Simulmedia

Publicis’ recent announcement, alongside this year’s Upfront conversations, showed how quickly the industry is moving toward audience-first TV planning. https://lnkd.in/ddzp3Kwi For Simulmedia, that isn’t new. It’s the foundation we built the business on, long before the market started catching up. Inside this article: the latest Upfronts developments, why buyers are moving beyond content-first buying, what accountable TV delivery actually looks like, and where measurable business impact comes from.

We spent Monday evening talking about where the media is heading. Now let's take that conversation to LA. Simulmedia will be at the ANA (Association of National Advertisers)Brand Masters Conference, May 18–20, in Los Angeles, and we'd love to dig into what all of this means for your brand specifically. Audience-led buying vs. upfront logic. Incrementality over last-click. Linear TV that actually performs. The 4× CPI gap between premium inventory and premium performance. If any of that sounds like the conversation you need to be having right now, let's meet. May 18–20, 2026 Los Angeles, CA

Monday night at the Simulmedia Salon, Steve Hartmann from Experian said something that reframed the whole conversation: "We can target the hell out of the person in the market for a credit card right now. But who's going to be in market in six months?" That's the question most TV buying ignores. The industry defaults to premium slots, primetime, the shows everyone's fighting over at the Upfronts. As Steve put it: "The old way of buying upper funnel TV was a reach play, program-based. And that's just not it anymore." So we stopped following the upfront logic. We followed the audience instead. We ran the numbers with Experian across four credit-active audiences, and the results will make you rethink what "premium" actually means. The full story https://lnkd.in/dijtdgCU

Last night at the Simulmedia Salon, we got three of the sharpest people in media in one room and asked them to be honest. They were. Here are the ideas from Peter Naylor (Nielsen), Robert Tas (McKinsey & Company), and Steve Hartmann (Experian): 🔹 Mid-funnel is back. The old, only upper-funnel or only bottom-funnel approach is dead. Journey orchestration powered by AI is finally letting marketers meet customers where they are, not where the media plan says they should be. 🔹 Measurement is the new headline. At Fox's Upfront, the CTO was the second person on stage. That says everything. Last-click attribution is dying. Incrementality is the new standard. As Robert put it: “If you're not leaning in, you're getting fired.” 🔹 Live sports: essential, but unsustainable. Everyone agreed - book it in advance or lose it. But rising costs are becoming prohibitive, and companies should think about alternatives. The cost of a regular-season NFL spot today is what a divisional playoff spot cost two years ago. Steve said it plainly: "The NFL has been an anchor for us, but it's getting cost-prohibitive." That's a massive shift, and brands will have to get smarter about where they find scale. 🔹 Linear TV has a stigma problem, not a performance problem. Robert didn't mince words: "Streaming is overpriced, to be honest." And he backed it up: brands that shifted aggressively away from linear have come back, because, at the end of the day, the math is the math. And maybe the most quotable line of the evening, from Peter: "There's the tip of the spear who totally get it. They're months ahead of people who think they're on it. And those people are months ahead of the fat middle who are just praying things don't change that fast." Spoiler: they will. Thanks to everyone who joined us. See you at the next one.

Great conversations, thoughtful debate, and an incredible group of industry leaders at Simulmedia’s Salon. As upfront conversations increasingly center around outcomes, we brought together voices from across the industry to discuss the future of outcome-driven TV advertising, from the evolution of premium video and linear TV to the growing pressure on marketers to prove performance. A huge thank you to Peter Naylor, Robert Tas, and Steve Hartmann for sharing their perspectives and helping drive such a candid and engaging conversation. Grateful to everyone who joined us and contributed to the discussion. Excited for what’s ahead!

Event season is at its peak! More chances to discover how data-driven, audience-based TV advertising can drive real results and unlock new growth for your brand.

We help financial brands reach the right audience — and prove it. With a leading fintech client, our data-driven Linear TV approach reached 4.9M financially qualified viewers and drove 41K+ homepage visits at $4.85/visit — competitive with paid digital. Excited to connect at the Association of National Advertisers Financial Management Conference, May 3–6 in Orlando! 🎯

Upfront Week Starts with Outcomes. Join Our TV Salon! 📆 Monday, May 11 🕓 5:00–6:30 pm 🏙️ Simulmedia Office 401 Park Avenue South, 11th Floor New York We’re bringing together leading voices in the industry to explore the future of unified TV, as upfront conversations shift decisively toward one theme: outcomes. On May 11, we’ll host Peter Naylor (Nielsen), Robert Tas (McKinsey & Company), and Steve Hartmann (Experian) for a conversation on how premium video is evolving and what it means for marketers navigating the balance between brand and performance. From the future of linear TV to the rise of unified strategies, this discussion will cover where the industry is headed next. ❗To join the event, send us a direct message or leave a comment below.❗ Looking forward to a dynamic conversation and great questions from the audience. #Simulmedia #ConvergedTV #Advertising #Media #Upfronts

Retail’s $9.5B Question: Can TV Actually Prove It Works? https://lnkd.in/dVhNaVxS Retail TV advertising works when it stops chasing broad reach and starts targeting real shoppers. By combining audience-based planning, undervalued inventory, and clear measurement, brands can drive store visits and online conversions and prove TV’s impact across search, social, and other channels.

Find out how data-driven TV targeting transformed stagnant pharma campaigns — doubling impressions, boosting leads 2–3x, and slashing acquisition costs. https://lnkd.in/gp8MFZsd