Next in Media spoke to Marc McCollum. Chief Innovation Officer at Raptive, about how smaller publishers are enduring in the face of AI search, Google search changes, and the supposed death of cookies.

💡Takeaways:

• 🤝 Raptive's Mission: Raptive champions ~6,000 independent creators on the open web, helping them monetize, grow audiences, and build sustainable businesses.
• 📊 Google's Grip: Google Search is the lifeblood, driving a massive 58% of traffic to Raptive's network, making any changes highly impactful.
• 📉 "Helpful Content" Hurdles: Recent Google updates, while aiming for quality, have disproportionately hurt mid-size and smaller creators, often favoring larger sites and forums like Reddit.
• 🤖 The AI Answer Engine Threat: Google's pivot to AI Overviews signals a move from search to "answer engine," potentially slashing publisher traffic (~25% estimate) and raising serious copyright infringement concerns by repurposing content without compensation.
• 🔗❓ AI's Attribution Issues: Even when creator content is used in AI answers, attribution is often missing, inaccurate, or doesn't lead to clicks, breaking the traditional traffic model.
• 💪 Advertisers Still Value the Open Web: Despite traffic woes, advertiser demand for authentic creator content is strong, with Raptive seeing record direct sales, valuing the trust and connection creators build.
• 🎯 Smarter Ads with AI: Raptive is leveraging AI (Raptive Intelligence) not just as a threat, but as a tool to analyze content nuances and create powerful mindset-based targeting for advertisers, commanding premium rates.
• 🚀 Diversification is Key: Creators must reduce reliance on Google by building audiences on platforms like Pinterest, YouTube, and especially email newsletters, a strategy Raptive actively supports.

🎙 Guests: Marc McCollum
🎤 Host: Mike Shields
📺 Sponsor: ElementalTV
🎬 Producer: FEL Creative

Next in Media spoke with George Karalexis, Co-Founder & CEO of TEN2 Media and his partner and COO Donna Budica, about the company's focus on helping artists think - and make money - like digital creators.

💡Takeaways:

• 🎵 Bridging the Gap: TEN2 Media assists artists, especially musicians, in maximizing their YouTube presence, moving beyond simply hosting music videos.
• 📱 YouTube's Evolution: The platform has become a multi-format "super app" (Shorts, long-form, live, etc.), offering significant monetization opportunities that were previously underserviced in music.
• 🤝 Unique Expertise: TEN2 Media's strength lies in its founders' combined experience in music, business, and YouTube, allowing them to understand artists' needs deeply.
• 💰 Monetization & IP Protection: They utilize advanced tools and YouTube's systems (like Content ID) to track fan-created content (UGC), protect intellectual property, and optimize revenue for artists.
• 📈 Significant Revenue Growth: Their strategies have led to substantial revenue increases (up to 5-7x) for clients ranging from independent artists building careers to major legacy acts.
• 👑 YouTube vs. Other Platforms: While platforms like TikTok drive virality and Instagram excels at aesthetics, YouTube provides a more robust environment for building an authentic brand, community, and diverse income streams.
• 🎬 Shorts are Key: Engaging with short-form video is now essential for discovery and reaching new audiences, complementing the deeper engagement and higher revenue potential of long-form content.
• 🤯 Modern Music Challenge: While it's easier than ever for independent artists to distribute music, the overwhelming content volume makes standing out and achieving discovery without a unique point of view and smart platform strategy extremely difficult.

🎙 Guests: George Karalexis & Donna Budica
🎤 Host: Mike Shields
📺 Sponsor: VuePlanner
🎬 Producer: FEL Creative

Mike and ad consultant Emily Riley are back talking about the big headlines in media and advertising, including the plunge in consumer confidence, how brands are viewing retail media right now, the fate of Yahoo's DSP, and lawsuits against the Trade Desk.

💡Takeaways:

• 📉 Economic Uncertainty & Ad Spend: Advertisers face significant uncertainty due to factors like tariffs and fluctuating consumer confidence, potentially leading to budget cuts or shifts towards performance-driven advertising.   
• 🔗 Supply Chain Resilience: Many companies are better prepared for supply chain disruptions now compared to the COVID era, having improved systems and diversification. 
• 📊 Measurement Renaissance: There's a growing emphasis on better advertising measurement, incrementality, and outcome-based models. 
• 📺 Streaming's Dual Market: The streaming ad market is bifurcated. Big brands are shifting linear TV budgets (especially for live events like sports) to streaming, buying for mass reach. 
• 🛒 Retail Media Dynamics: Amazon dominates retail media, and much of the sector's growth is coming from offsite targeting (using retailer data for ads elsewhere on the web). 
• 🔒 UID 2.0 & Privacy Questions: Lawsuits targeting The Trade Desk's UID 2.0 highlight concerns about how aggregated data (like hashed emails, mobile IDs, IP addresses) might create permanent identifiers, potentially conflicting with privacy laws and user expectations.   
• 🤔 Yahoo's DSP Puzzle: Yahoo selling its highly-rated DSP is puzzling, especially since much of its perceived value comes from its integration with Yahoo's own content (like Finance and Sports).
• 🎮 Integrated Campaign Success: The Minecraft movie's McDonald's campaign success highlights the power of deep, long-term, multi-platform integrations that tap into existing fandoms and nostalgia, feeling authentic rather than like a last-minute ad insertion.

Next in Media spoke with Sammy Rubin, Vice President of Integrated Media at Wpromote, about the blurring lines between retail media and everything else brands care about - and how big brands are still in the middle of a messy process to integrate budgets and teams.

💡Takeaways:

• 📈 Retail Media is Evolving: The lines are blurring! Retail media isn't just shopper marketing anymore; it now includes diverse channels like CTV, podcasts, and influencer marketing.
• 🤝 Integration is Key: Silos are breaking down. Brands are increasingly looking for integrated strategies where all marketing investments work together cohesively to drive goals.
• ❓ Ownership Challenges: With retail media expanding into areas like CTV and social, a key challenge is figuring out who owns these channels within an organization. Are search experts planning influencer campaigns? 
• 📱 Social is the New Search: Consumers, especially younger demographics, increasingly discover brands and products passively through social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels, rather than active searching.
• 📊 Measurement Renaissance (MMM is Back!): Media Mix Modeling (MMM) is experiencing a comeback, driven by cookie deprecation and advancements in AI.
• 🤖 AI's Role in Media: While AI is making analysis more powerful and efficient (especially with MMM), human strategists are still crucial. AI can extract insights, but lacks the historical context, understanding of consumer behavior nuances, and creativity that humans bring to media planning.
• 📺 CTV Performance is Here: Connected TV (CTV) isn't just for brand awareness anymore. Performance-focused, digitally native agencies have been buying CTV programmatically for years, using advanced measurement to prove its impact on conversions, sales, and store traffic.
• 🤔 Flexibility & Scenario Planning: Uncertainty (like potential tariffs or platform changes like TikTok) requires brands to build flexibility into their plans.

🎙 Guests: Sammy Rubin
🎤 Host: Mike Shields
📺 Sponsor: ElementalTV
🎬 Producer: FEL Creative

Tariff panic, Adalytics fallout, the fate of the open web, and TikTok weirdness.

Takeaways:

Tariffs & Ad World Uncertainty 📉: Tariffs are causing major uncertainty in the ad world, leading to revised advertising forecasts and impacting consumer confidence.  

Phases of Economic Impact ⏳: The economic impact unfolds in two phases: initial uncertainty causing advertisers to pull back, followed by potential supply chain disruptions affecting product availability.  

Consumer Behavior 🛒: Consumer behavior is unpredictable, especially concerning how different demographics will react to economic pressures.  

Ad Tech Fraud Persistence 🚨: Ad tech continues to grapple with fraud, particularly in attribution, raising concerns about the effectiveness of brand safety measures.  

Brand Safety Challenges 🛡️: Brand safety is compromised by advertisers' demands for both safety and cost-effectiveness, pushing ad tech companies into risky situations.  

The Open Web's Future 🌐: The open web faces threats from declining search traffic and brand safety issues, but advertisers still follow audiences to the open web where valuable content remains.  

WPP's Data Play 📊: WPP's acquisition of InfoSum raises questions about the neutrality of data platforms and the ongoing shift of agencies towards becoming tech and data-driven.

This week, Next In Media brings you a special bonus episode of the new Marketecture podcast The Brand Forum.

In this episode , marketing leaders look at the complexities of brand building in today's AdTech and data-centric world, emphasizing the importance of making meaningful connections with consumers.  

The discussion explores strategies for navigating the ever-changing marketing landscape, addressing challenges like aligning brand perception with consumer needs, and effectively using partnerships to drive brand growth.

💡Takeaways:

Brand Forum Focus 📣: The Brand Forum dives into advertising, media, and marketing through the eyes of those shaping brand strategies in an ad tech world.  

Marketing's Core 🎯: The heart of marketing is making a meaningful connection with consumers.  

Strong Brand Foundation 💪: Before marketing, ensure the product is superior, available for purchase, and aligns with consumer perceptions.  

Evolving Communication 📱: Marketing is no longer one-way; it's crucial to understand and align with consumer perceptions.  

Planning is Everything 🗓️: Today's marketing requires constant adjustments to strategies, creative messages, and partnerships.  

Legacy Brand Challenges 🕰️: Legacy brands must navigate changing consumer perceptions and leverage their history effectively.

Next in Media spoke with Jason Horowitz SVP US Marketing, Global Head of Media & Digital at Mattel about his long career at the brand, where his purview includes everything from Barbie and Hot Wheels.  

Jason talked about how much kids media has changed over the past decade, and how the company navigates media planning, creators, and privacy rules.  

Jason also talked about Mattel's unique Fast strategy, and why he's both a marketer and a media planner himself.

Takeaways:

Content is King 👑, Especially for Kids: Mattel focuses on creating engaging content on YouTube to build brand affinity. Think shows, not just ads. 

YouTube is a Powerhouse 💪: YouTube is the #1 streaming service for kids. Mattel invests heavily in its own content creation, from strategy to production, to connect with this audience. 📺

Brand Affinity is Key🔑: Mattel uses YouTube to create content that fosters an emotional connection with their brands, driving long-term engagement. 🫶

Balance Paid and Organic ⚖️: Mattel combines paid advertising with organic content on YouTube to maximize reach and effectiveness. 

Social Media for Shoppers & Fans 🛒: Mattel uses social platforms to target shoppers and fans, not kids. They focus on authentic content and influencer partnerships to drive engagement and sales. 📣

Influencers are Gold ✨: Partnering with creators for authentic content on social media is a powerful strategy. Mattel collaborates with influencers to create resonant messaging and even boosts their content with paid promotion. 🤝

🎙 Guest: Jason Horowitz
🎤 Host: Mike Shields
📺 Sponsor: ElementalTV
🎬 Producer: FEL Creative

As part of an ongoing series focused on the YouTube Ecosystem (sponsored by VuePlanner) Next in Media spoke with Josh Stanley and Myra Dallas, founders of the startup Coaxial Collective and Adam Van Der Grift, better known on YouTube as the home improvement guru Haxman.  

The group talked about the need in the YouTube ad market for specialty firms focused on genres like home improvement, and how mid level creators can execute brand deals without alienating their users.

Takeaways:

Bridging the Creator-Brand Gap – Many brands still don’t fully understand creators, and vice versa. Coaxial Collective aims to fix that by helping brands and YouTube creators connect more effectively.

YouTube’s Unique Space – Unlike Instagram and TikTok, YouTube is centered on long-form content, allowing for deeper relationships with audiences rather than just quick-hit influencer marketing.

The Shift to TV Screens 📺 – More than half of some creators’ audiences watch on connected TVs, changing how they approach thumbnails, editing, and storytelling.

Authenticity is Everything – Successful brand partnerships allow creators to integrate products naturally rather than reading a script like a TV commercial.

Creators Are Often Underpaid 💰 – Many YouTubers don’t know their worth when starting out and get lowball offers, often leading to bad deals or even harming their channels.

Home Improvement & DIY is a Hot Space 🔨 – The category has strong audience engagement and is a natural fit for endemic brand partnerships (e.g., tool companies sponsoring creators).

Long-Term Brand Deals Are the Future – One-off sponsorships aren’t as effective as sustained partnerships that integrate products into content over time.

🎙 Guests: Josh Stanley, Myra Dallas & Adam Van Der Grift (Haxman)
🎤 Host: Mike Shields
📺 Sponsor: ElementalTV
🎬 Producer: FEL Creative

Next in Media spoke with Matt Edelman, Chief Commercial Officer, Super League Gaming, about whether Fortnite still has a grip on gamers - and how brands can get involved.  

Edelman also talked about Roblox's growing ad ambitions, the overall gaming ad market, and why he thinks we need to ditch the word "gamer".

Takeaways:

The Evolution of Gaming and Advertising – Gaming has become an undeniable force in media, with 3.3 billion gamers worldwide. 

Generational Shift in Media Buying – Many CMOs and CEOs are Gen Xers who didn’t grow up with video games as a central part of their lives.

The Concept of “Making Brands Playable” – Super League focuses on interactive advertising rather than just passive exposure. 

Fortnite's Two Worlds: Battle Royale vs. Creative Mode – Fortnite has both its first-party Battle Royale mode and a user-generated content (UGC) Creative mode where brands can build their own islands (maps). 

Roblox as an Expanding Advertising Platform – Roblox is scaling its ad solutions with programmatic ad products but still lags behind mobile gaming in measurement, attribution, and targeting. 

Playable Ads in Mobile Gaming Are the Future – Mobile gaming has a mature advertising ecosystem, but Super League is innovating by turning traditional video ads into interactive experiences that match gameplay styles, dramatically increasing engagement and click-through rates.

Breaking Down the “Gamer” Stereotype – Marketers need to stop thinking of "gamers" as a niche audience and recognize that their existing target demographics are already playing games. 

🎙 Guest: Matt Edelman
🎤 Host: Mike Shields
📺 Sponsor: ElementalTV
🎬 Producer: FEL Creative

Next in Media spoke with Scott Fisher, founder of Select Management Group and creator economy veteran, about whether top creators still want to seek out big streaming deals, given the success they can have on YouTube, and what happens next if TikTok Shop goes away.

Takeaways:

🌟 Select Management Group grew from managing early YouTubers to 450+ top creators across multiple platforms, shaping the modern creator economy. #TalentManagement #InfluencerGrowth

📺 Early influencers wanted TV deals, but YouTube became the dominant platform—offering monetization, creative control, and massive reach. #YouTubeDominance #CreatorControl

📞 Unlike agencies or tech platforms, managers offer career strategy, negotiate deals, and think 5-10 years ahead. They’re the ones handling midnight crisis calls! #TalentStrategy #InfluencerSuccess

💄 Between 2021-2023, influencer-led brands exploded. Now, only strategic, retail-backed brands succeed. #RetailFirst #SocialCommerce

📡 The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives proved TikTok stars can thrive in reality TV, bringing authentic storytelling to mainstream entertainment. #RealityTV #TikTokStars

📊 YouTube now outperforms Netflix in TV viewership. Creators are pivoting to longer content, high-quality production, and deep audience engagement. #YouTubeGrowth #LongFormContent

🛍️ TikTok nailed live shopping, influencer-led sales, and viral product trends—a model Instagram and YouTube are still chasing. #SocialSelling #EcommerceTrends

🎙 Guest: Scott Fisher
🎤 Host: Mike Shields
📺 Sponsor: ElementalTV
🎬 Producer: FEL Creative