Good morning. Today, AI efficiencies scramble agencies’ hourly compensation models; LinkedIn and pickleball replace one-on-one sales calls and schmoozing; and Warner Bros. Discovery reports some welcome good news on streaming.

Advertising agencies’ ability to work more efficiently because of AI may upend the way those agencies make money, Megan Graham reports for CMO Today.

Agencies have long billed marketers by the number of hours their employees spend producing client work, using rate cards to charge different amounts for contributions by people according to their role.

Billing for time doesn’t explicitly account for everything agencies do, including generating strategic insights and big ideas, but it helps them cover such costs and keep the marketing machine humming.

Now AI is reducing the number of people and hours required to deliver for clients, and agencies may find the usual billing arrangement comes up short.

“Just in ChatGPT and Adobe alone are hundreds of use cases on how the creative side of agencies can shave so much time off,” said Tracey Shirtcliff, chief executive and founder of ScopeBetter, which helps companies price their services, among other offerings.

A new generation of sales executives is reimagining how business is getting done, Oliver Staley writes.

Hyper-connected and digitally native, 20- and 30-something execs would rather connect over LinkedIn than make a sales call. When they do meet in person, it’s more likely to be over coffee than a long lunch.

And when out with older clients, “I will order the lightest possible lager and let them have their fancy whiskey,” said William King, 29, co-founder of SuperCopy.ai, an Atlanta-based AI marketing startup. “I don’t want to be drunk when I’m doing business with people.”

But the shift isn’t just about personal preferences.

“The bar for selling is so much higher that a lot of those party tricks don’t really work anymore,” said Kyle Norton, 38, chief revenue officer for Owner.com, a startup that sells technology to small restaurants. “You can’t just wine and dine and buddy up to somebody and expect to get a result.”

Warner Bros. Discovery swung to its first quarterly profit in more than two years after it posted better-than-expected growth in its all-important streaming subscribers, Ben Glickman reports.

Entertainment companies have been grappling with steadily declining results from cable TV, weighing on overall results as they navigate a costly transition to streaming.

But Warner Bros. Discovery said it added 7.2 million direct-to-consumer subscribers in the third quarter, the biggest quarterly jump since it launched its Max streaming service.

The company had 110.5 million subscribers by the end of the period, beating the 109.5 million expected by analysts polled by FactSet.

Related: Warner Bros. Discover execs said there’s room to increase the ad load on Max. [BI]

• With the new Trump administration likely to take a more hands-off approach to regulation, business leaders are preparing for shifts or reversals of Biden policies.
• KPMG is laying off hundreds of employees in its U.S. auditing business as it works to make up for lower levels of voluntary turnover.
• Fewer people are responding to the surveys behind the U.S. jobs report, which could lead to less reliable data for Federal Reserve officials who use the information to set monetary policy.
• Logistics operators with roots in China are taking on more industrial space across the U.S. amid broad changes in sourcing, manufacturing and global trade flows.

Trump’s win cemented it: New media is leaving the old guard behind. [WSJ]

The political ad that Donald Trump rolled out in the closing weeks of his campaign was designed to confront voters’ feelings on one of the hot-button cultural issues of our time: transgender rights. [WSJ] 

What an unauthorized Dior ad featuring AI-generated celebs says about the potential of the tech. [Ad Age] 

Pinterest said its AI investments were improving performance for advertisers, but the technology isn’t coming cheap. [WSJ] 

Coca-Cola is using generative AI to let consumers interact with its depiction of Santa Claus. [Adweek] 

The first dual-branded IHOP/Applebee’s location in the U.S. will open next year in Texas. [Nation’s Restaurant News]

Papa Johns named Jenna Bromberg its new chief marketing officer. [Marketing Dive]

Disney is planning a new trilogy of Star Wars movies that departs from the Skywalker Saga that has driven the franchise so far. [THR]

Airbnb posted higher revenue in the third quarter as North American travel trends improved. [WSJ]

A UFC broadcasting partner accidentally sent out a poster altered to roast an upcoming fight. [Creative Bloq]