NEW YORK—Warner Bros. Discovery Advertising Sales has incorporated Kerv’s AI-enhanced technology into its ad-tech platform and launched two new ad offerings that offer shoppable entertainment experiences via Max.
The two new ad offerings, Shop with Max and Moments, will allow viewers to go from watching content to purchasing products and are part of a larger push by Warner Bros. Discovery and other streamers to boost profits by greatly expanding their ad-sales efforts.
“Shop with Max and Moments are two dynamic solutions that exemplify how Warner Bros. Discovery is accelerating and delivering innovation across advertising technology,” Ryan Gould, head of advanced advertising and digital ad sales, Warner Bros. Discovery, said. “By closely partnering with KERV, we’re redefining how audiences discover and engage with products while creating deeper connections between brands and our iconic portfolio of premium content and IP across Max.”
At launch, brands including Wayfair will start to leverage both Shop with Max and Moments to enhance their campaigns across the Max portfolio.
“We're delighted to collaborate alongside WBD and KERV to create a more contextually relevant ad experience for viewers,” Kara O’Brien, head of brand marketing at Wayfair, said. “These new solutions on Max will make it easy for viewers to discover and purchase items for their homes inspired by the content they’re viewing and enjoying on Max.”
More specifically, Shop with Max is a suite of state-of-the-art ad formats designed to accelerate the path from viewing to purchasing. By leveraging cutting-edge metadata and AI technology, Shop with Max identifies items within television shows and films and pairs them with related items in an advertiser’s catalog via a QR code that takes them to a second screen, allowing viewers to easily explore and purchase products inspired by the beloved stories they’re watching without interrupting the viewing experience.
Warner Bros. Discovery said that key advantages for advertisers include:
- Discoverability: Available across all genres, including scripted and unscripted series, animation, and blockbuster movies. Title availability will vary.
- Contextual Relevance: Proprietary metadata pinpoints key opportunities to showcase products that correspond to the program’s storyline.
- Seamless Purchase Experience: Optimized for both connected TV and mobile, Shop with Max reduces steps from inspiration to purchase, creating a seamless and more efficient shopping experience.
Shop with Max also features two new ad innovations. The first is Product Showcase, a first-of-its-kind dynamic mid-roll ad format that presents relevant catalog items inspired by on-screen content. Shoppers can scan a QR code to explore items directly on their mobile devices. The second is Mobile Shop, a curated second-screen experience offering a selection of 12-20 products inspired by the content being watched and connected to the trusted point of purchase on the advertiser’s website.
Advertisers can unlock the power of Shop with Max by curating products inspired by specific programs or movies (in addition to title sponsorships) or by scaling their ad experience across contextually relevant episodes via Moments.
WBD describes Moments as a new solution for aligning brands with thematic content. Powered by Kerv’s advanced AI technology, Moments is able to use audio and visual cues to identify relevant themes, sentiment and on-screen elements. Through 40 curated Moments, such as Cooking, Real Estate, Gaming and Science & Space, Moments enables advertisers to reach audiences engaged with specific topics that align tonally with their messaging across the entire Max portfolio.
WBD said the offering provides advertisers with:
- Episodic-Level Precision: Extends beyond endemic networks and titles to reach viewers in the right mindset while they’re consuming contextually relevant episodes.
- Scalable Distribution: Enables advertisers to reach diverse audiences across Max’s extensive library of iconic franchises, networks and IP.
- Privacy-First Design: By leveraging contextual signals, Moments provides a high-quality, effective ad experience across CTV and mobile environments.
- Brand Suitability Options: Using contextual signals, advertisers can tailor targeting solutions to meet their brand goals. This includes targeting towards relevant themes to create positive alignment, and away from sensitive themes or topics within TV-MA and R-rated content.
“We’re excited to be partnering with Warner Bros. Discovery to redefine what's possible in streaming advertising,” Marika Roque, chief innovation officer of Kerv, said. “With Shop with Max and Moments, we’re harnessing the power of Kerv’s patented moment-based metadata to create hyper-relevant, contextual ad experiences that enhance viewer engagement and bring brands closer to their consumers through stories they love.”
