Comcast Rebrands Its Spotlight Ad Sales Unit as Effectv

Comcast Cable has rebranded its ad sales division, Spotlight, to a new moniker, Effectv.

The company wants everyone to pronounce the new name this way—e-FEC-tiv.

The rebrand, the cable operator said, reflects Spotlight’s evolution into an advanced advertising unit that can demonstrate its results with data. The name change coincides, Comcast explained with the rollout of new data-driven TV advertising strategies, targeting and attribution products, cross-screen capabilities and a self-service buying platform for advertisers.

“Our new name, Effectv, reflects our commitment to drive better performance for our advertising clients,” said Marcien Jenckes, president of Comcast Advertising, in a statement. “By applying data to television advertising in new ways, across all screens, and making it easier to buy than ever before, we’re transforming TV advertising. We combine the targeting and measurement of digital, with the reach and impact of television – an unbeatable combination.”

The rebrand was unveiled during a Monday night event on the Saturday Night Live stage in New York’s Rockefeller Center.

Related: Cable-owned Ad Tech Firm NCC Media Rebrands as Ampersand

Comcast is using the rebrand to introduce two new tools:

> Audience Intelligence allows advertisers to plan and run data-informed linear TV schedules to more effectively identify and reach their target audiences at the local, regional and national level. Moving beyond age/gender demographics, advertisers can build campaigns using networks and day parts to reach specific audiences – for instance, in-market SUV buyers, with scale and efficiency.

> Addressable Full Avail is a linear TV product that enables advertisers to target custom audience segments at the household level. Advertisers can choose up to five different creative units for a given :30 spot, using Comcast viewership and third-party data to determine which ad unit should be sent to which household.

Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!