NEW YORK — For some marketing and advertising industry executives, the mid-May Upfront Week dog and pony shows held across Manhattan may be fewer in number than a decade ago but remain vitally important when it comes to media buying and planning for the next “season.”
In the streaming and digital media universe, the IAB NewFronts have successfully proven to be an interloper, interrupter and influencer, depending on one’s point of view. What’s certain is that across three days in lower Manhattan, digital advertising solutions earned a big spotlight. And, it saw Comcast Advertising on Wednesday unveil a new product designed to give advertisers enhanced targeting and attribution across its “premium TV and streaming inventory.”
With Mikey Day welcoming those in attendance at Convene Brookfield Place, site of the 2024 Hispanic Marketing Council Summit, the third day of the four-day IAB NewFronts saw the Comcast advertising division unveil “Outcomes+.”
The goal? To deliver “enhanced outcomes” fueled by Comcast’s own media, data and technology “with a portfolio of AI-powered products activated by Comcast’s first-party data and attribution products backed by best-in-class partnerships.”
It continues a narrative seen over the last several years at Comcast and its NBCUniversal unit, demonstrating its prowess with 360-degree advertising solutions as its content has focused on live sports, tentpole events and “SNL,” with arguably weak-performing scripted programming keeping Peacock and the NBC Television Network a laggard.
Perhaps a new partnership with a Peacock OTT competitor is a telling sign that Comcast Advertising wants to engage with others in the subscription-based digital video space. Specifically, Comcast Advertising unveiled a new partnership with Amazon Ads, giving its local and small-to-medium sized customers access to Prime Video. Comcast Advertising is partnering with Amazon DSP to execute these media buys.
“TV has always been a performance driver but achieving and proving that performance hasn’t always matched the simplicity of digital. Outcomes+ transforms that reality,” Dawn Lee Williamson, Chief Revenue Officer for Media Solutions at Comcast Advertising, shared. “With AI driven precision and premium quality data, Outcomes+ empowers advertisers to find the right audiences and measure outcomes across the entire funnel—because real impact happens throughout the journey, not only at the last click.”
Outcomes+ is fueled by deterministic data from upward of 30 million Comcast households, representing more than 100 million authenticated viewers.
“With the launch of Outcomes+, we’re advancing our work to level the playing field,” said James Rooke, President of Comcast Advertising. “For too long, outcomes driven by premium TV have been credited to digital platforms because of insufficient and outdated attribution approaches. With our access to premium content from the most important players in media—which now includes Amazon, more sophisticated AI-driven activation products powered by Comcast’s data, and our investment in advanced outcome measurement, we’re on a mission to redefine performance TV and deliver the clarity and accountability marketers deserve.”
The Comcast Advertising session was just one in a cavalcade of presentations full of business pitches chock full of boasts and marketing-fueled language. Future Today, parent company of Fawesome and HappyKids, shared with attendees how it can target multicultural consumers that don’t watch media targeting these groups, including Telemundo and Univision when discussing U.S. Hispanic consumers. The presentation came a few hours ahead of that of LatiNation, which has sought to differentiate itself from traditional Hispanic media entities by being a digital-first, content creator hub.
Matt Milne, President and Chief Revenue Officer of TiVo Ads, teased how TiVo Ads “is coming to a car near you.” But he didn’t offer any details as the company that trained a generation to skip ads is now making them worth watching.
With Comcast Advertising kicking off the day’s sessions, other companies in the mix included Teads, which focused its discussion on how major sporting events capture audience attention across screeens. Ahead of a lunch break, a trio of DoubleVerify executives shared how verifying delivery and ensuring brand-suitable ad placements “drives accountability and more effective Streaming TV campaigns.”
On the schedule for Thursday are afternoon presentations from Meta, and YouTube, with the NewFronts concluding with an evening event from UPROXX including Chief Visionary Officer Will.I.Am.
The IAB NewFronts opened with sessions from the likes of Google, Walmart and Vizio, and LG Ad Solutions on Monday and on Tuesday included sessions from Samsung, Tubi, TikTok, and Yahoo!
