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Vice Media files for bankruptcy protection

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Vice Media, once the darling of the digital news media world, said Monday it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to facilitate its sale

Vice Media, once the darling of the digital news media world, said Monday it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to facilitate its sale – Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP MARIO TAMA

Vice Media, once the darling of the digital news media world, said Monday it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to facilitate its sale.

Millennial-focused Vice, known for its edgy news and lifestyle content, had been among the rising stars of a new breed of digital media firms but struggled as advertising revenues shrank.

Vice said it had agreed to the terms of an asset purchase agreement with a consortium of its lenders which includes Fortress Investment Group, Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital.

The consortium had submitted a credit bid of about $225 million “for substantially all of the Company’s assets, in addition to the assumption of significant liabilities upon closing,” Vice said.

“To facilitate the sale, Vice has filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York,” it said in a statement.

In its Chapter 11 petition with the court, the New York-based company said it had estimated assets of between $500 million and $1 billion. It also estimated it had more than 5,000 creditors.

In 2017, Vice Media was valued at $5.7 billion — more than the market capitalization of The New York Times at the time.

Vice’s difficulties come after the closure of fellow free digital media groups BuzzFeed News as ad revenues dried up and both had struggled to attract new investments, taking on debt to stay afloat.

– ‘Bad boy’ image –

Vice, which had once attracted major funding from Disney and Fox, among others, canceled its signature show Vice News Tonight and laid off 100 people in late April.

Vice Group said all its media brands would continue to produce content despite the bankruptcy filing.

“Vice serves a huge global audience with a unique brand of news, entertainment and lifestyle content,” Vice’s co-CEOs Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala said in a statement.

“This accelerated court-supervised sale process will strengthen the company and position Vice for long-term growth, thereby safeguarding the kind of authentic journalism and content creation that makes Vice such a trusted brand for young people and such a valued partner to brands, agencies and platforms,” they said.

“We look forward to completing the sale process in the next two to three months and charting a healthy and successful next chapter at Vice.”

Vice was founded in 1994 as a Canadian magazine and grew into an online media group with news websites and television operations.

It cultivated a “bad boy” image and its success captured the attention of the media world as it connected with young audiences.

But in 2018 co-founder Shane Smith stepped down as chief executive after the group was tainted by reports of workplace harassment, which led to the dismissal of three employees after “multiple instances of unacceptable behavior.”

Smith was replaced as CEO by television industry veteran Nancy Dubuc, who left the group in February 2023.

Vice gained notoriety for sending former NBA star Dennis Rodman to North Korea. It also won praise for a five-part documentary on the inner workings of the Islamic State group.

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New Guide Highlights Key Considerations for Effective TikTok Ads

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New Guide Highlights Key Considerations for Effective TikTok Ads

Looking to make TikTok a bigger focus of your marketing effort in 2024?

This will help. TikTok recently partnered with creator intelligence platform CreatorIQ to conduct an analysis of the key factors that make for a resonant TikTok promotion, culminating in a 26-page report which covers a range of key notes and tips for your planning.

You can download CreatorIQ’s full TikTok ads guide here, but in this post, we’ll look at some of the key notes.

The report is broken up into five key pillars of TikTok ads creation, which echo much of the best advice that’s been shared for the platform over time.

CreatorIQ’s five key TikTok marketing notes are:

  • Grab attention from the start
  • Foster a personal connection
  • Show your product in action
  • Use high-impact creative elements
  • Close with a clear call to action

For each of these elements, the guide digs deeper into how to enact them, and the critical considerations of each, including stats on effectiveness:

Tips on TikTok-specific trends and tools:

CreatorIQ TikTok Ads Report

As well as case study examples to underline each point:

CreatorIQ TikTok Ads Report

It’s a handy overview, with a range of valuable notes, though the main finding, above all of the creative pointers and advice, is that established creators perform better for TikTok promotions.

As per CreatorIQ:

The report found that creators overwhelmingly make the best-performing TikTok ads, with recommendations carrying more weight than traditional brand advertisements and celebrity spokespeople. In fact, after watching a creator-driven Spark Ad, 57% of TikTok community members say the creator is trustworthy, 56% say they can trust the brand because the creator shared it, and 71% say creator authenticity led them to buy a product.

So while there are a heap of practical notes and pointers for increasing the resonance of your in-app promotions – like this:

CreatorIQ TikTok Ads Report

The key point of emphasis is that creators make better TikToks, and thus, better ads, so partnering with relevant influencers in your niche is still likely a better way to go.

Some good considerations, and some valuable, data-backed tips, which could help to get your TikTok promotion plan on the right track in the new year.

You can download CreatorIQ’s full TikTok marketing report here.

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Adobe Highlights Rising Visual Trends in 2024 Creative Trends Report

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Adobe Highlights Rising Visual Trends in 2024 Creative Trends Report

Looking for creative inspiration for your 2024 strategic planning?

This will help. Today, Adobe has published its annual Creative Trends Report, which incorporates insights from Adobe’s 30 million+ Creative Cloud users, in order to determine rising visual styles of interest, which look set to resonate with audiences in the new year.

Based on its research, the Adobe team has established four creative trends that are worthy of note:

  • Calming Rhythms – Fluid and flowing forms that soothe the senses and support emotional balance
  • Wonder and Joy – Visuals that inspire a sense of awe, joy, and enchantment
  • Dynamic Dimensions – Where all dimensions and types of content seamlessly merge
  • The New Nostalgia – Contemporary interpretations of vintage styles

Adobe’s 22-page report, which you can download here (with email sign-up), provides more insight into each of these trends, along with various examples, and data that explains why they’re set to gain more momentum.

There are handy notes and insights for each, which help to illustrate how to use them in your process.

Adobe 2024 Creative Trends Report

Interestingly, a lot of the images used by Adobe in the report look like they’ve been created by generative AI. I don’t know that they have, but it is worth noting the composition in this regard, as another potential means to tap into these trends.

Adobe 2024 Creative Trends Report

The report provides some interesting perspective on rising visual trends, which could help in your planning. Maybe one of these resonates especially well with your branding, or aligns with what your target audience has been sharing.

Either way, some additional, data-backed considerations, which could be helpful in your process.

You can download Adobe’s “2024 Creative Trends Report” here.

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Elon Musk’s X and Amazon discuss potential collaboration

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Elon Musk’s X and Amazon discuss potential collaboration

In a significant development in the social media industry, Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, is reportedly engaging in preliminary discussions …

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