Over the past several years A+E Networks has expanded its
data solution capabilities and now, with A+E Precision, their recently debuted
audience data platform solution, they deliver, according to Peter Olsen, EVP of
A+E Network Ad Sales, “an insightful, actionable and measureable opportunity to
advertisers and agencies.”
A Multi-Platform …Platform
A+E Precision’s origins can be traced back to 2012 when the
network launched its programmatic video offering. “We established our
programmatic strategy in the mobile app space and were able to create new
revenue streams on our way to being leaders in the marketplace, “explained
Jason DeMarco, VP Programmatic and Audience Solutions. From there they embarked
on a larger initiative to include all data that can be used to buy and target
ad campaigns through both direct and programmatic sales. This now includes a
DMP (data management platform), first party data, licensed (third party) data
and on-boarded client data. “It has been a joint effort across sales and
marketing, “Jason added. The result is A+E Precision’s Digital Audience Data
Platform.
As advanced analytics and big data practices started to make
their way into the television space A+E was ready to respond with their Linear
Ad Optimizer, the TV specific arm of A+E Precision. The Linear Ad Optimizer
platform ingests data from disparate sources (first, third or client
proprietary) to “deliver an on-air media schedule optimized against a client’s
strategic target, proving to be a valuable planning and execution tool for
advertisers”, according to Santosh Mathai, VP, Data Analytic Strategic Sales
Solutions. “First we tackled the digital side,” he explained, “From there we
applied our knowledge to the linear side.”
There is also Synch, Reach & Address, A+E Precision’s advanced
data testing area. “With a ‘flexible/open’ approach, Sync, Reach and Address affords
our partners the ability to extend their reach and frequency (at the household
level) across screens by collaborating with strategic partner such as SAMBA TV,
Cablevision and others,” stated Santosh.
Santosh and Jason treat data as a critical asset that they
are utilizing to create value for A+E and their partners. “Collaboration prepares
us for the future. As we look down the road, the walled garden approach will be
difficult to maintain. It is critical for us to work collaboratively in this
evolving landscape if we are going to create real value and deliver against
strategic and business goals. We are in
favor of an open and connected exchange as it allows our partners to see the,
up until now, hidden value of our audiences. A consultative approach with
transparency, collaboration, sharing and applying insights is the smarter route
that we believe will deliver the best results,” replied Santosh, “There are
lots of moving parts and platform specific labels, but at the end of the day
A+E Precision is our multi-platform audience targeting solution.”
Data Sets and Metrics
The Audience Data Platform (digital) focuses on first party
data – emails, ids, cookies, etc., and, according to DeMarco, “the CRM team is
continuously working to incorporate quality, first party data as well as
developing solutions for data synching and modeling look-a-likes to increase scale.”
The Linear Ad Optimizer (TV), Santosh said, “is data agnostic. We have the
ability to work with any data that is available out there”.
These two Ad Sales department executives collaborate closely
with A+E’s Research department. In fact,
it is important to the company to leverage all of the datasets that A+E has access
to – beyond even that found in the Research department. “We work internally across the entire
organization to see what datasets are available to us. Data is a strategic
asset that is being deployed throughout the company to deliver the best
products and solutions. It’s not just limited to ad sales,” said Jason.
As far as measurement is concerned, digital is still planned
and reported on impressions. With TV, it is based on discussions with clients
as to which metrics makes the most sense. According to Santosh “Every
advertiser has a different definition of success and we are open to working
with them to identify the best measurement method that works for all parties.”
Next Steps
Peter feels the time is right to launch the A+E Precision
platform and that Santosh and Jason are the right people to lead the charge,
“Data is the key to unlocking value that the current media ecosystem
suppresses. I, as well as the whole organization, am confident that Jason and
Santosh have the knowledge and experience to take A+E Precision out to market
and provide the best in class products and solutions for our partners.”
The A+E Precision team continues to work closely with
clients to help move their business forward. Santosh added “With more data becoming
available every day we believe it is critical to cultivate that data into
actionable intelligence and deliver against key objectives for our clients.
This article first appeared in www.MediaBizBloggers.com
This article first appeared in www.MediaBizBloggers.com
No comments:
Post a Comment