Peacock officially launches ‘Must ShopTV’ to let users shop products that appear in content

Lauren Forristal, Tech Crunch

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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 the item.

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.

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 as a partnership with Walmart.

Peacock’s Must ShopTV ads are within the show itself, letting the viewers choose to opt out of the shopping experience.

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.

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.

Another new ad format on the streamer is Marquee, which is built for the live sports offering. Marquee ads have existed in linear form since 2012, however, it’s now available on the NBCU-owned streaming service for the first time. The brand logo 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.

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 NewFronts 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.

Read the original article here.

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10/18/23: Tech Talk

October 18, 2023
Devin Monds
Head of EMEA Sales

Devin is a dedicated and experienced media sales professional with over 15 years in the digital media space in both North America and EMEA. He most recently headed up the International Team at Adludio, the premier advertising platform for delivering strong creative on mobile devices. Prior to his role at Adludio, Devin worked on the Global Brand Partnerships team at CAA Sports in London, and was International Sales Director at LoopMe where he built out the US West Coast Sales Team from Los Angeles. With a proven track record of new business development and revenue generation, Devin has a multitude of solid relationships with brands and agencies, globally.

He relishes the opportunity to engage with new clients on a daily basis, in order to identify tailored solutions that can drive their desired outcomes. Furthermore, he takes pride in his culinary skills, often experimenting with new recipes and delivering delectable results.






    Brad Quinn
    VP of Publisher Development

    Brad Quinn is the VP of Publisher Partnerships based out of our NYC office. He has over 15 years of experience across Agencies, Publishers and Tech. At KERV, Brad leads the Partnerships team focused on content providers and distributors. He integrates KERV’s tech capabilities across ads and content to create a real‑time interactive/shoppable experience.

    David Knight
    VP of Engineering

    Before joining KERV in 2018, David Knight spent over 31 years building software products for large corporations like IBM and Schlumberger, 3-person “garage” startups and everything in between. He’s spent the last 15 years discovering and refining the tools, development process, and necessary culture that create great Engineering teams capable of meeting the special demands of technology driven startups.

    Dan Bloomfield
    VP of Technical Ad Operations

    After spending time living in New York and working for NBC Universal’s first digital operations team Daniel moved to Austin in 2009 to further pursue ad tech. During the next decade, he built a career working on interactive video first for Sizmek and then Nexstar. He immediately jumped at the idea to work for KERV and was one of the first to join the company in 2017.

    Creed Pettit
    SVP, Head of Partnerships

    Creed Pettit is an entrepreneurial sales executive offering experience in all aspects of solutions selling, team management, negotiation, organizational leadership, go-to-market strategies and momentum driven models. Prior to joining KERV, Creed served as Media & Entertainment Vertical Sales Leader, Global Business Solutions at TikTok.

    Karen Germ
    VP of Marketing

    Karen Germ is a seasoned marketing and communications professional with a nearly 15‑year history serving in leadership roles across the advertising and technology landscape. Most recently, Karen served as OAAA’s VP of Marketing where she implemented industry leading initiatives to elevate and promote the power of OOH for advertisers, agencies, partners and consumers. 

    Ryan Schoenfeld
    VP of Digital Strategy

    Ryan Schoenfeld’s career started as an intern at a smaller digital media agency while attending the University of Texas. Since then, he has spent over 15 years working in the programmatic advertising/video space.

    Bill Roberson
    VP of Media

    Bill Roberson has worked in the digital space for over 17 years, spanning Media Buying, Ad Operations, Analytics and Optimization, Account Management and now Creative.

    Grant Gorton
    VP of Creative

    Grant has been with KERV as VP of Creative for over 5 years, and has worked as a designer and creative director at agencies and media companies for the last 17 years.

    Michael Fleischman
    CFO

    Michael Fleischman serves as the CFO at KERV Interactive in addition to being an Executive Residence at Progress Partners, a Merchant Investment Bank and Venture Fund. Prior to KERV Interactive, Michael was the CFO and current Board Member at Digital Remedy, a privately-held media execution company supporting agencies, publishers, and brands in navigating the complex adtech landscape of digital success.

    Previous to Digital Remedy, Michael spent 20 years at Cablevision and Rainbow Media Holdings during which he was instrumental in the launch and management of multiple regional sports networks and a number of national cable networks including American Movie Classics, Bravo, The Independent Film Channel as well as the structuring of partnerships with companies including Liberty Media, NBC, Fox/NewsCorp, and MGM. 

    A native of the New York City area, Michael resides with his wife where he enjoys biking, tennis  and spending time with his wife and three adult children.

    Taylor Pate
    CTO

    Taylor Pate serves as CTO at KERV Interactive. Taylor’s experiences in the advertising and creative industry spans 14. He began his career in 2008, working as a designer, animator and art director specializing in the design and production of interactive art. Early in his career, he created 3D character animations and tools for best-selling video game series The Sims while working at Edge of Reality, who developed video games for Nintendo 64, GameCube, PlayStation and Xbox.

    In 2012, Taylor made the shift to work in-house at an online advertising and media services agency, LIN Digital, where he was promoted multiple times in a four-year span. He worked on a variety of online, interactive projects for clients while also developing and automating internal tools and processes. Taylor then spent the next two years working as the director of engineering at multi-platform digital media company HYFN Local, a division of multi-billion-dollar corporation Nexstar Digital LLC.

    Jay Wolff
    CRO

    Jay Wolff serves as Chief Revenue Officer at KERV Interactive, leading global revenue and partnerships, in addition to being the Executive Vice President of 212 NYC, New York’s leading organization for the digital advertising industry. 

    Jay’s expertise in revenue and partner growth in the advertising industry spans 19 years. Most recently, Jay served as CRO of Varick Media, and Chief Growth Officer at Boostr, the first end-to-end SaaS revenue management system for media companies. Previously, as Regional Vice President of SambaTV, Wolff built the revenue organization and east coast market from the ground up. 

    Prior to joining SambaTV, Wolff served as Vice President of agency and brand partnerships at PulsePoint; instrumental to the merger of ContextWeb and Datran Media.

    Jay holds a BS in Marketing from Syracuse University and a Certificate of Management from the University of Chicago. He resides in Rye Brook, NY with his wife and daughter, Olivia. 

    Dan Bienenfeld
    President

    Before co‑founding KERV in 2017, Dan Bienfeld spent the previous 35 years founding six start‑ups in various verticals such as publishing, licensing, med‑tech and ad‑tech. Within these companies, he enjoyed two meaningful exits, which provided him with the ability to continue his passion as an entrepreneur. 

    Aside from bringing together ‘Rock Star Talent,’ his main focus has been raising over $50M, primarily for the startups identified above, as well as creating strategic partnerships. Currently he lives in Westlake Village, CA with his wife and two kids. In addition to his entrepreneurial journey, he also enjoys working out, traveling and an addiction to sushi.

    Gary Mittman
    CEO

    Gary Mittman brings more than 30 years of experience in technology and direct marketing, as well as substantial experience in building startups to exit with creativity and agile development. Before starting KERV, he held numerous top‑ranking leadership roles, including Founder & President of Nami Media (which was acquired by Lin Media/Nexstar Media Group), CEO & Founder of Marina Communications (also acquired), and Vice President of New Business Development, Direct Response at Western International Media (now Initiative Media).

    Gary also brings a decade of experience in the entertainment industry, including managing all booking for New York City’s premiere performance night club, The Ritz, as its Executive Manager and Booking Agent, Executive Producer of the MTV concert series ‘Live At The Ritz’, a Professional Manager at Chappell Music Publishing, and started out as an Assistant to legendary Clive Davis at Arista Records.

    Andi Fenster
    CPO

    Andi Fenster went into the profession of Human Resources 30 years ago, because she believed from a young age that the way you treat your employees is what you get out of them. Her goal as an HR professional has been to help create the type of work environments that inspire folks to want to come to work. She is also a Management/Leadership/Career Coach and her focus is optimizing humans focusing on the mind‑body connection. 

    “We, each, have tremendous potential and the abilities to level‑up if we choose to understand how to get the support we need to get us there. Helping talent thrive and helping them create success is my reason for doing what I do.”

    Marika Roque
    COO & Chief Innovation Officer

    Marika Roque is a top expert in digital media, data and organizational infrastructures recognized with over 15 years of professional leadership experience. Previous to KERV, Marika worked as the vice president of digital operations for Mass2, a division of multi-billion-dollar corporation Nexstar Digital LLC. Prior to Mass2, Marika served as vice president of digital media activation at LIN Digital.

    Marika has held senior-level positions for leading advertising agencies in the Austin, Texas area including Sizmek and GSD&M. She also spent years in Chicago working for FCB Global and Starcom MediaVest Group. While at Starcom, Marika was recognized for her involvement in the creation of the first agency-side programmatic pipelines and what the industry now refers to as an agency trading desk.

    Marika holds a Bachelor’s in Advertising from The University of Texas at Austin, which she achieved while also participating as a former D1 collegiate athlete.