While last year’s Upfronts saw a 3.6% dip following the biggest spending surge in over a decade, estimated spending for this year is tracking upward. As this year brings explosive demand in trending categories like political advertising and women’s sports, now is the time for advertisers to revisit their current playbooks and maximize their opportunities for investment.
There has never been a more exciting time in media, with more opportunities and new technologies to leverage than ever before. But as with any shift, the industry needs to define and align on some new rules of the road and explore how advertisers can better—and more effectively—reach the right audiences on the right platforms, at the right time.
Employ a convergent approach
Today’s advertisers need a fresh approach to reaching audiences holistically. With viewers splintered across platforms as they battle subscription fatigue and content overload, prioritizing a convergent strategy is key.
This upfront season is prime time for advertisers to invest in new strategies across emerging mediums like free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels, which are expected to surpass 1 billion users by 2027. Advertisers can tap into this growth to maximize their reach and drive better ROI.
Additionally, buyers can leverage advanced TV solutions like addressable advertising to bridge the gap between linear and streaming and bring targeting across inventory types. Advertisers can also home in on programmatic solutions, and even ensure access to guaranteed inventory via programmatic guaranteed deals, to target audiences and access video inventory from a multitude of publishers all in one place.
Invest in contextual solutions
Though Google just delayed cookie deprecation (yet again), marketers still need to prepare for how it will impact them when it finally happens. Partnering with companies that have robust first-party data, direct-to-consumer relationships and integrations with identity solutions are critical steps that advertisers can take now to get ahead.
Additionally, investing in contextual solutions as an alternative to audience targeting is another essential strategy going forward. While it may seem obvious, prioritizing inclusion in live, cultural moments still drives significant awareness for brands. The power of live TV, live sports and marquee moments is still undeniable.
Another contextual opportunity is via the use of content metadata to better reach audiences within specific content types and validate on the backend. DIRECTV Advertising’s contextual solutions, for instance, now include live and video on-demand across streaming inventory, empowering brands to appear within desirable content to increase relevance and maximize engagement. Additionally, advertisers can assuage brand safety concerns via verification partners to confirm where their ad is airing.
Leverage data clean rooms
In the age of privacy, advertisers should focus on how to make the most out of data clean rooms. While they provide a secure environment to collaborate on data analysis, data clean rooms can also help advertisers cut down on wasted ad spend and promote better targeting by analyzing data from across fragmented inventory.
DIRECTV has a data partner ecosystem of over 30-plus data providers, safe havens and clean rooms to create a seamless experience for advertisers and agencies providing the opportunity to collaborate with multiple data sources in a secure, privacy-compliant environment.
Outcomes are the new currency
As the hunt for a new measurement standard continues, there’s one thing that the buy- and sell-side already agree on: the importance of measuring outcomes and tying back media investment to a brand’s real-world KPIs.
Instead of spending precious time trying to identify the “best” measurement or currency solution for modern needs, advertisers should lean into outcomes to evaluate the effectiveness of their media spend. For example, brands and advertisers can use first-party datasets or sales and attribution analytics to evaluate performance and inform future strategies.
Going for gold
It’s certainly an exciting time for the industry. Advertisers can make the most out of the dynamic landscape by leaning into fast-growing channels like FAST, investing in robust first-party data, tapping into privacy-centric solutions and measuring outcomes that can bolster ROI. By taking these critical steps to adapt to where the industry is headed, advertisers will set themselves up for upfront success this year—and beyond.
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As chief advertising sales officer, Amy Leifer is responsible for leading DIRECTV’s advertising sales business enterprise-wide. With over 25 years of experience across sales, operations and technology, she is widely recognized as a problem solver who drives results and a winning culture through teamwork and collaboration.
