SBS Upfront 2023: SBS to automate TV ad buying with SBS Connect

SBS Media has announced it will aim to make buying of television advertising on its linear channels simpler in 2023 with the launch of a new automation platform SBS Connect.

SBS made the announcement at its 2023 Upfront in Sydney, where the broadcaster confirmed SBS Connect would launch next April and provide agencies with a more efficient buying process, improved response times and fast post-analysis reporting on their media spend.

“In 2023, SBS will transform how agencies buy from the SBS Media team,” said Adam Sadler, SBS’s director of media sales. “The market has long been looking for simpler ways to transact to buy TV inventory, and SBS Connect will help solve that need by simplifying the buying process between us and our agency partners.”

SBS also used its Upfront event to highlight its unique audience and the cost efficiencies which come from adding SBS to a brand’s media plan.

The research, called The Butterfly Effect, highlights the cost-per-reach efficiency across TV and BVOD that can be achieved by moving 10% of a client’s TV budget and 27% of the BVOD budget to SBS, with studies showing cost savings of up to 36% for both Metro and Regional TV and on average 20% on BVOD.

“The Butterfly Effect demonstrates how when SBS is included in a media buy, your brand gets guaranteed incremental reach which delivers real cost benefits. Simply put, a relatively small investment can go a very long way in reducing the cost of your ad campaign’s reach,” said Sadler.

“By having a significantly exclusive, trusting audience, it means a dollar spent with SBS delivers a higher ROI than our peers – a fact proven by the Butterfly Effect research.”

See also: SBS Upfront 2023: Every Announcement

SBS also used the event to highlight its strength across both linear and digital, particularly through SBS On Demand.

“We run fewer ads than other networks which we know provides superior ad recall,” said Sadler. “And we know that most of our viewers do not watch the other commercial networks, so we offer advertisers a unique, high value audience that you simply won’t find elsewhere.

“There is a clear commercial benefit by investing with SBS, and today the market heard from SBS about how we as a business are investing in good.

“Our request to agencies is to look at where SBS is in their media schedules and briefs to market - whether in digital, in client solutions, or in audio strategy - and to examine the unique reach and engagement that SBS has and how our broad and diverse audiences are different to what many others in the market offer.”