ITV reveals its ‘digital future’ with Adlabs
ITV has launched a new enterprise ITV Adlabs to streamline its digital and commercial offering.
At its upfront ITV Palooza this evening, commercial MD Kelly Williams and deputy commercial MD Simon Daglish announced ITV Adlabs will house “all of ITV Commercial’s innovation” encompassing digital products, digital partnerships and strategic insights.
This is hoped to “bring ITV’s customers closer to the development pipeline” as ITV trials new innovations such as Dynamic Creative advertising on Planet V and increasing the reach of Shoppable.
ITV Adlabs will work with new commercial partners like Twitter and also focus on developing targeting for contexts like moods or meal times on ITV Hub using Planet V and its linear addressable proposition on Sky, Virgin and Youview.
Williams said: “The launch of AdLabs is partly about changing our body language – being better organised, experimenting alongside our customers and embedding them more upstream in the process. AdLabs will further drive our digital transformation and our digital future – the laboratory is open for business.”
ITV dips toe into the Metaverse with Fortnite and John Lewis
ITV Adlabs will help the broadcaster move into the Metaverse, the company said, as a bespoke I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! experience in Fortnite Creative was revealed today. Fortnite Creative is a “sandbox game” that is part of the popular video game Fortnite.
The Welsh castle has been recreated in the popular online video game and players can enter new trials for the next three weeks by entering the code 6991-4289-2871 in the Discover tab.
Media agency MG OMD negotiated a commercial partnership deal with John Lewis and the retailer has a dedicated shopfront in the virtual castle and other branded trials as part of its #unexpectedguest Christmas campaign.
Claire Pointon, customer director at John Lewis & Partners, said: “Gamification and the Metaverse are growing at pace and as a brand we are constantly searching for activity that will modernise our brand and continue to keep us relevant in everyday moments for our customers. We look forward to continuing this partnership as it develops further into this new and exciting world”.
Agency and studio Metavision and Fortnite Creative 3D Lab independently created the experience which was not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Fortnite maker Epic Games.
Previously ITV has made steps into the Metaverse with an in-game version of its show The Void in Fortnite Creative earlier this year and a partnership between The Voice and Metaverse platform Avakin Life.
ITV has highest Sunday viewing figures this year
The debut episode of series 21 of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! aired on 21 November after An Audience with Adele.
These two shows netted the broadcaster’s highest Sunday viewing figures so far this year.
Individuals 4+ viewers on ITV standard peaked at 3.33 million at 9.45pm and 19% share of total viewing at 10.15pm according to BARB figures.
For the same demographic group ITV HD had peak viewers of 5.45 million at 9.40pm and peak audience share of 29.2% at 10.15pm from the same overnight figures in fifteen minute slots.