• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, May 3, 2023

Asked what the most interesting things are that he has seen at the newfronts so far, Dentsu Media CEO Doug Rozen chose instead to talk about the virtual elephant not in the rooms.

"It's interesting what we're not talking about this year -- which is, we're not seeing a lot of metaverse," Rozen said in a response to LG AdSolutions Serge Matta during a Q&A at its newfront presentation this afternoon.

"If you go back a year, that was probably a prevalent thing," Rozen noted, adding: "I think what we are seeing in a lot of presentations -- because it's thrown in at the last moment -- is AI and ChatGPT type stuff."

He went on to say that what he hopes to see is "more commerce-directed activities, more of your work connected to shoppable experiences.

"I think the more we can get the click-to-commerce closer to the ad experience -- closer to where the customer is -- the better we are as marketers."

Rozen and Matta also used the Q&A as an opportunity to announce a new "strategic relationship" between Dentsu and LG AdSolutions tied to the ACR (automatic content recognition) data LG gathers from 150 million of its television screens worldwide.

"What we're now able to do is use that data globally for the first time ever," Rozen explained, adding: "We have it in our Mercury identity and M1 platform, so we're able to unite all types of data.

"Imagine, not only from an audience insights standpoint, but the ability to understand high-value targets against 'pause ads,' or some of the A/B testing -- or the favorite use case I've heard is -- direct mail timed in sequence with linear TV ads just because of that level of data integration."

Matta went on to unveil some new LG AdSolutions data and advertising format firsts too, including the fact that LG will begin offering the prominent "carousel" ads on its homescreen -- previously available only to entertainment advertisers -- to advertisers in any product category.

He also announced a deal with The Weather Channel Co. to license its data to power new creative units "triggered by weather alerts, so advertisers can create weather-triggered ad campaigns leveraging our carousel ad unit and mid-roll placements" on both a managed buy and a programmatic basis.

Other new creative formats include "sponsored screensaver" units, as well as "pause units" that remain visible on-screen when a viewer has paused their programming content.