Linda Yaccarino, chairman, global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, has been named chair of the Ad Council’s board of directors. The Ad Council oversees public service campaigns and most recently has been a leader in the media, marketing, advertising and entertainment industry’s efforts responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
NBCUniversal continued to consolidate its management by naming Linda Yaccarino chairman, global advertising and partnerships. Yaccarino, who had headed national and global advertising sales for all of NBCU’s platforms, will now oversee local ad sales, including the company’s TV stations and regional sports networks.
From being name-checked in the show to inserting Easter eggs for marketers.
Linda Yaccarino, the chairman of advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, is calling for “radical transformation” of the marketing business in the face of cultural change around racism and the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. The call comes a week after the Association of National Advertisers made proposals to transform the advertising business, including the timing of the upfront.
In a keynote address Wednesday afternoon, Linda Yaccarino, chairman of advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal came to CES to talk about how technology is shaping the future of entertainment, but concluded that artificial intelligence won’t be able to replace talent, creativity and storytelling.
Five women now spearhead the ad strategies for the leading network groups that will control the lion’s share of the $70 billion TV ad business during this year’s annual upfront ad haggle. They talk about their long, hard road to the top.
Exclusives
TV is changing dramatically. Here are the key executives at the large media giants, wireless carriers, tech companies and everyone that is stuck in between as they duke it out for your time and money.
The ad sales head of NBCUniversal is “leading the business in a lot more ways than just talking about measurement,” says one fan.
When asked if Nielsen is still relevant, Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversal chairman of advertising sales and client partnerships, said: “Part of the reason the ratings are seemingly going down — and they won’t be going back up — is because of the unfortunate inertia and lack of movement by the only one rating system that we have in this country. That’s Nielsen.”
NBCU’s Ad Sales Queen Upends The Industry
When the dust settled after this summer’s upfront negotiations concluded, it’s no surprise which ad sales chief had once again secured the biggest windfall. That would be Linda Yaccarino, chairman of advertising sales and client partnerships for NBCUniversal, who wrapped upfront sales of close to $6.5 billion for her company’s portfolio of two broadcast networks, 15 cable networks and more than 50 digital properties. She reflects on this year’s upfront, her battles with digital advertisers and Nielsen, and why she’s “the most competitive person you’ll ever meet.”
Yaccarino Undaunted By Facebook, Google
Linda Yaccarino, the new head of advertising sales for NBCUniversal, has reoriented herself to take on even online behemoths.
The Only Metric That Matters: Sales
Linda Yaccarino, NBCU’s chairman, advertising sales and client partnerships, unveiled the findings of a study commissioned in conjunction with Accenture. “New platforms, new technologies, and new models are radically transforming the advertising industry. But it’s worth remembering what hasn’t changed. Despite the latest innovations, at the end of the day, the only metric that matters is sales. And yet, in recent years, with the advent of social networks and short-form video platforms, people around the advertising industry got lured away from the essentials of what really works by the promise of something new.”
NBCUniversal has raised serious doubts about the reliability and transparency of the new ratings, going so far as to suggest that Nielsen wait on rolling them out. In a letter sent to Nielsen, and subsequently leaked to the media, the head of NBCU’s ad sales, Linda Yaccarino, says the system needs more work. Nielsen quickly dismissed Yaccarino’s concerns. It says it has been working with partners in television to ensure it has the best product and that the March 1 release date is still on track.
NBC Universal has sent a letter to Nielsen expressing concern over its Total Content Ratings product and asking the media measurement giant to delay its introduction. In a letter obtained by Ad Age, Linda Yaccarino, chairman-advertising sales and client partnerships at NBCU, said that the Total Content Ratings product in its current form “lacks the consistency and transparency the marketplace demands and expects from Nielsen” and is not ready to be released.
NBCU’s Upfront Will Test New Ways To Sell
The company is revamping its strategy this year. Yes, NBC will get its due, but so will other parts of its operations, which encompass kiddie-cable outlet Sprout and movie-ticketing venue Fandango. The move reverses a long-held plan that had NBCU mount separate events for NBC, Telemundo and its cable portfolio.
NBCU’s Yaccarino On Its Upfront Strategy
The chairman of NBCUniversal ad sales and client partnership talks about her company’s decision to combine its broadcast, cable and digital assets into one upfront this year. “Because of the size and diversity of our audience, we reach any audience. And, with our data products, you get scale plus laser targeting. We combine the most content across every distribution platform to reach the biggest audiences for our clients.”
If Nielsen isn’t going to do a good enough job accurately measuring TV to satisfy NBCUniversal, the conglomerate isn’t about to stand idly by. That’s the word from Linda Yaccarino, chairman of ad sales and client partnerships, who on Thursday issued a call to action for the entire industry to make their frustrations known. “It’s unfair to marketers, it’s unfair to content creators, and it’s up to all of us in this industry to take a stand,” said Yaccarino. “We need to reach beyond a C3 rating.”
NBCU Sales Chief Shares Upfront Strategy
For the next several weeks, Linda Yaccarino will be one of the hardest working people in television. As chairman of advertising sales and client partnerships for NBCUniversal, she’s overseeing upfront negotiations for a robust TV portfolio that includes two broadcast networks, 17 cable channels and more than 50 digital properties. Before ramping up her upfront negotiations, Yaccarino talked about plans for next season, her company’s big swings and of course, the d-word.
NBCUniversal has taken the next step toward a data-driven future with the launch of an audience targeting platform for television. The platform will be fueled by set-top-box viewing data from “several” third-party sources, per a release. NBCUniversal declined to disclose which third-party data vendors it has partnered with for the platform.
NBC Ad Maven Yaccarino Is Ready To Deal
NBCUniversal head of ad sales Linda Yaccarino’s success this upfront is critical to NBCU parent Comcast, which needs her to move approximately $9 billion worth of broadcast and cable ad inventory. Adding to the pressure, her boss, NBCU CEO Steve Burke, has told Wall Street in recent months that he believes NBCU’s outlets should be commanding higher CPMs.
Linda Yaccarino Has TV’s Toughest Sales Job
NBCU’s Linda Yaccarino has her work cut out for her, stitching together broadcast, cable and digital while the flagship falters.
Linda Yaccarino is promoted from president, cable entertainment and digital advertising sales and now oversees all ad sales and market strategy for the company’s broadcast, cable and digital properties.
NBCUniversal has officially found a new head of digital ad sales in Linda Yaccarino, the company confirmed today. As previously rumored, Yaccarino — who recently left Turner Entertainment, where she served as COO and EVP of ad sales, marketing and acquisitions — is replacing Dave Cassaro.
Comcast veteran Dave Cassaro, who assumed responsibility for all of NBC Universal’s cable ad sales when the cable giant took majority control of NBCU from GE early this year, is leaving the company, according to people familiar with the situation. His departure comes as NBCU is poised to add a well-known executive, these people said: Linda Yaccarino, who has led the charge to sell advertising on Time Warner’s Turner cable division for years.
Linda Yaccarino, who joined Turner in 1993 and rose to head sales and acquisitions for the entertainment group, is leaving the company. An internal memo said she is departing to pursue other opportunities.
