AMC Networks Hitches Upfront Pitch To Outcomes

AMC Network’s ‘Mayfair Witches’ Photo courtesy of AMC Networks

AMC Networks has begun its upfront pitch, introducing AMCN Outcomes, a new system designed to let advertisers know how their campaigns are performing while they’re on the air.

Though smaller than most of its cable network competitors, AMC Networks has been very aggressive about pushing its advanced advertising capabilities. It has made its inventory addressable and available programmatically. It also built its own data platform Audience+ and distributes its content on digital and streaming platforms, which make it easier for advertisers to target ads in AMC’s premium content — such as The Walking Dead and Anne Rice universes — on a household by household basis.

Now it is adding AMCN Outcomes to Audience+. The company says AMCN Outcomes is able to match exposure to TV commercials with consumer outcomes, enabling marketers to monitor the performance of companies in real time and optimize campaigns in flight. In most cases, it takes weeks or months to figure out the impact of TV ad campaigns. AMCN is working with Snowflake’s clean room technology and LiveRamp’s RampII to provide its campaign outcomes data.

AMC offered examples of how this can boost how much stuff clients can sell, based on the results of some recent campaigns.

Take Fruity Pebbles, please. Post Consumer Brands ran a campaign that ended New Year’s Day that targeted a custom audience segment built using Audience+ that ran across AMCN’s inventory. AMCN worked with NCS Solutions to measure consumer packaged goods purchases and found that households spent 14% more on Fruity Pebbles after being exposed to an ad, compared to benchmarks from the NCS National Household Panel. The households that saw one of Post’s ads maintained a higher level of spending on Fruity Pebbles even after the campaign ended.

AMC also pointed to the results of campaigns for two automakers. In one case, viewers were part of a customer audience created using Audience+ and were exposed to a commercial purchased vehicles made by that automaker at a 16.4% higher rate than a control sample. One featured truck model saw 10.8% higher sales.

Households exposed to the commercial created by another automaker saw sales within homes purchasing its vehicles at a 34.9% higher rate. An SUV model saw 17.4% more purchase by households exposed to ads for it.

“Being able to make a direct connection between television advertising and buying decisions is something advertisers have been seeking to prove performance in an increasingly fragmented marketplace. This capability is here today with the launch of AMCN Outcomes,” said Evan Adlman, executive VP in addressable and programmatic. “In using data to create custom segments and reach viewers wherever they are with our popular and acclaimed programming. We’ve built this groundbreaking tool into our Audience+ platform and it is here for our advertising partners to use with no upsell or premium. Their success is our success, and that success can now be seen in real time through the power of AMCN Outcomes.”

AMCN introduced AMCN Outcomes at an ad-tech focused breakfast in New York Tuesday morning. The company said it will hold similar presentations in Chicago and Los Angeles. AMC Networks will show off its programming at its upfront on April 9 in New York.

“We’re excited to kick off the year with two distinct events that spotlight AMC Networks’ leadership position in driving advanced technology across every element of the ad buying process – with a greater degree of targeting and relevance that has ever been possible before – and our unique ability to build and engage passionate fandoms around our popular and high-quality programming,” said Kim Kelleher, chief commercial officer of AMC Networks. “We have so much ground to cover this year that it calls for multiple events, and we can’t wait to join with our commercial partners to talk about how best to drive all of our businesses in this dynamic environment of change.”

AMC Networks said it is not selling its ads based on outcomes, or making guarantees based on outcomes Instead, it believes providing faster, better outcome data will make it more attractive to do business with AMC Networks.

At launch, AMCN Outcomes is enabled across several AMCN categories, including automotive and retail, with more being added, the company said.