Universal Ads unveils $5 million incrementality fund for e-commerce growth

Universal Ads announced a new $5 million Incrementality Fund yesterday, providing resources to help e-commerce businesses measure and maximize their success with television advertising. The fund represents a significant commitment to expanding the television advertising ecosystem beyond traditional major advertisers.

The Incrementality Fund, announced on May 14, 2025, aims to solve long-standing barriers that have prevented digitally-native brands from exploring television advertising. For qualified merchants, the fund offers up to $50,000 in ad credits and services, including creative production assistance and incrementality measurement capabilities.

According to James Borow, Vice President of Product and Engineering at Universal Ads, "We know that TV advertising not only offers brands the scale they're used to with social ads, but it can drive tangible results. With Universal Ads' new Incrementality Fund, we want to show brands new to this space that TV ads work—and that the last dollar spent on social performs better when it's supported by the first dollar spent on TV."

Initially available exclusively to Shopify Plus merchants, the fund will eventually expand to support other e-commerce businesses. The initiative specifically targets direct-to-consumer brands that have historically relied primarily on social media advertising but may have reached diminishing returns on those platforms.

Making television accessible to digital natives

Maurice Rahmey, CEO of Disruptive Digital, noted the significance of this development for e-commerce merchants: "Shopify Plus merchants are some of the most sophisticated marketers on the planet, but advertising on TV has always been overwhelming to most of them. With the Incrementality Fund, Universal Ads is making getting started with TV advertising as easy as social and helping to demonstrate the sales lift that TV can bring to them."

The fund addresses several key obstacles that have traditionally kept smaller advertisers away from television: high costs of entry, creative production challenges, and difficulties in performance measurement. By providing financial support, creative assistance, and measurement solutions, Universal Ads aims to demonstrate that television can function as a performance marketing channel comparable to digital platforms.

Premium reach across the television landscape

Participating merchants will gain access to premium video inventory across more than 15 major publishers. This consortium includes industry giants such as A+E, AMC Networks, DIRECTV, Fox Corporation, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Roku, TelevisaUnivision, and Warner Bros. Discovery, among others. The platform reaches approximately 90% of U.S. households, offering significant scale for brands accustomed to the reach of social platforms.

This breadth of participation represents an unprecedented level of cooperation among traditional television stakeholders. The initiative leverages FreeWheel's technology infrastructure, which powers advertising across most premium video publishers in the United States.

Testing incrementality, not just impressions

A critical feature of the program is its focus on incrementality measurement – determining the true additional impact of television advertising beyond what would have occurred through other channels alone. This approach differs significantly from traditional television measurement, which has historically focused on reach and frequency metrics rather than direct business outcomes.

Through partnership with Measured, a specialist in incrementality-based measurement and optimization since 2017, the program will enable merchants to quantify the actual sales lift generated by their television advertising. This scientific approach helps solve one of television's historical challenges: accurately attributing business results to specific media investments.

Industry context and significance

The launch comes at a pivotal moment for both television and digital advertising. According to industry research cited by Universal Ads, approximately 50% of performance-focused advertisers who have minimal or no television experience believe their ROI from social media has peaked or is diminishing. Simultaneously, 89% of these advertisers expressed willingness to try television advertising if the barriers to entry were lowered.

The initiative represents part of a broader strategic response by traditional media companies to recapture advertising budgets that have increasingly shifted to digital platforms over the past decade. By adopting capabilities traditionally associated with digital advertising – self-service interfaces, performance measurement, and accessibility to smaller advertisers – television stakeholders are attempting to position their medium as complementary to digital channels rather than competitive.

For marketers, this development potentially offers a new pathway to diversify media investments beyond increasingly saturated digital platforms. If successful, the program could help brands discover more sustainable customer acquisition strategies that leverage both digital precision and television's brand-building capabilities.

Strategic partnerships expanding access

The Incrementality Fund builds upon Universal Ads' earlier partnerships, including a collaboration with financial operations platform Ramp that brought television advertising capabilities to Ramp's 30,000+ business customers. These partnerships suggest an emerging ecosystem approach that integrates television advertising more deeply with broader business services.

Universal Ads, launched in January 2025, represents Comcast's first major cross-industry collaboration at this scale. The platform utilizes FreeWheel's advertising technology to create a simplified access point for premium video inventory across publishers.

Interested merchants can learn more about eligibility requirements and application processes at IncrementalityFund.com.

Timeline of Universal Ads' development

January 6, 2025: Comcast announces Universal Ads at the Consumer Electronics Show, introducing a one-stop TV advertising platform bringing together premier media companies to simplify access to premium video advertising.

March 11, 2025: Universal Ads partners with Ramp to provide TV advertising access to Ramp's 30,000+ business customers.

March 25, 2025: Universal Ads announces strategic partnership with Measured for incrementality-based measurement and optimization.

May 14, 2025: Universal Ads launches the $5 million Incrementality Fund for e-commerce merchants.