Advertisers are still betting on the Olympics: The much anticipated, highly discussed games brought in 20% more TV ad sales in the US than their Rio predecessor.

Earlier this week, Mars Wrigley’s M&M's brand gave fans a sneak peak of its Super Bowl ad via Zoom, its first-ever "virtual" debut. It’s just one of several efforts the company is working on leading up to Sunday’s big game.

On today's episode, we discuss what the most interesting areas of Amazon's business are, what longer videos mean for TikTok, why marketers should focus on Clubhouse and/or podcasts, why one company is bringing TV ads to console games, where Walmart beats Amazon, when we can expect to enjoy space tourism, and more. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer director of forecasting Cindy Liu, forecasting analyst Peter Vahle and analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch.

On today's episode, we discuss why marketers need to work on their mid-funnel (mid-range) game and the potential opportunities. We then talk about Peloton's apparel ambitions, Walmart's Q4 and 2020 performance, and packaged food giants' game plan for direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Andrew Lipsman.

A less global set of Olympic fans: Olympic organizers have banned foreign spectators from attending the games in Japan this summer, and there are two questions marketers should consider in response to this decision.

With gaming shifting to mobile, developers increasingly turn to ads, while marketers realize that games can reach a wide array of people.

Most ads in games are for other games, so most gaming advertising avoided the worst effects of the lockdown, and in some cases, gained users and engagement. Mobile game advertising also tilts toward performance ads, such as app install ads, which experienced a shorter and more shallow dip than brand advertising.

As more games hit the market, it becomes harder for publishers to get noticed, which has made proactive user acquisition strategies more important. That’s true of casual games, which have found a huge following on mobile, and more complex games that have found ways to integrate advertising that doesn’t detract from gameplay.

According to a March 2019 survey from mobile ad and app monetization company Tapjoy, 69% of US consumers said they would rather give up social media apps or TV than lose their favorite mobile games.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver, junior analyst Blake Droesch and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss TikTok's chances of not getting banned, Spotify video podcasts, Pandora's interactive voice ads, HBO Max sign-ups so far, TV ads in console games, why American farmhouses are typically painted red and more.

Facebook, Google and Amazon are engaged in a game of thrones—an epic battle for digital supremacy. The anointed one will be whichever company stakes its claim to all three coins of the digital realm: media, advertising and commerce.

The role of political advertising in social media will be a key discussion topic in 2020—an easy prediction to make. Kantar Media expects that US digital political ad spending will reach $1.2 billion this year, and we believe the social platforms that continue accepting political advertisers will be major beneficiaries of that spending.

Riot Games’ Archambault said the publisher approaches partnerships from several different angles. Outside of selling advertising during an esports broadcast, Riot Games also works with brands to create custom content that’s branded with the intellectual property of the game.

The not-so super Super Bowl ratings: The game reported about a 5.5% drop in total viewership, but it still draws one of the largest audiences on traditional TV.

US programmatic display ad spending was up more than 10% in 2020 despite the pandemic-induced recession and will rebound this year as advertisers continue shifting budgets to flexible, measurable media.

eMarketer principal analyst Andrew Lipsman and vice president of content studio Paul Verna discuss the best and worst Super Bowl ads and whether they achieved their marketing objectives. They also talk about how many people tuned in to the game, how much advertisers spent and the most popular halftime show ever. They then examine Quibi's launch campaign, solo TV viewing and how much returns are costing retail.