Closer to cementing ownership under Walmart, the largest U.S. retailer, smart TV set maker Vizio held its fourth annual NewFront presentation April 29. A year ago, One Penn Plaza on West 34th Street was the setting. For 2024, attendees watched Vizio's event from The Town Hall by Skylight one block away at Penn 2 (the new office building above Penn Station) on West 33rd Street.
The Big Message: There's an expanding package of opportunities for advertisers to deploy via Vizio right now -- from home screen space to original branded series and shoppable messages -- and more to come. No need to wait until Walmart assumes control to enter this playground of limitless frontiers. "Our commitment to our customers has no bounds, and we'll only accelerate the TV and advertising experience," declared Mike O'Donnell, the company's Chief Revenue and Strategic Officer
Hosts: A roster of top Vizio executives delivered segments of the presentation, starting with O'Donnell. Each executive was introduced by one of the most enthusiastic off-stage announcers (name unknown) in recent NewFront or Upfront memory. Think George Gray on The Price is Right or Burton Richardson from The Arsenio Hall Show and other series.
What Worked: Breaking down the hour-long presentation into a set of five-to-10-minute portions, each one focused on a specific way Vizio attracts viewers or brings a better result bang for sponsor bucks.
What Also Worked: Concluding the majority of segments with "Limitless Leaders," videotape testimonials featuring executives from sponsors, ad agencies and TV services responding to the subject in play. Participating companies included Horizon Media, General Motors, Unilever, Warner Bros. Discovery and GroupM.
What Can Work Here: Some encouraging words from Walmart leadership that demonstrate their intention to make Vizio a powerhouse interactive services and commerce player. How elevated this affair can be with a surprise live appearance -- or videotaped comments -- from Doug McMillon, Walmart's Chief Executive Officer. Better yet: somehow getting McMillon together with Vizio founder/CEO William Wang, whose rare in-person talk elevated last year's NewFront turn.
Data Points: Vizio's home screen on their smart TV sets has viewers spending an average 44 minutes per day there. WatchFree+, the set maker's content bundle, now offers more than 15,000 movies and TV shows a month, plus over 300 nationally available channels and 50 local channels. Viewership to WatchFree+, which added 1,300 movies/TV episodes and 20 national channels during the 2023-24 season, doubled year-over-year.
News: Vizio has joined Samsung and LG in offering interactive videogame hubs where consumers can play the games displayed with their voice or voice remote -- -without a console on top of the TV set. Classic casual games are the opening attraction of "Game Night," with other titles and game genres in development. In a combo series/commerce development, Vizio will soon present the second season of The Pantry, a cooking series running first on Spirits Network, exclusively. When watching each episode devoted to one recipe, viewers can shop and order anything they see, from ingredients and cutlery to set decorations. Other new series ahead include Her Story, profiles of next-generation female entrepreneurs and company employees, and a Halloween-centric decorating competition. Later this summer, Vizio will introduce pause ads with Sonic Restaurants and Dunkin' among the initial participating sponsors, and several interactive ad formats developed in association with KERV and Brightline.
Bonus Points: Popular Top Chef judge and The Pantry host Tom Colicchio dropping by for an interview segment, well-handled by Katherine Pond, Vizio's Group Vice President, Platform Content and Partnerships. Came with numerous anecdotes about his career on and away from TV.
Parting Words: "We get to be here today because of the shared investment among all of you. Our efforts go beyond the pod." -Adam Bergman, Vizio Group Vice President of Advertising and Data Sales.
"Good afternoon, Penn Station. Not something I would ever say." -Allison Clarke, Head Of General Market, National Advertising Sales at Vizio.
"This year --2024 -- is about gifting experiences." -Vizio Director of Ads and Product Marketing Lucy Sutphin, commenting on the rise of shoppable TV campaigns.
"How do you become a better cook? You cook!" -Top Chef judge/The Pantry host Tom Colicchio.
Photo at top: Allison Clarke and Sean Booker speak onstage at the LIMITLESS: VIZIO 2024 NewFront at Town Hall at the Penn District on April 29, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for VIZIO)
Click the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friends.
The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.org/MyersBizNet.