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PNR: This Old Marketing with Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose can be found on both iTunes and Stitcher.

In this episode, Robert and I talk about Whirlpool’s purchase of recipe media site Yummly and what lessons it holds for brands, large and small. In other news, Google and Facebook need to take more responsibility for their content as true media companies, and Forrester proclaims that the end of advertising is near. Rants and raves include John Green and Airbnb; then we close the show with an example of the week from UnitedHealthcare.

This week’s show

(Recorded live on May 7, 2017; Length: 57:50)

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1. Notable news and upcoming trends:

  • Whirlpool acquires recipe search engine Yummly (08:50): TechCrunch reports on the new deal between the home appliance maker and the visual and semantic recipe search engine, most recently valued at $100 million. While there’s a short-term content marketing play here, once the capabilities to integrate this kind of content into Whirlpool’s appliances have matured, the acquisition will likely become a very powerful data play – and a revenue generator, as well.
  • It’s time Facebook and Google realize that publishing power comes with great responsibilities (18:31): A commentary piece on MediaPost opines that social media giants should be held accountable for extremist and hate-filled content posted on their sites through a combination of government fines and boycotts, citing a Zenith Media study finding that the two companies earn one of every five ad dollars in the U.K. While getting a “tech company” to assume the full responsibilities of a publisher would be an uphill battle, it’s an important conversation that everyone in our industry should be staying on top of.
  • Forrester sees advertiser revolt as the beginning of the end (28:17): According to AdAge, new research from Forrester is interpreting recent moves by big advertisers to pause spending on Google and audit media buying practices as the end of days for display advertising, citing additional signs like poor-quality placements, barely existent click-through rates, and the rise of ad blocking. I totally disagree with Forrester’s conclusions; but even if they were accurate, I would attribute it more to basic diversification than to the impending demise of the ad industry.

2. Our sponsor (38:21):

  • Brightcove –…