Unilever saved more than $566 million on marketing in 2018 due to the creation of "more content in-house while making existing assets go further," according to its annual report. The company has cut its agency roster and created 18 on-site U-Studios, and is "increasing spend in the areas driving growth, such as digital media and in-store, whilst reducing production and promotional spend," the report says.

Starbucks is attempting to better coordinate its marketing and product development departments while improving its social media strategy. "Like a lot of brands, we use trend analysis but social is a great channel to look at where those trends are starting to gain traction," said Starbucks VP Reuben Arnold.

With a little finishing work, Insider is recycling its old Facebook videos on Snapchat and generating a new source of revenue. It's an opportunity that other publishers may grasp as well after Snapchat's opening of Snapchat Discover to nonexclusive content, writes Sahil Patel.

Procter & Gamble will host a one-night performance of "Olay Live: The Road to Glow" next month at a Broadway theater in New York, following a series of musical videos that received millions of views on YouTube promoting Olay products. The firm is also releasing an album of Febreze jingles via streaming services.

Mars is looking for partners to join its Lion's Share Fund in the hopes that the brand will become its own entity. The company started the fund last year in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme as a way to give a portion of advertising dollars to protect wildlife and promote animal welfare.

Winterberry Group reports that ad budgets for over-the-top streaming are likely to reach $2.6 billion this year, a 20% increase from 2018. More investment might be forthcoming if not for the fact that various platforms and devices each offer different measurement metrics, and a single viewer will often use many different ones.

R/GA Chicago's Michael Morowitz spoke at SXSW about the creation of chatbot Rose for The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, which helps the hotel's customers explore and book experiences in the city. "It's not enough for brands to just be available online," said Morowitz, adding, "They have to create intelligent channels backed by AI tech, infused with context and data, and augmented by business services."

For advertisers struggling to break through to audiences in the era of ad blocking and skipping, rewarded video ads present a promising antidote. Here's an overview of this ascendant opt-in ad format, with tips to help marketers reap the rewards.

Don't miss the annual ANA Advertising Financial Management Conference, sponsored by Active International, April 28 to May 1 in Phoenix. This premier industry event brings together leading marketing procurement and agency finance professionals.

Speakers include:

• Dan Andrzejewski, indirect and commercial procurement at Anheuser-Busch
• Julian Hooks, chief procurement officer, corporate tier, at Johnson & Johnson
• Scott Griffiths, CFO of marketing at Farmers Insurance
• John Stephens, senior director of global strategic sourcing and operations at Microsoft
• Brian Wieser, global president, business intelligence at GroupM
• Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer at Mastercard
• Dana Anderson, chief transformation officer at MediaLink

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