Media buyers weigh in on Nine’s big upfronts return
Following the first major in-person Upfront in several years, Mumbrella’s Calum Jaspan asks Australian media buyers to dissect Nine’s pitch to advertisers and brands for 2023.
Nine kicked off upfronts season for the major networks last night in a lavish event that spanned both sides of Sydney Harbour, beginning at Luna Park before the 1500-odd crowd was shipped across to the after party.
“Australia’s Media Company”, as it calls itself made a major play on its total media proposition, in its first in-person event since its merger with Fairfax in 2018.
It was a “very slick upfronts again”, says Carat’s chief investment officer, Craig Cooper. “After two years of virtual presentations, this was exactly what the industry needed.
I found yesterday’s presentation devoid of any real substance. It was 90 minutes of ads for 2023 content. Any talk of ad tech was incredibly limited, and talk of the 20 million logged in users across platforms was only mentioned in the last part of the session.