NBCUniversal plans to offer up national television inventory on a self-serve programmatic basis for Target, through a new ad-targeting effort with 4C Insights.
NBC will serve up its entire linear television inventory on an audience-targeted basis so ad buyers like Target’s firm Essence can put together media plans for television much the same way they do for digital and social media platforms.
“NBCUniversal continues to be the first mover in the television advanced advertising space through valued relationships with our clients and partnerships with innovative media tech companies,” said Mike Rosen, executive vice president of Portfolio Sales and Strategy at NBCUniversal, in a statement. “We are excited to offer Target the ability to reach their target consumers with the precision and reach that only our company can offer in the marketplace.”
“This is a watershed moment for advertisers, who have been looking for a way to unlock the power of first-party data in television,” said Kristi Argyilan, senior vice president of marketing for Target, in a statement. “Through programmatic ad buying, NBCUniversal is giving us the opportunity to apply better data to our TV decisions and choose the programming that resonates most strongly with our guests.”
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4C says that NBCUniversal is its first private marketplace integration within linear television.
“We’re proud to power NBCU as it breaks new ground within the media industry,” said 4C CEO Lance Neuhauser in a statement. “Target is a highly innovative brand and its marketing team is always pushing the envelope to deliver a better guest experience so we can think of no better launch partner for this new solution.”
4C Chief Marketing Officer Aaron Goldman said having both NBC and Target involved marks a major step forward for programmatic TV ad buying.
“For years we’ve been talking about when TV will be bought and sold more like digital media. So far, there’s been great progress made in terms of data-driven targeting and automation but it’s been largely confined to local inventory and cable networks. Now, for the first time, we have a national broadcaster making its premium inventory available through a self-serve platform for audience-based buying. This is certainly a tipping point for ‘Advanced TV’ advertising,” said Goldman, adding that other brands and broadcasters could follow suit.