This year, the Lumascapes could get a little smaller.

That’s because, if the tea leaves are correct, advertisers are heading into an era of consolidation, as (potentially!) lower interest rates, a (maybe!) stable economy, and a (perhaps!) more favorable regulatory landscape set the stage for a blizzard of dealmaking. But don’t just take our word for it—listen to the bankers.

“Currently there is lots of strategic deal dialogue, which we believe will manifest in an active 2025,” ad tech investment group Luma Partners wrote in a report published in December.

In some places, that activity is already here. In December, Omnicom announced its plans to acquire Interpublic Group in a colossal deal that, if approved, would create the “largest advertising company in the world,” per the NYT. Just weeks before the Omnicom and IPG merger was announced, Mediaocean, a software company, announced its intent to acquire CTV advertising and measurement platform Innovid, in a deal valued at $500 million—comparatively peanuts, but perhaps a green-light signal for the industry.

“All of the best companies are getting inbounds right now,” Eric Franchi, general partner at Aperiam Ventures, told Marketing Brew. “Everybody has woken up in terms of strategics and are now pursuing deals.”

Markets…moving? In terms of ad tech and media deals, 2024 started off slow but saw some movement after a quiet couple of years. In comparison, the conditions in 2025 already look to be a lot more favorable, Mark Wright, chief of the M&A strategic advisory practice at Prohaska Consulting, said.

“Based on the RFPs we’re processing now, it looks like it’s going to be an intense Q1 leading to a very intense rest of 2025,” Wright told Marketing Brew.

Continue reading here.—RB

Nothing quite signals the new year like conference-floor carpeting and stale oxygen. Viva Las Vegas!

This week, CES, an annual business-slash-tech-slash-future-of-everything conference, kicks off, bringing together executives from major brands along with a heck of a lot of marketers who will comingle and discuss their priorities for the year.

Our intrepid reporter Jasmine Sheena will be writing dispatches from the conference, trying to make sense of topics ranging from continued growth in CTV and streaming to AI being added to just about everything.

Ahead of the party, here’s a refresher of what to look forward to.

Who’s who: Keynote speakers this year include the leather-jacket enthusiast and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Delta CEO Ed Bastian, who will deliver his presentation from inside the Las Vegas Sphere, and X CEO Linda Yaccarino, who is still working to win advertisers back to the beleaguered platform.

• Exhibitors this year include Walmart, Netflix, Google, TikTok, Meta, Reddit, Snap, and Microsoft, so if you’ve ever wanted Silicon Valley swag, now’s your chance.

AI ads: While just about every business will boast of AI bona fides this week, actual AI companies like OpenAI and Perplexity, looking to expand their revenue streams, have begun dabbling in advertising—so expect ad executives to have their ears open for opportunities while in Vegas.

Streaming supply: Last year, streamers like Amazon Prime Video spent CES pitching their ad-supported tiers, and the availability of streaming impressions during the upfronts was up considerably. This year, Roku, Netflix, and Peacock are among the streaming companies that will descend upon Sin City.

Continue reading here.—RB

January is all about intention-setting. And boy, do CMOs have some big goals for the new year.

With potential pressures to marketing budgets, continued development of AI tools, and the never-ending pressure to win over new customers, CMOs and top marketers across categories have big plans for 2025.

We asked several of them what their biggest priorities are going into 2025 and compiled their answers below.

Audience growth and community development: “Our biggest priority is continuing our mission to evolve the soda category; we have begun a transformation that ‘soda isn’t a dirty word anymore.’ We want to lead the soda category, not the better-for-you soda category. This means expanding to new audiences and finding new ways to reach them.”—Andy Judd, CMO, Poppi

Diversification: “We’ve seen huge success from our strategy of tapping into our community insights and brand lore to create engaging content on short-form platforms, so diversification is our key word for 2025 across content, audience, and format. In 2025, we want to explore different facets of the Duolingo brand and new mediums. The Duolingo universe is rich with many characters that can help create new connections with our audience. We want to explore long-form content that opens opportunities for more depth of narrative and serialized content formats, while also letting the product shine through our engaging social strategy.”—Manu Orssaud, CMO, Duolingo

Continue reading here.—AM, KH, RB, JS, JN

Executive moves across the industry.

• TikTok exec Sameer Singh, head of ad sales in North America, is leaving the company as the platform faces an uncertain future in the US.
• Horizon Media Holdings has its first president: IBM vet Bob Lord.
• Meta policy head Nick Clegg is leaving the job; executive Joel Kaplan will replace him, per Semafor.
• Grocery Outlet hired Christopher Miller as EVP and CFO.