M&M Global’s top 10 most read stories of 2016 | M&M Global

M&M Global’s top 10 most read stories of 2016

From the launch of Omnicom Media Group’s latest agency network, to the final verdict on Volkswagen’s global media business, we count down 2016’s most-read stories by M&M Global readers.

stack-of-newspapers

Boy, oh boy – what a year it has been. We’ve seen Britain vote to leave the European Union, a reality TV star voted in as the next president of the United States and many of the world’s leading culture figures – from Bowie to Prince – pass on.

For marketers and media professionals, it has proved equally tumultuous.

The ANA’s report into the alleged acceptance of media rebates by agencies sent shockwaves through the industry in North America and beyond, and created a storm of accusations about a perceived lack of transparency in the client-agency relationship.

While the year started with much noise about the potential of Virtual Reality, it was Augmented Reality that achieved its crossover moment through the Pokémon Go phenomenon, which sent the world temporarily insane in the summer months.

And, more happily for media owners, 2016 was the breakthrough year for brand content, with publishers rushing to invest in in-house studios, and advertisers piling into the content space in droves.

But what did M&M Global readers consider to be the biggest stories of the year, if we use page views as our metric of choice? As ever, the list contains plenty of surprises…

1 – Hearts & Science: What you need to know about Omnicom’s newest media agency

Alongside the major Publicis Media shake-up, the launch of Omnicom Media Group’s new agency Hearts & Science – to house its newly-won Procter & Gamble business – was one of the biggest stories in agency-land. Here we explained the Hearts & Science proposition.

Hearts & Science global CEO Scott Hagedorn
Hearts & Science global CEO Scott Hagedorn

2 – GroupM: ‘We are at the end of the beginning of digital marketing’

The integrity of supply, the rise of ad avoidance and issues surrounding data-driven marketing were among the challenges in need of urgent address in digital media, according to the ‘Interaction 2016′ report, released in April by WPP’s GroupM.

3 – Full-service 2.0: The new ‘full-service’ agency model explained

With agency groups such as Havas reuniting creative and media agencies under a single roof, in the form of its Havas Village concept, M&M Global investigated what the new-style ‘full-service’ agency model might look like in the future.

4 – What next for Netflix? ‘The lure of the ad dollar is too appealing to resist forever’

Way back in January, Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings revealed the video streaming service had simultaneously launched across 130 countries globally. We asked media experts what the industry should expect from Netflix over the coming 12 months.

Netflix office

5 – VW hands $3bn global media business to PHD

After the year of ‘Mediapalooza’, 2016 was always going to be quieter on the new business front. However, plenty of huge chunks of business still landed into the arms of new agencies – including this huge global win for Omnicom Media Group’s PHD.

6 – Dentsu Aegis Network adds Mexican agency Flock in acquisition spree

One of those aforementioned surprises. Our readers lapped up news that Dentsu Aegis Network had completed a burst of acquisitions with the purchase of Mexican creative digital agency Flock, allowing it to launch its Isobar business in the market.

7 – BBC boosts advertising presence in Africa with new regional team

In February, the BBC revealed plans to boost its commercial presence in sub-Saharan Africa, with the launch of a new Johannesburg-based team, 12 months on from the roll-out of BBC.com’s Africa edition.

8 – Inside OMD’s ‘digital pivot’ across EMEA

Our wide-ranging interview with OMD EMEA president Nikki Mendonca revealed the agency’s digital ‘pivot’, and discussed the challenge of making science ‘sexy’ in media.

Nikki Mendonca

9 – European RTB House expands to Latin America

Another surprise inclusion in our top 10. Following a successful expansion to São Paulo, European ad tech firm RTB House told M&M Global it would be opening operations in Latin America, focusing on business development in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Mexico.

10 – Heineken global media head Gregory Kukolj: ‘The merger of data is key in 2016’

In a February interview, Heineken’s then- global head of media and digital Gregory Kukolj told M&M Global why the brewer is using media to inform its most fundamental marketing decisions. Kukolj has since left Heineken to join Booking.com as global head of media.

No Comments Yet

Leave a Reply