In this issue:

Slimming down: The year of consolidation is upon us
Marketers are dealing with a dizzying array of agency partners and vendors, but the increasingly complicated agency ecosystem is reaching a tipping point. 2019 is shaping up to see significant consolidation as the agency business model becomes harder to sustain, and as clients increasingly look for partners to help solve business problems that go way beyond advertising.

Why the move to in-house has hit a brick wall
No trend summed up the erosion of trust in digital advertising more over the last 12 months more than advertisers wanting to buy more of their own ads: It was the year advertisers thought they could create their own cheaper, faster, better versions of agencies they suspected had spent their money irresponsibly. Being annoyed at agencies is one thing, but replacing them is another thing entirely, as clients are quickly finding out.

Amazon figures out its priorities
Amazon has an exploding opportunity in selling advertising. It’s also got a potential reckoning on its hands. As the retailer grows its ad inventory, adds new formats and sees demand (and budgets) rise at marketers, it’s also going to have to figure out at what point there are too many ads. That could be a difficult balance to strike.

Pinterest is open for business
With new ad formats, more analytics and a first CMO, Pinterest shows it’s finally ready to get serious about ads. A range of new ad tools and an expansion of its ads program beyond English-speaking countries is helping to drive more significant brand investment in the platform.