As children's TV viewing patterns change, CNBC spoke to advertising experts about how the industry needs to adapt. Fewer children are watching traditional television broadcasts. Instead, they are watching on-demand content via tablets and other devices, or spending more time on video games, putting them out of reach of traditional advertising.

There is no doubt that 2016 was an interesting year in the media and advertising industries: a digital media pioneer declared bankruptcy, investigators are probing into shady practices in the advertising business and a former TV star was elected president. Donald Trump, fake news, Gawker and media M&A are among the top stories of the year

The Twitter account of Sony Music falsely tweeted that Britney Spears had died, featuring separate postings that read: "RIP @britneyspears #RIPBritney 1981-2016," and "Britney spears is dead by accident! We will tell you more soon #RIPBritney." Sony confirmed that its Sony Music Entertainment Twitter account had been "compromised."

Some brands are pre-emptively drafting informal contingency plans, and others, like H&R Block, are spending money shoring up their reputation. But one thing that industry analysts and crisis management experts seem to agree on: There is nothing in the handbook that instructs executives on how to handle an overnight Twitter controversy created by the president-elect.

Ray Kroc opened the first franchised McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, Ill., in 1955. More than six decades and 36,000 restaurants later, moviegoers will get a chance to see a dramatized version of the burger giant's beginning, and a portrayal of a complicated, driven salesman-turned-self-proclaimed founder.

Brand marketers are eager to partner with influencers, particularly to attract the millennial base. And, it looks like this trend will continue. According to November 2016 research, nearly half of practitioners said they plan to ramp up their budgets for influencer-focused campaigns in 2017.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative made a move this week to publicly shame Alibaba, the world's largest e-commerce company, for not doing enough to curb the sale of counterfeit goods on Taobao, an online shopping platform and app it owns and operates. The USTR added Alibaba to its list of "Notorious Markets" known to host fakes.

Merck KGaA has taken a page from consumer packaged goods' playbook for its consumer OTC marketing strategy-and it's working. The German-based maker of a $1 billion portfolio of healthcare brands refers to the strategy as creating "lovebrands," in a recent report on the companywide success of its new approach.

To build out the new distribution center, Amazon expects to make a capital investment of nearly $90 million in Livonia, a suburb of Detroit. Amazon also considered Ohio and Indiana for the center, according to state officials. The company expects to hire at least 1,000 employees to staff the center, set to open next year.

Ford Performance and Ken Block have a symbiotic relationship. Ford provides him with race cars and the occasional Ford product. Block drives the living daylights out of them, has his team create cool videos, and the two parties use said videos for awesome marketing campaigns. Ford gets views. Block has fun. Everyone is happy.