What HBO’s ‘Succession’ can teach us about advertising

As an abashed former News Corp employee (thankfully at HarperCollins, one of the Murdoch portfolio’s least-offensive holdings), HBO’s "Succession" is my straight shot of Sunday-night dopamine. The show’s great even if you aren’t attuned to the devastating, thinly veiled media and publishing world portrayals—but it’s a lot more fun for those of us who are. And watching through the eyes of a current ad guy, there are still a lot of professional lessons to take away from the savage, but often insightful, Roy family and their various hangers-on. In anticipation of the season coming to a close this Sunday, when we bid adieu to our favorite deliciously dysfunctional and unscrupulous family of one-percenters until next year, I bring you my favorite ad-world lessons learned and reaffirmed in the first two seasons of HBO’s latest tentpole show. What's the protein? Roy family patriarch Logan’s go-to phrase, “What’s the protein?” is quickly becoming my internal mantra in all sorts of daily situations. Logan’s a busy guy who shoots from the hip, so he needs a quick phrase that helps get to the meat of the matter at hand—or points out the lack of substance in a given proposition (like his daughter Shiv’s much-mocked family memo). “What’s the protein?” is great shorthand for stripping the BS out of the equation and weighing whether there’s real substance at the core of an idea or it’s just carbohydrate filler. I’ve toyed with “What’s the protein?” becoming my new go-to filter in... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'

[ Advertising Age | 2019-10-11 11:22:17 UTC ]
News tagged with: #nice reminder #parent brand #airtight positioning #ridiculous glut #streaming platforms #batting average #deliver non-stop #t-miss products #toughest test #warnermedia umbrella #three-dimensional chess-plotting #adland-relevant lessons #ad guy #hat tip #standout lines #publishing world #news corp

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Video Advertising Goes Global With French Power Merger

Two major players in online video advertising, Ebuzzing and Teads, are merging to create a new company with plans to list on the NASDAQ in 2015.Both companies are French, and have separately been developing "outstream" video advertising allowing the distribution of video advertising outside of... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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North Korean dictators: also successful children's book authors?

North Korean dictators Kim Jong-Il and Kim Il-Sung were credited with writing children's books featuring thinly veiled metaphors for North Korean political theory. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Consumer Trust Still the Biggest Hurdle for Native Advertisers

Not all content is equal -- at least when it comes to trust.A new study conducted by Nielsen on behalf of InPowered, a technology startup, found that consumers are actually quite sophisticated in how they utilize different sources in the buying process. And they, in fact, favor third-party... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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GABBS & SIBA’s Second Year Proves A Success

This past weekend, with an emphasis on education and bookseller and author togetherness, GABBS & SIBA’s show in the Springtime was a success. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK mobile advertising set to overtake newspaper ad revenue in 2014

New eMarketer research forecasts mobile ad spend to top £2bn this year, and for total digital media to reach £9bn by 2017UK mobile advertising spend is forecast to top £2bn and overtake newspaper ad revenue for the first time in 2014, according to new research.Total digital media advertising... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BAM Espresso Pilot A Success, So Far

Books-A-Million’s three-month experiment with the print-on-demand Espresso Book Machine has been a success, but the country’s second largest bookstore chain is not yet ready to take the program beyond the two locations that have been operating EBMs since last November. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If native advertising is so harmless, why does it rely on misleading readers? | Bob Garfield

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[ The Guardian | 2014-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If Native Advertising Is So Harmless, Why Does It Rely on Misleading Readers?

The devil walks into a bar and sits at a table with eight newspaper and magazine publishers plus one strange little fellow in shabby, dated robes. The devil says, "How'd you all like to get some advertising revenue at higher rates t ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'12 Years a Slave': Would it be a good classroom teaching tool?

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[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Major New Arabic Ebookstore Seeing Early Success

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News UK advertises for 'privacy adviser'

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[ The Guardian | 2014-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Advertising sales could transform as programmatic trading takes off

Computer auction-based system is set to go beyond its roots in display sector but questions remain on transparencyProgrammatic trading of advertising has been around for a decade or so, but advocates believe 2014 could be the year it breaks out beyond its online display roots and takes hold in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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IAB To Advertisers: Time to Step Up Your Mobile Game

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[ Advertising Age | 2014-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Guardian | 2014-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Picture Book To Teach Kids Typography

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[ Fast Company | 2014-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Native advertising is the new paywall in media economics - but is it here to stay?

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