LAS VEGAS– Denise Colella, svp of advanced advertising at NBCUniversal, says this year at the Consumer Electronics Show, the question that’s top of mind is whether or not this year is the year of addressable – when addressable measurement will finally extend beyond streaming services to all platforms. “Just as they used to say ‘Is it the year of mobile?’” says Colella. “I finally feel like we’re about there.”
NBCUniversal, for the past four years, has been investing time and resources into its addressable advertising systems, work that has so far resulted in AdSmart, the company’s audience targeting platform. Now, Colella tells Beet.TV in an interview on site at CES in Las Vegas, NBCUniversal is ready to debut One Platform, an addressable advertising system that lets clients plan, schedule, optimize and measure across both digital and linear channels. Previously, separate systems oversaw digital and linear channels. The future of addressable for NBCUniversal is holistic.
One Platform, Colella says, is the result of work with partners like Project Oar, the industry consortium setting addressable advertising standards, and other industry leaders like Comcast. “We’ve been working tirelessly to test how we’re going to create linear, addressable opportunities for our clients who want them and ask for them, and we’re finally able to deliver.”
According to Colella, while the launch of One Platform is a milestone for the company, there’s still progress to be made, particularly in defining new modes of measurement. “We’re looking for a lot of players to get involved and understand how this is going to change measurement for the ads that it replaces, so I don’t want to say we’re exactly there yet,” says Colella.
What’s important, though, is that linear television is now on par with digital streaming services in terms of targeting and performance capability. That’s particularly crucial in a year that Colella says is set to see the launch of six new streaming services.
“It’s the year of the video platform,” says Colella. “But we can do a lot more for our advertisers and agencies than we ever have been able to do in the past. We’re making investments in content and bringing that together is a great user experience.”
This video is part of Beet.TV’s coverage of advanced TV at CES 2020 presented by Amobee and hosted by GroupM Worldwide. For more videos from the series, please visit this page.
