2020 has thrown a lot of curve balls that forced companies and industries to rethink how to go about doing business in a socially distanced, virtually-reliant world. This year, IAB had to reassess its conference line up and consider how to present NewFronts and the Podcast Upfront in a way that would promote social distancing, while giving publishers the opportunity to present their upcoming programs to media buyers.
When IAB decided to reformat the event and make it virtual, it outsourced the livestream of the week-long conference to Vimeo, and asked agencies if they had ideas on how to make the conference actionable and create a connective tissue between presenters and attendees. BrandVerge was top-of-mind.
BrandVerge created an exclusive marketplace for the event that allowed media buyers to re-visit presentations, evaluate proposals and utilize in-app messaging to personally connect with presenters. The marketplace, which attendees were able to access with the email used to register for the conference, was live for 90 days following the event.
13 of the event presenters, including TikTok, Snap Inc., 3BLACKDOT and Condé Nast uploaded profiles and proposals following their presentations.
Founders Lynn Browne and Mollie Kehoe were able to talk about the marketplace on the IAB’s IABTHERE show the week prior to NewFronts with IAB’s president David Cohen and editor-in-chief Brad Berens.
Because the event was virtual, it was also more accessible for people in the media industry who may not have been able to fly out to a week-long conference in New York City. Due to the success of both the event and the marketplace, BrandVerge will once again partner with IAB to produce an exclusive marketplace for its upcoming Podcast Upfront from Sept. 9-11.
To learn more about how IAB made NewFronts virtual and its partnership with BrandVerge, read the case study here.
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