JOE MANDESE

Joe Mandese is the Editor in Chief of MediaPost. You can reach Joe at joe@mediapost.com.
- Horizon's Koenigsberg To Receive The Stanton Award in
MediaDailyNews on
06/03/2026
Bill Koenigsberg is the second-ever buy-side exec to receive the prestigious award from the Center of Communications.
- 'Washington Post' Offers New Ad-Free Subscription in
MediaDailyNews on
06/03/2026
While some international and local papers offer ad-free subscription options, the Post is the first of the Big 3 (New York Times, Wall Street Journal) national U.S. newspapers to do so.
- No Soccer, Football: Pepsi Leverages Browsers To Set Sport's Name Straight in
MediaDailyNews on
06/03/2026
As part of its "Football Nation" marketing, Pepsi is offering fans browser extensions that automatically change "soccer" to "football." What's next, "No Coke, Pepsi?"
- Comscore Releases First Ever Share Data For AI in
Media 3.0 on
06/02/2026
The data benchmarks share of prompt volume among the Big 3 - ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot - and shows why they truly are the first real "interactive" medium.
- Clients Updating Media Contracts More Frequently Due To Transparency Concerns in
Planning & Buying Insider on
06/01/2026
The good news is the percentage of advertisers concerned about the "transparency" of their media agencies has gone down since the ANA first benchmarked the issue in 2014. The bad news is it remains a
significant level of concern and has been growing due to the rise principal media-buying.
- Half Of Advertisers Buying Programmatic Are Underperforming... in
Planning & Buying Insider on
05/29/2026
And now the ANA knows which half. Its Q1 programmatic benchmark reveals advertisers are stratifying into two distinct "lower" and "higher" performing groups.
- 10 Years Later, ANA Finds Transparency Concerns Remain Acute in
MediaDailyNews on
05/28/2026
The association is also bringing former WPP Media whistleblower Jon Mandel back as part of a special media transparency report update webinar next week.
- ESOMAR Names de Regt CEO in
MediaDailyNews on
05/28/2026
The move comes as its U.S. counterpoint - the ARF - is undergoing an executive search for a new CEO to succeed Scott McDonald, who is set to retire early next year.
- Obit: Long-Time Media Research Leader Andy Brown, Dead At 63 in
MediaDailyNews on
05/26/2026
Andy Brown, best known for his role as chairman-CEO of Kantar Media, died May 21. He was 63.
- Dentsu Revises Downward At Mid-Year in
MediaDailyNews on
05/26/2026
"The global advertising spend outlook is positive," the agency states, attributing a moderate downgrade as "informed by economic uncertainty tied to geopolitical tensions."
- Made For Bill Duggan
by
Joe Mandese
(Planning & Buying Insider on
05/08/2026)
@Geoffrey Precourt: Full disclosure, everything I know about being an ad industry journalist I learned from you.
- I've Got 47 Problems But 86 Ain't One
by
Joe Mandese
(Red, White & Blog on
04/29/2026)
@Adam Buckman: Doh! Great catch. Hope there's a TVBlog in the future about that. Lift the Cone of Silence, please. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Adams#/media/File:DonAdams.jpg
- I've Got 47 Problems But 86 Ain't One
by
Joe Mandese
(Red, White & Blog on
04/29/2026)
@Dan C. from MS Entertainment: You're conveniently ignoring my "for illustration purposes only" disclaimer on Gemini's (not my) analysis. I wouldn't put statistical significance in that. As I noted there has been a conflation between the terms "86" and the lesser known/used mobster term "8 miles out 6 feet under." Perhaps my most important points were about "gaslighting" and "Mandela Effects" and the collective misremembering and twisting of reality that happens when someone like Donald Trump is using the powers of his office to distort the meaning of things, including a pop culture term like "86." It clearlly has never been meant to "kill" someone, but to get rid of someone. The real meaning of words is about the context of who, what, when, where and why people use them. If a mob hit man were using the term "86," I'd grant the meaning was to execute someone. If a top career law enforcement official who happens to be a president's political rival is using it, I believe the context was to remove that president from office. #seashells
- New Programmatic 'Transparency' Initiative Excludes Advertisers
by
Joe Mandese
(Planning & Buying Insider on
04/21/2026)
@Anthony Katsur from IAB Tech Lab: Thanks for the update. Interesting you didn't say that when you announced it and only after MediaPost pointed it out. Your release reads like a supply-side and agency-side intiative with the only reference to advertisers being a quote from an agency executive stating agencies "are responsible for navigating a massive supply chain on behalf of advertisers" -- coming years after advertisers undertook for themselves (see above). Feels like catch up, but others can read for themselves @ https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iab-tech-lab-launches-industry-council-to-address-transparency-in-200b-us-programmatic-ad-market-302748778.html
- Nielsen: Move Along, Nothing To See Here (*)
by
Joe Mandese
(Planning & Buying Insider on
04/14/2026)
@Ed Papazian: Also for your knowledge: https://www.wsj.com/cmo-today/nbcuniversal-says-nielsen-devalues-media-companies-with-inaccurate-metrics-d2490068
- Nielsen: Move Along, Nothing To See Here (*)
by
Joe Mandese
(Planning & Buying Insider on
04/14/2026)
@Ed Papazian: For your knowledge... https://mediaratingcouncil.org/sites/default/files/News/MRC%20Releases%20Update%20on%20the%20MRC-Accredited%20Nielsen%20National%20Big%20Data%20%2B%20Panel%20Television%20Service.pdf
- Nielsen: Move Along, Nothing To See Here (*)
by
Joe Mandese
(Planning & Buying Insider on
04/14/2026)
@Ed Papazian: While the first part of your comment is definitely true, in this case, Nielsen is knowingly publishing data it knows is not accurate and misrepresents what it is giving clients now (in the form of impact data so they can make upfront planning estimates) and what they will be publishing as actual "currency" beginning this fall. They are willfully publishing data they know is not representative of the marketplace, but which happens to benefit streamers in the meantime. Read into that what you want.
- Can An Ad Industry Award Save Democracy?
by
Joe Mandese
(Red, White & Blog on
04/06/2026)
@Ed Papazian: The U.S. definitely is still characterized as a liberal democracy, but its ranking has fallen precariously in V-Dem's index. In terms of skewing democracy's weight,.the U.S. is only 4.5% of the world population.
- The Ben & Jerry's Of Tomato Sauce Brands
by
Joe Mandese
(CPG Insider on
03/31/2026)
@Dan C. from MS Enterainment: That's the thing you zero in on? I don't understand why you always comment on some personal slight instead of commenting on the overall substance of something we publish. It's like you're always looking to make a dig, and I suspect that's your real objective.Personally, I tolerate that when you do that with my commentary, because I'm editor-in-chief, but I don't understand why you're always looking to stir up some kind of personal criticism about someone posting something on MediaPost. In any case, you're entitled to express your own opinion about "sauce" vs. "gravy," but that's literally why I put the word "gravy" in quotes. It was an homage to my Italian American ancestors, not what I personally use to describe tomato sauce.In fact, my article referred to "sauce" five times and referenced "gravy" only once, and that one was in quotes.But I suppose you'll pick a fight over those quants too.
- The Ben & Jerry's Of Tomato Sauce Brands
by
Joe Mandese
(CPG Insider on
03/31/2026)
@Dan C. from MS Entertainment: Not sure why you always personalize your comments, but gravy is what the old school Italian Americans I grew up with called tomato sauce. Some of them from Arthur Avenue.https://share.google/323C3d3YEA3JySfLX