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Lynch reminds media how much control he exerts over any interaction

Marshawn Lynch gave America five minutes and thirty-three seconds of his time, did not amplify on his posture during the pregame of Friday nights game in Arizona, and dropped a Peace, out.

Now how much Marshawn Lynch can you get?

He talked, thereby satisfying people. He didnt not talk about the National Anthem, the country, current events or anything remotely close to any of it, this disappointing those same people. He crossed the myth about elephants and mice with the popular Oedipal reference to make a new Marshawn Moment, which ranks up there with the tennis shoe hanging from the telephone wire retirement announcement.

And yeah, that is so much Marshawn Lynch, too.

Lynch, ultimately, interacts with the amalgamated media rabble (my ID number is #287,449/A) by reminding it how much control he exerts over any such interaction, and by giving it only his presence rather than his attention. He is phenomenally predictable that way, and it is to our shame that we keep thinking he will break the pattern out of some misplaced sense of obligation.

He is, in his own way, a recluse in full view. He insists on being the master of his surroundings in a business with many assumed masters coaches, front office people, fans, marketers, media, even the oft-repeated myths of the game like ones responsibilities to the greater amorphous whole. I even suspect he has the power of invisibility, like Doctor Fate, Martian Manhunter or The Watcher.

In which case he should gain about 7,500 yards and score 130 touchdowns and be able to sit whenever he wants for more reasons than his own. After all, America tends to bend its willingness to accept eccentricities like his when he is helping their team entertain them successfully.

After all, we know what our true cultural priorities are.

NAPA Marshawn Lynch spoke with the media Thursday for the second time as a Raider. He was quick-witted, disarming and, as always, not suitable for work.

It was five minutes of peak Marshawn, where he brought light to his charitable endeavors, called himself the daddy of his position group and cleverly sidestepped all things nation anthem.

He was asked four questions on other topics before elephant in the room was mentioned. It didnt stick around long.

I think the elephant left the room because a little mouse ran in here, Lynch deadpanned. Didnt they say elephants are scared of mice or something? That [expletive] left the room, cousin.

[RATTO:Lynch reminds media how much control he exerts over any interaction]

Two more related questions came down the pike. The first was about Del Rio letting players be themselves. He answered a different question instead.

Yeah, because on doctor-24, its a designed way that youre supposed to run it but I have all freedom to go any way that I choose to run it, Lynch said. I would say, yes.

The final anthem-esque query was deflected in a similar fashion.

When we run 74 or something like that, where I have to scan and read on both sides, that is pretty difficult. For the most part, Im a veteran so I can make it work.

Two things were crystal clear after speaking with Lynch.

He didnt miss football one bit during his year in retirement. Lynch said this spring he decided to return after the Raiders were approved to relocate away from his native Oakland. He wants to represent his hometown well and give them something to cheer before the team leaves for Las Vegas.

Thats why hes fired up even for Saturdays exhibition against the Rams hes expected to make a cameo in that game his first in Oakland wearing silver and black.

Its truly a blessing and just to have the opportunity to go and do that is a good [expletive] feeling, Lynch said. Its a good [expletive] feeling.

Lynch has always been active in the community, and hopes him playing here will bring more visibility to whats being done to help kids in Oakland.

I plan on continuing to do what I do in the community, Lynch said. Itll probably be that now that Im here, more people that are in the community might actually come out and support what it is that weve got going on.

AP

NAPA The Raiders spent 18 days in isolation at the Napa Valley Marriott, pouring complete focus into season prep. Head coach Jack Del Rio considers his team better for the experience.

The Raiders moved back to their Alameda facility after Thursdays practice, the 14th of this training camp, ready to complete the preseason. The next milestone comes in Saturdays exhibition against the Los Angeles Rams.

I think we came in with a purposeful mind going after things, accomplishing things, Del Rio said. In terms of installation, in terms of situational awareness and those things, were coaching and teaching. I think we were able to work and get guys either back or really close to being back and I feel really good about the way camp went. It was a strong camp. It was very purposeful and very productive.

The Raiders left relatively healthy, despite longer-term injuries to Keith McGill and Denver Kirkland. There were some issues unresolved during this time.

Donald Penns contract holdout continues after nearly three weeks. First-round pick Gareon Conley still hasnt seen the field while dealing with a shin injury originally suffered in a June minicamp.

Jihad Ward, Ben Heeney and Cooper Helfet joined Conley and Penn as players who didnt participate in a camp practice.

I know the natural question is going to hit me on a couple of the guys. Obviously, one is not here, his choice. You have a couple of others that havent been able to join us at practice yet, and theyre working, Del Rio said. Theyre doing everything were asking. Theyll come back when they can. Until then, we just move on. Were looking forward to playing at home this week in front of our crowd. Im excited about that opportunity to kick that off.

QUICK SLANTS -- The battle to be quarterback Derek Carrs backup wages on, though Del Rio said EJ Manuel has a leg up at this stage. That supports what was seen in training camp, when Manuel took most every second-unit snap.

I think the time we had here and the first game the other night, I think (Manuel) has done a little more, done enough to be in the second slot, Del Rio said. I think theyll continue to alternate reps and both get opportunities to show us. Im pleased with both of the guys. I thought both guys operated pretty darn well (on Saturday at Arizona).

-- The Raiders concluded camp with a punt catching contest. Each phase sent a representative to catch a Marquette King punt, with pushups going to the loser. Interior lineman Jon Feliciano caught his volley. So did backup long snapper Andrew East. Defensive tackle Justin Ellis couldnt corral three angled attempts, meaning the defense had to do pushups.

-- The Raiders held a glorified walk-through practice on Thursday, working in jerseys and shorts. They will hold a formal walh-through on Friday in Alameda before Saturdays game at Oakland Coliseum.

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Lynch reminds media how much control he exerts over any interaction - Comcast SportsNet Bay Area

Shift intended to improve safety, amenities along heavily used Oregon highway in Southeast Portland, but deatails remain to be worked out

The 2017 Oregon Legislature granted the Portland City Council a longtime wish in its $5.3 billion transportation funding package ownership of an upgraded Southeast Powell Boulevard. Council members have long said Powell would be safer if it was owned and operated by the Portland Bureau of Transportation instead of its state counterpart.

But don't expect the improvements or transfer to happen overnight. Although the spending package in House Bill 2017 includes $110 million for safety improvements to a portion of outer Powell, that work will not begin until after the Oregon Department of Transportation finalizes a project list following a public outreach process.

"The city has standards for streets, sidewalks, bike lanes and stormwater management systems. We want it brought up to our standards before the transfer," says PBOT spokesman John Brady.

And even then, the bill says the state cannot transfer Powell to the Portland Bureau of Transportation until after the Oregon Transportation Commission conducts a study by January 2020 on upgrading additional portions of Powell to city standards.

"There are lots of protocols to go through first," says ODOT spokesman Don Hamilton.

That's different from what transpired when ODOT transferred the portion of Powell that runs through Gresham to that city in May 2004. Instead of waiting for ODOT to fix it up, city leaders agreed to do the work themselves, provided they could line up the money to improve it in advance.

Most of the funding came from a $5.25 million Oregon Transportation Investment Act grant approved by Metro that ODOT supported. Gresham paid an additional $7.5 million with system development charges assessed against construction projects for transportation improvements. The money paid for upgrades from 174th Avenue to Burnside Street. The city assured the majority of the distance was five lanes wide and had sidewalks, lighting, bike lanes, marked crossings and traffic signals.

Many Portlanders may not even be aware that Powell is not a city street, since that's its name in both Portland and Gresham. But in fact, Powell is actually just the portion of Oregon Highway 26 that runs through the two cities. Because of that, the state is responsible for maintaining and improving it, but adding safety improvements as the population has grown in East Portland has not been a top priority.

The same is true for a number of other state highways that are also streets in Portland. They include 82nd Avenue, which is Highway 213, and Barbur Boulevard, which is Highway 99W. The city can request safety improvements, but ODOT must fund them.

The council has come under increasing pressure to improve safety along Powell. This is especially true on outer Powell, which does not even have sidewalks. But the council was reluctant to request a transfer until all of it had been brought up to city standards because of the cost.

Even with state approval, the schedule for the improvements and transfer is unclear. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown must first sign the bill, which should happen before too long. Brady says Transportation Commissioner Dan Saltzman wants both accomplished as soon as possible, but if the outer Powell work costs more than $110 million, additional financing will have to be found. The same may be true if the Oregon Transportation Commission study identifies additional work the city insists that the state complete before the transfer. That study will cover Powell from Southeast 9th Avenue to its I-205 intersection.

Such transfers have happened in Portland before. For example, Oregon transferred North Interstate Avenue the original state highway to Washington before the MAX line was built there.

Working out the details correctly is important, because Portland is already eyeing another state highway it wants Barbur Boulevard, where the next MAX line is being planned as part of the Southwest Corridor project.

In fact, a surprising number of well-travelled roads in and around Portland are actually owned and maintained by the state. They include some or all of 82nd Avenue, McLoughlin Boulevard, Macadam Avenue, Lombard Street, Scholls Ferry Road, Farmington Road and Canyon Road.

TriMet officials have talked about including funds for improving some of these roads in a November 2018 ballot measure to help finance the proposed Southwest Corridor MAX line.

See the rest here:
City to get control of Powell, eventually - Portland Tribune

In the past 12 months, global multinational companies have been looking to respond to concerns that they have lost control of media activity. This extends to 35 companies with a total annual marketing spend of more than US$30 billion globally.

This was according to new research by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) which found global brands making or having plans to make major and extensive changes to their media governance practices. This was across a wide range of areas.

According to the report, more active management of media issues now involves brand safety, viewability and ad fraud as well as the transparency issues raised by the ANAs reports from K2 and Ebiquity. The survey was conducted in May this year and saw 73% per cent of respondents having global roles. The rest were in regional roles covering Europe, North America and APAC.

Overall, transparency remained top priority for 47% companies surveyed. Brand safety is also moving up in terms of priority, with 70% of companies adding that the issue has been escalated in the last 12 months.

With regards to transparency, 65% of companies sought to improve internal capabilities through the hire of a head of programmatic, among other moves. More than 70% of companies have amended their media agency contracts and 58% have included terms that define agency status as agent or principle at law.

When it comes to ad fraud, many companies surveyed are also taking actions. 55% are now limiting run of exchange buys, 43% are shifting away from using CPM as their key metric in favour of business outcomes. Meanwhile, 40% are developing in-house resource to help tackle ad fraud.

On the topic of viewability, only now are 63% of companies investing in viewable impressions which meet industry standards, while 37% have devised their own viewability criteria.

For brand safety, 74% of companies have suspended their investments in ad networks, citing unnecessary risks to brands. In addition, 14% of companies have plans to follow suit. 89% currently limit or plan to limit investment in ad networks that do not allow use of third-party verification.

The reports findings come to no surprise for Lynette Ang, chief marketing officer at Sentosa Development Corporation. She said:

In todays increasingly fragmented media scene, marketers need to better account for their media investments.

This comes with the advent of digital mediums being a significant factor, Ang explained.

Gone are the days of traditional tracking of media spend and ROI. We need to get better and sharper at understanding what our media monies are buying us, and whether we have been effective in these investments, Ang said.

When it comes to brand safety, Ang added that the brand recognises the certain need to safeguard the reputation of the brand. In doing so, it adopts a whitelist/blacklist approach.

Overall, I believe regular digital audits by professional and independent third parties will assist us in assessing these areas of concerns. This is not just in terms of performance, but also in the areas of safety and fraud, Ang added.

Agreeing with Ang is Spencer Lee, chief commercial director at AirAsia, who added that it is good to see more and more advertisers standing together and gaining awareness of the situation.

For advertisers, not having a view on how well your marketing investment is working for your company, is taking a big risk.Just like most other advertisers out there, we were relying on CPM as akey measurement metric in the early days, Lee said.

There are many considerations for marketers these days as well when it comes to media practices, said Lee. This includesprogrammatic buys,viewability, ad fraud, bots and brand safety.

Technology is ever changing and cyberhackers are always upping their game. Therefore it is important that advertisers,agencies and publisherstoo are on the alert, and work together to tackle this issue, Lee said.

Meanwhile, ad fraud is something that is of a concern to Lee and his marketing team.This is because creating real content is costly and time-coming. Fake sites however, do not incur these costs and are able to generate a bulk of web traffic generated by bots.

As long as agencies continue to buy low-cost inventory, they continue to directly benefit frauds.

We at AirAsia believe that the relationship with agencies should be seen as a partnership and agencies should be transparent in their reporting. Ad fraud hurts advertisers, agencies and publishers alike. We should unite and work hand-in-hand to combat this problem, Lee said.

In a conversation with Marketing, Greg Paull, R3s co-founder and principal, said that the results from the WFA report is similar to what is currently being seen in Southeast Asia. He added:

It should be a wakeup call for any local or regional marketer.

Citing a famous John Wanamaker comment from 100 years ago, Paull added that the phrase Only half of my advertising is working is never more relevant today. This is because in many cases only half of advertising is even being seen.

Markets and agencies need to come to the table together to resolve these issues. This needs joint action on transparency, viewability and safety, Paull said.

Agreeing with Paull was Muhammad Yousoff, head of digital for Southeast Asia at Ebiquity, said that many advertisers in the region are now starting to question if they have fallen victim to the transparency watch-outs.

But they do not know where and how to start addressing, or even identifying them, Yousoff explained.

He added that in many instances, advertisers also worry about the external relationships that are at risk. Meanwhile, there have been a number of advertisers who have reduced spending on digital and even paused activity on programmatic. This was while investigations and audits are carried out to evaluate the brand safety measures on their business.

A year on, we are looking at a very different advertiser. This is a savvier, knowledge-hungry and braver client who is increasingly immersing themselves in this complex issue. This requires technical expertise, relationship management skills and a value attached that is too large to ignore, Yusoff explained.

He added that the report also helps to generate awareness about a topic that has been swept under the rug for too long. It would also be viewed by many other advertisers globally as a call-to-action to at least start considering the implications non-transparent media practices.

The areas raised are just the tip of the iceberg as most people think it mainly covers the buying aspects of media. Transparency can be an issue on many other aspects on media, from planning to evaluation as well as governance on data ownership, Yusoff added.

What should brands look out for changingmedia practices?

The first step for advertisers to revamp media practices would be to familiarise themselves on the issues on transparency, said Ebiquitys Yusoff. Advertisers should also conduct a self-assessment on their transparency levels, hire a media specialist in the organisation and find a partner or consultant to assist in the journey.

Most advertisers dont know what they dont know, hence external help might be required to give an accurate view of what needs to be addressed, Yousoff said, adding that marketers should also develop a strategy or roadmap to resolve the transparency gaps and ensure they bring their media agency along in this journey.

Marketers and agencies also need to set common goals and key performance indicators (KPI), according to R3s Paull.

Without the right KPIs and transparency, marketers will just choose an alternative path. This is not going to be in the industrys interest, Paull added.

Read the original post:
Marketers to take back control of their media spend - Marketing Interactive

Dive Brief:

The report puts some numbers behind a trend that has been evident in 2017 as brands seek out more efficient and effective ways to reach get in front of consumers across a growing number of media channels.Brand marketers like P&G, JPMorgan Chase and Unilever have been active in seeking lower costs, redefining digital practices, rethinking their relationships with ad agencies and taking some media tasks in-house.

The findings also illustrate the challenges facing traditional ad agency holding companies as brands seek more control. At one time, these companies had a virtual monopoly on advertising, but due in part to a reluctance to adopt to the changing digital marketing world, the agency business is being upended.The agency industry has also recently been rocked with a rebate scandal and brands have become much more willing to audit their agency partners.

Management and financial consultancies have recognized the fraying relationship between brands and agencies, leading Accenture, Deloitte and others to open digital services divisions that compete directly with ad holding companies like Publicis and WPP.As a result of all of these developments, the digital media landscape could look very different once all the dust settles.

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Study: Brands exercise more control over digital advertising - Marketing Dive

Amid industry concerns around ad fraud, viewability, transparency and more, global marketers are making radical changes to claw back control of their media activity with 70% of brands amending media agency contracts to bring clarity to the buying process.

A fresh report from the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has indicated that household names are taking action to improve their media governance practices across a wide range of areas, rather than simply paying lip service to concerns.

Things came to a head last year after Procter & Gamble boss Marc Pritchard pledged to bring transparency to what he described as the murky at best, fraudulent at worst media supply chain.

As part of a step change in the way the industry scrutinises media buys, two-thirds of brands have also decided to bulk up their internal capabilities by hiring dedicated staff to ensure there is clear ROI.

Meanwhile 89% said they are currently limiting, or planning to limit, investment in ad networks that do not allow the use of third-party verification following a brand safety furore at the start of the year.

The WFA data was gleaned from marketers working at 35 multinationals with a combined annual spend of $30bn with transparency, ad fraud, viewability and brand safety coming under the spotlight as areas that have inspired action.

Media transparency

Following on the from the US Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and K2 report into media transparency, which caused waves in the industry last year, the WFA has found that transparency remains the number one priority for almost half (47%) of brands.

Mistrust in digital media has been tempered by Dentsu Japans $2.3m payout to advertisers following over estimations, and Facebooks inflated video views.

As a result, 65% of brand marketers have decided to bulk up their internal capabilities by hiring dedicated digital and media leads. The figure follows on from Tesco appointing a head of media to ensure it gets its moneys worth when it comes to such investments, and Airbnb hinting that it too was on the lookout for someone to step into a similar position.

Over the past 12 months there has been an overall sense among marketers that they had undervalued of the importance of media knowledge within brand marketing teams, but WFA data coupled with recent hires at big name brands shows steps are being taken internally to address the problem. However, just 14% of marketers said they feel like the transparency debate is de-escalating, meaning theres likely to be more big changes and calls to action before the year is out.

Others are following in the footsteps of P&G and reviewing their agency roster, with 70% saying they have already amended media contracts, and a further 41% saying they have already conducted a programmatic review.

Viewability

In the UK alone almost 600m per-year is believed to be wasted on non-viewable ads, and viewability concerns ranked high amid WFA members questioned. As such, 63% of marketers have said they are now only investing in viewable impressions which meet industry standards.

Progress in this area has been made by cross-industry body the European Viewability Steering Group (EVSG), which just last week launched a set of measurement values which aim to reduce discrepancies in the data provided by different viewability measurement tools.

However, according to the WFA, 20% of marketers say they have devised their own viewability criteria, with a further 40% announcing plans to do so; previously only 17% were doing this.

There is still ongoing conversation around what constitutes as a view, with P&G subscribing to the MRCs 50% rating and Unilever believing that ads are only worth the investment if they are 100% in view.

Ad fraud

Google admitted last year that it removed 1.7bn bad ads as part of its bid to tackle ad fraud, but some have warned the problem is set to swell unless more advertisers refuse to turn a blind eye to inflated numbers caused by ad fraud.

The figure forecast to be lost to ad fraud in 2017 currently stands at $16.4bn, and while agency heads have previously blasted platforms like Google and Facebook for marking their own homework, the WFA study found that brand marketers are taking matters into their own hands. 54% - a jump of 20% - are now working with third-party verification or counter-ad fraud partners, and many are now taking actions recommended by the WFAs ad fraud compendium like limiting run of exchange buys (55%).

A further 40% are developing internal solutions to the problem, highlighting a trend for brining digital buying capabilities in-house or working to a hybrid model.

Brand safety

Unsurprisingly brand safety is the second top concern among marketers, following on from moves by Google to assuage advertisers after their ads were served inadvertedly against controversial content.

Keith Weed, Unilever's chief marketing officer, has previously said that brands were also to blame for the furore, saying that some of the issues stemmed from shortcomings in brand's own media buying practices.

It appears marketers are taking action on this point, with 54% saying they have worked with third-party verification companies to monitor the environment in which their ads appear. Only 20% were previously doing this, and a further 54% have suspended investment in ad networks where they feel there is unnecessary risk, a jump of 34%.

"Last years ANA report was a catalyst for a new wave of action by brands not just in the US but around the world, addressing many of the media issues that our members have highlighted including brand safety and ad fraud," said Robert Dreblow, head of marketing services at the WFA.

"These actions, coupled with an increasing number of WFA members sharing that they have witnessed improved transparency, are positive signs that we can create an improved media landscape for brands, agency partners and media owners."

Excerpt from:
Brands take action to claw back control of digital media spend as 65% bulk up in-house teams - The Drum