This week we're diving into which tech companies are dominating the ad space across newsletters and on-site.

What's 🔥 Right Now

Tech’s New Ad Launches

• Meta ran a HPTO across both WSJ and Axios this week. For WSJ’s run, Meta promoted their Instagram teen accounts. Across Axios, they pushed messaging around how they’re supporting millions of American businesses. This is a continuation of their push to reach political decision-makers and Capitol Hill insiders, likely tied to ongoing lobbying efforts around platform regulation.

• ZS ran ads across NYTimes this week, driving awareness to their data and tech consulting capabilities.

• LexisNexis ran ads across WSJ and a HPTO across Axios this week, positioning themselves in front of business and policy audiences as AI continues to reshape legal and research workflows.

• Relativity ran ads across NYTimes and a HPTO across WSJ this week, promoting their product as a service and broadening their reach beyond legal-endemic audiences to drive mainstream awareness.

• Google Chrome ran ads across WSJ this week, promoting their browser dominance among a business-forward audience.

Newsletter Rundown

• Meta is sponsoring Politico's Playbook, Playbook PM, Punchbowl News A.M., Puck’s The Daily Courant, and The Best & The Brightest this week, driving awareness to their Instagram Teen accounts and reinforcing brand trust with political and policy audiences.

• Anthropic is sponsoring Semafor Flagship and The Hill’s Morning Report this week, driving awareness to how they're supporting K-12 education.

• LexisNexis is sponsoring Axios AI+ this week, driving to their studio piece on their platform's capabilities as AI reshapes legal and research workflows.

The thought: Tech companies dominated the ad space this week across RON and newsletters. Notably, Meta spread a wider footprint, running two different campaigns across Politico, Punchbowl, and Puck. Both their Instagram teen account privacy features and how they support American businesses got in front of the policy decision makers. Following Meta’s always-on playbook, Anthropic continues its steady newsletter cadence for DC-insiders, using sponsorships as less of a product push and more as a sustained brand trust and influence building tool.   

Ads across the web this week

• Automotive: Range Rover (The Atlantic)

• Tech: ZS (NYTimes), LexisNexis (WSJ, Axios), Relativity (NYTimes, WSJ), Meta (WSJ), Meta (Axios) Chrome (WSJ), Apple (Fortune)

• Business/Finance: Citi (NYTimes), Justworks (Forbes), Jobs Ohio (Bloomberg), Amova (Bloomberg), PwC (WaPo) 

• Healthcare: Philip Morris International (WSJ), Reynolds American (Semafor), Bayer (Puck) 

• Real-estate: Sotheby’s (NYTimes)

• Travel: Auberge Collection (Air Mail), Four Seasons (Bloomberg)

• E-Commerce/Retail: Rolex (Puck), Zegna (WSJ), Van Cleef & Arpels (NYTimes) 

• Entertainment: Hulu (Vox)

Notable Campaigns 

Justworks is running a week-long HPTO across Forbes, driving awareness to how they empower small teams through their premium benefits and HR support.

Bayer ran a HPTO across Puck on 3/9 and today, 3/12, driving awareness to the importance of trusting science.

Meta ran a HPTO across WSJ on 3/10, promoting their Instagram Teen Accounts.

LexisNexis ran a HPTO across Axios on 3/10, driving to a branded content piece on why they’re the trusted AI source for legal teams.

Relativity ran a HPTO across WSJ on 3/11, driving awareness to the one platform for all your legal data challenges.

Hulu ran a HPTO across Vox on 3/11, promoting the series R.J. Decker.

Jobs Ohio ran a HPTO across Bloomberg on 3/11, driving awareness to how Ohio is ranked No. 2 for cost of doing business.

Meta ran a HPTO across Axios on 3/11, driving awareness to the volume of people that rely on Meta to grow American businesses.

Apple is running a HPTO across Fortune today, 3/12, promoting the new iPhone 17e.

Newsletter Tracker

Here's a link to the full newsletter list (the newsletter tracker is for paying subscribers only. For access, upgrade here.)

Across the newsletter tracker, this week has a STR of 47%, 12% down from last week 💵

New Branded Content

• Axios: Elevance Health 

• WSJ: CLA, NTT Data

Here's a link to the full branded content list (the branded content tracker is for paying subscribers only. For access, upgrade here.)

Industry News + Product Launches

• Morning Brew launched a series of subscriber events 

• WaPo relaunched and renamed their Tech Briefing newsletter to AI & Tech Brief, stating that AI isn’t just a tech story anymore

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