The upfronts have traditionally been about the stars of coming content and big brand plays. But to Craig Spirelli, GM, Business Development at The Trade Desk, programmatic has transformed the 60-year-old TV marketplace into something more sophisticated.
“Why not have both where you have great content, but then you can layer on your first party data to that content,” Spirelli told Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan at a post-upfront leadership summit with Omnicom Media Group. “That’s where programmatic comes in.”
This combination of data and content represents what Spirelli called “the holy grail” of modern upfront buying. Programmatic brings targeting capabilities, flexibility to adjust commitments, and accountability to measure business outcomes—all while maintaining access to premium content.
An audience-first approach
The Trade Desk’s presence in the upfronts marks a shift from its traditional role in the digital-focused NewFronts. But Spirelli sees room for further evolution.
“I know we talk about the upfronts as ‘video.’ But how can other channels like display and audio and digital out of home participate in that customer journey?” he said. “If we’re thinking about an audience-first approach, we want to think about that audience, that consumer across all of their devices.”
This omnichannel approach reflects how consumers actually consume content. The question becomes not just about CTV and video impact, but how all channels work together to drive business outcomes.
Transparent AI
The Trade Desk’s approach to bringing programmatic into the upfronts relies heavily on the company’s Kokai platform, which was launched in 2023. At its core are two key components: its AI suite called Koa, introduced in 2017, and The Trade Desk’s device graph from its acquisition of Adbrain.
“The combination of both to understand a household and the individuals within that household and then let the AI work towards that actual KPI or business outcomes is really where the rubber meets the road,” Spirelli said.
But The Trade Desk takes a different approach to AI than some competitors, Spirelli said. “It’s not ‘give us all your money and let the AI figure it out,’” Spirelli said. “We want to be as transparent as possible when it comes to AI. What is the AI doing? What’s the methodology?”
This transparency extends to showing advertisers what will happen before they spend. “Understanding if I press this button, what is that going to do to my ultimate goal or my ultimate KPI before you spend any money,” he noted.
The human element matters
Despite the technological sophistication, Spirelli emphasized the importance of human strategy in making AI effective. The Trade Desk’s self-service platform is designed to give agencies control.
“We want to give them the power to let the AI do the math, but then let them do the hypothesis and the strategy because both combined is really how we make AI powerful,” he said.
This partnership approach aligns with broader best practices for ad tech and agency collaboration. “It’s really aligning on the end client’s goal and making sure that we’re working together for a common purpose, which is usually around business outcomes,” Spirelli said.
Evolution, not revolution
Given the measurable demands from ad buyers at the upfront, that would seem to imply the marketplace is becoming more of an outcomes-focused play as opposed to the traditional brand-building promise. Still, Spirelli took a measured view when we asked him about that changing balance.
“We’re far from all media being performance — although I think that is the future,” he said.
The shift faces practical challenges. “We have a lot of legacy structures in place, a lot of legacy measurements in place and for the right reasons. This has been around for 60 years.”
The key is meeting customers where they are while educating them about new possibilities. “There is a better way and let’s highlight that better way so we can move towards a more data-driven future,” Spirelli said. “But I do think that will take time.”
For now, the focus remains on simplifying programmatic’s complexity and helping agencies understand which data feeds make sense for each client. As Spirelli put it, “All the education and all the insights and data that we can provide can hopefully move the needle in the future.”
You’re watching “The 2025 TV Upfronts in Review: A Beet.TV Leadership Summit with Omnicom Media Group, Presented by Index Exchange and The Trade Desk.” For more videos from this summit, please visit this page.
