Hello! Welcome to the Advertising and Media Insider newsletter. First, a scoop: Senior reporter Lauren Johnson wrote that Nanigans, an early Facebook marketing partner, is seeking a buyer for part of its business, an apparent casualty of Facebook's pivot to privacy. Ad industry insiders say one of Facebook's oldest and biggest marketing partners is selling its social business, and it's a warning sign for other ad-tech firms So much for a quiet August. Last week brought the long-awaited CBS-Viacom merger. Senior reporter Ashley Rodriguez wrote about why people inside Viacom are feeling a mix of relief and anxiety, what the combined ViacomCBS could acquire next, and why the new leadership structure could run into trouble. Catch up on our full coverage of the deal here. Elsewhere, senior advertising reporter Tanya Dua dug up details about Quibi's hiring spree. Jeffrey Katzenberg's Quibi is on an aggressive hiring spree and is luring talent from Snap and Netflix The to-be-launched company is particularly eyeing Netflix and Snap for technical hires. Tanya also dove deep into agencies that are starting their own direct-to-consumer products. CBD-infused sparkling water, ricotta cups, and yoga gear: Advertising agencies are building their own brands to crack the direct-to-consumer market What better way to show DTC companies you understand their business than by becoming one yourself? Lauren also profiled an ad-tech vet who sold his location-based ad company not once, but twice. A founder talks about selling his location-measurement startup to Snap then Foursquare, and how he survived the tough ad-tech climate David Shim credits a conservative approach to advertising in weathering a tough market for ad-tech companies despite mounting regulation and privacy concerns. I returned from vacation to more developments about Facebook's plans for a news tab as it tries to restore its reputation. Facebook is hiring a team of journalists to staff its news tab but will rely mostly on algorithms Facebook's trying to strike deals with prestige publishers like The New York Times and The Atlantic to supply news for the tab, but as of this writing, none was nailed down. Facebook also announced its long-awaited tool to let people clear their history from Facebook, which will limit the targeting advertisers can do and potentially dent its ad business. If you got this email forwarded, sign up for your own here. Got a tip or feedback? Email me at [email protected]. Here are other great stories from media, tech, and advertising. (You can read most of the articles here by subscribing to BI Prime; use promo code AD2PRIME2018 for a free month.) A Wall Street firm says Amazon is stepping up its efforts to win small advertisers with cheaper prices and help from sales reps An Instagram influencer breaks down how much brands pay for sponsored posts, starting at 10,000 followers Netflix's former head of kids programming breaks down the major streaming services in the family market, and how his new startup is selling to them $300 million Cameo hired a TikTok exec to lead its international expansion, as the celeb shoutout app looks to add Bollywood and K-Pop stars Everything you need to know about PyTorch, the world's fastest-growing AI project that started at Facebook and powers research at Tesla, Uber, and Genentech |