Mark Marshall, named head of ad sales for NBCUniversal Friday after the sudden departure of his boss Linda Yaccarino, found himself in the spotlight on the stage at Radio City Music Hall Monday and performed like a pro.
He and Yaccarino had been rehearsing together last Thursday when news began to trickle out that Yaccarino was in talks to become CEO of Elon Musk’s Twitter.
After noting how humbling it was to be on stage representing NBCU, he said he was privileged to work with “some of the best executives anywhere, including Linda.”
Also Read: NBCUniversal Addresses Exec Changes, Writers’ Strike at Upfront Event
“I've heard from so many of you over the past 72 hours and I can't tell you how much that means,” he said. Marshall also thanked mothers in the audience for giving up part of their Mother’s Day to attend.
Then he went into his sales pitch.
“This year is going to be an extremely important year for your business, regardless of category,” he said, counting off the number of auto, pharma and movie launches expected this year.
“This is going to be a very competitive marketplace, which means you need every single impression to work harder than ever,” he said. “In order to do that you first need quality content and content that creates emotion and action for your brand. Not just background noise as you scroll. You need a platform that moves with your audiences to any screen. You need measurements that count correctly and that actually tie your results.”
He joked that that line should have gotten applause, then the audience obliged.
NBCU “provides you with more consumer touchpoints, smart technology, bigger partnerships, all leading to the best impact and sales results for your brands,” he said.
He joked about a glitch with the teleprompter, then delivered the big finish, noting that across NBCU’s portfolio of brands reaches 1 billion people. And when brands use NBCU’s platform to target people who are actually going to buy the products advertised, he said, they see an average sales lift of 16%.
“Let us put the power of NBC Universal to work for all of you,” he said before introducing Nick Jonas, who punctuated what was an entertaining presentation that almost didn’t miss the hand waves and smiles from the actors who sat out this year’s event because of the writers strike.
Between the last minute executive changes and the strike, NBCU’s creative staff led by CMO Josh Feldman managed to put together a show that entertained the buyers and reminded them that NBCU was still in the business of show biz, with appearances by the anchors of NBC News and Telemundo News, the stars of Telemundo programming and Bravolebrties from various Real Housewives casts on their way to Vegas for the next BravoCon.
There were fireworks and music with Reba McEntire, a new judge on The Voice, performing before Jonas. An opening number, featuring the foul-mouthed animated bear Ted and a chorus line of dancers also brought down the house.
This week the other networks will also be trying to put on a show without actors and late-night talent and NBCU, hitting leadoff, established a high bar for them to match.
