At the 2023 IAB NewFronts event Tuesday, NBCUniversal revealed four new ad formats for brands to expand their advertising reach with Peacock Premium subscribers, including AI-powered shoppable ads, among others. The company also announced two new original films set to arrive soon on the streaming service.
The first ad format that grabbed our attention was Must ShopTV, which allows viewers to buy products that appear in Peacock content. For instance, the knives and cutting boards featured in “Top Chef.”
The capability is powered by KERV Interactive and utilizes an algorithm trained to identify shoppable products. A QR code will then appear on the TV screen, and viewers can engage with the prompt via their mobile device to then purchase an item using the payment information that’s already logged in the Peacock app.
In the future, viewers can shop via their TV remote, the company told TechCrunch.
NBCU initially introduced Must ShopTV during its ad-tech-focused showcase, One23, in February. It’s now officially available for marketers, the company announced Tuesday.
Image Credits: NBCUniversal
Roku has a similar shoppable ad format, however, Roku’s shoppable ads are presented as an overlay to an existing ad. The company launched the ads last June in partnership with Walmart.
Peacock’s Must ShopTV is arguably more appealing since the ad is within the show itself, letting the viewers choose to opt out of the shopping experience and not be interrupted.
Spotlight+ is another new ad solution that gives a brand the first impression across Peacock, Fandango and NBCU’s partner sites, which include Snap and Apple News, among others, the company told us. On the same day, the brand gets the Prime Pod or first ad position across broadcast and cable. The Prime Pod is a 60-second segment that appears in the first or last ad break of a primetime show.
Spotlight+ enables advertisers to target audiences regardless of where they are or if they’re watching Peacock originals or titles from a third-party digital partner.
The new solution is a step up from Peacock’s Spotlight ad format, which lets marketers own the first impression across all platforms and streaming devices over a 24-hour period.
Another new ad format on the streamer is Marquee, which is built for the live sports offering. Marquee ads already exist in linear form, however, it’s now available on the NBCU-owned streaming service for the first time. The ads can be placed on the scoreboard during a live game or on the lower left or right side of the screen, so advertisers can target sports fans without being intrusive.
Three years after Peacock introduced its Pause ads, the streamer is launching Power Break, data-informed Pause ads that can be personalized to fit a brand’s message– custom colors, language and more. Pause ads take over the whole screen of a viewer’s device when they pause a show.
All the new ad formats leverage NBCUniversal’s One Platform, the company’s proprietary tech stack.
“We want our viewers to engage with brands that are valuable and relevant to them, which is exactly why our new ad innovations leverage our first-party data, shoppable capabilities and the scale of One Platform,” said Peter Blacker, EVP of Streaming & Data Products and Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, in a statement. “Plus, our most premium content is open to any advertiser – after all, Peacock is a singular destination for audiences AND advertisers.”
In addition to the advertising announcements, Peacock revealed its upcoming original films like “Bernard and the Genie,” a remake of the 1991 British comedy movie, which starred Alan Cumming as Bernard and Lenny Henry as the Genie. Peacock’s adaptation will feature Melissa McCarthy as the Genie who helps a workaholic man get on his family’s good side for Christmas.
The streamer announced the new sponsors of Lebron James’ documentary “Shooting Stars,” which was previously announced at last year’s NewFront presentation. Capital One, Google Pixel, and State Farm are sponsoring the movie.
Peacock released the teaser last week. It premieres on June 2.
“Shooting Stars” was one of the first original films that Peacock announced, along with “Praise This” and “The Killer.”
NBCU also touted its theatrical release strategy, saying two of every three Peacock subscribers watch recently released Universal films. The most recent Universal films to launch on Peacock include “Cocaine Bear,” “Knock at the Cabin,” “Violent Night” and more.
According to the company, 95% of viewers had a positive reaction to the cinematic ad experiences, including the pre-roll ads and Pause ads.
Peacock recently reported its latest earnings results, which showed the streamer reached a total of 22 million paying subscribers.