Marc Pritchard Might Kill The TV Upfront, and Funnel More Ad Dollars To Diverse and Minority-Owned Media

In my agency days, I never worked in media buying and never attended the lavish events of the annual TV upfront media buying ritual. From what I read, though, it always seemed like an outdated ritual. P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard has been critical of this annual tradition for years, and the pandemic may offer the perfect excuse to kill it for good.

That would be brilliant. Instead of locking ad dollars into predictable media buys at the start of the year, avoiding the upfront offers more leverage to brands and injects the need for more actual media buying strategy, instead of the lazy cut-and-paste “strategy” too many media planners choose to deliver. It also makes it far more likely that advertising dollars will go to more minority-owned media and diverse media channels. All of that is a big deal ... and a great thing.