?? The Creativ Brief: Fires and Opportunity

The media industry feels like it’s on fire.?

When a forest burns the grand old trees crumble to ash, leaving charred, fertile earth opposed.?

Layoffs across video games, studios, and ad agencies as the sectors recede.

Google was ordered to spin off Chrome, the largest browser in the United States, owning 54% of the market, due to an antitrust lawsuit brought against them for internet search domination.?

Streaming has bought out future sports rights contracts, destroying the last pillar holding up cable, with experts foreshadowing a massive subscriber collapse.

Comcast announced spinning off NBCUniversal's cable network from their streaming and broadcast assets as the cable bundle falls apart. More media companies will break apart.?

A $.36 cent banana duct-taped to a wall sold at auction for $6.2 million dollars at Sotheby's last week, showing the gross income inequality and that the art market is built on marketing hype.

Coke's new AI Christmas ad has been universally panned as a soulless replica, proving once again that brands need to rethink their approach to AI generated content.

We have one of the most volatile, unpredictable administrations set to come into office in January ready to torch more norms.

The upside? Large trees block sunlight from getting to new potential shoots below. Forest fires offer sunlight, spawn new fauna, and bring out a new generation of life.?

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire… and opportunity.?

3 Stories Dominating Media and Tech Headlines

Universal’s Wicked and Paramount’s Gladiator II dominated the box office, with Wicked set to earn $114 million domestically—the highest opening for a Broadway adaptation—and Gladiator II debuting at $55.5 million. While Gladiator II fell below projections, its global total of $221 million and Wicked's outperformance reflect strong audience demand for IP-driven films.

Why it matters: This weekend showcases how premium releases and healthy competition can reignite enthusiasm for theater-going, bolstering the industry’s recovery.

Hollywood and media companies are facing another wave of layoffs and restructuring in 2024, with major players like Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney, Paramount, and others cutting thousands of jobs across divisions. These layoffs stem from a combination of challenges, including post-pandemic recovery, streaming-driven consolidation, and the ongoing impact of AI on traditional workflows, hitting newsrooms, studios, and entertainment teams alike.

Why it matters:? The widespread job losses highlight how rapidly evolving technology and shifting business priorities are upending the media landscape, forcing companies to rethink operations while leaving many workers behind.

The Department of Justice wrapped their second anti-trust trial against google in two years this Monday. The DOJ argued that Google owns a monopoly on online advertising markets, owning the place to buy for advertisers, the place to sell space for publishers, and the connectors negotiating the rates between the two.?

Why it matters: The second case adds to the first, which also found Google guilty of anti-trust in internet search. With few friends on either side of the isle and a populist President coming into the White House, we await to see remedies offered by the US government.?

Creativ Spotlight - Star Trek Fleet Command Frontier Pass

Our creative team supported the launch of Star Trek Fleet Commands first ever fan season pass, hosting a flurry of ships, officers, and starbase upgrades for players to explore brave new worlds!? Play the game and download the new pass here.?

Stat of the Week - Gaming Layoffs by year, by region

The gaming industry, not unlike the technology sector, has seen major layoffs across the board. According to data gathered by gaming executive Amir Satvat’s Games Community, the industry has lost over 33,000 roles from 2022 to 2024. Over 60% of those layoffs occurred in North America.?

According to his data general administrative jobs like legal, data analytics, accounting, and finance felt the least layoffs while game design, QA, product, narrative, and marketing saw the most layoffs. The data forecasts breakeven job creation in video games in Q1, which will hopefully staunch the pain felt this year.?

One Fun Thing - Turkey Day

Our team wishes you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving holiday this season. We’re grateful for all our clients, partners, team members, and readers.?