The Media Stack weekly Briefing: 8 August.
Key developments in media, marketing, and technology from mergers and rebrands to emerging threats and strategic shifts.
Welcome to this week’s roundup of The Media Stack, which highlights key news in publishing, marketing, and leadership from corporate rebrands to regulatory approvals as well as the growing focus on sustainability in the C-suite.
Regulatory Green Light: Omnicom–IPG Merger Cleared by UK Watchdog
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has approved Omnicom’s $13.25 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group, bringing the landmark merger closer to completion and setting the stage for a new era of consolidation in advertising.
Dotdash Meredith Rebrands to People Inc.
Dotdash Meredith has officially rebranded as People Inc., centralising its strategy around the People.com brand and moving from search-based growth to a brand-led, direct-traffic model.
How Our Media Rebuilt Its Digital Infrastructure in 12 Months
Bristol-based Our Media migrated 14 brands to an AI-powered multichannel CMS platform—Purple—achieving seamless feature parity, halving support costs, and saving over £100,000. It’s a blueprint for fast-scale digital transformation.
How TikTok and Social Platforms Are Reshaping the Search Landscape
Recent WARC and TikTok studies reveal a shift: nearly half of Gen Z users search more on social platforms, with 86% searching weekly on TikTok. Marketers must adjust to this behavioral shift using the MAP framework—Mix, Align, Prime.
The Sustainable CMO: Insights from the UN Global Compact Report
The UN’s new CMO Blueprint reframes marketing leadership around sustainability across five pillars—growth strategy, brand strategy, innovation, communications, and partnerships—showcasing cases from Zespri to Mastercard.
HSBC Appoints First Global CMO as Brand Unification Becomes Strategic Priority
John McDonald (formerly UBS CMO) has been named HSBC’s first Global Chief Marketing Officer, starting October 1. This reflects HSBC’s pivot toward unified global branding and a sharp focus on wealth management growth.
The Rise of AI Browsers: A Turning Point for Advertising
AI-powered browsers like Perplexity and OpenAI’s upcoming tools are changing how users search, reducing ad exposure by up to 40%. As traffic shifts from websites to in-browser answers, marketers must rethink attribution, structure content for AI, and adapt to agent-first experiences.
