This year, broadcast television networks and digital media companies offered up a mix of presentations—from traditional theater formats to fresher experiential events—during the Upfront/NewFront season, which started in March and finished up last week in New York.
During this annual sales pitch, media executives show off their wares, including new shows, partnerships, and initiatives, to advertisers, buyers, and press via presentations, parties, and events in venues around the city. But some notable names such as Hearst and Popsugar opted out of the show-and-tell this year, while others like Oath and Meredith made their NewFront debut of sorts. Perhaps the biggest transformation was from Univision; the Hispanic media company ditched the standard two-hour presentation in Midtown for a two-day experiential event in downtown Manhattan.
Here’s a look at some of the highlights from Twitter, YouTube, National Geographic, and more.
Hundreds of brand advertisers, agencies, and partners attended Oath’s massive NewFront event, which was hosted by Jamie Foxx at Pier 26 on May 1 and produced by events agency First. Instead of a lineup of executive presentations, the party-like atmosphere featured live performances, a center bar, and a DJ booth.
Meredith Corporation made its inaugural appearance at the NewFronts on May 3 at the Hudson Theatre. It was the first time for the media company to showcase its entire portfolio since it acquired Time Inc. earlier this year.
During the presentation, the company unveiled a slate of shows geared toward Meredith's key consumers: millennials and multicultural women. The new lineup includes Badass Women, which is a video series that will accompany InStyle's monthly feature spotlighting inspiring women.
For its NewFronts event, known as Brandcast, YouTube took over Radio City Music Hall on May 3, adding its ubiquitous play button logo to the front of the venue.
Inside, attendants handed out red cake pops in the style of movie theater vendors.
In addition to YouTubers like Tyler Oakley, the Google-owned video platform’s presentation featured a slew of mainstream celebrities like comedian Trevor Noah and pop stars Camila Cabello and Ariana Grande, both of whom performed.
Following the presentation, an after-party was held at Rockefeller Center, where attendees could pose in the branded photo booth.
For the party, which was held at Second Floor on May 14 and presented by Netflix and Terra Chips, Agenc created a photo booth area with glittery lockers and neon signage inspired by the female wrestling show on Netflix called Glow. The show was on the cover of Entertainment Weekly’s most recent issue.
Held on May 16 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, Turner’s 90-minute presentation featured a look at the media company’s content initiatives across its portfolio of brands, including Adult Swim, CNN, TBS, TNT, TruTV, and Turner Sports. Soren West of Soren West Agency served as executive producer for the presentation inside the theater, while Atomic handled the production and lighting design and fabrication. In addition to the presentation, Turner rebranded its annual Adult Swim party to encompass all of its brands. The event took place on May 16 at Terminal 5.
In the lobby, attendees could chat with Turner stars, like Niecy Nash of the TNT series Claws, at phone stations.
Univision Communications offered advertisers an expanded, two-day experiential event, which took place May 14 and 15 at Spring Studios, in an effort to better reflect its youthful audience. Walls of branded headphones allowed guests to listen to content in a music-theme room.
With the overall theme of "Culture Unbound," the event, which was produced by First, aimed to showcase the network’s ability to connect brands to Hispanic culture.
Following a brief presentation, attendees could explore installations based on the network’s shows and offerings, including its extensive soccer coverage.
Group Nine Media, parent company of digital brands NowThis, the Dodo, Seeker, and Thrillist, introduced its new content slate to advertisers on May 3 at Skylight Modern, with the help of Hamilton star Javier Muñoz who presented NowThis’ sizzle reel.
During the event, Oath showcased a new slate of original video series, documentaries, and live programs that will premiere across its brands. Oath, a subsidiary of Verizon Communications, serves as the umbrella company of its digital content subdivisions, including AOL and Yahoo. A DJ booth served as a digital canvas for messaging.
Attendees grabbed bites from food stalls and creative catering stations from Pinch Food Design that were placed throughout the space.
Once again, Twitter tapped NA Collective to create an experiential activation for its programming presentation. The New York-based creative agency designed the theme, stage, and venue design for the event, which was held at Terminal 5 on April 30, and featured Twitter’s signature blue color. Projects like #HereWeAre, Twitter’s initiative around diversity in tech, were highlighted.
During the presentation, the social media company announced news about its content deals, including new partnerships with NBCUniversal, ESPN, Viacom, and Vice Media, as well as expansions to existing deals with Live Nation Entertainment, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer.
For its Upfront presentation, held on April 18 at 214 Lafayette, the network transformed a Soho townhouse into the Nat Geo House to unveil its new and returning series, specials, and live events. During the event, National Geographic promoted the second season of its anthology series Genius: Picasso, which stars Antonio Banderas, with live performers painted to look like abstract art. Beck Media & Marketing produced the event.
Unlike a traditional auditorium presentation, guests were served a farm-to-table dinner by Lighthouse in Brooklyn as they learned about the new offerings, including Genius’ third season, which will tell the story of author Mary Shelley. Other sections of the townhouse promoted various programs with on-theme activities and decor. For dessert on the rooftop, guests could cuddle rescue puppies as a promotion for the show Pupparazzi featuring dog photographer Kaylee Greer and her fiancé Sam.
Held at the Town Hall in Midtown on May 2, the digital media company’s event highlighted its video-content slate, which includes 10 new and six returning series. It also announced the expansion of 29Rooms to San Francisco and Chicago this summer. Plus, in September, the experiential event will also be broadcast via a mobile-oriented experience that’s being co-developed with the Facebook Anthology program. The NewFront event closed with a performance by hip-hop artist Lizzo and a shower of confetti.
Following the network’s Upfront event on May 14 at the Beacon Theatre, company executives and celebrities attended Fox’s All-Star Party at the Wollman Rink in Central Park, which featured a dessert bar with gelato and macarons.
During the presentation, which was held inside the newly-minted Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on May 2, executives announced that its original series the Handmaid’s Tale had been renewed for a third season. A lineup of handmaids dressed in red cloaks and white bonnets made an appearance for the news.
In April, AMC hosted a series of intimate dinners, produced by Empire Entertainment, in New York and Chicago that were designed to offer advertisers a "tasting menu" of programming. The dinner menus were prepared by well-known chefs, including Chris Santos, Scott Conant, Alex Guarnaschelli, Tyler Florence, and Tom Colicchio. Six events were held at Chefs Club in New York and one was held at Boka Restaurant in Chicago.
Across the country, more than 1,200 guests attended the DMD International Upfront, which were held at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, in the Huey & Dewey parking lots on May 20. Similar to the New York presentations, the event, which was produced and designed by Russell Harris Event Group, offered guests a preview of new shows and upcoming movies.
For the massive outdoor event, Good Gracious Events provided the catering, Lighten Up handled the lighting, Technical Event Partners was tasked with the audio-visual production, furniture was provided by Hire Elegance and Totally Mod, and Event Carpet Pros carpeted the space.
