Amazon eyes podcast company Wondery

Hi! Welcome to the Insider Advertising daily for December 3. I'm Lauren Johnson, a senior advertising reporter at Business Insider. Subscribe here to get this newsletter in your inbox every weekday. Send me feedback or tips at LJohnson@businessinsider.com.

Today's news: Amazon eyes Wondery, how PR firm Red Havas is refocusing its business, and leaked Fashion Nova campaign briefs.

Amazon is reportedly considering buying Wondery in a deal that could value the podcast startup at $300 million

• Amazon is considering buying Wondery, the world's largest independent podcast publisher, the Wall Street Journal first reported on Wednesday.
• Sources say the talks value Wondery at $300 million, which would make for the podcast industry's largest deal if the negotiations go through.
• Apple and Sony were also reportedly among four companies that held preliminary talks in November to buy Wondery.

Read the full story here.

Red Havas is making big bets on services like e-commerce and ad buying, and it shows how public relations firms are growing beyond traditional PR

• Sean Czarnecki reports that PR firm Red Havas has reduced its practices to focus on areas like online sales and communication with employees in lockdown due to the pandemic.
• The firm eliminated standalone practices for areas like food and beverage and travel and tourism.
• Areas like health and wellness have grown by 30% to 40% in some of the agency's regions.

Read the full story here.

Leaked Fashion Nova campaign briefs reveal what it's offering to pay influencers for sponsored content, which some managers say is far below market rate

• Amanda Perelli reports that some influencer-marketing insiders say that Fashion Nova has lowball pricing on sponsored content and an emphasis on "gifting."
• Five talent managers and agents who work with influencers said the company was offering far lower than market rate, and two shared campaign briefs from Fashion Nova that show its rates.
• Despite these complaints, Fashion Nova has remained one of the top brands in influencer marketing by partnering with a large number of "micro" and "nano" influencers.

Read the full story here.

More stories we're reading:

• EXCLUSIVE: Former TechCrunch and Pando journalist Paul Carr is starting a new publication to keep tech CEOs 'awake at night' (Business Insider)
• How TikTok has impacted industries ranging from music to retail to cybersecurity in 2020, according to an analysis of hundreds of executive interviews (Business Insider)
• Bon Appétit is facing internet backlash and hundreds of one-star reviews for its version of the traditional Haitian dish soup joumou (Business Insider)
• Travis Scott reportedly earned $20 million through his partnership with McDonald's (Business Insider)
• Discovery to launch streaming service in January starting at $4.99 per month, Verizon customers get year free (CNBC)

Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow! You can reach me in the meantime at LJohnson@businessinsider.com and subscribe to this daily email here.