Mark Marshall shares one thing with his predecessor. On the subject of measurement and currency, he’s impatient.
I wold love to say we’ll make huge progress,” Marshall, told Beet.TV about the. industry’s efforts toward embracing alternatives to Nielsen. “We continue to spin our wheels a bit.
Marshall, who was just named NBCU’s interim chairman of ad sales following longtime sales chief Linda Yaccarino’s departure to run Twitter as CEO, said he’s hoping the recently formed Joint Industry Committe helps nudge the broader ad buying business forward. NBCU has been testing currency alternatives for the past five years, but overall, progress has been halting, Marshall said. “We [continue] to measure the sale of toothpaste and a $150,000 BMV the same way. It’s a work in progress.”
In the meantime, Marshall suddenly needs to lead an upfront through what was already promising to be an uncertain period. He’s confident that the overarching economy won’t hold the market back, as inflation continues to decline and job numbers remain strong.
“60 days ago, things may have been different,” he said. “I think you’ll start to see advertisers release budgets shortly.”
What about the ongoing talk of more brands being reticent to make long term commitments? Marshall said that since the start of the pandemic, he’s seeing more buyers looking for optionality above all. “I think everyone is looking for more flexibility,” he said.
“‘What if I want to pivot from linear to digital?’ ‘What if I want to pivot from national to local?’ Those are the conversations we’re having.”
For Marshall, the conversations suddenly got a lot more interesting.
You’re watching “The TV Upfronts in Transition,” a Beet.TV Leadership Series presented by AudienceXpress, a Comcast Advertising Company. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
