Walmart will be a critical component of NBCUniversal’s live sports strategy.
Today at Cannes Lions, NBCU and Walmart announced a partnership that utilizes Walmart’s scale and shopper data to enable advanced audience targeting and cross-platform attribution in NBCU’s live sports advertising. The partnership was announced during the NBCU conquest of FreeWheel Beach with Vive le Live. This encompasses inventory for the Winter Olympics, football coverage, the Premier League, the NBA, and other events.
Select advertisers will have the ability to measure the impact of their streaming and linear media campaigns within NBCUniversal’s live sports moments and reach targeted, strategic audiences beginning in Q4 2025.
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Last autumn, Walmart and NBCU conducted a test that yielded a fourfold return on ad spend for Walmart’s campaigns. Furthermore, the retailer reported a fivefold increase in the QR code scan rate generated by commerce activations and a 10% increase in ad recall in comparison to its retail benchmark.
“The utilization of Walmart as a marketer was an excellent method of experimentation.” Marketers face the challenge of achieving the desired audience within the specified timeframe. Mark Marshall, the chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, stated at the event that live sports provide an instantaneous reach. Marshall further stated, “It is thrilling to be able to examine live sports across linear and digital platforms and demonstrate the tangible benefits it provides—specifically, sales and impact data.”
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The announcement is a continuation of the existing partnership between Walmart and NBCU, which includes the launch of Must ShopTV with Below Deck Mediterranean.
NBCU’s Cannes announcements, which included Savannah Guthrie of Today divulging an inaugural Today Show fan fest launching in the fall, are further bolstered by the Walmart news.
“[Today Fan Fest] will be a series of live events that will bring our viewers closer to our Today family and community,” Guthrie stated during NBCUniversal’s takeover. “In October, we will commence this celebration.” We will be hosting Fan Fest week on our program, which will feature some of our most beloved interviews, tales, shopping, and music. Additionally, there will be special giveaways and access to Today.
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