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MANILA, PHILIPPINES—Turner, a WarnerMedia entertainment company, is disrupting the industry with a unique mix of premium content, storytelling, technology, and data. Having the tools, the content, the insight and the fanbase to provide advertisers with meaningful campaigns, Turner is leading the television industry as a modern media company. adobo magazine had the chance to sit down with Phil Nelson, Turner’s Managing Director and Senior Vice President who oversees the business and commercial operations in North Asia and Southeast Asia Pacific.
The advertising industry is constantly evolving and, with a shifting landscape (i.e. the emergence of social media, streaming, and video-on-demand), we take a deep dive into how originally linear media companies such as Turner are staying ahead to provide marketers with unprecedented results via relevant and quality advertising.
Leading the industry with quality engagement
In Asia Pacific, Turner owns and operates award-winning brands throughout the region, running 54 channels in 14 languages in 42 countries. “The Turner business in the Philippines has been around for over 20 years,” shares Phil Nelson, Turner’s managing director. “Our core products are Cartoon Network, which is our flagship kids network, and Warner TV, our flagship general entertainment network. In addition, we own and operate CNN, the international news channel, and Boomerang, which has been in the market for a number of years, but has just now started to see really significant ratings increases based on the content that’s performing there, the nostalgic aspect of the content and the familiarity overall with the Filipino families.”
Cartoon Network and Boomerang are sitting at the top of the charts when it comes to high-performance kids and animation channels, while Warner TV has reigned as the #1 English general entertainment among Cable 2+ in both national urban and Mega Manila, where the average rating of Warner TV is 60% higher than the nearest channel, according to a January 2019 report by Kantar Media Philippines.
According to Turner’s data findings, TV is still considered the most effective platform to engage audiences due to its key facets: it is brand safe, curated, and delivers premium content. The metrics Turner uses goes beyond reach into deep engagement, which is particularly important for their partners because of its direct correlation to the impact of their advertising and campaigns. “Even if viewers are moving towards consuming content in different environments, what the data suggests is that television advertising is still very relevant,” shares Nelson. “That should encourage advertisers that traditional methods are still useful. But where the industry needs to evolve and where we will evolve, is to incorporate that traditional media with the other types of media that are out there.”
Reaching the right audience at the right time
Turner is at the forefront of innovation in advertising solutions: branded content, holistic offerings, and tools to help clients reach the right audience at the right times both on TV and on social media. Through a combination of science (using data) and art (creative storytelling), Turner helps brands connect with audiences and fans more effectively and efficiently.
Turner follows the fan journey closely to ensure they have all the touch points to offer advertisers, enabling fans to come and connect with equal ease in retail, events, experiences, and social media as they do through TV and digital content. Nelson iterates, “We are able to reach our fans in other ways through games, through digital, through social, and even in more analog ways which we’re really focusing on such as events, and theme-based entertainment. And we have a lot of that throughout Asia, and we’ll bring more of that into the Philippines.”
Nelson also stresses the importance of the actual engagement of a touch point. “So our channel and our networks are a great start because we have massive consumption on those and that is continuing here in the Philippines. But now, we’re able to reach our fans in other ways through games, through digital, through social, and even in more sort of analog ways which we’re really focusing on such as events and theme-based entertainment.” Most fans have likely marked their calendars for the upcoming San Diego Comic Con, the Warner TV Pop Expo, and the numerous Cartoon Network events lined up this year.
New shows for a loyal fanbase and a new generation alike
While Cartoon Network classics can rely on their loyal fanbase, there’s a slew of shows for a new generation such as Summer Camp Island, Craig of the Creek, We Bare Bears, among others. Boomerang, ranking #1 channel for national urban and top-5 cable channels for cable 2+ across all genres. In addition to the beloved cartoons, Nelson says fans should also be excited about the new content coming to Warner TV, such as the secret agent drama Whiskey Cavalier, and the comedy Miracle Workers, which stars Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi.
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