Monday, April 29, 2019

NewFronts live blog: 'Game of Thrones' jokes abound, NYT talks privacy | Advertising Age

Welcome to Day 1 of the Digital Content NewFronts. Ad Age’s Jeanine Poggi, Ilyse Liffreing and Garett Sloane will be live-blogging the week-long dog-and-pony show where digital publishers, from YouTube and Twitter to Condé Nast and Meredith, are presenting buzzy new content and ad products to media buyers and marketers.

While it’s expected much of the conversations happening this week will be similar to years past, the inclusion of big-box retailers Walmart and Target to the event is a sign the NewFronts are evolving beyond content into a showcase for commerce as well.

Today we will hear from The New York Times, Viacom and Twitter, among others. 

Every year there’s one word or phrase that publishers lean into, such as, in years past, brand safety, augmented reality and branded content. But this year's most overused phrase won't likely have anything to do with digital publishing at all. Instead, let’s take a shot every time someone mentions “Game of Thrones.” It's worth noting, during a week dedicated to home-grown digital content, the thing on everyone's mind is a traditional TV show.

1:10 p.m. ET What’s the proper NewFronts attire?

12:21 p.m. ET The BBC hypes voice

BBC Global News announces it will produce automated audio versions of all BBC News online articles.  

11:51 a.m. ET How the cookie crumbles

10:45 Group effort

I guess we have nothing better to do this week than to spend 15 minutes filling in the New York Times crossword puzzle as a group. —J.P.

10:20 Rachael Ray takes the Times stage

“Cooking tells us where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going.” —Rachael Ray

10:15 It’s not personal, it’s contextual  

The New York Times says over the past year every article it produces receives a “feels score” that matches content against the emotion the brand is looking to elicit. “It’s not personal, it’s contextual,” says Allison Murphy, senior VP of ad innovation at the Times. It is expanding that into “motivation” ad targeting, which will be able to score content based on the likelihood that it will spur an action, and “topic targeting.” —J.P.

10 a.m. ET Time for another GoT reference

“All sorts of terrible things happen in the dark,” says James Bennet, editorial page editor at the Times. —J.P.

9:40 a.m. ET So much for targeting

The New York Times has been running ads about its new privacy project, which aims to delve deep into issues surrounding data, artificial intelligence, etc. When the audience at the TimesCenter this morning was asked who’s seen the ads, no hands went up. “OK, so our targeting is not that good,” chortled Meredith Kopit Levien, chief operating officer, The New York Times. —J.P.

9:20 a.m. ET ‘The Daily’ just keeps growing

The New York Times’ highly popular podcast “The Daily” hit 2 million listeners per day and has grown its staff from four people at the onset to 17. —J.P.

9:05 a.m. ET Can I date my co-worker?

That’s been the most-asked question for “Work Friend,” The New York Times’ new work column. The answer: “No,” says Seb Tomich, global head of advertising at the Times.

Other popular Times content so far this year highlighted at the Times NewFront: a recipe on stew, an in-depth look at Rupert Murdoch’s empire and an episode of “The Daily” podcast that flashes back to 1994 politics.

Tomich opened the Times’ presentation with the publication’s current campaign tagline, “The Truth Is Worth It.”

—J.P.

8:45 a.m. ET All about addressable TV

At the YouTube+MediaLink NewFronts kick-off breakfast, MediaLink CEO and Chairman Michael Kassan declares that the word of the NewFronts week is “effective,” especially in regard to how marketers are working to figure out measuring addressable TV. Tara Walpert Levy, VP of agency and brand solutions at Google and YouTube, has one suggestion: “Create an offer that looks a lot more like TV,” she says on the same panel. “It fits into the way a brand does business.”

—I.L.

8:30 a.m. ET Elephant in the room

Netflix may insist it will never bring ads to its platform, but “That’s not what their recruiters say,” said Tara Walpert Levy, who leads agency and brand solutions at Google and YouTube, at the NewFronts kick-off breakfast hosted by MediaLink and YouTube. —I.L.

8:15 a.m. ET NewFronts or a battle for the throne?

Less than 12 hours after the hour-and-a-half epic battle on HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” the army of the dead is still top-of-mind. Ben Winkler, chief transformation officer at OMD, tweeted from MediaLink’s Digital Content Newfront’s kick-off breakfast hosted in conjunction with YouTube, quoting JPMorgan Chase’ CMO Kristin Lemkau:

Let’s just hope this week doesn’t end up feeling like the “Long Night.” —J.P.

[from http://bit.ly/2VwvxLm]

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