Sometimes what's old is new again. Warner Bros. Discovery seems to think so, as it has turned to programmatic guaranteed in its latest attempt to capture more ad dollars.
This type of deal will form the backbone of a new marketplace called WBD Connect, which will bring together advertising inventory across CNN International Commercial (CNNIC) and WBD Sports Europe.
Advertisers see these deals as a reliable way to reach audiences across multiple publishers, including CNN, Eurosport, Bleacher Report and NBA.com, in a single campaign for a fixed price. Publishers also prefer programmatic guaranteed deals over other programmatic methods because inventory is reserved and ad revenue can be more accurately predicted.
Agreeing to a single process is a big problem for both parties in the best of times, let alone in a year when major sporting and political events take place in Europe and the United States. Remember, there are few ways for marketers to reach large audiences with display and video ads. Like WBD Connect, it is available across a variety of channels, platforms, and devices, including mobile, web, app, desktop, and CTV. The company is committed to reaching 350 million unique digital users worldwide, averaging 2 billion monthly users.
As always, scale remains the ultimate trump card in the advertising industry. That's why the arrival of WBD Connect felt almost inevitable after the Warner Bros. and Discovery merger in 2022.
Mike Rich, Head of International and UK Advertising Sales and Brand Partnerships at Warner Bros. We have been working toward this goal.”
The gateway he's referring to is backed by ad tech vendor Magnite. Advertisers need programmatic buying tools (commonly known as demand-side platforms) with access to sell the media they buy from marketplaces. Such partnerships are becoming increasingly common, especially in the he CTV space, driven by factors such as data and transparency. Ultimately, it provides companies like Warner Bros. Discovery with a way to increase advertising revenue and revenue compared to an open exchange environment.
This doesn't mean that the public or even private marketplace for programmatic auctions isn't of value to Warner Bros. Discovery. These are true, but even more so are individual brands, each with a different approach to factors such as price floors and targeting. However, these are only pieces of the puzzle within the broader picture of how publishers sell to advertisers. WBD Connect occupies the higher end of this spectrum.
More advertising dollars are flowing in that direction. Excluding social networks, programmatic direct accounts for just over half of U.S. programmatic ad spending, according to eMarketer. Much of this change is due to the way advertising is purchased on CTV and retail media. But it's also clear that media owners have more control over how advertising is sold. This means fewer intermediaries involved in the transaction, higher margins for publishers, and easier and more secure ways to leverage their data. Rob Bradley, Senior Vice President, Digital CNNIC, explains: “Programmatic guaranteed is at the top end of the market in terms of spend.”
Another addition to this space for Warner Bros. Discovery is social media agency WBD Launchpad. In other words, the ability for him to reach WBD sports fans through WBD Launchpad. Advertisers can target him with ads across his social profiles including CNN, Eurosport, CNN and TNT Sport on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok in the UK and Ireland.
“We build multi-layered campaigns across all of our different platforms,” Rich says. “Yes, historically spending has come from linear or streaming-based viewers, but that balance has changed over time. We are now seeing mixed distribution to reach these customers across multiple platforms. A platform is needed.”
This is a view shared by many publishers today. They are ramping up these efforts while navigating a number of challenges, including news fatigue, an unbalanced advertising market, and a concerning drop in traffic from their platforms. For example, NewsFronts.
Publishers vary in how they adjust to these issues, but most seem to be trying to give them more control over programmatic, rather than less. For example, look at WBD Connect. This is a marketplace that is only available through one advertising technology vendor, Warner Bros. Discovery, which works directly with advertisers to connect. It's about finding more ways to get the most out of your ad spend from premium inventory, data, and audiences while maintaining control, reducing costs, and increasing operational efficiency.
“The internet is currently a noisy and untrustworthy place as brands and agencies worry about where their money is going. teeth You go in among the walled gardens everywhere,” Bradley said. “So providing a solution to a market that is already scaled at launch, but has the potential to grow further, is the answer to some of that. We are trusted, premium and Yes, and the scale is large.”
“For advertisers and agencies, [programmatic guaranteed] This allows publishers like the newly announced WBD Connect to make inventory available through partners like Magnite, giving them access to purchases across any demand-side platform, greatly simplifying access and the path to purchase. Paul Bland, Head of Bidability, Havas Media Network UK. “This removal of inventory access barriers will be seen as a plus over a single DSP inventory solution.”
