• by Wayne Friedman , March 27, 2019

Looking to pull in small- and medium-sized marketers that primarily use digital media platforms, A+E Networks is starting a new effort that offers audience-based targeting and reporting platforms across one single network.

The initiative, called P1, will allow marketers to target and optimize media plans, as well as earn near real-time measurement on back-end reporting. 

“What we haven’t seen in a while is the emergence of a big new demand category coming to TV,” Peter Olsen, executive vice president, advertising sales, A+E Networks, told Television News Daily.

“Many of these companies grew up on a digital ad model, and they get comfortable with a certain way of reporting [including attribution modelling],” he says. “We are trying to create a product and a way that is not daunting from the cost of entry.”

Olsen says what A+E Network brings to the table is “not exactly what they get from the tech giants -- but a version they can feel comfortable with in the reporting. We prove a TV campaign can drive a unique contribution to their business growth.”

A+E’s Performance is an attribution product, providing television ascription and cross-screen measurement.

Olsen says it could also work for larger companies with smaller brands that don't have ongoing TV media budgets.

Over the last year, A+E Network has been pushing a broader plan for its large TV advertisers: TV guarantees based on a marketers’ predetermined business outcomes, such as website visits or store traffic. To date, around 22 marketers have been involved in these business outcome-based deals.

The company operates cable networks, such as A+E, History, Viceland and Lifetime.