What to Expect From the 2021 Virtual NewFronts

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) NewFronts presentation’s tagline for 2021 is intended to hit a little close to home. The tagline—"Living the Stream"—pays homage to the digital video boom that has only intensified over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, which pushed consumers to watch more programming than ever before. But, it’s also a knowing nod to the thousands of marketers who, scrambling to make sure their media mixes match up with consumer behavior, will once again park themselves in front of their laptops on Monday to tune into the second virtual week of NewFronts presentations instead of schlepping into New York ballrooms and event spaces. “It has represented what we have all done for the past 14 months,” David Cohen, the CEO of the IAB, told Adweek ahead of the presentation’s first day. “We have lived our entire lives in this format, in sight, sound and motion in digital video. It’s a nice encapsulation of the importance of digital video in the current environment.” 'Democratizing attendance' The week-long event, with a streaming and connected-TV-heavy presenter lineup, is the IAB’s second-only virtual NewFronts after being forced into the format a year ago. But the virtual element of the NewFronts has been full of silver linings, most noticeably when it comes to who—and how many—people can tune in. The organization is hoping to exceed the 14,000 attendees who tuned in virtually a year ago, compared to the only 3,000 or so attendees that can squeeze into the largest venues in New York. “The great thing about virtual was that it was democratizing attendance,” Cohen said. “You didn't have to fly to New York. It wasn't reserved to senior marketers or senior agencies. Anyone could attend.” That democratization has also allowed the IAB to extend invitations to underrepresented groups as part of a broader effort to make the advertising industry more inclusive. Last year, the IAB extended invitations to students at HBCUs studying marketing, advertising and communications, allowing between 300 and 400 students to tune in. This year, the IAB has sent out 2,000 invitations, and has plans to make that outreach a regular part of the spring event. It’s not just expanding the list of attendees: Cohen and the IAB have also opted to extend its outreach when it comes to presenters. After advertisers and brands reached out in 2020, asking the IAB for information on minority-owned businesses to work with and their marketing budgets, the organization pulled together database of more than 6,000 minority-owned publishers and organizations. This week, some of those minority-owned business will get to present to attendees free of charge, which Cohen says will help marketers who are interested in spending more with minority-owned businesses but may not know where to start. Cohen, who took over as CEO of the IAB less than nine months ago, says he believes the move—which has dedicated one presenting session each day to a minority-owned business—is a first in the company’s history. What to expect For attendees joining the presentations beginning Monday, many of the rest of the presenting plans, including a weeklong show host (Maria Menounos is taking the reins this year), will look familiar to those who attended last year. Also returning is a virtual marketplace the IAB first built out a year ago as a way to replicate some of the networking that normally takes place in person during NewFronts week. That marketplace tool, developed with the company BrandVerge, allows media buyers can review presentation materials and pitch decks and connect with presenters directly to discuss advertising opportunities, but in its infancy was missing some key presenters. Cohen hopes this year will be different and is optimistic due to early interest. “This year, we're seeing much more participation in terms of the presenters setting up their wares in this marketplace in advance,” Cohen said. “It was a little bit of a scramble last year, and we've had a lot more time to kind of build up to the marketplace this year. This year, hopefully it will be better attended on the buy-side.” What might be the most noticeable shift, though, won’t be seen onstage or in the audience, but is instead happening behind the scenes. The IAB is planning a virtual fall NewFronts event, which will be held sometime in September, as the shift away from the traditional TV upfront market continues. “What we’ve heard from the market is that this is a great time for many marketers who are still in the broadcast year upfront season, but there are many that have moved to calendar year, which is better for their business planning,” Cohen said. “We’re heading toward a 24/7, 365-days-a-year, always-on marketplace that will increasingly be transacted programmatically. There will always be things that will require advanced buying and things like the sports marketplace, tentpole events, but there will be a very clear migration to the digitization of video and the use of technology and data to enable that buying.” These Streaming Services Have Added the Most Content This Year