There has been no lack of discussion around the relevancy of the TV upfront marketplace. While the media landscape and the media industry have dramatically evolved, the TV upfront marketplace continues to take place each year and is embraced by advertisers. Advertisers wrestle with the decision to participate, and at what dollar level, or sit it out and buy based on quarterly needs.
Today’s media channel optimization requires budgets to be more fluid, and the TV upfronts’ lack of flexibility with commitments has been a major area of dissatisfaction among advertisers. Progress has been made over the last few years with a shift in favor of advertisers being offered greater flexibility on option dates and shifting owned inventory between quarters. Does this progress alone justify the relevancy?
Upfronts for broadcast and cable TV and the digital publishers’ newfronts offer advertisers the opportunity to preview new programming concepts and review the roadmap of cross-platform products and how they can be integrated into one buy. So, are the Upfronts only applicable to TV and digital publishers?
Point of Care Joins the Mix
The Point of Care channel answered that question last year by introducing its own ‘upfront’ events. Publicis Health Media is hosting its now annual HealthFront in late April to address the unique industry needs of healthcare organizations. Like its TV and digital counterparts, the event will showcase the most innovative, progressive products and solutions and ideas to its clients and secure early mover opportunities.
Individual point-of-care media companies are also hosting their own upfronts to not only showcase the latest and greatest offerings but to also highlight the synergies and benefits advertisers can receive by considering Point of Care as a key component of a multichannel media plan alongside TV and digital.
As the media landscape becomes more fragmented, the traditional approach to media buying needs to evolve. The changing marketplace, matched with evolving consumer behaviors, requires continuous innovation. For pharma to continue to lead in media and effectively reach its customer base, it must reassess some traditional assumptions and find new and efficient ways of messaging by thinking holistically about spending across all channels.