WPP Commits to TiVo Ad Buys

WPP’s GroupM is the latest agency holding company to sign an upfront deal with TiVo to get preferred pricing for its clients in exchange for a guaranteed minimum ad spend.

The agreement calls for clients of GroupM agencies — MediaCom, Mediaedge:cia and MindShare — to receive pre-negotiated pricing when they buy TiVo’s digital video recorder-based ads, including its Interactive Tags and TiVo Showcase. GroupM will also work with TiVo to build a custom e-commerce application for one of its clients, similar to a car configurator for Lexus and a movie ticket tool from Fandango that are already in place.

“Our goal is to gain maximum exposure for our clients’ products and services, and new media initiatives like this help us achieve that objective while also providing a deeper understanding of consumer interaction with commercial messaging,” Jason Maltby, president and co-executive director of MindShare Broadcast, an operating unit of GroupM, said in a statement.

This is the third time TiVo has landed an upfront deal with a large agency group. Interpublic led the way in May when it committed to several million dollars in ad buys for its clients, which include Sony, Intel, Johnson & Johnson and Microsoft. Omnicom followed suit in August with a similar deal that includes sharing of TiVo’s audience data in exchange for ad buys, as well as plans for a joint study to take place this year.