Brands, creators hold their own NewFronts-style sales pitches to win over more ad dollars

Negotiations in the upfront and NewFronts cycles can seem at odds with the fast-paced, individual-focused creator business model. But new sales presentations from creators and brands centered around the creator economy have agencies optimistic that they could create long-term, lucrative deals for creators.

The new sales pitches could also be a sign that the space is maturing as creators are expected to contribute to a global influencer market size of $32 billion in 2025, according to Influencer Marketing Hub.

Ongoing creator upfront deals are generally going to the large creators that have become celebrities and media companies (think MrBeast and Khaby Lame with followings in the hundreds of millions), according to four agencies Digiday spoke with for this story. Meanwhile, mid-tier and smaller creators have been shut out as they require more flexibility in their partnerships. Negotiations for upfront and NewFronts deals kick off next month, as networks pitch their shows and packages to advertisers to buy ad time in advance.

Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.

,Read More

Why brands and agencies are putting AI chiefs in their C-Suites

A new addition to the S&P 500 officer class has emerged in recent months: the chief AI officer, a position defined not by control of key budgets or the size of their team, but their expertise in all things generative, agentic and automation.

IPG’s appointment of Yaniv Sarig as its global head of AI commerce last week was merely the latest in a string of C-Suite hires made by major advertisers and agencies.

In the last 12 months, brands like General Motors, Mastercard and ZocDoc have each appointed chief AI officers while agency holding companies like Stagwell, subsidiaries like Golin and indie shops like Luckie & Co. and Horizon Media have done the same. Adtech firms are in on the trend – Zefr hired a CAIO in February 2024 – as are B2B giants like PwC, S&P and Accenture.

Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.

,Read More