Texas’ antitrust fight against Google

Hi and welcome to Insider Advertising for April 22. I'm senior advertising reporter Lauren Johnson, and here's what's going on:

First up: Don't miss our webinar today on the future of ad targeting featuring execs from Mars Petcare, The Trade Desk, R/GA, and The Washington Post. Details here.

• Texas' antitrust fight against Google.
• Microsoft's plan for virtual events.
• Clubhouse brand deals.

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Tips, comments, suggestions? Drop me a line at [email protected] or on Twitter at @LaurenJohnson.

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The 5 most revelatory findings about Texas' antitrust fight against Google, including the secret 'Project Bernanke' and its 'Jedi Blue' deal with Facebook

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton led an antitrust suit filed against Google last year.
• The highly detailed allegations delve into Google's platforms for advertisers and publishers.
• Insider obtained an unredacted copy of Google's response to the lawsuit, filed earlier this month.

Read the story.

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Microsoft lays out how its hugely successful virtual events became a model for future gatherings

• Microsoft paused all of its signature conferences when the pandemic hit, Patrick Coffee reported.
• Attendance at its first virtual Build developer conference jumped by more than 2,500% in 2020.
• Now, even as cities reopen, Microsoft plans to keep its events virtual.

Read the story.

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A new startup is helping Clubhouse influencers make money from brand deals on the $4 billion audio app

• Clubmarket is a new startup connecting Clubhouse creators and brands for sponsorships, Sydney Bradley reported.
• Its marketplace offers branded rooms, shoutouts, and cohosting options.
• Brands can view data about creators or clubs data like average listeners, rooms hosted per week, and follower count.

Read the story.

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More stories we're reading:

• 8 advertising agencies like IPG's The Martin Agency and Dentsu's Carat detail how they're trying to prevent staff burnout (Insider)
• A new media startup will spend millions making movies with YouTubers, TikTok stars, and other digital creators (Insider)
• Digital ad firm DoubleVerify expects to raise $360 million at a $4.2 billion valuation in its IPO. It's now planning to spend big to make online advertising less risky for brands. (Insider)
• Netflix has kept churn low despite a weak Q1 and it could be a key to success during a challenging 2021 (Insider)
• You & Mr Jones forms new media division led by former Mindshare CEO Nick Emery (Wall Street Journal)
• Outbrain is going public (Adweek)

Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow! You can reach me in the meantime at [email protected] and subscribe to this daily email here.