Issue #4: GroupM scrapped for WPP Media

☕ Welcome to a new week in digital

Grab your tea, here is last week’s key news in under two minutes.

🗞️ Top Stories

1. Google rolls out “AI Max” power-up for Search campaigns
   Enhanced product suite bundling broad match, keyword-free targeting, AI generated assets and brand controls that Google says can lift conversions by 14%. Google Ads & Commerce Blog

2. Brave Bison eyes £20m swoop for MiniMBA marketing school
   Digital agency Brave Bison is finalising a deal to buy Mark Ritson’s e-learning business, broadening the proposition. Sky News

3. DOJ asks court to force Google to divest AdX and DFP
   Proposed remedy after April’s monopoly ruling would break up the core adtech stack, with Google calling the plan “costly and harmful”. The Verge

4. Instagram Threads starts testing in-feed video ads
   Meta is letting a small group of brands run 1:1 and 16:9 creatives between posts just weeks after opening static ads to all advertisers. TechCrunch

5. CTV ad impressions jumped 66% year-on-year
   A report from Doubleverify shows explosive growth in Connected TV but warns half of impressions still lack app transparency, risking media waste for UK buyers. Advanced Television

6. OpenX strikes biddable CTV partnership with Tubi UK
   Buyers can now access Tubi inventory via OpenX, giving buyers access to more premium, transparent CTV inventory. Business Wire

7. Snap unveils AI-powered advertiser solutions
   New Sponsored Snap formats plus Smart Bidding and Smart Budget tools promise CPA optimisation for brands on Snapchat. Marketing Dive

8. GroupM to rebrand to WPP Media amid consolidation

   WPP will retire the GroupM name and roll its media agencies into a single WPP Media unit, merging investment teams in ongoing consolidation. The Media Leader

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Access Adtech