Interpublic Group, the advertising giant, has suggested to clients that work with its large Mediabrands ad-buying group to “pause” spending on Twitter for the next week, according to a person familiar with the matter. Executives at the media-investment firm want to get more clarity, this person says, on Twitter’s trust and safety policies, as well as its “organizational capability” under Elon Musk, the new owner. Musk last week closed a $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Interpublic and Dentsu are expected to submit offers to acquire most of data broker Acxiom, as consumer data becomes an increasingly critical ingredient in the ad-buying process, even as it faces increased scrutiny. Journal subscribers can read the full story here.
All four of the major holding companies — WPP, Interpublic, Omnicom and Publicis Groupe — have now acknowledged that subsidiaries within their respective folds have been subpoenaed by the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with its ongoing inquiry into commercial production practices.
In an effort to accelerate its shift toward programmatic buying of all forms of video, including television, Interpublic has tapped Adap.tv as its preferred video ad platform. The deal, which Interpublic’s Magna Global unit has been negotiating for about a year, comes on the heels of AOL’s $405 million agreement to acquire Adap.tv, and will integrate Interpublic’s proprietary methods for targeting audiences with Adap.tv’s technology for sourcing the video inventory that reaches them and serving ads to them.
Rentrak revealed Tuesday what it described as a “milestone” deal with Interpublic that would use its TV audience measurement data as a “trading currency.” The deal, which was unveiled as part of Rentrak’s quarterly earnings briefing with investors and analysts, includes a new TV audience segmentation system targeting “movie-goers.”
Citing the “first signs of weakness,” Interpublic’s Magna Global unit this morning issued a downgrade to its outlook for U.S. ad spending in 2011, revising its downward two-tenths of a point to 2.9%, from 3.1% in its previous forecast.
