Barb has launched Barb Ads Hub, a new analytics system aimed at supporting full-cycle advertising campaign planning and reporting across linear TV and VOD.
At launch, Barb Ads Hub includes post-campaign analysis via CFlight, described by Barb as the world’s first joint-industry accountability tool for linear and VOD services. Pre-campaign planning functionality is due to follow in Q1, bringing together forecasting and optimisation in the same environment.
Built by RSMB for Barb in response to industry demand, Barb Ads Hub is positioned as the single location where UK advertising buyers and sellers can estimate and evaluate campaign performance across linear and VOD using Barb audience data alongside media owners’ first-party data.
The platform brings together two existing products – Advanced Campaign Hub and CFlight – within a new interface, with users able to run standalone or customised reports, supported by enhanced data visualisation. Barb Ads Hub also supports automated requests via API, allowing outputs to be ingested into proprietary tools.
Several upgrades to CFlight have been introduced with the launch, with further changes planned for Q1. These include reporting against 11 additional target audiences, including houseperson audiences and a wider set of age groups. Coverage of BVOD services has also been extended, with campaign delivery on TNT Sports and Sky AVOD platforms now included, and STV due to follow later in Q1.
Further enhancements planned for Q1 include the ability to break out campaign results by sales house and the introduction of analysis requests for campaigns that run only on VOD services.
Later this year, Barb plans to add an MMM data pack within the CFlight module of Barb Ads Hub, designed to provide campaign exposure data across linear and VOD in a single location for use in marketing mix modelling.
Luca Vannini, Head of Campaign Audiences at Barb, said: “Barb Ads Hub is uniquely designed to support full-cycle campaign optimisation, providing something for everyone from planners to those evaluating effectiveness. Our Trustmark guarantees that all audience data in the system has been compiled and reported in accordance with joint-industry standards of objectivity, transparency and accountability. And it’s all housed in one modern and user-friendly interface, which enables the smooth ingestion of outputs into clients’ own systems.
“Today’s launch is just the start. Adding pre-campaign planning to Barb Ads Hub is the next step. We’re already working on future developments, including speaking to the streamers about integrating them into CFlight reporting.”
Barb Ads Hub is available at no extra cost to buyers and sellers of UK TV advertising as part of existing Barb licences. Barb said clients seeking access should contact Luca Vannini by email.
Barb said the system sits within the Barb Data Hub, leveraging its data storage capabilities, and is built and operated by RSMB.
CFlight was originally launched in 2022, with Barb taking governance responsibility in January 2024. Advanced Campaign Hub, launched in 2020, combines Barb panel data with first-party data and census-level impressions from participating VOD services to forecast unduplicated reach and frequency across screens. Barb added Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and discovery+ to the planning tool in 2024 and Disney+ in 2025.
