Media Majors to Converge at Digital Content NewFronts

RMN Digital | December 3, 2012 | Americas, Corporate, Enterprise Events, Events, Regions, Strategy | No Comments

The founding partners of the Digital Content NewFronts – AOL , Digitas, Hulu, Microsoft Advertising, Yahoo! and YouTube – in partnership with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), announced that the second annual Digital Content NewFronts will be held April 29 – May 3, 2013 in New York City.

This news comes on the heels of the release of the half-year IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, which pointed to interactive video as one of the fastest growing segments, garnering more than $1 billion in ad revenue in the first two quarters of 2012, an 18 percent increase year-over-year.

The Digital Content NewFronts was launched last spring to create a marketplace to showcase and sell high-value original video content and adjacent advertising opportunities in digital media.

With the NewFronts attracting marketing and ad agency executives to the publishers’ presentations, the NewFronts founding partners agreed to expand participation and build a larger marketplace designed explicitly to match brand advertisers to digital video and other programming availabilities. The Founding Partners will serve as a board of directors for the initiative.

[ Also Read: FIEO and RMN Present Digital Marketing Education Program ]

The Digital Content NewFronts will be organized like the upfront marketplaces familiar for years in the television industry. The IAB, which is taking over as the Digital Content NewFronts’ managing partner, will manage a calendar that will feature star-studded productions organized by the NewFronts founding partners and other invited publishers, in which they will unveil their schedules and highlight original video and other programming opportunities available to advertisers.

The NewFronts marketplace is designed explicitly to showcase publishers that meet three criteria:

They produce original digital video content and distribute it at scale through interactive channels
They have an internal sales force to manage video ad sales process
There is a strong demand for the company’s content from marketers and agencies

The NewFronts will have a limited number of presentation slots available during NewFronts week for creators and distributors of original digital video and other content to showcase entertainment, news, sports and music content.

[ Also Read: Adobe to Host Digital Marketing Summit ]

The IAB will invite publishers to present their programs during the week based on a survey it is conducting of 300 leading ad agency buyers.

Presenting companies – invited based on the results of the agency survey – will be responsible for their own productions, logistics, and invitations. The IAB will manage the calendar, marketing and public relations, and collaborative ventures to be held during the Digital Content NewFronts marketplace.

To learn more about the event and/or apply for a presenting slot, visit http://www.iab.net/digitalcontentnewfronts.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is comprised of more than 500 leading media and technology companies that are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States.

Photo courtesy: IAB