DirecTV Outdoor Campaign Welcomes Buyers to the Upfront

This week, a lot of networks will show a lot of programming to media buyers. All of that programming will be available to watch on DirecTV.

When DirecTV made its upfront pitch in April, it was emphatic that it’s not another programmer. “We’re not your dad’s satellite company. We’re a platform,” said Amy Leifer, chief advertising officer at DirecTV Advertising. 

To be a TV platform these days, technology is table stakes. The tech is used to keep viewers engaged by making it faster and easier to find shows they want to watch. More to the point during upfront season, it means helping advertisers find the right viewers, the consumers brands want to reach.

The pitch is similar to the one made by Roku, which called itself the lead-in to primetime on every network, and to ones made at this year’s NewFronts by smart TV set makers, which have unique data about their users and a growing number of ways to reach target audiences.

After making its presentation in private, DirecTV is going public with an out-of-home campaign in New York City that urges buyers to “Enjoy the Week-Long Metaphor for DirecTV.”

"The upfronts have always been about showcasing the best of TV, and when we stepped back and looked at the week as a whole, we realized that's exactly what we do at DirecTV every day,” said Leifer. “We've found a unique way to show brands and media buyers that this week isn't just an industry event. It's our value proposition come to life."

A 30-second spot started running on Sunday on screens on the backs of airline seats through DirecTV Remote, the company’s digital out-of-home arm. To surround potential upfront attendees, there are also targeted experiential brand activations, digital video, trade and social advertising. 

DirecTV says the campaign was created by execs at creative agency TBWA/Chiat/Day LA and media agency Starcom US who spent plenty of time at upfronts.

Back at its upfront presentation, DirecTV noted that it was a pioneer with pause ads back in 2019. That format has become oh so popular with streamers. It now also has a home-screen ad – “The Entertainment Destination” – designed to engage with consumers while they decide what to watch.

To reach the right viewers, DirecTV touted DirecTV Advantage, a data suite that gives marketers a view of audiences they can activate with precision. (DirecTV was also an early player in addressable advertising.)

DirecTV Axis is the company’s ad tech stack, which controls how campaigns are planned, delivered and optimized.

Together, Advantage and Axis help identify the right audiences, engage them with minimal waste across hundreds of channels and measure real outcomes.

On top of that DirecTV says it has a unique audience that is hard to reach. Homes with DirecTV as their primary video source do 70% of their viewing on the platform, and 86% of DirecTV viewers can be reached through ad supported streaming. 

“Brands get access to high-value audiences, reliable data and real outcomes at scale. And bringing all of this to life starts with the foundation behind it—our data and our technology,” Leifer said. 

Amazon Ads Gets Creative With AI

Amazon Ads announced Dynamic TV Creative, which automatically personalizes Interactive Video Ads on Prime Video series and films based on viewer shopping behavior.

Prime Video will be holding its upfront presentation in New York on Monday. 

Dynamic TV Creative takes Amazon's trillions of shopping, browsing and streaming signals to customize ad elements at the time of impression. It dynamically adjusts several aspects of the commercial, including the interactivity format, call-to-action, headline and product details. The adjustments are based on what Amazon knows about where Prime member viewers are in their purchase journey for that particular product.  

Amazon Ads' Interactive Video Ad formats already drive measurable results for brands, including six times higher brand search, four times more detail page views, four times more add-to-cart actions and five times higher purchase rates. 

"Dynamic TV Creative applies Amazon's first-party signals at the creative level, so each viewer sees the version of an ad most relevant to them without requiring advertisers to produce multiple assets for a single campaign," said Fabrice Rousseau, director, CreativeX, Amazon Ads. 

"This moves away from a one-size-fits-all approach, creating a more relevant experience for audiences while streamlining campaign management and execution for brands and helping their marketing dollars work harder,” Rousseau said. 

The Dynamic TV Creative capability is available to select U.S. advertisers that sell on Amazon and are running campaigns on Prime Video across the CPG, fashion and electronics categories. Amazon says it will expand to more customers in Q3, along with broader inventory access, including live sports and Prime Video Channels.

One happy customer: “At Hershey, we’re always looking for ways to meet consumers where they are—whether they’re discovering a new snack or ready to add a favorite to their cart,” said Megan Daly, manager and video lead at The Hershey Co. 

“Dynamic TV Creative allows us to deliver the right message at the right moment, turning a single creative asset into a more personalized experience that moves shoppers through the funnel more efficiently while connecting upper funnel media to real purchase outcomes,” she said.