At AWNY and Jupiter Fest, Future of Content, Agentic Ads, Open Web Anxieties Steal the Show

A version of this story was originally published in AI, Tech & Money, a free, weekly newsletter packed with news and exclusive analysis on all things tech, platforms, and deals in advertising and media.

Happy October, people. This is AI, Tech & Money. I’m Kendra Barnett, writing this week from Miami.

I’m in the Magic City for the inaugural Jupiter Festival, a media-slash-entertainment-slash-advertising-slash-sports conference started by Cannes Lions alum William Mellis and former CMO of Fox Sports Media Group Eric Markgraf, with backing from Art Basel parent MCH Group, the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Boston Consulting Group.

Jupiter Festival and Advertising Week highlights

On the ground, the event feels like a flashy, well-funded—if overly ambitious—push to assert its rightful place in the increasingly crowded conference circuit. Find a braindump with some of my initial impressions in the Deep Learning section below, and expect a more comprehensive recap from ADWEEK in the days to come after I chat with Mellis and Markgraf about how the three-and-a-half day event fared in its first iteration.

Back in New York, ADWEEK hosted some of the most influential leaders from every corner of the industry at ADWEEK House: Advertising HQ this week. My newsroom colleagues also covered Advertising Week, which descended on The Penn District for the fourth consecutive year.

While some years are sleepier than others, adland heavyweights this time round used the event as a launchpad for major announcements: TikTok said it’s extending its advertising reach off-platform in the U.S. and unveiled a new AI shopping agent, while Meta said it’s testing an AI assistant that can plan and create campaigns, change targeting and budgets, and remember past campaigns.

Keep scrolling for some unfiltered thoughts on the conversations defining both Jupiter Festival and Advertising Week New York this year.

Outside of the conference halls this week, Paramount’s highly anticipated $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery closed Tuesday. Now come the layoffs, as my colleague Mark Mwachiro reported. Plus, OpenAI is introducing visual ads to ChatGPT, Disney agreed to license Disney+ titles to Netflix, and Google sparred with the DOJ over the terms of a final judgment in the historic antitrust case over its adtech dominance.

Search behavior and open web anxieties

Google still owns the first click in searches about local businesses, but rarely the last one. Among U.S. consumers surveyed, 52% began their most recent local business search on Google Search, and another 9% on Google Maps, according to recent BrightLocal data. For searches that follow, however, Google Search dips to 19%, behind Google Maps (24%) and social media (22%). Some three-quarters of consumers used more than one channel. Over the full journey, 30% turned to social, 23% to AI tools, and 19% to review sites.

The crowded marketing and media conference circuit has a new kid on the block: Jupiter Festival Miami, which this week made its entrance at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

The event, looking for its footing, feels in many ways like an ambitious push to win some of the mindshare—and big money—that Possible has secured for itself under the oversight of Beyond Ordinary Events and Christian Muche.

Notable deals and executive shifts

Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closed; the combined company is now called Skydance. It’s a $110 billion deal carrying about $82 billion in debt. Morning Brew snapped up Express Checkout, a creator-centric media property covering the consumer packaged goods space; terms were undisclosed. Social media agency Samy bought Get Engaged, a U.S. social and influencer marketing agency in a deal valued in the “low nine figures.” Zeta Global picked up identity and data firm Digital Audience for an undisclosed sum. Agentic advertising startup PubX bought media quality company Compliant and announced a $5 million Series A. OpenAI is reportedly in talks with BlackRock and investors from the United Arab Emirates to anchor its $30 billion round at about a $1.4 trillion valuation.

Paramount CEO David Ellison named Ynon Kreiz co-CEO as part of the entertainment giant’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. The head of Albertsons’ retail media network, Brian Monahan, exited the company abruptly. Jon Cook is stepping down as global CEO of VML and WPP Creative after 30-plus years; he’ll be succeeded by North America CEO Eric Campbell. Stephan Loerke will step down as CEO of the World Federation of Advertisers next year after 23 years. The newly formed Stagwell Media, replacing the Assembly brand, will be run by Liz Rutgersson. Pinterest’s new CFO is former Amazon finance chief for entertainment and advertising James Dibbo. He replaces Julia Brau Donnelly. Spotify appointed LinkedIn alum Heidi Andersen as its new SVP of advertising. Microsoft EVP and former LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky will leave the tech company at the end of this year. John Rogers left Roku to run global publisher development at the supply-side platform OpenX. New York Post CEO and publisher Sean Giancola is set to depart. Search tech company Ad.net hired Vincent Meyer as CEO; he was most recently Taboola’s global head of data and partnerships. Current CEO and founder Jon Waterman will transition to vice chairman. Smartly hired former Tala CTO and Netflix tech alum Kelly Uphoff as CTO.