One of Australia’s top media buyers is confident Nine’s 2020 lineup will deliver due to the strength of its programming slate, coupled with the strength of its data scale across digital. 

Claire Butterworth, Chief Investment Officer at Mediacom, shared her confidence in Nine’s strategy for the year ahead, following Nine’s 2020 Upfront presentation.

“The strongest part of Nine’s strategy is the balance between content and data,” Butterworth said. “All of the content is underpinned by data and vice versa, which will make transaction and the way we engage with Nine much easier. At the heart of it, you’ve got some amazing tentpole programming, and news, sport and drama really culminate to make the good schedule.”

During the Upfront presentation, Michael Stephenson, Nine’s Chief Sales Officer, announced that Nine has rebuilt 9Tribes, its leading customer segmentation offering, by adding five new verticals consisting of food, travel, automotive, luxury and property to its existing verticals of news, sport, entertainment and lifestyle.

“9Tribes has been an important part of our data offering for a number of years and we are excited to see it extending across all media assets, with clear verticals that will help marketers reach the scale of our audiences,” said Stephenson.

Butterworth made note of the power of Nine’s data proposition and the power of a premium brand-safe environment. 

“The brand safety element is really important and the way 9Tribes have been formed through the data play is really attractive for a lot of our clients,” she said.

Butterworth said it’s great to see consistency with some of Nine’s biggest programs of 2019 returning next year, including Married at First Sight, LEGO Masters, The Voice, Australian Ninja Warrior and The Block.

“Next year’s lineup is really good. It’s strong, consistent, Nine are confident, and overall it’s a strong year expected in 2020.

“We need consistency in network performance.”