As the NewFronts and Upfronts come to a close, one word can likely sum up how the media & entertainment industry is left feeling: disrupted. Explosive demand in trending content categories, like women in sports, not only changed the media-buying game for advertisers but presented unique opportunities for publishers and programmers to diversify their offerings and rethink strategies on how to best reach viewers.
Did you miss the action? We’re recapping our top takeaways and sharing insights as to how communications professionals can best dial up their strategies in the 2H 2024, to play into these trends:
Legacy media companies took a backseat to the streamers with top platforms like Netflix emphasizing their exclusive content, including sports rights. And they weren’t shy to tout the celebrity “It” factor with Amazon and others making some of their first in-person pitches to ad buyers and bringing in tow a myriad of A-listers.
Comms Takeaway: Studded star power sells. When looking at upcoming communications strategies through the PESO (Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned) lens, consider strategic partnerships with relevant industry influencers. Engaging in this type of paid partnership is a great way to tell your brand’s story in a controlled environment while extending that story’s reach and opening up your audience to new target demographics.
The new currency race dominated many Upfront conversations, as predicted, with streaming platforms like Amazon Prime, NBCUniversal’s Peacock and Netflix showcasing advancements in ad targeting and measurement.
Comms Takeaway: Measurement is top of mind for all media professionals and creatives. It’s essential to constantly reevaluate. While legacy measurement protocols may still carry value, are there new avenues and / or technologies to explore to help your brands or clients better reach their goals? Proving value is the name of the game and outdated tactics will not show the true value of your creative thinking, execution and outputs.
Sports dominated with networks leaning on live games and hot categories like women in sports to attract ad buyers.
Comms Takeaway: The recency factor is important to consider. Connecting your message to a recent event helps your audience to understand its value. Think about how you can make trending content categories work within your existing communications strategy plans and make sure to plan for those moments. For example, events like the Olympics and the Election will have a big impact on mindshare in the second half of this year.
— Maggie Stasko, Senior Account Manager