Agency strategy has been marginalized, according to 80% of strategists worldwide, yet client demand for clear strategic guidance is high. So says “The Future of Strategy 2025,” released by WARC. “This year’s survey makes for stark reading,” said Lena Roland, Content Director, WARC Strategy. “It found agency-side strategists feel their discipline is at a crossroads and all too often is treated as expendable. Agency-side strategy needs to rebrand, focusing on helping clients identify where and how to grow.”

TLC is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Give a Little campaign, a multiplatform initiative designed to empower people to stand up to bullies and rally around messages of inclusion, acceptance, and respect. In addition to the Cybersmile Foundation, TLC is being joined in the effort by TikTok, where viewers can visit the platform’s Bullying Prevention Guide.

Moderated by Lynne d Johnson (AdMonsters + AdExchanger), the panel features Stuart Schneiderman (Advertiser Perceptions), Brandon Stewart (Brandon Studios), and Nadi Filsoof (Underscore Talent) as they unpack both the opportunities and challenges of a creator-driven future.

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“Molly of Denali” five-episode miniseries “Molly’s Epic Adventures” is coming to PBS Kids on Monday, November 3. Produced by GBH, “Molly of Denali” is the first nationally distributed children’s series in the US to feature an Alaska Native lead character.

Prime Video has renewed “Ballard” for season two. The drama, based on Michael Connelly’s novels, stars Maggie Q as a cold case investigator.

Ho ho ho! Cynopsis is gearing up for our annual Holiday Programming Guide – dropping November 3 and delivered straight to all Cynopsis subscribers. If your network has holiday programming airing from November 3 through January 1, please send your listing to janetdilauro@gmail.com and Lynn@cynopsis.com no later than October 22 with the subject line: Holiday Guide. To be included, programs must be listed by date, title of program, and start times, in the following format: “Thursday, November 19: Network Name: My One Christmas Wish at 9a, Paper Angels at 11a, 12 Days of Giving at 1p”. Holiday-related programs only! A confirmation email will be sent following each submission (if you don’t receive a confirmation email, please resubmit).

YA book series Murder Most Unladylike, by Robin Stevens, is being adapted for TV by Studiocanal Television, Strong Film + Television and Unladylike Productions. “This is going to be family co-viewing at its best and testament to our continued ambition to bring bold literary adaptations to television audiences worldwide and with phenomenal franchise opportunity,” said M-K Kennedy, Managing Director of StudioCanal Television.

“Never Change!”, a comedy film from American High, is set to begin filming in Syracuse. The Hulu movie follows a class that had their senior year cut short due to a tornado. Now in their mid 30s they’re being forced to return home and finish high school.

In a challenge to Nvidia’s dominance among AI semi-conductor companies, OpenAI and Advanced Micro Devices are partnering to collaborate on AI data centers that will run on AMD’s processors. The deal calls for OpenAI to purchase 6 gigawatts worth of AMD’s chips, starting with the MI450 chip next year, either directly or through its cloud computing partners.

Amazon Marketing Cloud, the company’s data clean room for privacy-safe data collaboration, is teaming with Adobe to provide their joint customers with real-time collaboration and data-privacy features that are easy to use. The integration will help to “deliver powerful full-funnel insights advertisers need to create more relevant experiences, drive smarter spending decisions, and ultimately improve results for their businesses,” said Chris Mullins, Head of Measurement Product Marketing at Amazon Ads.

Reallocating even 10% of media budgets to addressable can significantly lift reach, improve accuracy, and unlock new revenue, especially among light TV viewers who aren’t reachable through traditional linear or streaming platforms. That’s according to a new study from DISH Media in partnership with Janus Strategy & Insights. Key findings include:
· 31.6 million adults can only be reached via addressable TV.
· Deterministic addressable TV delivered 89% accuracy at 90 days, nearly 4x better than IP-based targeting.
· Shifting 10% of a $5 million budget to addressable yielded a 38% lift in reach among light TV viewers and $102 million in projected revenue.
· 65% of advertisers plan to increase addressable usage in 2025.

“This study clearly proves the impact and power of incorporating deterministic addressable TV into media plans to earn additional revenue gains,” said Tom Fochetta, SVP at DISH Media. “This is where outcome-based planning becomes reality and addressable TV becomes a foundational part of every advertiser’s strategy.”

Criteo and DoorDash have entered into a new multi-year partnership to scale advertising across DoorDash’s marketplace with grocery, convenience, and other non-restaurant retailers. Criteo will serve as an extension of DoorDash’s US ad sales team, collaborating with brands and agencies, while the two companies explore opportunities to integrate their advertising technologies. Advertisers working with Criteo will have access to DoorDash ad formats, including on-site video, display banners, Sponsored Product, and Sponsored Brands, as well as off-site channels across display, video, search, and social. “Delivery is the most important new path in the CPG consumer journey, and DoorDash has become a must-buy destination for convenience, grocery and alcohol brands,” said Stephen Howard-Sarin, Managing Director, Retail Media Americas at Criteo. “Our partnership will help advertisers reach consumers more effectively, drive measurable sales, influence incremental trips, and defragment retail media buying between delivery marketplace and retailer sites.”

Purchase insights company Affinity Solutions announced an integration with Microsoft Advertising to provide advertisers with custom Consumer Purchase Audiences through Microsoft Curate Commerce. The custom audiences built by Affinity Solutions are packaged with Microsoft supply and can be activated in an advertiser’s DSP of choice. Advertisers will also be able to measure real-world outcomes, such as incremental sales lift. “With off-site retail media ad spend leveraging first-party data projected to grow at two times the rate of on-site through 2026, advertisers are clearly shifting investment into environments where precise targeting and outcomes matter most,” said Henry Tam, SVP of Sales at Affinity Solutions. “By combining our deterministic purchase data with Microsoft Curate for Commerce, we’re helping advertisers unlock the full value of first-party data by making it accessible and actionable at scale.”

REELZ docuseries “On Patrol: Live” hits its 300th episode on Saturday, October 11 at 9p. The series documents the everyday work of police officers on patrol from diverse departments across the country.

Documentary “Downey Wrote That,” about long-running “Saturday Night Live” writer Jim Downey, premieres Friday, October 17 on Peacock.

Freeform’s “30 Days of Disney” kicks off November 1, featuring classics as well as modern films. Last November’s event reached nearly 25 million viewers, and Freeform ranked as the No. 1 cable entertainment network with P18-34 and F18-34.

ESPN has also signed a five-year agreement for exclusive multimedia rights to the UEFA Women’s Champions League, from the 2025/26 through the 2029/30 seasons. The deal expands ESPN’s global footprint in women’s soccer, including all 75 matches each season, the draws, highlights, magazine, and archive programming. Coverage spans Spanish-language rights in the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

FloSports has entered into a three-year college wrestling media rights agreement for National Duals Invitational, Sponsored by Paycom. FloSports is set to stream 27 matches in the multi-day tournament, which will pay out $1 million to collegiate programs.

“NHL Fantasy Stars,” the official mobile game of the NHL, is back this season with its own mobile app. The hockey gaming experience enables fans to become the GM of their own teams, assemble dream lineups, and “play” on the ice in peer vs. peer hockey collection competitions.

Pickleball court owner Life Time is holding its inaugural pickleball tournament, the LT Open, from October 11-19 in Atlanta. The finals air live on Sunday, October 19 from 3p to 5p on ESPN2.

Cineflix Rights has sold upcoming eight-part darkly comedic crime drama “Sunny Nights” to ITV. The series stars Will Forte (“The Four Seasons”) as a strait-laced American who teams up with his loose cannon sister to set up a spray tan business in Sydney, and becomes entangled in the city’s underworld.

AI innovation platform AlgoVerde.ai has appointed Ana Bond as Advisor and Head of Media & Entertainment. Most recently Bond served Strategic Business Consultant through her firm Bond Entertainment.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which three superstar athletes were featured in 1991 animated series “ProStars”? Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and Bo Jackson. Kudos to: Matt Marini-Paramount/NYC; Joe Marrone-Kurator/NYC; Douglas Hochstadt-Disney/NYC; Luke Watson-Watson Way/NYC; Ryan Berenz-NTVB Media/Milwaukee; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Josh Fisher-I Josh Around/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
No Googling Week: On “Friends” (1994-2004), why was Pheobe afraid of going to the dentist? (Email trivia@cynopsis.com with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone.)