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To borrow a quote from Amy Poehler during an Amazon presentation Monday night, this week’s not the upfronts, downfronts, or the old fronts. It’s the NewFronts.
Streaming platforms and publishers have spent the last two days unveiling new ad formats and flashy new programming for advertisers to consider as they work out their upcoming marketing plans. Presentations continue through Thursday, but at the halfway point of the week, here are some of our biggest takeaways so far.
Shop ’til you drop: Shoppable ad offerings on TV are here to stay. Roku showed off a shoppable ad format that lets brands sell products directly to viewers, who can then check out using Roku Pay from their devices. Condé Nast, meanwhile, expanded the availability of Condé Nast Shoppable, which lets viewers instantly buy outfits and items displayed in programming, across multiple platforms and channels.
Perfect placement: Also here to stay: product placement—especially the customizable kind. NBCUniversal’s Peacock showed off a new ad format called “scene ads” that places ads in the background of shows. Amazon also showed off its virtual product-placement technology, which inserts products like drink cans and snack packages into programs like Making the Cut and the Bosch franchise.
Originals rule: Free streamers are trying to make sure their programming is premium, even if the price point isn’t. Fox-owned free streamer Tubi said it’ll release more than 100 original series in the next year, while Roku is highlighting its offering of originals—including The Great American Baking Show, starring (who else?) Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith—for the first time. Freevee, meanwhile, is increasing its own slate of originals by 70% year over year.—KS