Upfront presentations are all fun and games—but they rarely change media buyers’ minds

There was a particularly illuminating conversation I overheard during this year’s upfronts.

As a gaggle of attendees waited to get into Paramount’s Carnegie Hall presentation, a small group worried whether they would make it through the security line in time to catch the beginning of ad sales chief Jo Ann Ross’s pitch to media buyers.

After a beat, one laughed and said, “Well, it’s not like it’s going to change anything for us.”

It’s a little-spoken truism that nonetheless hangs over upfronts week. Each year, ad buyers spend a week in May shuffling into New York City event spaces to watch network presentations chock-full of show trailers and musical performances (Stevie Wonder at the CW, anyone?) And while they’re fun, flashy, and nice for networking, these dog-and-pony shows rarely change ad buyers’ minds.

“I don’t want to discount the fact that they are really amazing presentations—there’s a lot of work that goes into those presentations and they’re a big show,” hedged Maureen Bosetti, chief partnerships officer at the agency Initiative. But unless something seems “dramatically off” in a presentation, buying plans are usually set before stepping foot into any ballroom or venue.

“There’s so much planning that’s happening prior to those presentations that by the time you get to those presentations, there really shouldn’t be a huge surprise,” Bosetti said.

Other media buyers agree. By the end of April, Kelly Metz, Omnicom’s managing director of advanced TV activation, already knew what she needed to know about the networks’ upcoming plans, upfront presentations entirely unseen.

“This, in my mind, is planned and done,” Metz told Marketing Brew at the time. “I’m now thinking about scatter, programmatic, how we move into ‘23, ‘24.”

Then and now

Decades ago, upfront presentations were informative sessions that highlighted what programs were for sale in the fall. Network sellers announced fall prime-time schedules and often dedicated a portion of their presentations to the most important titles in their portfolio, even screening full pilots of shows like ABC’s Modern Family.

How times have changed. With programming being released throughout the year, plus the barrage of show and trailer announcements that blanket many Hollywood and ad trade publications, it’s increasingly rare for an upfront presentation to feature brand-new information.

“I don’t know if there was truly anything very new that was learned by attending the upfronts this year,” Meredith Zander, group media director of Minneapolis-based ad agency Fallon, told Marketing Brew.

Another shift has likely contributed to the decreased importance of the upfront. Buyers are planning their ad-buying strategies as soon as January, they’ve told us, and to account for that, networks are holding pre-upfront presentations, briefings, and meetings to get buyers information sooner. That means the upfronts are becoming more of a capstone, rather than a starting block.

“By the time we get to those upfront presentations, we’re already pretty far along in terms of our strategies,” Bosetti explained.

That doesn’t mean the upfronts serve no purpose. Bosetti said attending is important for “relationship-building” and understanding media companies’ overarching visions and priorities. And for many buyers, upfronts can be a nice perk of the job, giving people an opportunity to participate in a “drumroll of anticipation” for upcoming television premieres and programs, Zander said.

“It’s fun to go—you can feel the energy, and it is an exciting part of our job,” Zander said.

But that alone wasn’t enough to convince Zander to attend in person this year. Instead, she booked her trip to New York for the following week, when more executives were available, and opted to watch presentations virtually and on-demand.

“I don’t really see a huge value in going in person anymore,” she admitted.