Open for Business: Helping Retailers Reach People Across America
By: Josh Feldman, EVP, Marketing and Advertising Creative, NBCUniversal & Evan Moore, VP, Commerce Partnerships, NBCUniversal
We’ve all been affected by COVID-19. Already, the human impacts have been profound, and the economic impacts are constantly unfolding. Retailers of every size are feeling strained after closing stores to help stop the spread, and are looking for creative solutions to maintain relationships with their customers. And Comcast NBCUniversal Sky is trying to do as much as we can for our community, including our partners shifting from brick and mortar to delivery and e-commerce.
As some physical doors close temporarily, we’re helping retailers explore new commerce avenues. For years, we’ve been creating ways for people to easily shop while they watch, bringing them closer to their favorite shows, and helping our partners create new storefronts. Now, we’re accelerating our plans to open up our platform to support more businesses when they need it the most, offering new commerce technology and eliminating extra costs.
Today, we’re introducing NBCUniversal Checkout, One Platform’s new commerce engine that grants any business—local or national, newly or originally direct-to-consumer—the ability to set up shop in one place and instantly reach nearly all Americans with a single integration. Our Creative Partnerships team will serve as a production resource to help retailers create, build and distribute new marketing assets. And, to ensure more companies can be open for business today, with a line instantly queued up around the corner, from now until the end of the year, we’re waiving technology and cart fees on ShoppableTV and digital branded content experiences.
Here’s how this new commerce experience works: NBCUniversal Checkout transforms any piece of content on the NBCUniversal platform into an interactive shoppable experience. Whenever fans see a product they want as a part of the content they love—whether it’s on digital, linear, or social—they will be able to instantly click and buy it.
To build the perfect storefront for your shoppers, we’ve combined our content and technology to offer a range of new custom commerce solutions that engage audiences and deliver more impact. These are the first four aisles of NBCUniversal Checkout:
Shoppable Branded Content: A retailer’s branded article or video can instantly become a clickable hotspot where fans can buy featured items in an uninterrupted shoppable experience.
ShoppableTV: Now, when viewers scan the NBCU code on their television screens, they can add all their products to a universal cart, powered by NBCUniversal Checkout.
Shoppable Editorial Content: From “shop the look” articles on Bravo, to seasonal buying guides on NBC’s TODAY, Telemundo, and more, we can make it possible for viewers to seamlessly purchase the products they see on any network.
Social Amplification: Extend the reach of any NBCUniversal Checkout experience with targeted social strategies, to reach shoppers everywhere.
With NBCUniversal Checkout, both audiences and advertisers will benefit. Our viewers will get better viewing and easier shopping across our platform—and research shows when we improve the content experience for people, marketers see more impact, too.
By bringing together creativity, innovation, and intention, NBCUniversal Checkout can help our retail partners adapt to these challenging circumstances, stay connected to customers and remain open for business.
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