Rates for Meta’s short-form video offerings on Facebook and Instagram moved in the opposite direction
If you want cheap CPMs, TikTok seems to be the place to get them. ADWEEK’s own data wonk Paul Hiebert grabbed some numbers from Varos and others to look at how the months following Ban Pt. I impacted TikTok.As acquisition talk gets louder and more frequent in the days leading up to April 5, when the extension on TikTok’s U.S. ban is set to expire, new data illustrates a period of uncertainty for the popular app.
Figures from Varos, a benchmarking firm that tracks digital ad spend, show TikTok’s U.S. cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPMs) have seen double-digital declines throughout 2025. Meanwhile, rates for Meta’s short-form video offerings on Facebook and Instagram have moved in the opposite direction.
“It’s undeniable that Facebook and Instagram have made CPM growth a key initiative, driven both by increases in spend and rates,” said Jason Krebs, general manager of media at Varos.
Is Your Cat A King? Sheba Launches Search for Descendants of Egyptian Feline Nobility
The Mars brand unveils an AI-powered tool and a content series to find descendants of the cats that ruled with the Pharaohs
If the internet and modern life have taught us anything, it’s this: house cats are royalty, and we are mere peasants, existing only to adore and serve them. And manage their Instagram accounts.
Sheba, part of the Mars conglomerate, innately understands – and happily encourages – the vaunted place that felines have in our world. And to solidify this exalted status, the brand is looking for actual “long lost” descendants of the kitties that ruled alongside the ancient Egyptian pharaohs.
Could it be George, your geriatric tabby? If so, that would be King George from now on, thank you very much.
Sheba, which says it is “blending cultural insight, breakthrough science and social storytelling,” leans into research and artificial intelligence for the campaign, dubbed “The Pharaoh’s Lost Cat.”
Spotify Opens the Programmatic Floodgates with Ad Exchange Launch
Spotify unveiled a sweeping plan to make its advertising business more accessible. It will roll out its first programmatic ad exchange, expand creative automation, and deepen measurement tools while opening its platform more broadly to advertisers.
The announcements were shared during Spotify’s version of an Upfront, called Advance, on April 2. The moves signal Spotify’s ambition to evolve from a premium audio partner to a full-fledged media platform competing for video, display, and performance ad budgets.
“The overarching theme is making it simpler for clients to buy, create, and measure on Spotify,” said global head of advertising sales Brian Berner. “We’ve always supported automated buying, but now we’re opening up all formats, all inventory, and all signals in one place.”
The news comes on the heels of the company’s most profitable year in its 18-year history.
LinkedIn has moved the bulk of its global media business to Publicis Media, marking the end of its partnership with Dentsu
The decision follows a closed review of the social platform’s media account. Dentsu had been responsible for LinkedIn’s media strategy in major markets, including the U.S.
LinkedIn confirmed it is working with Publicis “as we continue to look for new and innovative ways to reach our members and customers,” according to a spokesperson.
Specific details of the agreement remain sparse, but the decision means Publicis Media will now handle LinkedIn’s global media planning and buying efforts. COMvergence, a global research firm specializing in media agency spend estimates, places LinkedIn’s global (net) media spend for 2024 at $220 million.
Dentsu and Publicis declined to comment.
