“For years, Comcast NBCUniversal has been on a journey to build a platform for our partners, with our partners—investing in data, distribution, ad tech, commercial innovations, and measurement.”
That’s how NBCUniversal Chairman of Global Advertising and Partnerships Linda Yaccarino opened a blog post distributed early Tuesday (1/31) that outlines how in 2023 it will evolve its structure to more fully align how its customers are using its “One Platform” offering.
With staying agile and quick-thinking at the heart of NBCU’s decision, it is meshing teams in the following ways:
With Frank Comerford and his team continuing to lead NBCU’s Local strategy, Maggy Chan will now lead the NBCU Global Sales and Partnership teams.
The big news: Mark Marshall will lead a new, converged National Sales Team, serving all of NBCU’s agency and client partners.
“With this move we will have dedicated One Platform Account Directors and Client Partnership leaders,” Yaccarino said. “This will enable central contact points to allow us to develop customized solutions across NBCU assets to achieve our marketers’ objectives.”
This “convergence” will be facilitated by Tom Winiarski‘s team, “our functional bridge between linear and digital, our inventory, and our clients—helping us plan across all audiences while driving industry-leading workflow change,” Yaccarino explained.
NBCU is also launching a “SMB Growth Team” with the intent to help smaller businesses advertise on its platform. This team, Yaccarino said, will work alongside Marshall and be “completely focused on creating more resources so every sized business can advertise alongside the best content in the world.”
With local digital siphoning dollars away from linear media, it’s an idea that Radio companies may consider for their own benefit.
There’s more from Yaccarino with respect to its steadfast support of its clients and agency partners. This will see NBCU scale its Streaming & Data Products team “to bring expertise across all activations – from Peacock to Social to Apple News to Gaming.”
Krishan Bhatia will continue to lead and grow these teams, “the architects of One Platform” who help NBCU “future-proof” its business, Yaccarino said.
As is typical with NBCU announcements, Yaccarino used the opportunity to tout the company’s achievements and capabilities. “We now have in-house experts across every agency, category, and advertising product, positioned to understand the nuances across all industries, technologies, and customers,” she said. “Our new structure empowers these experts to jump into any meeting, rise to any challenge, and provide even more support and solutions—all for your business. Plus, we have experts dedicated to our biggest global events and IP—including the team led by Dan Lovinger that’s laser focused on the Olympics, from Paris 2024 to L.A. 2028 and beyond.”
This led Yaccarino to unveil more structural changes.
“To give all businesses access to our creative resources, Josh Feldman will lead a growing team that oversees the showstopping work we do for ourselves (think: One23, Newfronts, Upfront, Cannes and more) and all the original work we do for clients,” she said. “This includes our commercial innovations across One Platform, commerce products like NBCU Checkout, and strategic initiatives. Josh is building out a new Content & Talent Partnerships team responsible for evolving and maintaining advertising strategies, sponsorship opportunities, and developing monetization opportunities around our IP and talent.”
Peter Blacker will continue in his position as Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Christina Glorioso, who leads Training and Development, will work with Accenture and Salesforce “to democratize all information and resources across our teams.”
What does this mean for those who report to these NBCU executives?
“Over the coming weeks, you’ll hear from these leaders to learn what these new developments mean for you,” Yaccarino said. “Because ultimately, it’s more than just a structural shift: it’s a mind shift and a culture shift. And we’re more than just One Platform: we’re one team, with one goal—to serve your business.”
