NBCU Streamlines Cross-Platform Advertising with One Platform Total Audience
Advertisers are looking for solutions that are both clever and effective in the age of cookie deprecation, fragmented media viewing, and an increase in ad-supported streaming options. With the full-scale launch of One Platform Total Audience, NBCUniversal revealed how it is redefining cross-platform, audience-based advertising for the media industry ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). It is the most recent iteration of its One Platform offering, reaching audience segments wherever they are with the use of sophisticated technology and sizable data sets. NBCU claims that its AI-powered planning and activation technology represents the most recent advancement in data and evolution, offering brands unduplicated reach via a single media buy across streaming and linear.
Streamlining Cross-platform advertising
The goal of NBCUniversal’s One Platform is to serve as a one-stop store for customized advertising. One Platform Total Audience is a brand-new AI-powered cross-platform media planning and activation tool that was introduced on January 8. The business promotes it as the next development in audience-based, cross-platform advertising. The solution develops a unified media plan for linear and streaming platforms using machine learning and predictive analytics to efficiently reach a brand’s target audience.
Using the company’s recent investments in automation and data, the offering allows marketers to leverage NBCU’s AI-driven planning and activation technology to deliver deduplicated reach through a single buy across linear and streaming. The technology allows for broad and transparent consumer targeting at the program level by leveraging advertisers’ and NBCU’s first-party data sets.
Image credit- AdWeek
What does it do?
With marketers in mind, One Platform Total Audience was created to open up new avenues for finding scale, generating incremental reach, and prioritizing brand safety. The technology, in particular, targets a brand’s particular audience segment and increases brand effectiveness by creating a single media plan across linear and streaming that combines machine learning and predictive analytics.
The whole collection of content from NBCUniversal is available on One Platform Total Audience. To more effectively reach the customers that matter most to brands at an unmatched scale and with program-level transparency into delivery, the technology makes use of the company’s extensive first-party data as well as the data sets of advertisers. The main idea behind One Platform Total Audience is to utilize CES as a venue for announcing One Platform updates, such as last year’s breakthroughs in identity and data technologies. Over the years, the company has made large investments in this technology to change the way that deal-making works in the advertising industry. Thanks to technology, marketing strategies can now be more responsive and flexible, allowing them to change with changing consumer preferences.
Read More: AdTechStats 2023 By ADScholars: Understanding the Ad Trends To Strategize Advertising in 2024.
New investments in advanced advertising tech
NBCUniversal has made significant investments in cutting-edge advertising technologies. The company claims that with the full-scale launch of One Platform Total Audience in 2024, it is “arriving at the pinnacle of its commitments by bringing together its capabilities across all screens.”
The most recent developments that enable this are:
Fresh automation
One Platform Total Audience will identify an optimal media mix to engage marketers’ specific audience segments by using machine learning to automate budget allocation across linear and streaming media. With One Platform Total Audience, NBCUniversal will also offer programmatic guarantees for media buys, resulting in more automated and turnkey streaming activation. Additionally, the business plans to implement new buy-side automated order and workflow management to simplify transacting with strategic audiences.
Better data interoperability
Advertisers and agencies now have more flexible and effective ways than ever to onboard their data thanks to interoperability integrations throughout the media ecosystem. All of these are designed with privacy as their top priority. With the expansion of NBCUniversal’s streaming portfolio, marketers can now reach their target audiences with greater scale and better match rates.
Leveraging interoperability throughout NBCU’s portfolio, the technology makes use of both advertisers and the company’s first-party data sets to more effectively and transparently reach target consumers. The machine learning feature of the offering optimizes the targeted media mix by automating budget allocation across streaming and linear advertising.
Read More: GroupM Announces Ad Innovation Accelerator for the Future of Advertising
Widespread advertising industry acceptance
To enhance agency planning systems, NBCU collaborated with its branding and agency partners to develop One Platform Total Audience. The One Platform Total Audience for Q1 2024 is fully booked in all major categories, including tech, automotive, and retail. In response to this widespread industry adoption among agencies and brands, the company announced that in Q2 2024, it will expand to One Platform Total Audience.
In an early One Platform Total Audience test, NBCU observed improved brand reach and efficiency along with a reduction in impression waste. Furthermore, compared to specific age and gender demographics for the same brands, advertisers experienced a 25% higher brand engagement rate. Nearly 60% of NBCUniversal’s advertising clients have made purchases in the last year, so building a system that can accommodate this increasing
Why is it important?
The goal of One Platform is to reconcile traditional advertising methods with consumers’ preferences for viewing content across all screens. As per NBCU, the One Platform technology stack offers marketers the data-driven products, services, and capabilities they require to accomplish their business objectives and enhance the viewer experience. The most recent offering from NBCU represents the industry’s change in attitude toward media.
Here’s what they said
Mark Marshall, chairman, of NBCUniversal Global Advertising & Partnerships said,
From day one, NBCUniversal has evolved its business to connect with consumers where they are, while giving advertisers a seat at the table. 2024 will be a watershed year for change. Seismic shifts in measurement will throw everyone’s media mix models up in the air, presenting a singular opportunity to transact on strategic audiences and measure real KPIs for marketers. With One Platform Total Audience, we are empowering our clients to supercharge their media schedules in a whole new way and maximize the effectiveness of their ad dollars to achieve their business goals.
Read More: Walmart and NBCUniversal Join Forces for Shoppable Ad on Bravo’s Show
Walmart and NBCUniversal Join Forces for Shoppable Ad on Bravo’s Show
A new e-commerce partnership between Walmart and NBCUniversal will enable streaming viewers to purchase merchandise that appears in popular television series. Watchers of Bravo’s “Below Deck Mediterranean” will be able to purchase Walmart products that are featured in the reality series. They will be able to navigate a new shopping experience on Peacock with a remote control. Thanks to this creative collaboration, Peacock viewers will be able to buy merchandise and outfits that are influenced by the show thanks to shoppable ad. It is a revolutionary approach to combining e-commerce and entertainment, enabling viewers to “shop the moment.” The shoppable episodes will air on Peacock on Nov. 7, Dec. 5, and Dec. 12.
How will it work?
During those episodes, viewers can see advertisements featuring products from the show. These ads will include cookware or galley table settings, as well as chic yacht-like looks. After navigating a product carousel on the interactive screen with the remote by pressing the arrow keys, they can scan a QR code to complete the checkout process on Walmart.com. TV content is becoming truly interactive and shoppable thanks to ad formats like Must ShopTV and Roku Action Ads, which are bridging the gap between product placement and purchase. The inventory and simple checkout processes of large retailers like Walmart enable viewers to derive value from these experiences.
Must ShopTV
NBCUniversal is utilizing the new Must ShopTV experience for the first time. KERV Interactive powers the experience, which employs AI to recognize objects that show up in “Below Deck Mediterranean” episodes. The same or comparable products are featured on a carousel that viewers can turn on with their TV remotes during commercial breaks. For example, dishes that are featured in an episode’s dinner scene will be available for purchase on the Must ShopTV carousel. Additionally, Must ShopTV makes use of NBCU’s commerce features, including shoppable pause ads, shoppable engagement ads, and on-platform experiences that encourage viewers to make online purchases. Brightline powers these features.
Read More: Elon Musk Officially Enters Generative AI Race with Grok AI Chatbot
NBCU – Walmart Shoppable Ad Footprint
Knowing that some Bravo shows are among its customers’ “most loved TV shows right now,” Walmart partnered with NBCU to increase its shoppable TV footprint. Shoppable advertisements were displayed during the specified dates. It was to further enhance the user-friendliness of this experience by enabling viewers to engage with the content. Viewers can interact with an interactive carousel on the screen by using the arrow keys on their remote controls. Customers can easily check out the desired products on Walmart’s website by scanning a QR code. The show seamlessly incorporates the shopping options. It will improve the viewing experience and make it simpler for viewers to purchase items they see on the show.
Here’s what they said
William White, chief marketing officer, of Walmart U.S. said,
Walmart customers are finding inspiration everywhere and anywhere, including their favorite TV shows. It’s why we’re always looking for innovative ways to shorten the distance between that inspiration and the ability to purchase. We know some of our customers’ most loved TV shows right now are on Bravo. By expanding our shoppable TV footprint with NBCUniversal, we’re pairing our incredible product assortment with some of their most talked-about content so our customers can quickly purchase items inspired by their favorite cast members while they’re watching.
Josh Feldman, global chief marketing officer, Advertising & Partnerships, NBCUniversal added,
For so long, viewers had to take the hard route, scouring the internet to find a product like what they saw their favorite icons or creators use in-show. Now, through the power of Must ShopTV, and with Walmart as our launch partner, Bravo fans can get even closer to the content they love by discovering the brands that are already part of the story.
Read More: Omnicom, NBCUniversal Pioneer Program-Level At-Scale Reporting
Omnicom, NBCUniversal Pioneer Program-Level At-Scale Reporting
The media services branch of Omnicom Group INC, Omnicom Media Group (OMG), and NBCUniversal have partnered to provide program-level at-scale reporting for the network’s streaming platforms. This first-to-market capability makes use of NBCUniversal’s privacy-conscious clean room technology, NBCUnified Access (formerly known as Audience Insights Hub). It gives five advertisers visibility into where their ads are delivered and whether the content is consistent with their brand. Media buys for CTV do not yet have access to this information, which is crucial for spending decisions.
Omnicom Media Group’s call for new standards
OMG has made a request for additional guidelines pertaining to social, retail, programmatic, and CTV media. By using this capacity, NBCUniversal is meeting important objectives outlined in the CTV guidelines that OMG’s Council of Accountability and Standards in Advertising (CASA) released in 2021. The informal cooperation between OMG agencies, media partners, and clients proposed these new guidelines. It is dedicated to improving transparency and quality control for advertisers across social, SSP, retail, and CTV platforms. By partnering with top streaming companies like NBCUniversal, CASA is enabling capabilities that will increase category growth by improving the ROI and security of CTV as an investment for marketers.
What is CASA?
The goal of CASA is to empower buyers through the definition of key advertising rights and the advancement of the capabilities of corresponding media owners. This will improve buyer control, seller transparency, and brand safety for advertisers across expanding media channels. It also holds partners responsible, and this week’s release is the outcome of talks with CASA participants that lasted three years.
New proposed rubrics for at-scale reporting
CASA is driving breakthroughs in seller transparency and advertiser control across social, SSP, retail, and CTV channels, as highlighted in several OMG reports published during Advertising Week. A first set of rubrics covering the rights of advertisers and the remedies of social media companies covers social media advertising. According to OMG, the CASA program has collaborated with eight social media networks.
Image credit- Media Post
Read More: Omnicom and Criteo Unveil First-Of-Its-Kind Retail Insights Alliance
Additionally, OMG announced a proposed set of guidelines for supply side platforms (SSP) in programmatic advertising buys. OMG developed these guidelines in response to a recent analysis from the Association of National Advertisers. It detailed the $13 billion worth of “Made-for-Advertising” or MFA websites
Image credit- Media Post
For retail media, OMG released a third set of suggested guidelines. They created it for addressing the meaningful ways that upper funnel channels like CTV can boost sales.
Image credit- Media Post
The CTV industry has received a fourth set of guidelines, and the council is now interacting with seven streaming networks and six OEMs/devices. 90% of all CTV is purchased programmatically through them. One or more pillars are fully activated at this point, and two or more pillars will activate soon.
Here’s what they said
Kelly Metz, OMG Managing Director for Advanced TV said,
Connected Television is rapidly becoming the primary channel for consuming long-form video, surpassing time spent watching traditional broadcast and cable television – yet its growth as an advertising medium has been hampered by its inability to provide the same level of control, transparency and safety for brands as its traditional counterparts. For that reason, NBCUniversal’s program level reporting capability is a game changer. Not only will it have transformative impact on planning and buying across NBCUniversal’s streaming properties – it also marks a watershed moment for the category by changing the CTV investment conversation from buying the audience for the platform to buying the audience for the content.
Dominick Vangeli, NBCUniversal SVP/General Manager for Advanced Advertising & Partnerships stated,
The future of streaming depends on media owners standing behind the value of their content. And at NBCUniversal we fully stand behind our content and believe that brand safety and quality are inextricably linked, which is why we are creating this new capability in partnership with OMG.
Read More: Paramount to Utilize iSpot As Currency Measurements for TV Ads
