SAN JUAN, PR– Adsmart, the advanced advertising unit at NBCU, has been a “petri dish” for testing and learning to see if cross-portfolio work was viable for the company to do as it moves toward its new One Platform solution. Covering all advanced advertising initiatives including digital programmatic, Adsmart’s approach breaks down silos, streamlines the buy side and makes the work more efficient.
“We believe powerful content creates the best environment for advertising and efficacy. It’s an attention economy where consumer choice reigns,” Ashley Luongo, the vp of Adsmart advanced advertising sales, told Jon Watts during a town hall at the Beet Retreat in San Juan. “That clutter makes it hard for marketing to break through.”
At the core of Adsmart’s approach is a dedication to the consumer experience. Ad avoidance is something that the ad industry is dealing with, and creating a positive experience, Luongo says, is something “we lost the plot on. So we’re pulling it back to put customers at the center, so ad assets don’t create the avoidance.”
Data strategies help inform better messaging that then helps advertisers stand out, doing more for buyers at the same time as it’s improving the customer experience. The cross-portfolio approach changes how buyers work with NBCU, says Luongo. Where a potential buyer might enter the company through a division, like sports or entertainment, the Adsmart approach breaks down barriers to transact on the basis of “audience and automation.”
With the advancement of initiatives like Adsmart and One Platform, Luongo says that NBCU is on its way to opening the door to global transactions that are easier and forward-looking for the industry.
“We’re at this point where we’ve done enough test and learn, it’s time to do,” says Luongo. “Locking arms with the industry we can do better together. If you wanna go fast go alone and if you wanna go far go together. It allows the market to transact with publishers in an audience based way.”
This video was produced at the Beet Retreat San Juan 2020 sponsored by 605, DISH Media, NBCU, Roundel & Tubi. For more videos from the series, please visit this landing page.
