“Authenticity” may seem like a broad term, but, for two NBCUniversal Media executives, it’s a specific focus of their work. At the Variety Studio presented by Canva at Advertising Week in New York, Carla Kelly, senior vice president of client partnerships as well as advertising and partnerships, and Chris Rodriguez, senior director of ad sales and creative partnerships development, sat down to discuss how the meaning of “authenticity” applies to their work with clients and in advertising, from diverse representation to individualized programming.
For Kelly, an NBCUniversal Media streaming platform like Peacock presents the opportunity for the company to capitalize on streaming’s popularity. The amount of offerings on the platform also contributes to understanding and respecting audiences’ needs in the entertainment industry.
“For us, when we think about who’s going to streaming, we actually see that younger consumers are choosing streaming,” said Kelly. “We particularly find from a diverse and inclusive standpoint that they’re seeing content that really speaks to them, that represents them.”
Both agreed that “authenticity” is an important aspect of their content. It’s something the company consistently strives for in its partnerships with clients.
“Having diverse people and diverse perspectives makes that just so much easier to deliver on,” Rodriguez expressed. “I have a perspective that somebody who grew up in a different place who’s coming up with these ideas may not necessarily have, so I think coming together in that way ultimately just leads to really great results.”
As for advertising, “authenticity” is a main principle of audience engagement as well. Kelly and Rodriguez stressed that when it comes to data, the team is analyzing audiences’ patterns of consuming content from a more personalized perspective instead of in aggregate.
“Sometimes you feel like you’re talking about books and then all of a sudden you get these ads for books in your feed,” Kelly said. “That’s not what we’re doing. We’re saying, ‘Oh, we know you’ve been interfacing with Peacock, you’ve been watching this kind of programming, you’ve been responding to this, and therefore we’re going to hopefully give you something that might be relevant.”
