WBD Reveals First-Party Data Platform to Unify Buying Across Its Portfolio

Warner Bros. Discovery is continuing to lean in on data ahead of the TV upfront.

Top line

WBD announced Thursday that it is launching Olli, a first-party data platform that utilizes data, audience intelligence and adtech solutions to create seamless campaign planning, activation and measurement across the company’s portfolio.

In addition, the new first-party data platform will power WBD’s converged Data-Driven Video offering.

Between the lines

With the announcement, WBD is looking to allow brands to leverage its entire portfolio—including HBO and Max, Discovery+, CNN, TNT Sports, Bleacher Report, Food Network, HGTV, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and more—with a unified buying solution.

Enhanced by VideoAmp for campaign efficiency, the company’s Olli-powered Data-Driven Video “allows clients to exclude heavy linear TV viewers early in the planning process, and then redistributes the focus to balance the target audience across WBD’s linear and digital platforms to ensure optimized reach and frequency,” according to the company.

The idea is to simplify media planning, reduce wasted exposures and narrow in on specific audiences for “smarter investments and enhanced measurement data.”

The company has already partnered with OMG, RPA and Wayfair, among others, for the Data-Driven Video solution, and IPG Mediabrands will test it during the third quarter.

“Our goal is to ensure that every connection between brand and audience is reached in the most efficient and effective way across our vast expanse of digital and traditional platforms,” Ryan Gould, head of digital ad sales for Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement. “We’ve already seen early success with this offering, and we look forward to bringing it to the wider marketplace to work with marketers looking to activate advanced audience segments in order to achieve their advertising, sales and marketing objectives.”  

Among the highlights, WBD noted that Olli will help with data and identity, utilizing an audience graph derived from 100 million households and 700 million devices across the U.S. to offer in-depth insights for more effective audience identification. Additionally, the platform streamlines WBD’s adtech processes throughout its portfolio for better targeting and brand safety, leveraging clean room solutions from Snowflake.

The platform also looks to provide actionable ad analytics with fully integrated measurement partners such as ABCS Insights and LoopMe.

This is just WBD’s latest data and measurement move. The company also recently hired David Porter as head of ad sales research, data and insights.

Bottom line

Unified, seamless buying is the name of the game heading into the upfront.

In addition to WBD’s announcement, NBCUniversal recently announced One Platform Total Audience, which the company touts as its next step in cross-platform, audience-based advertising.

Meanwhile, Fox announced in April that AdRise, acquired as part of the Tubi deal in 2020, will now power OneFox, the company’s own cross-portfolio inventory product.