In today’s Digest, we look at WPP launching a self-serve version of its ad platform, Comcast bringing biddable and programmatic to its linear TV offering, and The Observer signing a deal to appear on AI news platform Particle. 

WPP courts advertisers with self-serve platform launch

WPP has launched a self-serve version of its AI-powered marketing platform WPP Open, a move which can be seen as an attempt to court ad dollars from smaller scale advertisers in the ecosystem. WPP Open Pro, the new edition of its WPP Open platform, is designed to facilitate independent campaign planning, creation, and execution for brands of all sizes. 

Powered by AI agents which draw on WPP’s proprietary, partner, and industry data, the platform offers users improved insights for strategy development and a better understanding of audiences. Meanwhile, it offers content creation at scale and enhanced media execution, with brands able to publish content directly to ad platforms. 

According to WPP, the new platform will allow it to service the evolving needs of its clients as well as providing an opportunity to increase its total addressable market, while giving brands the tools required to lead in the AI era. 

Comcast linear TV goes programmatic 

Comcast has announced that its linear TV inventory will now be available programmatically for advertisers through a targetable and biddable basis.

As of yet, the offering is only available through FreeWheel, Comcast’s ad tech platform, although the conglomerate has plans to begin offering it through other buy-side platforms, as well as eventually giving other publishers the chance to offer their linear inventory through FreeWheel. 

According to James Rooke, a spokesperson from the conglomerate’s Advertising arm, the ultimate goal is to help buyers reach the same audiences across all forms of TV buying via a single, unified programmatic workflow. 

The Observer signs AI news deal

The Observer has signed a partnership deal with Particle, an AI-powered news platform which summarises reporting from various publishers. The publisher’s journalism will now be included in the platform’s news overviews, with users also able to read its full articles through the platform. 

Particle’s app launched last year in the US, and is now available globally. Sara Beykpour, co-founder and CEO, claims that the platform is innovating news consumption by leveraging AI in a way that works for publishers, journalists, and readers. 

The deal is significant, marking The Observer’s first partnership with an AI company. Meanwhile, this is Particle’s first deal with a UK publisher; Particle has already struck strategic partnerships with several major publishers such as Time and Fortune.