Brands in the outer-space industry still have to advertise down on Earth. For now.

That advertising traditionally appeared at industry events, but as the business of space continues to grow—to an estimated $1 trillion in annual revenue by 2040—some companies are investing marketing dollars in space-focused podcasts and newsletters.

“We were able to sign our first advertiser before we even launched our daily [newsletter],” said Ari Lewis, co-founder of Payload, a digital media company covering the business and policy of space, which counts brands like Lockheed Martin, Airbus, Deloitte, Bank of America, and AWS as advertisers. Payload’s podcast also had an advertiser on board before it aired its first episode, Lewis said.

Houston, we have a podcast

Podcasts and newsletters covering the industry can offer brands an opportunity to tell their stories to people who are genuinely interested in learning about what they do.

• SpiderOak, a space cybersecurity company, is focused on brand-building in the federal space by trying to reach people like elected officials “everywhere thought leaders go,” explained Andrew Friedrich, SpiderOak’s VP of marketing.
• These days, that includes Payload’s podcast and newsletter, which Lewis said targets “decision-makers in the space industry.”

Keep reading here.—AM

Turns out, audiences aren’t necessarily thinking about advertisers when they’re consuming news about geopolitical crises like the war in Ukraine. That’s according to a survey published by the Trustworthy Accountability Group and the Brand Safety Institute, both industry organizations designed to promote the concept of “brand safety,” which is the idea that a brand’s reputation could be impacted by the content it appears alongside.

• For example, that means an airline probably wouldn’t want to run an ad alongside coverage of a plane crash.

That can get more complicated with coverage of more complex or ongoing events, like violent crime or war. Some key results of the survey:

• 46% said that “all high-quality journalism should be appropriate for ads” without content-specific restrictions
• 18.6% said news about the war in Ukraine shouldn’t be supported by advertising revenue
• 18.7% said the same for news about the Covid-19 pandemic

That last point is especially relevant considering that brand-safety guidelines were largely responsible for many publishers’ being unable to monetize stories about Covid-19 in the early stages of the pandemic.

Safety at the speed of ads: At the digital level, brand safety is often automated by tools created by companies like Integral Ad Science and DoubleVerify. Those same companies have since been accused of allegedly scraping publishers’ sites and selling that data.

• Research has shown that overzealous blocking can seriously hurt publishers.

Why is this important? Many, if not most, news organizations are ad-supported businesses. If advertisers are uncomfortable with specific news coverage, then they might pull their ads, taking revenue away from a news publisher at a time when that coverage might be more important for audiences.—RB

To summarize the Q3 agency earnings to date: The numbers are good, but the vibes are…not?

The big four holding companies—WPP, Omnicom, Publicis, and IPG—all reported organic revenue growth in Q3 (though some were underwhelmed by WPP’s 3.8% compared to Publicis’ 10.3%). Still, all four earnings calls were seemingly clouded by the months-long threat of a recession and its potential impact on the industry.

Recession…?

If you’re getting mixed signs on whether we’re going into a recession, you’re not alone. While tech companies said that advertisers are pulling back, brands like Coca-Cola said they’re increasing their marketing spend. For now, holding companies seem to be in wait-and-see mode.

• Omnicom CEO John Wren noted on the company’s earnings call that the lead-up to this potential recession has been a “little bit slower rolling” than past ones.
• IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky told shareholders that the majority of its clients have asked it to engage in “contingency planning” in case of an economic downturn. He did add that  some have deferred digital project work “to a lesser degree.”

Continue reading here.—KH

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

Under the influence: Still need holiday-campaign ideas? Inspiration for influencer marketing efforts during the most freezing wonderful time of the year lives here.

Down and dirty: Rachel Karten interviewed the NYC Department of Sanitation’s social media coordinator, and talked about the department's "viral rat moment," among other things.

Call me, beep me: Looking to spice up your CTAs? Look no further.

Stream on: Tubi’s 100% ad-supported streaming platform is built to serve audiences and advertisers. See why over 56m users choose Tubi every month—and how your brand can reach them. Learn more.*

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Marketing Brew is hosting a full-day affair of industry exploration and navigation on Nov. 15 in NYC. Complete with brand leaders, industry connections, and your favorite editorial team, The Brief: A Summit Presented by Marketing Brew is an event that cannot be missed.

Incredible speakers from Vans, Loeb & Loeb, REI, and more will take to the stage to tackle the dizzying industry topics we love so dearly. Rebranding, attribution, omnichannel, CTV, social commerce, brand values…we promise to tackle all the buzzwords Brew-style with some of the most notable brands and individuals. Grab your tickets here.

Here’s hoping you got nuts from a wise old squirrel in your Halloween basket this year.

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• A conversation with Soyoung Kang, the CMO of eos