Commerce integration — connecting brand awareness directly to measurable purchase outcomes — emerged as the defining theme of NewFronts 2026. Meta, Google, Samsung, and Walmart each arrived with a distinct weapon: AI-powered creative automation, a full-stack ad platform, shoppable CTV formats, and first-party shopper data. The show signals that one-click purchase attribution from a TV ad is rapidly becoming the new baseline for connected TV advertising.
■ Key Takeaways
▶ Meta — Generative AI fuels infinite creative supply; algorithm-driven automation gets smarter with more diverse inputs |
▶ Google — Gemini embedded across GMP and DV360; full-stack AI pitch covering CTV, live sports, and retail media |
▶ Samsung × Amazon — Shoppable CTV formats launch; TV ad exposure linked directly to purchase via Amazon DSP |
▶ Walmart × Vizio — First joint NewFronts pitch post-$2.3B acquisition; first-party shopper data challenges Google & Amazon |
▶ DSP War — Google plays no-fee card against The Trade Desk; LinkedIn opens B2B data to The Trade Desk's ecosystem |
① Meta — Leading the Creative Arms Race with AI Automation
Meta used NewFronts week — which coincided with ShopTalk in Las Vegas — to unveil new generative AI ad features and deepen its creator alignment strategy. The headline product is AI-powered 'immersive video,' which automatically transforms static catalog imagery into motion formats. In Meta's automated advertising paradigm, the primary lever brands control is feeding Facebook and Instagram with as much creative material as possible, allowing the algorithm to test and optimize at scale.
Yingying Kuan, VP of Marketing at hair care brand Kitsch, cautioned that genuine creative diversification requires far more than cosmetic tweaks. Beauty brands in particular remain wary of over-relying on generative AI, where a human touch in self-care products is seen as a competitive differentiator.
"When we talk about creative diversification, we're talking about very different-looking creative. Rather, it's different creators, different backgrounds, completely new concepts. I think the mistake — and we learned this along the way — is we would change one thing in an ad and still call it a different creative, but the algorithm doesn't really pick that up." — Yingying Kuan, VP of Marketing, Kitsch |
② Google — 'Full-Stack AI Company' Powered by Gemini
Kristen O'Hara, Google's VP of Agency Platforms and Client Solutions, declared the company is now a 'full-stack AI company from the silicon to the search bar.' The centerpiece of Google's NewFronts was Gemini, its large language model, now embedded across Google Marketing Platform and Display and Video 360 (DV360). Media planners showed particular interest in DV360's ability to access programmatic live sports ad inventory across major publishers.
On the commerce side, Google is building retail media partnerships with Albertsons, Kroger, and Costco to compete directly with Amazon and Walmart. The DV360 ecosystem now spans Disney, Netflix, and NBCUniversal on the CTV side, positioning Google as a single point of entry across premium digital inventory.
"Bringing such a wide range of audience data and inventory into these hubs is huge for advertisers — to have a more accurate and comprehensive view of everything in market, and a more complete view of consumer behavior, is especially important with the hot topic of transparency in media buying." — Allie Kallish, Senior Head of Supply and Marketplace, Monks |
③ The DSP War — Google's No-Fee Play vs. The Trade Desk's Data Alliance
Competition among the major DSPs — Google, Amazon, and The Trade Desk — intensified heading into NewFronts following a public dispute between The Trade Desk and Publicis over platform fees. Google's managing director of data, technology and measurement, Marta Martinez, pointedly highlighted the 'no-fee
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고삼석 상임의장 · Chairman Samseog Ko
고삼석(Ko Samseog)은 K-EnterTech Forum 상임의장입니다. 동국대학교 첨단융합대학 석좌교수이자 국가인공지능전략위원회 분과위원으로, 30년 이상의 방송통신 정책 및 산업 경험을 바탕으로 K-콘텐츠와 글로벌 엔터테인먼트 기술의 융합을 선도하고 있습니다. 前 방송통신위원회 상임위원을 역임했으며, ZDNet Korea에 정기 칼럼을 연재 중입니다.
Samseog Ko is the founding Chairman (상임의장) of K-EnterTech Forum. He is a Distinguished Professor at Dongguk University and a member of Korea's National AI Strategy Committee. Former Commissioner of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC).
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