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Eric Schmidt was CEO for 10 years, then Chairman of Google (and then Alphabet) for almost 10 more, marking him as internet royalty. Which makes his views on the unfolding AI revolution especially worth hearing. To that end, he says the changes wrought by large language models (LLM) like ChatGPT over the next two years will be more profound than most people realise. "Much bigger than the horrific impact we've had from social media." But there are some serious longer-term impediments he suggests, starting with money and power.

Out of home firm oOh!media is hoping to scoop up mid and smaller sized retailers and sell their media assets on network and off, as well as set up in-store screen networks. Now it just needs a local client to land amid heightening competition. Maybe one or two will land before Christmas. Either way, marketing-content-creative lead Neil Ackland is confident it can deliver brand to demand for marketers while “turbo charging” its own core business.

Seven’s operational purge under new CEO Jeff Howard is taking a sharp turn into AI with the media group unveiling an expanded venture with US cloud, data and AI firm Databricks in which a year-long program of two-to-four week sprints to develop and test “fast prototypes” of dozens of AI and machine learning pilots have started in a new unit called the Seven AI Factory. The AI focus initially is on Seven’s video streaming platform 7plus and comes after its first project, tipped at last year’s Upfronts, in which seven-day and 28-day VOD audiences can be forecast with 94 per cent accuracy. 

Constantly revising media content in ANZ’s marketing skills capability program and upping the game on situational analysis are just two of the ways the bank’s Kate Young is looking to chart a path through the many changes in consumer content consumption and macro-economic conditions and build brand trust. But it goes beyond the strategy for Russel Howcroft: It’s also about brands – not the agencies – making conscious channel choices to back trusted media. During a recent Australian Marketing Institute (AMI) and ThinkNewsBrands hosted event, the pair joined ThinkNewsBrands CEO Vanessa Lyons for a debate on navigating new frontiers and finding growth in the midst of unprecedented economic change, content overload and the looming threat of big tech.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus will tonight field questions about how privacy reforms might play out as industry holds its breath. Whether government has the appetite ahead of an election to match increasingly hard rhetoric will start to become apparent next week, when the proposals are expected to land in parliament. Either way Nine CEO Mike Sneesby appears more relaxed than Australia's major advertisers and the broader supply chain. "I feel good that we're on the front foot," per Sneesby. One-time Attorney-General staffer Joshua Faulks, now CEO at peak advertiser body the AANA, is less confident – and criticised the department for "pretty average" attempts at industry consultation given the stakes.

Influencer marketing has become a staple of modern brand marketing, but recognising and rewarding creators for direct revenue generation hasn’t been a big part of the value exchange. Until now. With better management platforms and measurement tools comes more visibility of the influencer’s impact through the funnel, making it clear just how much of a growing role these cultural and community forces play in delivering sales. Take the latest figures from Commission Factory on affiliate marketing sales through its platform: Influencers grew their share of transactions globally by 8 per cent in two years, and were 18 per cent more successful off the back of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales peaks last November than they were in 2022 – a sure sign of their growing bottom-line impact. Retailers and marketplaces are paying attention. Influencer-specific affiliate programs and offerings from Walmart as well as Amazon are commissioning influencers for product recommendations in their own personalised shop-within-a-shop. Yet it goes beyond that: Social commerce tools have made it ever-easier for influencers to become direct commerce conduits without the retail middleman. All this points to new revenue stream for Australian creators, say Australian Influencer Marketing Council's Patrick Whitnall and Impact’s Nick Randall. But it means we have another new avenue in a growing proliferation of commerce channels brands must navigate, says Arktic Fox founder, Teresa Sperti.

Finding a way to audit marketing skillsets – so you have a clue on what they are, and can then work out how to fill the gaps in marketing capability right now – is becoming an ever-greater need if we’re to cope with increased complexity within the discipline. Enter the latest tool to try and articulate the capabilities and provide a career roadmap for marketers: ADMA’s Capability Compass. The association’s second, re-engineered attempt at a skills assessment, learning and development pathway has been welcomed by former CMO and executive recruiter, Stuart Tucker, and Tourism Australia CMO, Susan Coghill, who both believe the complexity of modern marketing makes it vital we articulate all elements of the discipline, then build knowledge so teams can understand and collaborate each other. And given the dire recent ADMA survey results on how few practicing marketers can tell you what the 4Ps stand for – 32 per cent according to the poll – there’s a severe knowledge gap around technical aspects of marketing needing to be addressed, Mark Ritson says. Early criticism however was quick, with some industry pundits suggesting the Compass doesn’t go far enough in recognising the strategic aspects of areas like customer experience and digital transformation. But outside of the unique situational necessity of applying marketing skills to different industry categories and business needs, both Tucker and Coghill say the Compass should be embraced as a solid starting point if industry is going to lift the boat for the marketing profession.

Netflix took $6m each off Australia's major media buying groups then left them fuming as it initially massively under-delivered on its ad tier. Rivals like Foxtel-owned Binge and Amazon shook their heads, instead rolling subs onto ads automatically unless they paid more – and took plaudits from buyers for hitting the ground running. But the fable of the hare and the tortoise may yet apply. Now Netflix is getting serious with an in-house sales team, ad stack, new formats and is acquiring reach at speed. Local business development chief Ben Cox hints there may be another incoming boost. 

Sentiment is driving investment out of linear TV, not data, according to the newly appointed Chief Commercial Officer of specialist TV and video measurement firm Adgile, Richard Hunwick – although the former veteran Nine TV advertising executive is not as bolted to the broadcaster system as some might expect. Right now “I see confusion” in the market, said Hunwick, who flagged longer-term ambitions for the firm to expand its “plug and play” platform across audio, OOH and display advertising measurement but, he insisted, “we’re not looking to recreate a currency”.