Daily December 7

It’s been a busy and well-publicized year for Axios, which has made headlines given the newsletter publisher — known for its trademarked “Smart Brevity” style — is only five years old. But it won’t rely on an M&A strategy for growth. Read more below.

• In 2022, Axios will focus on building its local media, subscription and SaaS licensing businesses to keep up the trend of 40% YoY revenue growth.
• Study finds GDPR-violations are rampant as user consent is often ignored.
• Supply chain problems aren’t the only reason this year’s holiday marketing is more complicated. Read more in today’s Digiday+ Marketing Briefing.
• FanBytes is profitable despite a creator economy that is tricky to navigate.
• With vaccination rates leveled off and the omicron variant rising, optimism about office returns has given way to a more pessimistic outlook. More in this Digiday+ Research.
• ​​The latest global ad revenue forecast from WPP’s GroupM is out — and if it’s accurate, media is going to have a pretty great 2022 with almost 10 percent growth.

Check out our new sister site, WorkLife, covering the future of the workplace. Today’s top story:

• How the Omicron variant puts post-holiday return to office in doubt.