S T U D I O 1 2 : These Are the Top Media All-Stars

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First Things First

April 13, 2020

By Jameson Fleming

Adweek's Media All-Stars: 18 Execs Masterfully Mingling Data and Instinct for Their Agencies

For this year's edition of Adweek's Media All Stars, we celebrated 18 executives across the industry, including executive of the year, Lynn Lewis, who serves as the U.S. CEO for UM Worldwide. After taking over as U.S. CEO, Lewis led UM to a series of new business wins throughout 2019, without a single loss. She's implemented a number of changes at UM to foster diversity, including an initiative that aims to increase diverse representation at UM with the goal of aligning with demographic projections of the U.S. in 2040.

Other top stories from this week's issue of Adweek magazine:

A survey of more than 100 marketers conducted by the Association of National Advertisers found that agencies wait an average of 58 days for payment, up from 45 days in 2013. COVID-19 is exacerbating that issue. The delayed payments then trickle down to production companies. Here's what the industry is doing about it.
Adult animation is now the hottest genre for streaming services as everyone wants the next Family Guy or South Park. Why? They're cheaper to produce and have a much longer shelf life. Plus, during a time when production of live-action shows has been suspended, animated shows can be created remotely. The streaming services explain their big push into animation.
Cord-cutting, streaming and binge watching were already the biggest trends in TV before the pandemic. Now, viewers are shifting even more rapidly toward those forms of media consumption. As streaming video continues to grow during the pandemic, two in five people will sign up for a new streaming service. Nearly a quarter have already done so in the past month. Infographic: See how media consumption has changed over the last month.

This PSA About Social Distancing Is the Most Effective So Far

The Ohio Department of Health and Dayton agency Real Art have found what just might be the most effective way of showing the danger when people continue to cluster together. Using mousetraps and ping-pong balls, a simple setup demonstrates the explosiveness of one infection in the population. The opening shot in this PSA took eight hours to set up.

Watch it: You won't see a more effective PSA than this one.

IPG CEO Michael Roth Addresses Layoffs and Cost-Cutting Across IPG Agencies

On Thursday, WPP's Mark Read told Adweek that the agency holding company was trying to cut expenses across the board, including freezing new hires, reviewing freelance spend and stopping "discretionary" costs, which include travel, hotels and awards show payments. The goal: avoid the worst case scenario of cutting jobs. Now, IPG CEO Michael Roth revealed in a memo that the holding company will not be immune to layoffs. IPG is cutting costs, but agencies face decisions. MullenLowe may have been the first IPG agency to go through a round of dismissals, as it cut jobs in Boston, New York and Los Angeles.

Read: Roth explains the harsh realities of the industry and where the holding company will feel it the most.

Publicis Groupe Introduced Marcel in the US This Week. But What, Exactly, Is It?

Marcel, Publicis Groupe's much-talked about AI platform finally has life. To encourage its employees to join (the more activity, the smarter the platform gets), the company is donating $10 to WHO's COVID-19 Response Fund. Here are some of features in the app:

Jobs: It publishes openings within Publicis Groupe. In the U.K. launch, these were made available internally to Publicis Groupe employees a week before the jobs were posted externally.
Marcel Gigs: It rolled out with the U.S. expansion and offers temporary assignments to Publicis Groupe employees.
Daily Digest: It provides employees with content around Publicis Groupe news and updates related to the coronavirus pandemic.

May Upfronts Week Collapses as Most Media Companies Delay Their Virtual Events

In one month, the Upfronts went from in-person to virtual to indefinitely postponed. NBCUniversal, Fox, Discovery and Disney told Adweek that while they haven't set a timeframe for their respective virtual presentations, they will no longer be held during the week of May 11. Presenters indicated finding a future week where the stars align for all the networks will be virtually impossible.

Best of the Rest: Today's Top News and Insights

Bill Murray Returns for Jeep Because Every Day Feels the Same Now

Actor Bill Murray returns today in a familiar role in series of vignettes on Jeep's social channels as the brand encourages consumers to stay off the road as the days are beginning to blend together.

Watch Murray star in the iconic spot.

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Gaming as a Cultural Force Just Stepped to the Forefront of Entertainment

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Telemundo CMO on Building Trust Through Communications in and out of Crisis

Mónica Gil knows a few things about crisis and reputation management, having spent some time in politics on her path to CMO of NBCUniversal's Telemundo. Further, not only is she the Chief Marketing Officer, with all marketing and communications responsibility, she also leads Human Resources.