Turner Says Ad-Targeting Initiatives Address Need For “Reinvention”

Turner execs used their upfront presentation today to talk up their access to data that can enable advertisers to target spots across its channels and on more precise criteria than traditional age and sex demos.

“Our industry was in need for a reinvention,” Turner Ad Sales President Donna Speciale says. “We’re transforming the experience well beyond television — from mobile and social to over the top and VOD. We create content that is tailor made for every environment with quality, measurable audiences for you.”

Chief Creative Officer Kevin Reilly says that the company’s Omni Channel effort turns Turner into “a brand that creates and capitalizes on fan experiences.”

Turner hopes to advance its cause with the recently announced OpenAP initiative with Fox Networks Group and Viacom. They plan to develop universal standards that advertisers can use to determine the audiences they want to target and ways to measure the results.

Today’s presentation included advertiser endorsements for the Time Warner unit’s existing efforts to help sponsors who like television’s reach — but also are attracted to digital platforms that offer to target ads to likely buyers.

The company’s TargetingNow and AudienceNow programs help advertisers to make deals across multiple Turner channels.

Turner also reduced commercial clutter, and raised ad rates, on truTV and TNT. Speciale says that they will also cut ad loads this fall on “additional original content from TNT.”

Another initiative, Native Plus, helps advertisers to insert their commercial messages into brief stories that viewers will be less likely to skip. The company says that “nearly every Turner network” has used this to replace nearly nine hours of traditional commercials with 200 Native Plus storytelling pods.

And, with Launchpad, Turner creates content for advertisers and distributes it online. It says that it provided sponsors with more than 375 million views last year, and this year will expand it internationally.

“This true marriage between content and data is critical today,” Speciale says. “Our significant investments in data, analytics and insights are paying off. Our audience targeting capabilities bring you closer to your consumer while significantly delivering a more effective target CPMs.”

She urged buyers to “break out of your historical behaviors. Reinvent and push this industry forward….Turner has transformed for you, and for our future.”