Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to maximize its shoppable ads with new AI-powered formats. Ahead of Black Friday, Warner Bros.
Discovery Advertising Sales is announcing two new ad solutions for shoppable content: Moments and Shop with Max. These formats aim to create a more seamless ad experience. The new formats integrate KERV’s AI technology into WBD’s adtech platform.
This allows for more contextually relevant advertising and better audience engagement. Ryan Gould, head of digital ad sales for Warner Bros. Discovery, said the timing is ideal as people think about shopping and commerce this time of year.
He also noted that Max has scaled with ads and partnered with brands and agencies comfortable with the property and value proposition. Moments are contextually relevant themes and topics designed to align with an advertiser’s message across the Max portfolio. KERV’s AI technology uses audio and visual cues to identify relevant themes, sentiments, and on-screen elements.
The Moment categories range from cooking to real estate to gaming, with subcategories for episodic-level precision. The company scanned and cataloged over 31,000 hours across 3,000 titles and 10,000 episodes.
Maximizing shoppable ads with AI
This created 186 million data signals, which machine learning and AI use to target relevant themes. The process ensures positive advertiser alignment and avoids sensitive themes within TV-MA and R-rated content. Gould explained that a show like Friends can now be sold beyond just “Scripted Comedy.” Moments in Friends such as celebration, family life, cooking, music, sports, and travel can bring brands into the experience with more depth.
Shop with Max uses AI to identify items within shows and films. It pairs them with related items in an advertiser’s catalog via a QR code. Consumers can purchase without interrupting the viewing experience by going to a second screen.
A mobile shop also offers products inspired by the content and connected to the advertiser’s website. Wayfair is already using the formats as a presenting sponsor for Food Network’s Holiday Baking Championship. Viewers can essentially shop the show, with products identified from objects and a midroll ad highlighting products with a QR code for a second-screen experience.
Brand safety is built into the ad experience to ensure advertisers won’t appear in unsuitable contexts. While Max isn’t the first streamer with contextually-based shoppable advertising, Gould noted that the breadth, depth, and scale of Max’s offering set it apart. The company uses KERV’s tech and has built proprietary ad products on top of it, leveraging its content library for precise targeting.
Gould emphasized that what sets them apart is the scalability matched with the premium nature of their content environment. They focus on a seamless ad experience that doesn’t detract from the viewing experience.
