Tubi positioned itself as a platform purpose-built for streaming advertising during its presentation at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s NewFronts on Tuesday. The Fox-owned ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) service made a series of announcements around new ad products and partnerships focused on performance, bespoke solutions for verticals and more.

The service boasts more than 97 million monthly active users and over 95% on-demand viewing. Over half of its audience is made up of Gen Z and millennials, 42% identify as multicultural and most aren’t reachable via cable TV. The three overlapping groups are in high demand for marketers due to the way they dictate culture, set trends and represent billions in purchasing power, according to Tubi CEO Anjali Sud.

“Each of you are navigating unprecedented uncertainty right now,” the executive said at the presentation. “At a time when every marketing dollar counts, Tubi continues to deliver value and lead the way in ad-supported streaming.”

Tubi executives boasted new ad products and measurement partnerships tailored to the needs of specific industries, including Innovid for real-time incremental reach measurement and online attribution; NCS for e-commerce and in-store incremental sales lift; Polk from S&P Global Mobility for automotive insights; and additional solutions for pharma, finance, QSR and other verticals.

“We know that the one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work,” said Chief Revenue Officer Jeff Lucas. “This verticalized approach addresses the realities that you face and the results that all of you need, so we’re collaborating more closely than ever with agency partners to create bespoke solutions.”

Along with its vertical-focused solutions, Tubi has partnered with Moloco to optimize connected TV advertising and integrated Kochava for Publishers to connect ad delivery to business outcomes. In the identity space, Tubi executives boasted that it was the first CTV publisher to implement Unified ID 2.0 with The Trade Desk. The service has for years been using clean room technology from companies like LiveRamp and utilizes Fox’s ID graph to help advertisers connect to audiences across the media company’s portfolio.

Tubi also announced that it is the latest publisher to join Universal Ads, Comcast’s self-service platform powered by FreeWheel that is looking to help small- and medium-sized businesses buy premium TV in a similar fashion to the way they buy YouTube.

“If your marketing goals are smarter targeting, seamless activation and real-time optimization, you are all sitting in that seat for a reason,” Lucas said to the NewFronts audience. “Tubi is purposely and deliberately reimagining how brands engage with consumers, with data-powered solutions that are meaningful and, most importantly, drive brand impact at scale.”

A retail media convergence with Amazon

Among the partnerships announced at Tubi’s NewFronts presentation, perhaps most notable was the expansion of a relationship with Amazon that connects Tubi’s streaming video offering with retail media. The development is in line with an industry-wide trend and follows a similar move announced a day earlier at Google’s showcase.

Tubi is already integrated with all major demand-side platforms (DSPs) and has partnered with major third-party sell-side platforms (SSPs), along with utilizing parent Fox’s AdRise SSP. The latter will take the next step in delivering inventory to advertisers through Amazon DSP to create a more efficient path for buyers, explained Kelly MacLean, vice president of Amazon DSP.

“This also serves as a foundation for matching our respective signals together, integrating Amazon audience and performance insights and bringing that together with Tubi,” MacLean said during the presentation “This brings a whole other level of intelligence to streaming TV deals by providing advertisers the insight into supply that’s ultimately aligned with their campaign objectives.”

Amazon’s Brand+, an artificial intelligence-powered video solution that helps marketers deliver video ads with precision, was launched in January with publishers like Tubi in mind, according to MacLean. The solution looks to bring performance and accountability to CTV.

“When we combine first-party data, Amazon’s unique signals [and] data from premium publishers like Tubi, and then do that with advanced [machine-learning] models, ultimately, you can engage with viewers at the moments that matter, whether they’re just beginning their shopping journey or they’re ready to actually make that purchase decision,” MacLean said. 

Ads as enhancement

Advertising is at the core of Tubi’s value proposition and what ensures its audience can view premium entertainment without a steep price tag. The service announced several new ad formats that seek to make ads less interruptive and more of an enhancement of the viewing experience.

Tubi announced the launch of several new ad formats that have become de rigueur in other CTV and digital environments. Those include a carousel ad format, designed with CPG, tech and auto verticals in mind, that allows brands to create virtual showrooms or product showcases. New animated pause ads feature sound-free, looping video, while a contextual product, Tubi Moments, matches ads to the tone, sentiment and visual cues of content.

“We built a contextual targeting engine that’s as deep as our content library is wide,” said Mike Bidgoli, Tubi’s chief product and technology officer. “This isn’t just about aligning with a genre. It’s about aligning with the right moment so your messaging doesn’t just show up — it shows up in sync.”

In addition, Tubi Prime gives advertisers guaranteed ad placements in popular content via upfront deals, while the platform has expanded its recently launched shoppable second-screen storefront offering, allowing e-commerce advertisers to create a Tubi Storefront in minutes. And for studio advertisers seeking to reach the platform’s movie-obsessed audience, which is 23% more likely than a general population to see a movie during the opening weekend, there are Tubi Wrappers, a takeover format.

Tubi is also angling to make the service a companion app throughout the day. The company is working to beef up its app with scene recommendations that automatically queue up other programming for later viewing, potentially filling the market void for a premium video platform that serves viewers on-the-go during the day and in the living room at night. 

“[Tubi offers] reach at scale with our highly engaged, intent-driven audiences; ad products that are tailored to drive specific results; guaranteed cultural relevance; seamless commerce integration and cross-screen continuity,” Bidgoli said.