The 10 things in advertising you need to know today

Reuters

Good morning. Here's everything you need to know in the world of advertising today.

1. This is how an iconic American brand has been driven to the edge of bankruptcy — Business Insider goes inside Sears' death spiral. "The only way you see [CEO] Eddie [Lampert] is through a screen," one former executive told Business Insider.

2. Facebook hired a former NBC anchor to help improve its relationships with the media. Former NBC and CNN anchor Campbell Brown will be the social network's head of news partnerships starting this month.

3. Pandora stock is falling after its most likely buyer dismissed acquisition rumors — and criticized its new direction. For months, Pandora has endured on-and-off rumors that it's trying to sell itself.

4. Amazon's Alexa, the personal assistant that launched with the Amazon Echo smart speaker, completely dominated this year's Consumer Electronics Show. Companies like Ford, Huawei, LG, as well as a long parade of startups, all unveiled home appliances, phones, cars, and more gadgets with Alexa integration.

5. A YouTube star with 7.5 million subscribers explains how she makes money — and how the industry is changing. Business Insider talked to Eva Gutowski to learn about how YouTube stars are making the leap from the video website to other venues.

6. Martin Shkreli has been suspended from Twitter for harassing freelance journalist Lauren Duca. Duca told Business Insider via Twitter direct message that Shkreli "is engaged in targeted harassment, and absolutely deserves to have his account suspended."

7. Wendy's is roasting people on Twitter, and it's hilarious. A Wendy's representative told Business Insider their account has not been hacked.

8. Tim Cook and other top Apple executives took a pay cut in 2016 for missing targets. Cook specifically received $8.75 million in total compensation, which is a 15% decrease from the $10.3 million he was paid in 2015.

9. The NFL ratings drop is a sign of TV's gradual decline, Digiday reports. Last week, it was revealed that NFL Nielsen ratings were down 8 percent for the 2016 season.

10. Advertising is powered by social envy, according to the late John Berger, The Financial Times reports. Berger's 45-year-old analysis of advertising's role in the fracturing impact of social inequality is up to date in the new post-truth era of Brexit and Donald Trump.

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