Disney Embraces Automation and Interoperability in Ad Sales

CANNES — Disney’s annual upfront meetings in New York this year included plenty of commitments to ad automation, with about 50% of its ad sales being automated and addressably led.

The company offers its clients flexibility in how they want to transact, whether directly, through PG, or through biddable options.

“For us at Disney, we are really growing and expanding our automated opportunities and our clients really want it,” says Mark Olsen, SVP of Disney Ad Sales, in this video interview with Beet.TV.

Interoperability and Data Enablement

Interoperability is another key focus for Disney, as it seeks to enable data that makes sense for its clients.

This includes looking at retail media data, setting up new unified offerings with DSPs, and working with third parties like VideoAmp and Samba for measurement, insights, and attribution.

“There’s a lot of tech enablement that we’re doing,” Olsen says, highlighting partnerships with companies like Bright Line and Kerv for e-commerce and interactivity with streaming platforms, as well as large programmatic partnerships with The Trade Desk and Google DV360.

Self-Service Platform for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

Big brands are not the only ones to get a look-in.

Disney has also set up a self-service platform called Disney Campaign Manager to cater to small and medium-sized businesses.

In 2023, the platform had 4,200 brands up and running, representing over a thousand agencies, with 85% of those agencies being net new to Disney.

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