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With weeks to go until the upfront officially kicks off, Disney has a plan in place.
The company’s first in-person upfront in three years took place at Basketball City in New York in 2022, but this year, Disney is headed to a new location at the North Javits Center.
According to ad sales chief Rita Ferro, the move had to do with space.
“It didn’t feel as intimate from an audience perspective, so we knew we wanted a venue that felt more inclusive that, regardless of where you were, you felt part of the show,” Ferro said, speaking Tuesday at Adweek’s Convergent TV Summit.
Last year was the first time Disney had integrated Hulu on stage, as well as Disney+. And the audience can expect the company to showcase the platforms once again in the new space.
“Our streaming platforms are far and away the biggest share of our marketplace, especially in the advertising space, so we wanted to make sure that our presentation will reflect that,” Ferro explained.
Approaching the upfront, measurement is top of mind for Ferro and her team. This year, the company will look to work across several different options.
Though Disney’s currency will be Nielsen, it will also transact through iSpot and VideoAmp.
“The reason we have multiple is not one partner, not one vendor, is working across the market, and they all don’t do exactly the same thing, and we have to scale,” said Ferro.
This year’s upfront will be the first since CEO Bob Iger returned, which Ferro believes is a boon for the company.
“He’s super passionate about this company,” Ferro said. “This is a company that is foundationally a creative and storytelling company, and there’s no question that what he has put together in how we’re focused on that is the secret sauce for us.”
Ferro believes that Iger’s vision for the company is also a benefit for brand partners since being close to the storytellers allows for easier creation of custom solutions.
Those solutions are already activated across linear and sports and are now starting to be integrated into streaming, with Ferro specifically pointing to The Bear on Hulu.