Launches branded content studio for entertainment

Continuing its three-year crusade to make TV advertising more valuable, Turner announced that it would create plans that will include viewing on linear, digital and social platforms.

“How we create plan and buy media must reflect how people actually consume content today,” said Donna Speciale, Turner ad sales president at the programmers upfront presentation Wednesday morning. “TV ratings are no longer our sole success metric and they shouldn't be yours either. We must not just value TV but the whole ecosystem.”

With viewing on over-the-top apps skyrocketing, Speciale said Turner would be making it easier for agencies and clients to buy ads in a new way.

“To reach these fans you must buy differently. And we will make it simple for you. this upfront we will create one unified plan to buy all of our audiencies across all of our platforms,” she said. “You can target by demo or by audience segment. And because we don't believe in grading our own homework, we've aligned with reputable third parties to verify your campaign on the back end. that's one plan one guarantee and third-party verifying.”

Turner has been cutting ad load on its networks and said that CNN would be next in that process.

It also introduced Turner Ignite Studios, which will bring together creatives from Turner’s entertainment properties to partner with marketers in developing and executing custom, engaging intellectual property for digital, social and mobile platforms.

Ignite Studios will provide a full-service approach for connecting brand partners with the army of fans across TBS, TNT, Adult Swim and truTV.

Over the past few years, Turner has been working to create branded content with clients through CNN’s brand studio Courageous and Turner Ignite Sports,

“Our measure of success is no longer year over year TV ratings,” Speciale said. “Today it's driven by viewing consumption on all platforms. When you buy on TV you are only getting a fraction of our audience. When we transact on partial viewing we all lose.”

Turner has been a pioneer in pushing audience buying, which means using data to target viewers based on their consumer behavior rather than using broader Nielsen demographic ratings.

“We’re four years and hundreds of deals in and I’m here to tell you it’s working,” Speciale said. “100% of measured audience-targeting deals that we’ve completed all show positive ROI each and every one of them. The results speak for themselves.”