IAB Sets 2022 Hybrid NewFronts Date, Creates PlayFronts for Gaming Industry

After two years of all-virtual NewFronts, the Interactive Advertising Bureau is ready to get back to in-person presentations for its annual spring event—mostly. The IAB has set its upcoming 2022 NewFronts to take place in a hybrid format—four days of in-person presentations, followed by a day of virtual events—during the week of May 2, 2022. The news came as the organization announced its lineup of in-person and hybrid events for the first half of 2022, including the first-ever PlayFronts, which will be focused on the gaming industry. Following "two very successful NewFronts events that have been entirely virtual," IAB CEO David Cohen told Adweek, the IAB opted to return to a mix of in-person and virtual presentations, based on feedback from NewFronts presenters. The first four days (May 2-5) will be in-person as well as live-streamed, and the final day will be solely virtual. The IAB is allowing NewFronts presenters to decide which option they would prefer. IAB Creates First Fall Marketplace for Digital Video and Connected TV Buyers “If they want to produce a live event, then we want to be able to accommodate that,” said Cohen. “There are some presenters who would prefer the benefit of virtual because they’ve really enjoyed that the past two years.” According to Cohen, the IAB is “nearly sold out” of availability on both in-person and virtual NewFronts presentations, with just “one or two” slots remaining for next year’s event. “We're hoping that it will be the best of the way that used to be, married with the best of this new virtual world,” said Cohen. As was the case pre-pandemic, in-person NewFronts presenters will choose their own locations and produce their own events, which will also be livestreamed for those who would prefer to watch remotely. “It will be close to the way that it used to be in terms of everyone having their own presentation space, and we're just adding a livestreamed component to it,” said Cohen. The virtual day will have a host similar to the last two all-virtual NewFronts, but that person will not participate in the in-person presentations. Podcast Upfront and PlayFronts dates The week after NewFronts, the IAB will hold the Podcast Upfront, which will take place virtually May 10-12. It’s the IAB's only event in the first half of 2021 to not have an in-person component, mostly at the request of the presenters, said Cohen. The IAB has also created a new event for the gaming industry, the PlayFronts, which will take place in-person on April 5 in New York. Game publishers, streaming platforms and adtech partners are set to participate in the one-day event, which the IAB believes could expand to several days in the future. According to Cohen, the gaming industry saw a 39% increase of time spent globally in gaming activities during the pandemic. “It only seemed natural that gaming represents the next frontier in creating a marketplace for the industry,” he said. “The market has responded very, very favorably.” The PlayFronts has 10 slots for presenters, and Cohen said the group was over capacity in terms of the number of groups that want to present at the event. “There's been overwhelming demand,” he said. “So we can't take any more presenters, which I guess is a good problem to have.” That presentation is set to have three demo lounges focusing on experiential events that could be anything from live eSports tournaments to a room full of gaming rigs to allow people to experience real-life gaming opportunities. Prior to those spring events, the IAB will kick off the year with its annual leadership meeting, which will be held Feb. 7-10 in New York instead of its usual West Coast locale. The first three days will be in-person and livestreamed, with the final day taking place entirely virtually.