The near-consensus that House and Senate Republicans have reached on repealing ObamaCare taxes could boost their efforts to overhaul the tax code.

The draft healthcare bill Senate Republicans released on Thursday is similar to the House-passed bill on the ObamaCare taxes, repealing nearly all of them and delaying the “Cadillac” tax on high-cost health plans. While senators had considered keeping some of the taxes for longer than the House bill, they mostly stuck with the House plan, making only minor changes to the effective dates.

The Senate bill still faces hurdles to passage. But if it passes, it will remove an issue that otherwise might complicate Republicans’ work on tax reform.

“I think it makes it easier to work through tax reform without these fees and taxes still on the table,” said former Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.), who is now a senior government relations adviser at Arent Fox. 

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the House’s healthcare bill would lower government revenues by nearly $1 trillion over a decade; about $660 billion of that amount would come from repealing and changing ObamaCare tax provisions that are not directly related to health insurance coverage.

Congressional GOP leaders have said they want tax reform to be revenue-neutral, which requires finding offsets for tax cuts. By repealing the ObamaCare taxes in a healthcare bill, Republicans would not have to find ways to offset those tax cuts in tax-reform legislation, making the task easier.

Speaker Paul RyanPaul RyanGOP agrees on one thing: ObamaCare taxes must go Ryan reminds lawmakers to be on time for votes Lawmakers consider new security funding in wake of shooting MORE (R-Wis.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin BradyKevin BradyGOP agrees on one thing: ObamaCare taxes must go Overnight Cybersecurity: Trump tweetstorm on Russia probe | White House reportedly pushing to weaken sanctions bill | Podesta to testify before House Intel Senate expected to pass Russia sanctions bill for a second time MORE (R-Texas) have already said that if a healthcare bill isn’t enacted, they will not seek to repeal the ObamaCare taxes in a tax-reform bill.

Still, it’s possible that other Republicans would end up pushing for a tax bill to repeal specific ObamaCare taxes, since many of them are unpopular. 

“Some of these taxes have strong constituencies against them who would want to see them repealed no matter what,” said Scott Greenberg, an analyst at the Tax Foundation.

The revenue provisions that pay for ObamaCare include taxes on high-income individuals as well as taxes that fall on various industries in the healthcare sector, such as the medical device and prescription drug industries. 

English said that repealing the ObamaCare taxes in a healthcare bill could make it easier for lawmakers to get those health-related industries to help them on tax reform.

“This repeal can also be part of a process of building support for tax reform by essentially addressing a top tax issue in advance” for certain industries, English said.

The House bill repeals most ObamaCare taxes in 2017, while the Senate bill repeals most of the taxes in either 2017 or 2018.

Senators had seriously considered delaying the repeal of some of ObamaCare’s taxes to help pay for their healthcare proposal. But doing so would have cost them much-needed support from outside conservative groups.

Some conservative groups such as FreedomWorks and the Heritage Foundation raised concerns about the Senate bill on Thursday, but even more might have spoken out if more ObamaCare taxes were kept for longer. 

“There was such strong unity among conservatives and libertarians that the taxes needed to go,” said Brandon Arnold, executive vice president of the National Taxpayers Union, which is positive about the Senate bill. 

Lawmakers still have many challenges to overcome before a healthcare bill is enacted. 

Five Republican senators said they do not support the Senate proposal in its current form, and several others have raised concerns. The Senate bill can’t pass if more than two GOP senators vote against it, since all Democrats are expected to vote against it; Republicans have a 52-48 majority, and Vice President Pence can break a tie. 

Even if the Senate is able to pass an ObamaCare repeal measure, it’s unclear if House Republicans would accept it.

Still, some Republicans find it promising that the House and Senate healthcare bills have a number of commonalities, given that some senators had discussed crafting a much more moderate bill.

In addition to repealing most of the ObamaCare taxes, the House and Senate bills both eliminate the individual and employer mandates, cap federal Medicaid spending and allow states to seek waivers for some of the 2010 health law’s requirements. 

Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist said that commonalities on healthcare are a positive sign for an agreement on tax reform, since Republicans tend to agree more on taxes than healthcare. 

He also said that Republicans might be more comfortable voting for an ObamaCare repeal bill now that Republican Karen Handel won a competitive special election for a House seat in Georgia where healthcare was an issue. 

“The House and Senate bills are more alike than I thought they would be,” Norquist said. 

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Dive Brief:

• Reddit is leveraging the Cannes Lions festival to pitch its growing advertising business to brands and agencies, notably by rolling out video ads for the first time via its sales team and self-service ad buying platform, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
• The site could be attractive to advertisers because its users are there for honest and open conversation in self-selected communities — people go by usernames rather than their real-life names in most cases — rather than trying to curate a perfect Instagram profile, Reddit Co-Founder and Chairman Alexis Ohanian told Adweek.
• The site has also completely revamped its self-serve ad buying platform for the first time in around eight years, allowing marketers to manage campaigns, access campaign metrics and test creative elements. It’s also working with WPP’s Essence and Omnicom’s Resolution Media to create self-serve ad products for those agencies.

Dive Insight:

One key challenge for Reddit in the push to win more ad dollars is the actual content on its site. What Ohanian describes as honest and open, some brands might consider outside of the boundaries of what they deem « safe, » and Reddit users — often painted as cynical and resistant to change on their platform of choice — might not take well to a higher volume of advertisements appearing in their carefully curated communities. 

Users are notoriously sensitive to being marketed to, per the Journal, with a popular subreddit called /r/hailcorporate dedicated calling out what it deems « company shills » on the site. Ohanian told the Journal Reddit can prevent ads from appearing next to such communities, and it’s testing tools to help brands manage Reddit profiles and presences.

Still, some of Reddit’s communities have proven incredibly toxic beyond a marketing context, and have painted Reddit in a poor light more broadly in the media. In December, Reddit stopped serving ads on the /r/conspiracy subreddit after a 28-year-old man armed with an assault rifle opened fire in a Washington DC pizzeria. The man claimed he was conducting a personal investigation into a far-right « PizzaGate » conspiracy theory that was heavily promoted on the subreddit. He was sentenced to four years in prison earlier this week, per The Guardian.

Given the current industry focus on brand safety — the issue cost YouTube 5% of its North American advertisers in April — Reddit’s sell will likely only get tougher.  

Never underestimate the power of email – a cornerstone for both traditional marketing and consumer-facing market strategies that has seen an 83% growth in B2B and B2C markets since 2015.

According to new research released by Salesforce, who polled 3,500 global marketing leaders, at either a manger level or higher position for its fourth annual State of Marketing report, email experienced the largest surge in consumer-facing marketing programs, with email use by B2C marketers rising 106%. This surge indicates that marketers may be testing new channels in conjunction with proven ones to find combinations that work for their consumers. Marketers also report higher levels of awareness, engagement, and acquisition when combining email with additional marketing channels according to Salesforce.

The Salesforce report also found that video advertising has experienced the largest two-year growth in B2B marketing, with video use growing 204%. Email was the second-highest advertising channel in growth for B2C marketers, but trailed video advertising’s growth of 141%.

Video advertising was closely followed by SMS/text messaging, a channel that grew 197% in the B2B market. B2B email marketing, on the other hand, has only grown 56% since 2015.

A marked trend among high-performing marketers is that they are 12.8 times more likely to combine marketing efforts across channels such as email, mobile, and social. On average, marketing leaders today say that 34% of their budget is spent on channels they didn’t know existed five years ago and they expect that to reach 40% by 2019.

The reports also suggests that about half (51%) of the emails are identical messages to what they have broadcast in other channels. This is considered to be a missed opportunity for most marketers who may not be evolving fast enough between email and other channels based on customer behaviors or actions.

Additionally, 51% of respondents said their emails contain the same messages as other marketing channels, while 29% of email messages evolve across channels and customer actions.

As in previous report iterations, Salesforce analyzed the differences between self-identifying high-performing and low-performing marketers.

Amid the eye-popping scenes at VidCon this year are an Awesomeness-branded Ferris wheel, a double-decker Fullscreen convention floor booth, and a Live.me-sponsored interactive ball pit. And all are the creations of Mirrored Media — an experiential marketing firm founded in 2010 by the 29-year-old entrepreneur Justin Lefkovitch.

Mirrored Media has 18 total activations at VidCon this year. This marks its biggest footprint at the world’s leading online video conference since it began creating activations at VidCon four years ago.

We spoke with Lefkovitch about the importance of experiential marketing within the digital media industry, the company’s strategic approach to conceiving activations, and overarching trends within the space. Check out the conversation below:

Tubefilter: Talk a little bit about how you founded Mirrored Media, and why you decided to foray into the digital space?

Justin Lefkovitch: Mirrored Media sits at the intersection of entertainment, technology, talent, and art — with a focus on bridging the gap between brands, fans, and consumers. My team is comprised of former talent managers and tour managers along with seasoned industry professionals, so we understand the needs of talent, creating a win-win for all parties involved.

From the beginning, the majority of our projects have included elements from the digital media space — whether it be the client itself or the technology we embed within our experiences. We pride ourselves in pushing the envelope of what is thought to be possible within the tech sphere. We are creating memorable moments that leave a lasting impression on consumers, reaching far beyond a traditional billboard, print, or TV ad.

TF: When was your first VidCon, and how has your presence grown over the years?

JL: Three years ago, we worked with Fullscreen on an event during our first VidCon for Summer Break 2. Our first VidCon consisted of only one party, but now, four shows later, we have continued our relationship with Fullscreen and our VidCon footprint continues to grow exponentially.

TF: How do you go about bringing a concept to life? What ultimately makes for a successful activation?

JL: The process for creating a successful activation is just as fun for us as the fans who get to experience it.

We are a full-service creative agency as well as a full-service production house. Most projects start with us receiving the overall goals and client creative. From there, we move to the most enjoyable part of the process, which is our team of industry professionals sitting together and throwing out every possible idea. We have no limits when it comes to ideas — the more outlandish, the better. At the end of the day, we want to build something that we would want to experience ourselves, and that we are proud to put our names on.

TF: How much can an activation cost to produce?

JL: Projects can range from small pop-ups to taking over full aircraft carriers, and everything in between. Because each one is custom, we scale to meet the budgets and goals of our clients.

TF: Please describe a few VidCon activations that stand out this year.

JL: As far as out-of-the-box concepts and raising the bar on technology, the ball pit, Ferris wheel, and double-decker booth stand out the most, with each one being a VidCon first.

The Awesomeness ball pit features 20,000 balls, and offers a shareable photo element in which users are captured in slow-mo video from a truss above as they freefall backwards into the pit. Fullscreen’s booth features a two-story LED screen, a custom stage, an LED interactive photo booth, and a social media vending machine. And the Awesomeness Ferris wheel, which stands at 42 feet tall and comes complete with onboard iPads, provides fans with the best views of VidCon along with the perfect selfie opportunity from high above the convention center’s Grand Plaza.

TF: What do you want attendees to say when they leave an experience?

JL: We want to help attendees create moments that they will remember, talk about, and share. This empowers them to be their own influencer, transforming them into an ambassador for the brand.

TF: Are there any overarching trends in the experiential marketing space right now? 

JL: As technology continues to advance, the experiential space is constantly evolving and finding more creative avenues in which to use new technology. Livestreaming, live video, and live content capturing are all hugely popular throughout the experiential world. We are also seeing unique drone integration, interactive photo opportunities, pop-up interactive experiences, festival-focused music experiences, and creator-driven amplification across the space.

At VidCon, you will see experiences for fans on-site as well as an experience that others are watching across the world. Additionally, this year, fans will see plenty of Instagrammable moments, live streams, DIY takeaways, fidget spinners, and esports.

TF: What do you think the future holds for the space?

JL: The future of marketing is experiential marketing. As traditional media changes, the best way to connect brands to consumers is through experiences, and that will only grow as more and more ambitious experiential marketing ideas come to fruition.

[Photo credit: Mitchell Overton]

Magic Johnson had no qualms about the bold statement he was about to make.

He called Lonzo Ball “the new face of the Lakers.”

He said Ball will “lead us back to where we want to get to.”

He said he expected a Ball jersey retired at the Lakers facility one day, alongside his own and those of other Hall of Famers.

“The way he passes the ball, you look at quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers that just have a gift,” Pelinka said. “There’s clearly a gift with what he’s been blessed with. We knew on a basketball standpoint there were no questions.”

To clear the way for Ball, the Lakers traded D’Angelo Russell, whom the Lakers drafted second overall two years ago to be their point guard.

“D’Angelo was an excellent player; hey, he has the talent to be an All-Star,” Johnson said. “But what I needed was a leader. I needed somebody also that can make the other players better.”

Johnson has first-hand knowledge of what it takes to be the kind of passer who makes teammates better. He was drafted to do just that by the Lakers in 1979. He joined a talented, veteran team and helped it win a championship in his rookie year.

Ball’s challenge will be different. The Lakers fully intend to fill their roster with star-caliber veterans, but don’t expect to be able to truly do that until the summer of 2018 with its robust free-agent class.

The trade that sent Russell to the Brooklyn Nets also sent Timofey Mozgov and his contract worth more than $16 million per year for the next three years. In return they received Brook Lopez, a good player who fits the Lakers’ system, but also one whose expiring contract will help the Lakers have room under the salary cap to fit two max contracts next summer.

“We know that the goal here is to compete for championships, that’s what we wanted to do and with the leading teams in the league today, to be able to look them in the eye and challenge them, we need two superstar players to come here and join this platform and join our core group of guys here,” Pelinka said. “And that’s our plan and we’re going to put all of our energy and all of our handiwork toward that.”

The Lakers are the frontrunners to land Indiana’s Paul George, a 27-year-old Southern California native who has made clear he wants to play for the Lakers. That could still happen via trade, or in free agency next summer. LeBron James is also expected to become a free agent next summer.

But two superstars alone aren’t enough to compete for championships. The NBA champion Golden State Warriors have four stars — Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. The Cleveland Cavaliers have three in James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

That’s where this year’s draft comes in. In Ball, the Lakers are hoping they’ve drafted the third.

tania.ganguli@latimes.com

Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli

Former President Barack ObamaBarack ObamaFormer Obama intelligence official: Russian hack ‘the political equivalent of 9/11’ Trump notes ‘election meddling by Russia’ in tweet criticizing Obama Trump slams Obama for doing ‘nothing’ about Russia before the election MORE‘s top intelligence official at the Pentagon said Saturday that the Russian interference in the 2016 elections was « the political equivalent of 9/11. »  

Michael Vickers, who served as Obama’s undersecretary of defense, said in an interview with NBC News that there’s little evidence of a response from the Trump administration to protect the next election.

« This attack is really the political equivalent of 9/11 — it is deadly, deadly serious, » Vickers said. 

« The Russians will definitely be back, given the success they had, » he continued. « I don’t see much evidence of a response. »

The Trump administration disputes the claim that it is doing nothing to secure America’s voting systems. In a statement to NBC News, one U.S. official said that the White House is responding in ways « some you’ll see, some you won’t see…You certainly don’t want to telegraph your moves. »

In a separate interview on Saturday, CIA Director Mike Pompeo told MSNBC the CIA has “heightened emphasis on our ability to stop” Russian hacking attempts in the face of recent threats.

On Friday, the Trump administration seemed to acknowledge Russian efforts to influence the election after months of denials. In a tweet on Friday, Trump attacked Obama for doing « nothing about it » last year while the election was still ongoing.

« The Obama administration knew far in advance of November 8th about election meddling by Russia. Did nothing about it. WHY? » Trump asked followers on his personal Twitter account.

Trump also mentioned Russia’s efforts to interfere in the election in a Fox and Friends interview that aired Friday.

“Well I just heard today for the first time that Obama knew about Russia a long time before the election, and he did nothing about it. But nobody wants to talk about that,” Trump said in the interview.

“The CIA gave him information on Russia a long time before they even — before the election. And I hardly see it. It’s an amazing thing, » Trump added.