE YEAR AWARDS Mar 6 Hot List: Digital Adweek kicks off its series of…

In this age of inexorable disruption the embrace of rapid change has moved well beyond table stakes to become the basis for any chance of survival. Adweek feels this pressure in our digital products on an almost daily basis. But we also have the privilege of producing a weekly magazine and that too must change in order to remain as competitive, relevant and profitable as possible. It’s a car we have to fine-tune even as it speeds ever faster through the twisting roads of the brand-marketing ecosystem. So with that in mind, in this issue, our first of 2017, Adweek editor Lisa Granatstein is introducing three new departments—Whiteboard, Dashboard and Talent Pool—that truly reflect topics of crucial importance for our audience: role modeling success, data, insights, and talent acquisition and…

The cannabis business had some big wins during this year’s election. Now, that’s stimulating predictions of major greenback growth along with ever-more sophisticated marketing strategies on the part of cannabis companies. In November, citizens of four states—California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada—voted to approve recreational cannabis usage for adults 21 or over. They join four other states where the drug can be used recreationally: Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, along with the District of Columbia. Meanwhile, voters in Florida, Arkansas, North Dakota and Montana also approved the legalized use of medical marijuana. All told, 28 states have opened up to medical usage. Given all that activity, Matthew Karnes, founder of the marijuana financial consultancy GreenWave Advisors, predicts that the legalized U.S. industry will grow from $6.5 billion in sales during 2016…

Starting in 2020, 50 billion connected devices will generate $9 trillion in sales and creating 600 zettabytes of data yearly. WHAT CAN A HOT TUB THAT MAKES ITS OWN SHOPPING LIST TELL US ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET? To better understand how connected devices benefit from giving and receiving data, James Whittaker, a Microsoft tech evangelist, connected his heated mini-pool to the internet so it could take in data from his local spa company, find sources of chemicals it needs to buy, follow sales patterns, know its internal supply and how fast it’s using them, monitor the weather, etc. Along the way, he realized his hot tub might be better off buying supplies for itself than he is. Whittaker represents a budding legion of Internet of Things tinkerers who…

THE USER The over-30 crowd has plenty of established audio brands to choose from, but Beats carved out its niche by introducing premium audio to young listeners. THE SOUND Audiophiles have long complained that Beats is too heavy on the bass. That’s true—and it’s also why many people buy them. THE COLOR It’s such a simple thing, but at a time when headphones came in black or silver, Beats turned heads by offering rainbow hues and metallic finishes. THE LOGO Created by Robert Brunner of the San Francisco design firm Ammunition, Beats’ badge resembles both a “b” and a head wearing headphones. Fast Facts 2008 Beats’ Studio model debuts. $349.95 List price for Studio model $1.5b Beats’ revenue in 2013 2014 Apple buys Beats for $3 billion. Way back in…