NBCUniversal Is Acting as Power Broker Between Celebrities and Advertisers

NBCU’s involvement ultimately led to an extensive Wayfair ad campaign featuring the star, ad buys across various NBCU properties and a new “Kelly Clarkson Home” product line sold by Wayfair, the companies said.

The retailer, which struck its deal with Ms. Clarkson in 2019, extended it this year and is in talks with NBCU about making ad commitments for the fall TV season, said Courtney Lawrie, Wayfair’s global head of brand and integrated growth marketing.

NBCU aims to play a similar liaison role between other celebrities and brands, a move that comes as ratings for traditional TV keep falling.

Ms. Clarkson will be among the talent at NBCU’s annual ad sales presentation Monday, part of the spring ritual known as the upfront, in which advertisers commit to buying commercials for fall programming. In addition to tapping celebrities to promote shows, as is the industry norm, NBCU plans to showcase a strategy of featuring stars across multiple channels, with the goal of connecting them with brands for broad ad deals.

In addition to the broadcast flagship NBC, NBCU channels include Bravo, USA, E! and MSNBC. The company introduced a streaming service, Peacock, last year.

Another celebrity NBCU is focusing on is musician Meghan Trainor. Ms. Trainor was tapped to help develop and star in a show on NBC, a project that is still in the works, and appear on other channels as opportunities arise. The company said last week that she would host the coming show “Top Chef Family Style” on Peacock.

TV networks historically have been formulaic in their approach to selling ad time and brand appearances tied to specific programming and time slots, said

Josh Feldman,

chief marketing officer for NBCU advertising sales and partnerships. “We’re looking at talent holistically across the portfolio and the way we can bring things to life,” he said.

The strategy reflects a movement toward fewer, longer-term TV ad deals as the continuing decline of traditional TV ratings pressures networks to think up new options for advertisers.

Marketers, meanwhile, are looking for new ways to get in front of consumers as they watch less traditional TV.

“Each year, we’re looking for new innovative streams to reach customers,” said Wayfair’s Ms. Lawrie. Since the company made its first upfront ad commitment with NBCU in 2018, it has increased its investments with the media company and evolved beyond a “spots and dots approach,” she said, referring to one-off ad buys and simple custom arrangements like product placements.

Other major media companies with TV properties, such as

Walt Disney Co.

, ViacomCBS Inc. and Fox Corp., are also presenting their programming to buyers through virtual upfront presentations this week, and are expected to point to their ability to use data and help advertisers reach specific audiences across their traditional and streaming properties.

While NBCU is still selling ads against its programming in traditional one-year agreements, the company is pushing for deals that are more likely to stretch beyond a year.

“If you had to look at media in general, and you know you’re going to have less GRPs on linear TV, it leads you to that idea of you’re going to have fewer bigger partnerships overall,” said Mark Marshall, president of advertising sales and partnerships at NBCU. GRPs, or gross ratings points, are a common measure of TV viewing used for buying and selling ads.

The company is using technology to help facilitate more of those longer tie-ups. NBCU more than a year ago created a tool called the Talent Room that recommends specific celebrities for paid partnerships and ad buys based on advertisers’ criteria, such as the audience they are trying to reach and their budgets.

“We’re approaching deal-making, especially with talent, in a very different way,” Mr. Feldman said.

Write to Alexandra Bruell at alexandra.bruell@wsj.com