Fans of Prestige TV, rejoice!
@WarnerBrosDiscovery announced Wednesday at Madison Square Garden that we’re calling it HBO Max again, a nod to the brand’s critically acclaimed shows. I guess HBO simply has too much brand equity not to use it to the max (sorry, too easy!).
But that’s not all that went down on the third and final day of this year’s TV Upfronts (and ICYMI, here are my upfronts Day 2 + Day 3 thoughts). We saw @Netflix debut its homegrown Ad Suite and @YouTube introduce new sponsorships for major cultural moments, and much more…
WBD brings back HBO Max. Let the prestige brand integrations begin!
WBD opened strong (beyond the Bene Gesserit) by highlighting how HBO hits drive cultural conversation and consumer action, with a heavy focus on what WBD’s ad sales co-presidents @RyanGould and @BobbyVoltaggio called “The White Lotus Effect.”
The always much-discussed show drove triple-digit growth in website visits for Four Seasons properties featured in the show, and Parker Posey’s caftan dress led to a 7x sales increase in the fashion brand she wore.
As WBD’s @JBPerrette said, “No consumer today is saying they want more content, but most consumers are saying they want better content...Our shows just hit different.”
Naturally, this highly engaging content lends itself to powerful brand integrations, and WBD showed off winning partnerships with the likes of @AmericanExpress, @State Farm, @Unilever, and @Wayfair.
We’re looking forward to seeing what else the WBD team have in store in the coming year — our teams are still deciphering notes from Conan O’Brien’s hilariously detailed explanation of the NEO Ad Platform.
The Netflix global flex, its all-new Ad Suite, and the NFL
Given its history as a media and tech company, it was only a matter of time before Netflix introduced its own ad tech platform. Helped by a master class in ad tech explainers from Emily in Paris, Netflix ads chief @Amy Reinhard announced that the Netflix Ad Suite will be live by June in every country where it has an ad-supported tier.
While the Ad Suite’s functionality is largely table stakes for leading streamers, Netflix set its offering apart with an emphasis on special targeting and custom creative features. We all know how their personalization engine recommends content based on our interests, habits, and moods — but when applied to ad targeting and creative optimization, the potential for brands is staggering.
Netflix went on to tout the forthcoming returns of its three biggest global hits: Squid Game, Stranger Things, and Wednesday. For Netflix, the key is not that millions of people merely watch a wide range of Netflix programming around the world — it’s that they’re highly engaged with the shows as well as the brands they encounter along the way.
As Reinhard said, “Variety and quality are recipes for what matters most to all of us: engagement.”
The show closed with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in a Santa suit announcing Netflix’s Christmas Day matchups and a performance from the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones also appeared onstage to promote Netflix’s upcoming documentary on the team, but for some reason chose not to participate in the dance number!?
YouTube intros cultural moments sponsorships, touts first YouTube NFL game
Speaking of the NFL and Roger Goodell, the commish was also on hand Wednesday evening at YouTube’s BrandCast event at Lincoln Center.
This time, he appeared alongside former New England Patriots stars Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski to promote YouTube’s first-ever free-to-stream NFL game (we’re talking regular YouTube, not subscriber-only vMVPD YouTube TV), scheduled for the first Friday of the 2025 regular season. The move marks the latest step in the arms race for streaming-exclusive NFL games and a new milestone for YouTube’s investment in live sports.
The other big news coming out of BrandCast is a new YouTube sponsorship product that enables advertisers to purchase content associated with major cultural moments like awards shows, sporting events, and the holiday shopping season. While other networks spent this week demonstrating their abilities to help advertisers capitalize on the major events they broadcast, YouTube’s savvy new product offers an enticing opportunity for brands to enmesh themselves with the discourse surrounding these culture-moving moments.
And as you might expect, YouTube’s event flexed its own star power, with a performance from Lady Gaga and appearances by MrBeast, Brittany Broski, Sean Evans, and IShowSpeed.
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So there you go! We did it, congratulations to us all! With another year of Upfront presentations on the books, the real work begins as we plan, replan, negotiate, and replan some more. It’s what the moment demands, and as always, EDO’s team is here to help (ask us about Engaged Audience Planning!). Let us know what YOU thought of this week’s Upfronts!