NBC UNIVERSAL AND NEXTMEDIUM JOIN FORCES TO HELP IMPROVE PRODUCT PLACEMENT PROCESS
New York, NY – June 9, 2008 – NBC Universal and NextMedium, the industry's leading branded entertainment ad network, today announced they will partner to help improve the process for identifying, marketing and fulfilling organic product placement opportunities across several NBCU properties. The announcement was made today by Mike Pilot, President of Sales and Marketing for NBC Universal, and David Bluhm, Chief Executive Officer, NextMedium.
In the initial phase of the partnership, NBCU will make two of its scripted programs – "Life" and "Psych" – available to NextMedium's Embed technology platform, a full-service management system that helps better connect clients to the production-level product placement opportunities within those shows.
"Partnering with NextMedium allows us to create a marketplace for organic product placement inventory, making it easier for our clients and creative partners to manage the process from beginning to end," said Pilot. "This is an additional capability we can now offer our advertising partners as they evaluate what works best for their overall marketing campaigns."
NBCU will use the Embed technology to help define, manage and sell organic product placement opportunities to the more than 250 advertisers who are members of the NextMedium ad network. The Embed platform also allows NBCU to provide advertisers with additional research that measures the performance of their product placements against their intended branding objectives.
"NBCU is leading ad format innovation and the development of new advertising models," added Bluhm. "Product placement is the only traditional media outpacing the growth of online, and we're thrilled to help NBCU attract incremental revenue and expand its relationships with advertisers."
Advertisers registered in NextMedium's Embed platform are immediately able to begin viewing and placing offers on NBCU's available product placement inventory via the system. Advertisers may register their brands at http://www.nextmedium.com/brandregister or by calling 1-877-551-NEXT.
####
About NBC Universal
NBC Universal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric and 20% owned by Vivendi.
About NextMedium
NextMedium has created the first marketplace for integrating brands into entertainment content. It maximizes branding opportunities in TV, music and film through the fusion of technical innovation, marketplace insight, and performance analytics. NextMedium’s platform, Embed, enables entertainment companies to increase revenue and decrease transaction costs associated with selling brand integration inventory. Embed also allows marketers to access and secure inventory relevant to their campaign objectives, and provides analytics to assist in the pricing and value received from their integration campaigns. For more information, please visit www.nextmedium.com.
Contacts
John Ellis
NextMedium, Inc.
310.254.9434
john@nextmedium.com
Liz Fischer
NBC Universal
212.664.4825
liz.fischer@nbcuni.com