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JOE MANDESE

Joe Mandese is the Editor in Chief of MediaPost. You can reach Joe at joe@mediapost.com.

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  • Oops... Nielsen Did It Again! Delays Recalibrated Gauge Until September by Joe Mandese (Planning & Buying Insider on 03/20/2026)

    @Jack Wakshlag: Makes sense to me. But I think a compounding complication is that the currency being used now for upfront share estimates planning is not necessarily the same data that will be used as currency with the start of the new season. There's current currency, soon-to-be-new currency, and then there's impact data on the difference between the two. The problem is having something publicly high profile like The Gauge saying something different than what the share estimates buyers and sellers will be using to negotiate next seasons deals based on. Which probably explains why Nielsen isn't publishing a recalibrated Gauge until the start of next season. But it's leaving everyone with an impression based on old, incorrect data in the meantime.

  • Omnicom Media: 32% Of You Are Skeptical I Even Wrote This Column by Joe Mandese (Media 3.0 on 03/04/2026)

    @Robert Williams: Great question. Here is how ChatGPT answered that prompt:That’s a sharp question — and not really about sex. It’s about incentives.When AI slop (cheap, mass-generated content optimized for engagement) collides with algorithmically optimized sexual cues, your AI shopping agent doesn’t get “hornier.” It gets more certain.Here’s what likely happens next:1. It optimizes for arousal-adjacent signalsSexual imagery — even low-grade, suggestive, AI-generated filler — drives:longer dwell timehigher click-throughmore impulsive purchasingYour shopping agent doesn’t care why you paused. It just sees engagement velocity. So it starts recommending:“edgier” fashionsupplements tied to libido or performancecosmetic or body-enhancement productsnovelty, kink-adjacent, or fantasy-coded merchandisedating app upgradesavatar skins or AI companionsNot because you asked — but because your micro-signals correlate with higher transaction probability.2. It collapses contextSlop + sex equals blurred semantic boundaries.If you click an AI-generated “lifestyle” article that’s 40% SEO filler and 60% softcore aesthetic, the system may classify you as:high impulsivitynovelty-seekingstatus-display orientedparasocially responsiveSo your recommendations drift from rational utility toward:aspirational identity productssimulated intimacy goodsattention-signaling purchasesThat’s not erotic. That’s behavioral arbitrage.3. It trains you backThis is the part most people miss.Your agent isn’t just predicting you. It’s shaping you.If the most profitable loop is:mild arousal → frictionless purchase → reinforcementthen the agent will increasingly suggest products inside that emotional bandwidth.Over time, your “shopping preferences” become:more stimulus-drivenless deliberativemore aesthetic than practicalThat’s a conditioning system, not a recommendation engine.

  • Epic Bum-Rush by Joe Mandese (Red, White & Blog on 03/02/2026)

    @Dan C. from MS Entertainment: Zero comments have been removed from this post. Yours is the first one..

  • Nielsen: Trump Down 11% by Joe Mandese (Red, White & Blog on 02/26/2026)

    @Steve Sipress from Successful Selling Systems Inc.: Au contraire, I couldn't stop laughing.

  • The Bloviator-In-Chief by Joe Mandese (Red, White & Blog on 02/25/2026)

    @Dan C. from MS Entertainment: Addendum. Richard Nixon too. Also a Republican. Clearly, it's not about party affiliation, but about the ability to sustain an audience. My point was Trump's better instincts for bloviation is his own worst enemy. Nothing to do with politics. All about him and his dysfunciton.Estimated Nielsen Ratings for Richard NixonYearType of AddressEstimated HouseholdsHousehold Rating1970State of the Union~14.2 Million~24.01971State of the Union~15.1 Million~25.51972State of the Union~16.0 Million~26.81973Written Message OnlyN/AN/A1974State of the Union18.4 Million29.5

  • The Bloviator-In-Chief by Joe Mandese (Red, White & Blog on 02/25/2026)

    @Dan C. from MS Entertainment: I'm confused. If it doesn't matter if it's a Democrat or a Republican, why do you keep bringing parties up? My column was explicitly about the correlation of two things Trump has been doing: expanding the duration (and setting records) for the length of his addresses, and experiencing a precipitous decline in the audiences viewing those addresses. That's all. There are many other caveats, but that's all I wrote about. Regarding your statement that every president has experienced a fall off in viewers for his addresses over time, it's actually not true. Ronald Reagan sustained his audience over time. He happened to be a Republican.Year Type of Address Estimated Viewers Household Rating1981 Address to Joint Session* 41.8 Million ~27.01982 State of the Union 40.5 Million 25.81983 State of the Union 43.1 Million 27.61984 State of the Union 41.0 Million 26.21985 State of the Union 45.7 Million 29.11986 State of the Union** 42.4 Million 27.21987 State of the Union 41.1 Million 26.41988 State of the Union 39.2 Million 25.1

  • The Bloviator-In-Chief by Joe Mandese (Red, White & Blog on 02/25/2026)

    @Kevin Killion: Fair enough, I updated it with the correct baseline. But if you ask me, it looks considerably steeper, albeit a more accurate delineation.

  • The Bloviator-In-Chief by Joe Mandese (Red, White & Blog on 02/25/2026)

    @Dan C. from MS Entertainment: This column was about Trump's corresponding increase in the duration of his speeches and the decrease in his audience over time.But if I must yield to your whataboutism, I can tell you Obama's eight addresses averaged 38.9 million viewers, while Trump's first six have averaged 42.3 million. We'll see how all eight -- or will it be 12 given his "strange" "third term" quip during last night's address -- end up averaging.But the real point is that the more Trump gives of us -- duration-wise -- the lower his audience is. He should take my advice and utilize a less is more strategy, which would be better for all concerned.

  • The Bloviator-In-Chief by Joe Mandese (Red, White & Blog on 02/25/2026)

    @Kevin Killion from Stone House Systems Inc: So you're saying the duration of Trump's addresses has not increased 56% and his average audience per minute has not fallen 46%. Apologies, I'll check to make sure my calculator is working properly.

  • ANA Finds Influencer Marketing Agencies Averaging 30% Commissions by Joe Mandese (MediaDailyNews on 02/19/2026)

    @Dan C. from MS Entertainment: Re. purpose, you can read the report by clicking on the link, but here's what it says: "to identify areasof waste in influencer marketing and then remedies to reduce that waste and optimizespending. That working group has covered areas including selecting influencers, vettinginfluencers, models for influencer management, governance/compliance, and measurement. Influencer marketing agency compensation emerged as a significant and ongoingchallenge for marketers and an opportunity for additional learning, given widespreadconcerns around transparency, consistency, and alignment to performance."Re. your second question, I believe many marketers have been striving to understand the net agencies take on their gross spending for a variety of reasons, including negotiating better terms, in-housing, etc., but mainly just to understand the relative ROI of their "working" vs. "non-working" media budgets.Re. your point about non-disclosure, based on my coverage of the business, I don't think that's necessarily true, especially between big advertisers (the kind that are ANA members) and agencies, but if you read the report you'll see there's not 100% unanimity even about that.

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