Omnicom’s DDB looks to a data-driven future with new leadership

Hello! Welcome to the Advertising Insider daily for July 23. Lucia Moses here, filling in again for Lauren Johnson. Sign up for this newsletter here.

Today: DDB names new leadership, Snap investigates racism and sexism charges, and Amazon is expanding abroad.

Omnicom ad agency DDB names new global and North American CEOs, signaling a bigger focus on data and performance marketing

• DDB went internally to name new CEOs for North America and its global network.
• The moves were significant for at least two reasons: They suggest the agency, best known for its creative legacy, wants to be better known for using data to inform campaigns.
• It’s also named its first Black CEO in Justin Thomas-Copeland as the ad industry’s poor record on diversity and inclusion is in the spotlight more than ever.

Read the full story, here.

Snap is investigating allegations of racism and sexism within the company after some employees complained of a ‘whitewashed’ culture

• Snap has launched an internal investigation into allegations of racism and sexism at the company, Business Insider has learned.
• The probe comes after some former employees spoke out in June about shrinking diversity and what they called biased editorial practices.
• Spiegel had said in June that the company was working to address the allegations of racism and shrinking diversity, but also defended the company’s actions, including its decision to not release internal diversity numbers, employees said.

Read the full story, here.

Leaked screenshot shows Amazon letting sellers choose a yet-to-launch Swedish marketplace to register brands, hinting at the company's next target market

• Amazon appears to be nearing the launch of a new marketplace in Sweden, a move that signals its commitment to international markets even amid slowing growth.
• Amazon recently added the option to sign up for a marketplace in Sweden when sellers sign up for Brand Registry, Amazon's own trademark registration tool, according to a screenshot seen by Business Insider.
• Amazon has 17 total marketplaces worldwide, but the bulk of its sales, or over 70%, comes from the US.

Read the full story, here.

More stories we're reading:

• Hearst Employees Say Magazine Boss Led Toxic Culture (New York Times)
• New York Times to Acquire Serial Productions (Wall Street Journal)
• Fewer than 3% of US executives at ad giant Havas are Black. Read the deck outlining its ambitious plan to increase diversity. (Business Insider)
• Jeff Bezos hated ads - now Amazon is America's top advertiser (Axios)
• The New York Times Co. Names Meredith Kopit Levien as Chief Executive (New York Times)
• How a YouTube creator gained her first 10,000 subscribers by focusing on a niche topic and then broadened her content to reach 250,000 (Business Insider)

That's a wrap. See you tomorrow!

- Lucia