Peacock Gives Advertisers a Cinematic Experience With New Ad Formats

Peacock is bringing the magic of the big screen to small screens.

Last year at NewFronts, Peacock rolled out two new ad formats to make marketers the star of the show with in-scene ads. This time around, at its IAB NewFronts presentation in New York on Tuesday, NBCUniversal’s streamer announced four additional innovations, which work together to create an overall cinematic experience.

“We are bringing the power of One Platform, which is the entire content and technology platform of NBC Universal, and supercharging those efforts cross-platform and then within Peacock as well,” Jenny Burke, evp, advertising strategy at NBCUniversal, told Adweek, adding that the new formats drive reach and can be utilized across the breadth of NBCU’s content.

With film and TV writers represented by the WGA going on strike on Tuesday, picketers lined the streets outside of Center415 ahead of the NBCU presentation; however, the event went on as usual.

The new formats were born with feedback from Peacock’s Streaming Council partners, a group of advertisers dedicated to building, testing and learning what resonates most with audiences, with capabilities spanning everything from live content to commerce.

Among the innovations is Spotlight+, which is built for brands to resonate across all platforms, content and screens. This full brand takeover is designed to reach viewers wherever they are watching, whether it’s getting the first impression on Peacock or a primetime takeover on TV around targeted dates.

According to Collette Winn, vp of strategy and operations for creative partnerships at NBCUniversal, Spotlight+ can be summed up as “total ownership of the day.”

“Whatever day matters to you—whether you’re doing your auto launch on that day or you need to release your film—we have a powerful mechanism and a strategy across our One Platform, and not just within our ecosystems but also our partner ecosystem,” Winn said. “We take our entire ecosystem, Peacock being the core, the epicenter of that, and being able to reach with that first impression or across broadcast and cable and TV with that prime pod position.”

NBCU previously announced Must ShopTV, an AI-powered innovation that allows fans to buy products that appear in NBCU content, at its One23 tech and data showcase earlier in the year. At NewFronts, the company featured the Must ShopTV consumer journey, showcasing how viewers can add items to wishlists and get customized experiences all while watching.

“I haven’t seen a streamer that has integrated shopping as seamlessly and elegantly as I think this product does, putting the consumer first because when they are watching their favorite show—whether it’s Top Chef or otherwise—they don’t want to be interrupted,” Burke told Adweek. “And this feature and capability product lives alongside while the content is playing and allows the consumer to decide how interactive they want to be or if they want to wishlist for later.”

Bringing linear to streaming

The company is also leveraging its successful linear formats by bringing Marquee Ads to Peacock.

The marquee format was originally built for linear and then developed to take advantage of Peacock’s live offering, creating interactivity between brands and the content available in live sports through the scoreboard or other premium placement beyond athletics.

Marquee Ads have led to a 57% lift in brand awareness, according to Winn, showcasing that live viewers are also becoming engaged with the advertisers at the center of the content.

“When that plus-57% of brand awareness happens, it’s because they are glued. ‘What’s the score? What’s happening on the field?’ And we’re able to bring a brand into that moment,” Winn said. “But the news about this is it’s coming over to Peacock, so we’re able to data target. We’re able to create even more personalized messages. We’re really able to go and take this to the next level.”

Peacock is also looking to evolve its pause ads with the Power Break format.

According to NBCU, Power Break ads produce data-informed pause ads to dynamically customize a brand’s message—whether that be by color, language or creative—to resonate with different priority audiences. Though this is the first iteration of the format, the company is planning on scaling the product in the future.

“What is the imagery? What’s the call to action? How has it been created ground-up utilizing our NBCU unified data points to really make that and hone that in?” Winn said. “Again, a big pillar for us is personalization and being able to data-enable products.”

Adding star power

Universal Filmed Entertainment Group movies now arrive on Peacock as early as 45 days after their theatrical release, and the company reports 95% of viewers have favorable opinions of the cinematic ad experiences, including pre-roll ads emulating theatre previews and pause ads aligning with organic breaks.

The company is also utilizing key sponsors and incorporating them into new original films such as Shooting Stars, which captures LeBron James’ journey as a high school basketball player. The film is sponsored by Capital One, Google Pixel and State Farm. Another original, Bernard and the Genie, is a unique adaptation of the ’90s film from original screenwriter Richard Curtis and starring Melissa McCarthy.

“We are very proud of our focus on both the consumer and the marketer. So everything we’ve built has been research-tested with both of those parties in mind,” Burke said. “And three years in, it’s working. Innovation is in our DNA, and we believe when advertising works for the consumer, it works for the marketer.”