NBCUniversal is working with Dentsu to integrate the agency into its first-party data and identity platform. The deal makes Dentsu the first agency partner to have access to the NBCUnified platform, which the media giant launched in January to help support advertisers' desire for first-party data solutions amid the demise of the third-party cookie and data crackdowns. 

The deal will utilize all personal-level and household-level IDs from Dentsu's M1 platform, as well as data from advertisers, with NBCU's pool of over 150 million consumer IDs collected from across its portfolio of networks, streaming services and theme parks. 

NBCUniversal and Disney, in particular, have been looking to show off their data prowess heading into this year's upfront ad haggle, when a bulk of ad deals are struck for the following season. For its part, Disney announced earlier this month a deal with Horizon Media to utilize its data clean room. In this way, media companies are aligning their businesses more closely with ad tech. 

What this means for Dentsu’s brands is a more detailed look into consumer insights to help with more precise ad planning. By matching their own data and Dentsu’s data—through both M1 and its other products—with NBCUnified data, brands can find consumer IDs interacting with media that would otherwise be unknown to them. 

These insights are also transactable, meaning brands will be able to make media purchases against them. This could allow for better targeting of specific audiences beyond the traditional age and gender demographics measured by Nielsen. 

“Instead of guaranteeing on adults 25 to 54 and having a ton of waste on those impressions, we're getting more effective and more efficient by actually buying against [an] auto audience or someone who visits a QSR five times a week,” said Cara Lewis, chief investment officer for Dentsu US.

NBCUnified’s first agency partnership comes on the heels of a deal with Omnicom, which gave the agency access to its clean room solution.