Google, Others To Woo Sponsors With Upfront In May

Major digital properties are turning to a tried and true method of rolling out original content on Madison Avenue, the upfront. Google, among others, will be hosting the first digital upfront for brands and their agencies in New York this May, showcasing the newest channel content and opportunities for marketers.

"More than at any point in the last decade of online advertising, we're at a point where major brand advertisers, from movie studios to CPG companies, are finally looking to digital media as a central part of their marketing efforts," Nikesh Arora, Chief Business Officer and Senior Vice President at Google said. "YouTube has gone from an interesting ad buy to key buy for brands."

The asking price for exclusive sponsorship across some of YouTube's top content categories is reported to be in the neighborhood of $40 million per year.

"We think YouTube is fast becoming the platform for the next generation of talents, which is great because we're also seeing initial success selling the sponsorship for these channels to large advertisers such as Toyota, Unilever, GM as all in anticipation of the big upfront event coming up in May," Arora continued.

Yahoo, Hulu, AOL and MIcrosoft are all slated to also hold upfronts during the same week in what is being called the "Digital Content New Fronts."

#sellingtag

source: seekingalpha.com