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In the past, an advertiser would have counted on TV to make the point. But as younger audiences increasingly turn to other screens, TV airings alone don't necessarily have the impact they once did. So more TV networks are pitching programs that make use of the chatter it generates in some of the new venues. This week's upfront sessions are likely to include a sizable amount of talk about how Fox, CW and their brethren can use popular TV shows to harness consumer interest in social-media outlets. "Making sure that you've got a layer of digital and social amplification as part of the plan is paramount," said Brent Poer, exec VP-executive creative director at Starcom MediaVest Group's LiquidThread unit, which specializes in weaving ad messages into content and was involved in the pact between CW and Microsoft. Earlier this month, CBS unveiled "CBS Connect," a digital hub where TV fans can aggregate updates about their favorite shows from Twitter and Facebook, and interact with actors from the programs. On Tuesday, for example, members of the cast of "NCIS: Los Angeles" will connect with fans who use the show's hashtag in their tweets and posts during the program's season finale.

News Corp.'s Fox took the strongest stand, telling advertisers its top-rated programs generated more social-media reaction than anything cobbled together by Netflix (which recently launched "Lillyhammer") or Hulu (which has a new program, "Battleground"). Peter Rice, the network's chairman of entertainment, noted that "none of the pure digital companies—not Google, Netflix, Yahoo or YouTube—can currently compete with our reach or scale." To bolster the argument, Fox is opening a unit called "The Bridge" that will create tailored promotions to work TV advertisers into social networks and other new-media venues where fans of TV shows are interacting.

J CREW launched an advertising campaign in September, featuring splashy print ads and a photograph of a well-dressed young man on its Web site, sitting atop a ladder. Surrounding him was an assortment of items: umbrellas, medicine balls, a retro-looking trailer, a slab of raw meat. All of those items were available for purchase. But J. Crew stood to profit only from the sale of its clothes. The other goods were merely recommended by J. Crew to its customers, with Web links to the purveyors of those goods. J. Crew saw a business opportunity in assuming the role of a sophisticated and self-assured friend, guiding customers through the infinite offerings of the Internet without pushing them to buy only its own wares. “What the world needs now is curators and filters,” said Anthony Sperduti of Partners and Spade, the New York advertising agency behind the campaign. “J. Crew is savvy enough to know that the Internet has changed our buying patterns.” J. Crew is hardly the only company trying to sell something by befriending you. The idea that social commerce — which mixes networking with online shopping — can win business has spurred companies to try to connect with customers through sites like Facebook and Twitter.