How Amazon's next CEO could change advertising

Hi and welcome to this weekly edition of Insider Advertising, where we track the big stories in media and advertising. I'm Lucia Moses, deputy editor here.

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This week:

What Amazon's incoming CEO can do for advertising

News that Amazon's incoming CEO is Andy Jassy is raising advertisers' hopes that he'll help solve some of their longstanding gripes about the company, Lauren Johnson reported.

Advertisers have long wanted more data to see if their ads grow awareness and lead to sales, and they're speculating that he'll bring together disparate parts of the company and bring more measurement to ads.

They point to his leadership of another growth business, AWS, and its cloud products that could help improve the accuracy of ads.

Ad agencies' existential crisis

People are changing viewing habits while avoiding ads more than ever. Advertisers are seeking fewer big, multi-year contracts, while getting their message out is becoming more complicated than ever. Many are abandoning agencies altogether, figuring they can do the work better internally.

One way agencies have been responding is mimicking the consulting and companies that are encroaching on their business.

Last week, Lindsay Rittenhouse checked in on how Ogilvy's new CEO is taking a page from consulting to revive the WPP-owned agency.

Main also wants to triple the PR business, a sector that's been a bright spot during the pandemic.

Main seems like he has as good a shot as anyone at turning around an agency, having built Deloitte Digital into a big business. But with big contracts being a thing of the past, its comeback could be more a plodding one than a roaring one.

As one exec put it: "I fully think Andy has the will and ambition. The main thing we're struggling with right now is the work; it's project by project."

Go deeper: Ogilvy's new chief Andy Main is leading a massive turnaround at the storied ad agency, but some insiders are wary of the new direction

Franchise mania

The coronavirus pandemic has not only accelerated legacy media's push into streaming but influenced the kind of entertainment Disney, WarnerMedia, Netflix, and others are leaning into, namely, big franchises, Travis Clark reports.

The most notable example is Disney Plus' "Star Wars" series, "The Mandalorian."
Netflix and Amazon are building up their franchise content, too. Netflix has new teams dedicated to event/spectacle and franchise TV shows and also has its sights on video-game IP.
Disney has plans for 10 "Star Wars" and 10 Marvel TV shows exclusive to Disney Plus, and WarnerMedia is planning DC movie spinoffs.

That's good news for franchise fans, but those craving the next feature film may have to be patient.