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NBCUniversal wants advertisers to go for gold with its new tech offerings.
Today at the One24 conference, NBCU’s latest TV upfront event, the company highlighted new tech and data capabilities, including generative AI, shoppable food delivery and, for the first time, all new programmatic offerings for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.
“Television today is a full-funnel performance vehicle where marketers can launch, build and grow their brands across any screen at scale,” Mark Marshall, chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, said in a statement. “At One24, we’re continuing to drive our legacy of innovation, moving consumers from aspiration to action and partnering with marketers of all sizes to use technology to move their businesses forward.”
With its programmatic Olympic offerings, the company said it’s “marking a new era of open access” to the biggest sports moments.
The offering comes through a partnership with The Trade Desk, allowing NBCU to open up a private marketplace with biddable access for advertisers to connect with audiences in all aspects of the Games, including the U.S. Olympic Trials, the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games.
Even before the programmatic announcement, the company was already seeing record-setting revenue and pace for its Olympic and Paralympic ad inventory.
NBCU is “further ahead than we’ve ever been, from a pure sales perspective,” Dan Lovinger, president of Olympic and Paralympic partnerships, told ADWEEK in October.
In addition, the company is enhancing its ecommerce capabilities during the Games, with Virtual Concessions to let viewers purchase food, beverages and other items to be delivered to their doorstep. Though the offering will be available during other major events, it will launch during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games broadcast.
See an example of Virtual Concessions here:
AI-driven updates
Other shoppable additions to NBCU platforms include the AI-powered Must ShopTV expanding across more franchises on Peacock, such as Below Deck, Love Island USA, Southern Charm, Summer House, Top Chef and Winter House.
Plus, the company is utilizing generative AI to power audience targeting and drive advertiser performance.
This new capability analyzes content across the NBCU portfolio, coupling it with first-party data sets to produce emotion-based, AI-powered audience segments. Thus far, the company has developed 300 highly predictive segments for marketers to use.
In January, the company also showcased AI capabilities with One Platform Total Audience, which NBCU touts as its next step in cross-platform, audience-based advertising. Now, the company is unveiling One Platform Total Measurement, a new framework constructed to support One Platform Total Audience, bringing viewership insights and outcome-based metrics together throughout the purchase funnel.
Helping power One Platform Total Audience, NBCU is integrating its first-party identity spine through an expanded partnership with VideoAmp, providing audience-based cross-platform planning and measurement for a full-funnel view of performance.
The company is also expanding its partnership with EDO for greater mid-funnel engagement metrics connected to cross-platform outcomes. And to inform clients of lower-funnel, multi-screen attribution metrics such as app installs, in-app purchases and website conversations, NBCU is partnering with Kochava.
Next in the upfront
Of course, the company’s next big event will be its upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall on Monday, May 13.
In 2023, NBCU’s event came in the wake of Hollywood strikes and longtime ad sales chief Linda Yaccarino leaving the company days before the presentation to be the CEO of Twitter.
Despite those setbacks, current ad sales chief Mark Marshall told ADWEEK the company received good feedback from clients following the presentation, and the company locked in its upfront return in January.
