TV Ad Chiefs Press Madison Avenue to Gaze Into Future, Not the Present
variety.comBrian Steinberg Senior TV EditorJo Ann Ross has long recognized when to go for the hard- sell and when to soften things up.The Paramount Global U.S.
ad sales chief is, like other executives in her position, is seizing this week to pitch big advertisers as part of the media industry’s annual “upfront,” when U.S.
TV companies seek to sell the bulk of their commercial inventory. But the event’s glitzy presentations and parties are taking place amid concerns about the effects of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine and amid ongoing concerns about how supply-chain issues might affect specific ad categories.
The week takes place just after a significant drop in the stock market has sparked chatter about the state of the nation’s economy. “I think that everybody in the industry understands what the whole country is going through in terms of the visibility toward next year, in terms of supply-chain issues that we are still dealing with because of Covid,” says Ross, who is slated to appear before advertisers Wednesday afternoon in New York’s Carnegie Hall in what has become a staple event of TV’s Upfront Week. “We are looking to get together with clients and understand what their needs are and what they want to do” in months to come.One tracker of ad spending has cautioned that the war in Ukraine is likely to tamp down U.S.
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