Discovery Communications and media agency Starcom completed an upfront advertising deal based on minute-by-minute data rather than the average commercial minute rating being used in most of this year’s negotiations.
The minute-by-minute data shows the exact number of people watching a particular advertiser’s commercial, rather than the average of all of the commercials within a program.
Discovery and Starcom are using minute-by-minute data from Nielsen Media Research. While most of the industry says it wants to eventually base ad sales on the viewership of individual commercials, most executives believe the data is too unpredictable, unstable and difficult to process at this point.
“We need to be able to approach different partners in different ways to find solutions to more specific client business objectives, and as such it’s important that forward-thinking partners like Discovery can provide us with such precise, client-specific audience accuracy and accountability,” said Chris Boothe, Starcom USA President and Chief Activation Officer.
The deal covers many Starcom clients and 11 Discovery Networks. Starcom clients will also have opportunities in digital media and cross-platform programs.
“Marketers expect a far greater level of accountability from their agencies and advertising partners than ever before and we are thrilled to offer Starcom’s clients the first opportunities across our top-quality platforms, backed by the most accurate data available,” said Joe Abruzzese, president of advertising sales for Discovery Communications. “In this way, we are taking a significant step forward in offering advertisers increased assurances of the value of their partnership with Discovery’s brands and programs.”
(Editor: Robbins)