AMC Networks, pointing to the results of two large-scale addressable ad campaigns run late last year, said it plans to make the capability a big part of its upfront pitch to clients and media buyers.
AMC said it completed two linear addressable campaigns working with media agency Omnicom Media Group. One of the clients was Volkswagen; the other wasn’t disclosed.
The campaign took advantage of AMC’s partnerships with the On Addressability and ran through Canoe Ventures with commercials running in nearly 25 million Comcast and Charter cable homes.
Future campaigns will include homes service by Cox, another member of the On Addressability consortium.
“The success of these campaigns is great proof that true addressability in linear at scale is possible and more importantly effective,” said Geoffrey Calabrese, chief investment officer, Omnicom Media Group. “This is a great example of what can happen when partners, agencies and clients work together toward a shared goal that advances the industry.”
Addressable advertising is a hot topic in the TV business. Individual cable and satellite operators have been able to target campaigns that target individual households. But in order to achieve national scale, getting operators to work together has taken more time.
Comcast, Charter and Cox got together to promote standards to make it easier to mount campaigns with national scale.
Other companies, including ViacomCBS, which has been running addressable ads since 2018 with multiple distributors, are also in the advanced advertising arena, and advertisers are slowly but surely seeing the benefits of more targeted TV advertising.
“This is a moment television networks, distributors and our advertising partners have been anticipating and working toward for many years, unleashing the power and potential of addressable advertising on the national level to deliver highly relevant and customized commercial spots to viewers,” said Kim Kelleher, president of commercial revenue and partnerships for AMC Networks. “Our goal for 2021 and beyond is to make 100% of our linear, VOD and digital inventory addressable, with advanced cross-platform reach, measurement and sophisticated data analytics with attribution.”
Running in November, the first campaign was designed to reach entertainment enthusiasts and digital streamers. The campaign achieved higher delivery performance and optimal levels of frequency compared to non-addressable advertising.
In December, Volkswagen’s campaign was directed at viewers planning to buy an SUV vehicle, and also achieved higher delivery and frequency than non-addressable advertising. The Volkswagen effort included video on demand inventory in addition to linear spots, increasing the reach of the campaign and also allowing enhanced tracking.
“AMC Networks’ addressable offering provides a great combination - the specificity of digital, the broad storytelling canvas of a flat screen TV and a meaningful measurement approach,” said Volkswagen senior VP of marketing Kimberley Gardiner. “Incorporating this capability into our media strategy will allow us to more effectively focus on and reach our target customers.”
