It has been amongst the TV networks most committed to adopting alternative measurement providers – now, ahead of the 2023 TV upfronts season, Warner Bros. Discovery is adding a new raft of measurement partners to the mix.
In a new announcement, WBD says it is partnering with 605, ABCS Insights, DISQO, EDO, LoopMe and Pilotly “to further demonstrate greater attribution and efficacy of advertising campaigns across its linear, digital and advanced audiences”.
It comes as Andrea Zapata, EVP, Head of Ad Sales Research, Measurement and Insights at WBD, told Beet.TV there would be no turning back to the era of a single TV measurement provider.
Movement to multiple
Zapata has been a big exponent of alternative currencies, as Warner and the industry looks to move beyond a single panel and to take better sight of cross-screen channels.
Back in 2021, she put out a call to the emerging crop of alt measurement suppliers, gaining interest from around a dozen suppliers. In early 2022, she picked VideoAmp, iSpot.tv and Comscore to provide cross-screen measurement.
In May 2023, WBD Ad Sales says it is adding the six new partnerships “to prove campaign effectiveness across multiple platforms and provide meaningful insights around the full-funnel impact of an advertiser’s investment” across its advertising footprint.
Zapata told Beet.TV: “We are long gone from the days where there’s one single currency … when you allow one partner to dictate all of it. We believe in optionality, fostering competition, evolving of products, making sure that innovation is happening. Innovation thrives best when there are multiple providers looking and saying, ‘How can we do better?'”
WBD’s new ‘toolbox’
According to a white paper WBD Ad Sales is publishing alongside the announcement, the partnerships break down like this:
Awareness
DISQO, LoopMe and ABCS Insights will power measurement of initial viewer awareness. WBD has published data from the suppliers showing it boasts uplift in awareness and ad recall.
Consideration
EDO, ABCS Insights, DISQO and 605 will power consideration measurement, a mid-funnel metric. The company published data claiming significant uplifts against broadcast TV for ads delivered via its data-driven linear capabilities.
Sales
605 and ABCS Insights will power measurement of actual sales lift for advertisers. It has shown 605 data claiming sales lifts of 2.4% and 1.6% for a CPG client who delivered targeted cross-platform and non-targeted linear ads, respectively, with WBD.
Effectiveness
Pilotly is measuring WBD viewer sentiment, examining a variety of lenses on “effectiveness” including ad format, frequency and context.
Warner Bros. Discovery Plans To Use Alt. TV Currencies In 2023 Upfronts
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.
This video was recorded in Manhattan at the JIC summit conducted by OpenAP.
