Table of contents for July 9, 2018 in Adweek

Interpublic Group last week confirmed rumors it will pay $2.3 billion to acquire Acxiom, a database marketing company based in Arkansas that collects and distributes an estimated 20 billion data points drawn from 2.2 billion consumers around the world. The holding company believes this acquisition will help clients better target their ads while relying less exclusively on tools provided by Facebook and Google. “The data stack [Acxiom has] built has been ethically sourced, meaning consumer consent has been at the heart of the company’s DNA since its founding,” wrote IPG CEO Michael Roth in an internal memo. The news may also put to rest all speculation about IPG going up for sale. “The conclusion to draw is that IPG is willing to invest, period. It’s not something they’d done in…

‘The biggest thing we are helping brands with on Amazon is helping them understand how the tactics that work on … other search platforms aren’t the same as you need to succeed on [Amazon].’ Gregg Manias, executive director of ecommerce, Acronym Google released its self-service pay-per-click advertising platform AdWords in 2000, revolutionizing the digital advertising industry. One side effect: a cottage industry of specialized agencies to help brands navigate the new format. That same year, Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos cited a brutal 2000 in which shares were down more than 80 percent from 1999. Nevertheless, Amazon served 20 million customers and sales grew to $2.76 billion. Bezos remained optimistic. Two decades later, Google will make nearly $40 billion in ad revenue—accounting for 37 percent of the U.S. digital advertising…

Female sports fans have long known that even if the community still acts like a boys’ club, women are some of the most passionate sports junkies out there. And the numbers prove it: Sports brands need to start paying attention to women if they don’t want to lose crucial engagement. New data from social intelligence software company Shareablee found that women make up approximately a third of sports engagement on social media, and that the majority of Olympics engagement (63 percent on Facebook, 54 percent on Twitter and 64 percent on Instagram) came from women in 2018. “We know that women have long been an integral part of sports teams’ fan base, but through social media analytics, we are now getting a clearer view into what are true drivers to…

Katrina Adams Chairman, President, U.S. Tennis Association The U.S. Open turns 50 this August, but its home base is in the springtime of life, thanks to a $600-million, five-year remodel at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Adams, who’s directed the project, says the transformation happened “on time, on budget, with no public funding.” Its vast footprint and tech advancements will mean more fans can watch games played day and night, through any weather conditions. (Estimates: upwards of 720,000 attendees this year.) Adams, a CBS Sports Network contributor, as well as the first pro player, first African American and youngest person to serve as the U.S. Tennis Association’s top exec, also opened the “home of American tennis.” The 64-acre, state-of-the-art complex in Orlando, Fla.,…

Adidas Adidas has selected MediaCom, part of WPP’s GroupM, as its new global media agency partner, following a review. The appointment ends the lifestyle brand’s relationship with Dentsu Aegis Network’s Carat, which had handled media buying and planning for Adidas in the U.S. and U.K. for nearly two decades. “We would like to thank Carat for their partnership over the last 19 years and for the successful work we have created together,” an Adidas spokesperson said. Adidas spent around $300 million on measured media globally last year, according to global consultancy R3.…

Crafting an appropriate apology is something of an art form in the brand marketing world—one that companies like Facebook, Starbucks, Uber and Wells Fargo have tried to perfect over the last year. An effective brand apology typically comes in two parts: The initial “we’re sorry” statement, and the operational changes that follow. Taking responsibility quickly is all the more important in the age of social media, which has added a layer of complications to sift through while navigating the aftermath of a scandal. Now, customers have a way to directly contact brands when they’re unhappy. And unfortunate moments that might have otherwise gone undetected on a larger scale can spread like wildfire on social media—like Dove’s racially insensitive ad on Facebook, which blew up on Twitter. “There’s certainly an increased…

‘It’s indicative of what’s going on in the world of journalism now. There’s nobody guarding the door.’ Steven Miller, director of undergraduate studies in journalism and media studies, Rutgers University A handful of publications recently eliminated their public editor positions in favor of social media, appointing “reader representatives” and sharing more details about how stories were reported as ways to keep their newsrooms in check. But those avenues, media experts said, don’t replace having an internal, trained, professional journalist investigating issues that arise in newsrooms to hold editors accountable. Publications including The Washington Post in 2013, The New York Times last year and, most recently ESPN in May, eliminated their public editor positions. The role had “outlived its usefulness,” ESPN explained, while The New York Times said no one person…

FROM THIS YEAR’S WINTER OLYMPICS IN PYEONGCHANG, SOUTH KOREA, TO THE WORLD CUP IN RUSSIA AND BEYOND, THESE 29 LEADING SPORTS INNOVATORS ARE UPPING THEIR GAME, EMPLOYING NEW MARKETING DATA TOOLS AND STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE THE FAN EXPERIENCE. FOR ADWEEK’S THIRD ANNUAL LIST OF THE MOST POWERFUL WOMEN IN SPORTS, WE WELCOMED TOP EXECUTIVES FROM FITNESS PHENOM PELOTON, SUPER BOWL DARLING MICHELOB ULTRA AND PERENNIAL FIFA, NFL SPONSOR VISA. AND OF COURSE, WHAT’S A SPORTS ISSUE WITHOUT SPOTLIGHTING AN ATHLETE WITH A HUGE FOLLOWING. HERE, WE SPEAK TO SKIING WUNDERKIND MIKAELA SHIFFRIN ON BEING THE BEST FEMALE RACER IN THE WORLD AND HOW THAT PLAYS INTO HER BRAND.…

THE SERVING Because of their extremely low temperature, Dippin’ Dots feel crunchy on your tongue, but they also melt fast and won’t last long on your spoon. THE FLAVOR This is the rainbow ice flavor, one of 35 the brand offers. For the record, the most popular flavor is cookies ‘n cream, which comes with Oreo chunks. THE BEADS These tiny balls are the result of the flash-freezing process, when liquid nitrogen in a cryogenic container blasts droplets of liquid ice cream mix. The trouble started eight years ago, when a Washington PR man took to Twitter with a bone to pick. “Dippin Dots is NOT the ice cream of the future,” he wrote. The treat in question, a crowd pleaser since its 1988 introduction, had billed itself as “The…

Sonos filed for an initial public offering on Friday. The transition will up the competition between Sonos and giants like Google, Amazon and Apple, each of which has rolled out smart speaker offerings of their own. Sonos also relies on each of those three companies to feed its platform with their respective voice assistant programs and streaming services. It integrated Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant last fall and plans to add Siri and Google Assistant later this year. Sonos clarifies in the filing that it’s well aware of this contradiction, noting that these companies could cut off services or raise licensing fees at any time if they decide it’s advantageous.…

It’s prime cocktail hour at NBCU’s beachside cabana. The Cannes Lions festival is in full swing. Network executives are holding court, entertaining marketers and media mavens as the Mediterranean sun blazes, the rosé flows and live music wafts across the crowded wooden deck. Off to the side, quietly taking it all in is Mikaela Shiffrin, who, in a sleek red dress, could easily be confused as any one of the marketing pros, save for being the most obviously toned and fit person there. She is, after all, the current two-time reigning World Cup overall champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, most recently winning the kamikaze-like giant slalom event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Shiffrin, 23, is in town for panels and the promotion of her own…

‘We believe it is good business to ensure our core values always lead the way.’ Lauren Hobart President, Dick’s Sporting Goods Shortly after the Parkland, Fla., high school shootings, Hobart helped to rewrite the retailer’s firearm policy, raising the minimum age to buy guns to 21 and removing assault-style rifles from 750-plus Dick’s and Field & Stream stores. Hobart called it “taking a stance on common sense gun reform,” in line with priorities that date back to Dick’s founding. “We believe it is good business to ensure our core values always lead the way,” she says. The PepsiCo veteran, promoted from CMO about a year ago, helped set Cyber Monday sales records, propelled Carrie Underwood’s Calia apparel brand to hot-selling status and opened 60 locations last year. She oversees…

Jessica Pels, digital director of Cosmopolitan, first moved to New York as a 14-year-old to study ballet at the American Ballet Theatre. Her parents had only one condition: Pels, coming from Atlanta, had to stay at a nunnery in Chelsea. In her spare time between ballet practices and following the convent’s rules, Pels fell in love with the city and vowed to come back full time. Five years later she returned, studying at New York University, interning at The New Yorker and graduating with a degree in film production. Following stints at Glamour and Teen Vogue, Pels worked her way up in the magazine industry, landing at Marie Claire as digital director in late 2014. After three years in the role, she joined Cosmopolitan in January 2018. In just six…

Legendary tennis champ Billie Jean King, who went down in history for defeating Bobby Riggs, entered a partnership with watch brand Citizen last year ahead of the release of the biopic Battle of the Sexes. Adweek (USPS 458870, ISSN 1549-9553) is published weekly: 34 times a year with 1 issue in December; 2 issues in July and August; 3 issues in January, February, March, April, May, June and November; and four issues in 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) 450-5203. Registered as newspaper at the British…