Automation of Australian TV ad sales brings unprecedented level of efficiency and impact through a data-driven strategy
SYDNEY, Australia and NEW YORK – AOL Platforms, a division of AOL, and Multi Channel Network (MCN), Australia’s most progressive media advertising company, today announced their intent to pilot the media industry’s first integrated programmatic private marketplace for television.
The world-first offering enables advertisers and agencies to perform targeted, data-driven, audience buying, and deliver real consumer led analytics and insights for dynamic campaign optimization across the 70 subscription television channels from Foxtel, FOX SPORTS, BBC, Discovery, NBCUniversal, FOX International Channels, Viacom, Sky News and many others.
The move is designed to greatly advance the $4 billion TV industry in Australia* towards unified ad sales across TV and digital screens. The announcement was made at the annual Upfront event in Sydney, Australia presented by MCN and Foxtel.
“Australia is a burgeoning market that has been ahead of the programmatic trend, particularly in video,” said Dan Ackerman, Head of Programmatic TV, AOL Platforms. “MCN fully understands the shift occurring in our industry and, through our partnership with them, is putting a stake in the ground as a leader in moving the TV industry forward towards its inevitable converged future with digital through data-driven audience buying. We look forward to continuing to innovate alongside them and delivering on that vision through an advanced technology platform.”
MCN Group Sales & Marketing Director Mark Frain said: “Our world-first collaboration with AOL Platforms is a profoundly exciting move for MCN and will create brilliant opportunities for our agency partners and advertisers. The marketplace will fully integrate into MCN’s Landmark trading platform delivering on MCN’s broader vision to unite the power of video content, across linear TV and online and to make MCN a truly data led media company.
“More than two years of industry research and consultation tells us automation and programmatic TV are exactly what the Australian TV industry needs to stay relevant in this digitally driven environment. MCN’s market-leading Multiview data will power this exchange, allowing advertisers to plan, buy and optimize against real consumer segments,” Mr. Frain said.
MCN is making Australian television inventory available for purchase through programmatic channels, enabling their advertising clients to make more data-driven decisions in extending the value of their TV buys through highly targeted audiences.
The marketplace will be powered by Adap.tv, AOL Platforms’ programmatic video platform, and will leverage MCN’s Multiview data, Australia’s largest TV audience measurement panel. Multiview data goes beyond traditional TV age and gender metrics, to unlock comprehensive and actionable consumer insights segmented from return-path-data aggregated from 110,000 anonymous homes.
By automating this process, MCN can more effectively package highly targeted audiences across their network programming, such as regular purchasers for specific products and brands. This also aligns television ad sales closer to digital, which has traditionally employed similar targeting methods to reach connected audiences.
AOL acquired Adap.tv in September 2013, and the Adap.tv programmatic television platform will be part of ONE by AOL, which is being designed to be the first platform that empowers brands and agencies with a holistic view of the consumer’s journey through the marketing funnel, and makes that insight actionable, in real-time.
According to the Australia State of Video report published in October 2014, more than one-quarter of agencies have already adopted data-driven methods for TV ad buying. Read the full 2014 State of Video Industry report at: http://www.aolplatforms.com/AU_SOI2014_Report.
* Source: Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia (CEASA).
AOL Platforms
AOL Platforms enables the world’s top marketers and media brands to reach consumers across desktop, mobile, tablet and TVs with impact through premium experiences, programmatic buying and performance driven campaigns. It is the global partner of choice for leading publishers, advertisers and agencies seeking to maximize the value of their brands online.
For more information, please visit www.aolplatforms.com.
About Multi Channel Network (MCN)
Established in 1997, MCN is a joint venture between FOXTEL and FOX SPORTS. MCN is responsible for the advertising interests of 69 television channel brands, 138 websites, 69 m-sites/optimised mobile sites, 59 apps, 4 IPTV services and 3 Digital-Out-Home locations. MCN delivers optimum campaign results for clients by combining high value audiences with an unmatched choice of premium content. MCN specialises in creative solutions, which bring life to ideas and deliver clients a better advertising experience. In addition to being the third largest television network in Australia by commercial audience, MCN has Australia’s largest combined online and mobile network in Australia with a monthly online reach of 8.4m unique audiences and a monthly mobile audience of 4.7m. For more information: www.MCN.com.au
