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BFD Expert Voices - Media Deals

BFD Expert Voices

Advertising veteran David Jones' company thesis is that all marketing can be done "better, faster and cheaper" with technology. He dined with Kerry this month for our "1 big meal" interview series.

Why it matters: Jones was CEO of French ad giant Havas. He launched You & Mr Jones in 2015, which was renamed The Brandtech Group in 2022. 

The marketing tech company raised $115 million at a $4 billion valuation earlier this year. It garners about $1 billion in annual revenue with 7,000 employees.

🇮🇹 Why we chose the restaurant: Casa Lever at Midtown East. Jones described the food as "great" and staff as "super efficient" with a quiet enough atmosphere — ideal for a business lunch.

🍝 What we ate: He ate the arrabbiata pasta with a side of spinach and leeks. I ate the wild ramps and pine nuts pesto pasta. We both drank iced coffee.

This interview was edited for clarity, style and length.

Your agency claims to be tech-driven. How?

"We'll never buy traditional ad agencies or traditional media agencies. There's a big industry that does that really well. ... [But] it's not growing very fast, and investors don't think it's very valuable compared to tech or tech-enabled businesses."

"I think probably the most important thing was that on Day 1 we launched with machine-generated content and AI as a founding vertical."

You must compete with traditional agencies on acquisitions. How do you win?

"I think smart founders go, 'Actually, it's never the big legacy businesses that do well, so it's probably a really bad idea to join them.'"

"The hardest thing for me is any company we want to buy is a great company, doing brilliantly, highly successful, high growth, super profitable and has no reason to sell. ... You've got to convince them."

"There's nothing we need anymore. That does not mean to say we're not going to make acquisitions. Of course we will, but we don't have a hole to fill."

"In terms of sectors and areas, it goes without saying, AI and GenAI. Geographic — if the right opportunities arise to increase our size and scale and clout in Asia and Latin America, and then opportunistic, tuck-in or interesting businesses to complement things we already do."

My colleague recently wrote about debates over GenAI in Hollywood. What are you seeing in the ad industry?

"As a brand, you need to go in with your eyes open. There are a number of issues. Take bias, for example. We created a thing at Pencil called Bias Breaker ... that will give you different diversity rather than prescriptive."

"We actually have the potential for this to make marketing better. People don't hate brands, and they don't hate ads. They just hate really crappy ads from brands they have no interest in."

🎾 1 fun fact: Jones was a professional tennis coach and played first division rugby. 

The Brandtech Group CEO David Jones chats GenAI

1 big thing: The Brandtech Group CEO David Jones

a photo illustration of Brandtech Group CEO David Jones in front of a picnic table print background

David Jones. Photo illustration: Axios Visuals; Photo: Michael Allen

Bumble has agreed to acquire New York-based community app Geneva as it seeks to improve its tools for connection, including beyond dating. 

Why it's the BFD: The deal is part of Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones' efforts to revitalize the company amid dating app fatigue, Kerry writes.

Zoom in: Founded in 2018, Geneva offers an app for finding connections based on shared interests such as running clubs. It helps users plan events and communicate with group pages and chat features.

Geneva had raised about $42 million in total from Coatue Management, Noble Rock Advisors, RRE Ventures and others, per PitchBook.

Zoom out: Bumble is poised for more change. 

Last month, the company relaunched its flagship dating app. It now offers an alternative to its signature feature that required women to initiate every conversation.

Jones told Axios in March that she is interested in improving its wider portfolio — Bumble for Friends, Badoo, Fruitz and Official — and serve people's lives beyond dating.

What's next: The Geneva deal is expected to close in the third quarter, Bumble said in the press release.

Geneva will keep the app running but has become invite-only, the company said in a separate announcement.

2. The BFD: Bumble to buy community app

Illustration of a flood of hearts and stars coming out of a cell phone and covering a woman's face.

It was Meme Stock Week last week, and despite having a clear early advantage, GameStop ended up losing its stonk crown to rival AMC, Felix Salmon writes.

Between the lines: AMC got lucky, while GameStop was slow.

What they did: AMC was already in the process of selling shares to raise money when Keith "Roaring Kitty" Gill tweeted. The banks in charge of that operation took full advantage of their unexpected good fortune to close the deal and significantly increase the average price paid for the stock.

GameStop, by contrast, took until Friday morning to announce that it was planning to sell 45 million newly issued shares.

Follow the money: The two announcements therefore predictably had equal and opposite results.

3. Charted: How AMC bested GameStop

Go deeper in our full database in the Axios Pro Deals Tracker.

• Avatel Telecom, a Spanish carrier that could be valued at €700m, shortlisted four takeover suitors: H.I.G. Capital, PAI Partners, Searchlight Capital Partners and Telefónica. axios.link/3QS2sZw

• EQT is in advanced talks to buy Keyword Studios (LSE: KWS), an Irish video game services company that's rejected four of the PE firm's unsolicited buyout bids, per Bloomberg. The final deal could value Keyword at more than £2b. axios.link/3Kd2mYI

• RedBird Capital Partners raised around $3.9b for its fourth flagship fund and $1.4b for its next RedBird IMI fund, per the WSJ. axios.link/4br06sW

• 🎶 Round Hill Music Royalty Partners of Nashville is raising its fourth fund, per an SEC filing.

4. Deal flow

• Julia Phelps is leaving Paramount Global as EVP, chief communications and corporate marketing officer at the end of the month. axios.link/4bqjVAz

• Cynthia McFadden, a veteran news anchor and correspondent, told NBC News colleagues she is leaving broadcast journalism. axios.link/3V8Hg39

5. Movin' on up (or out)

🗳️ Election "uncertainty" won't dent dealmaking in 2024 (Axios)

"Bankers and investors both acknowledge that some deals could be getting pulled forward, and that November/December activity is always challenged by the holiday calendar. But the consensus seems to be 'full steam ahead,' even if that means announcing new mergers or pricing IPOs in the midst of a political maelstrom," Dan Primack writes.

🏀 Amazon's big league ambitions (Axios)

"Amazon is closing in on a deal to make it one of three partners with the NBA, a source with knowledge of those talks confirmed to Axios. The league and Amazon have agreed to a framework of an agreement that would ultimately put a mix of regular season and playoff games on Amazon Prime," Tim writes.

⚽️ What will it take to get Gen Z watching sport? (FT)

"Explanations for these changing habits vary, from rising ticket and TV subscription costs which have priced younger people out, to a preference for short-form content, or a simple overload of other forms of entertainment that did not exist when older fans got their first taste of live sport," Josh Noble writes.

6. Channel surfing

an illustration of a television that says "channel surfing" on the screen being held up by hands on a dark smoky background

Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour is now boosting European economies and motivating Americans, like Kerry, to travel to see her. 

The tour stopped for three nights at Friends Arena in Stockholm. It broke the venue's attendance record that was previously 58,163 people for the Avicii Tribute Concert in 2019, per People.

This leg features a new era — "The Tortured Poets Department." She plays seven songs from her new album, not including any "TTPD" surprise songs.

💭 Kerry's thought bubble: Never thought when I was screaming along to "Our Song" at age 14 I would be traveling nearly 4,000 miles to see her 17.5 years later. I've loved making these memories with my friends and family, from the tour kickoff to last May at Gillette. Excited for the next time! 

Stockholm is fun! Highlights include the Vasa Museum, Fotografiska, a subway art tour, an outdoor night club and cardamom buns. I also had a few work-related meetings, so stay tuned.

🇸🇪 1 fun thing: Taylor Swift in Stockholm

Isabella Frank, Harrison Smith, Caitlin Flynn, Sarah Saul and Kerry Flynn standing at The Eras Tour

Kerry Flynn (R) with her friends and sister at Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour in Stockholm. Photo: Kerry Flynn/Axios

🇬🇷 Programming note: Tim will be out until next Thursday, on vacation to Greece to see some really old buildings.

@tim_bays: Delta InFlight Movies. Hoping for once I can fall asleep on a red-eye flight.

@kerrymflynn: "The Iron Claw," "Anyone But You," "Trolls Band Together" and  "The Book of Clarence" on Delta InFlight Movies. The first made me cry, and I'm still so angry Zac Efron didn't get an Oscar nom. The rest were fun!

✏️ Thanks to George Moriarty for editing and Katie Lewis for copy editing this newsletter.

Thank you for reading Axios Pro Media Deals! Please ask your friends, colleagues and traveling Swifties to sign up.

May 20, 2024

1 big thing: The Brandtech Group CEO David Jones