Ad networks and vendors go to great lengths to catch the attention of media buyers and agencies, paying for clothes and other merchandise at “tangible meetings,” giving them laptops in return for insertion orders, and tickets to concerts and Yankees games.
Another favorite tactic among media sellers is the summer house, which they rent for the summer in places like the Hamptons. The well-appointed summer houses are used to wine, dine and generally butter up clients. According to agency buyers, some vendors even use their summer houses as leverage to extract spending from them, making clear ahead of time that only existing clients — i.e., those that spend money — will receive invitations.
Meanwhile, agencies’ brand clients say they’re getting more and more worried about the incentive and rebate culture that exists in digital media. The fact that there are personal benefits up for grabs can easily lead buyers to favor certain vendors, they say. The other side is this kind of high-touch relationship building is part and parcel of how many industries operate — no harm, no foul, who’s got the next game of beer pong?
We rounded up some of the more notable houses being rented by media vendors and networks this year:
Undertone Hamptons House
Millstone Rd, Sag Harbor, NY.
Agency guests include: Universal McCann, Aegis Media, Zenith Optimedia, Morpheus Media.
Amenities: Swimming pool, hot tub, tennis court, basketball court, game room, 9 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms.
Genome/Interclick Yahoo Hamptons House
Water Mill, NY.
Agency guests include: Digitas, Universal McCann
Amenities: Pool
Tremor Video Hills House
Kings Road, West Hollywood, Cal.
Agency guests include: Deutch
Amenities: Pool
StyleCaster Media Group Summer Haven
Water Mill, NY.
Agency guests include: Mediavest
-
‘I hate advertising in games’: Q&A with Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney and Saxx Persson on the future of Fortnite, Unreal Engine
Marketers be warned. Don’t mention in-game advertising to Epic Games boss Tim Sweeney. He does not care for it, and has no plans to move into the ads business.
-
Of all the concerns marketers may (or may not) have about TikTok right now, the pixel isn’t one of them
Marketers have a lot on their minds when it comes to TikTok these days, from the geopolitical tensions over the app’s supposed ties to the Chinese government to whether they should be funding some of the content on it.
-
Marketing Briefing: Coca-Cola and other major marketers enter ‘test and learn’ phase with generative AI
Many major marketers like Coca-Cola are asking agencies how they can use generative AI technology. But most are not creating consumer-facing work with generative AI just yet.
-
SponsoredHow critical data pillars will increase brands’ confidence in CTV
Mario Diez, CEO, Peer39 With every quarter, the balance of TV viewership slips away from the traditional linear model and more towards connected TV. Less than half of the adults in the U.S. subscribe to cable or satellite, and fewer than half of the households watched linear TV daily in the second half of 2022. […]
-
As its future hangs in the balance, TikTok tries to keep advertisers on its side
The whole idea that TikTok is really spyware is nothing more than a myth, according to the app. And it wants marketers to know it.
-
With podcast advertising maturing, more mainstream brands want in on growth
Podcasts, once a go-to marketing channel for direct-to-consumer brands, have become a mainstay for more seasoned advertisers, agency executives say.
