A+E Networks wants to get more advertisers – even smaller ones – under the big-TV tent.
The company, which operates cable networks like A+E, History, and Lifetime, unveiled the launch of a new suite of audience-targeting tools tailored for use by small and mid-size advertisers. The company calls the offering “P1,” and it will allow advertisers to establish a specific audience target and refine the placement of commercials to elicit a response from its most likely consumers.
The company is debuting the new offer as it readies its “upfront” presentation to advertisers, part of the annual sales season when U.S. media companies try to sell the bulk of their ad inventory in advance of the next big programming cycle. Many TV networks are trying to woo a passel of marketers who primarily use digital media, but are dipping their toes into TV to try to gain broader brand recognition.
“We think we can help beyond what digital-only can do,” says Peter Olsen, executive vice president of ad sales at A+E Networks, in an interview. “The point of view is we want to try to get more of them and get to them earlier.”
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“We are proud to be unveiling ‘P1’ to the marketplace at a time when there has never been a greater need to show the effectiveness of media buys for small to mid-sized marketers,” said Roseann Montenes, vice president, precision & strategic audience sales partnerships, at A+E Networks. “’P1’ allows for optimization on one single network as opposed to the full portfolio, effectively lowering the cost of entry for smaller customers. We are excited for this initiative to bring clients to TV that have been used to the analytics they get from digital platforms, and to offer an opportunity for smaller brands which are part of larger companies that don’t tend to get funding for TV campaigns.”
A+E also plans to work with smaller clients to offer audience guarantees as well as measure business results such as foot traffic, sales and website traffic, among others.
