Complete Story
01/04/2018
Here are the 4 stories we think will shape media and advertising in 2018
2017 was a year of intense disruption in the worlds of media and marketing. And if anything, it was all but a precursor to what lies ahead.
Despite facing a series of measurement and brand safety challenges of their own, Facebook and Google gobbled up an even bigger gulp chunk of digital advertising, just as Amazon started closing in on their turf.
In addition, the ad agency model came under even more threat from yet another direction, with management consulting firms like Deloitte and Accenture coming for them.
And lastly, once-upon-a-time digital media darlings like BuzzFeed and Mashable had rude awakenings of their own.
In 2018, expect more upheaval in media and adland. So here are four big stories we'll be tracking closely over the next 12 months:
Digital media will have its day of reckoning
If 2017 was any indication, things don’t necessarily look rosy for digital media publishers. Mashable was sold in a fire sale for a fifth of it's valuation, BuzzFeed and Vice reportedly fell short of their revenue goals and Oath, owner of Yahoo, AOL and HuffPost, saw massive layoffs. Across the industry, publishers which are dependent largely on advertising for revenue are trying to diversify – quickly.
