Uncovering Hidden Asset Value at A+E Networks

My colleague Peter Hubbell, in his weekly MediaVillage column, The Age of Aging, asks advertisers to wise up about ageism in media planning. In "Get Smarter: Market to 'Older But Wiser,'" Hubbell argues: "With people living longer than ever before, we need to get better at marketing to age and to a consumer who brings more experience and scrutiny to the transaction. With a growing number of older and wiser consumers in the mix, we're going to need to get smarter in the way we market."

The challenge for A&E Network's management, and for virtually every major TV network company, is to convince a professional advertising community that Hubbell is right. Personally, I find it both unreasonable and uninformed to retain decades-old and outdated mantras about ageism in media buying. The over-weighting of 55+ TV viewers is used to justify packaging "free" 55+ impressions by assigning artificially younger demo parameters that often do not reflect actual targets. But, under any excuse or any "buying" tactic, ageism, by any other name, is ageism. It is biased. It is validating a lie. It is antithetical to what we should stand for as an industry. It is wrong.

In his weekly MediaVillage column, Hubbell provides education on the role of ageism in advertising and media, and offers practical solutions, confronting industry realities. Solutions are easy, though. A simple one is to replace tactically dishonest target demos with audience reach goals that accurately reflect a brand's true priority consumers. The availability of addressable households, defined by first-party purchase data, leads to that ultimate goal. Inertia and a failure to adjust to changing realities are the industry's only excuse for resistance. "The Myers Report Media Brand Equity Study" uncovers the practical implications, which several TV network companies will recognize.

Across seven The Myers Report metrics of brand equity — including distinctiveness, cultural relevance, interest in content, emotional connection with audiences, and brand love — A+E Networks ranks first among 55+ consumers across 17 competitive network groups and media categories. Among 25–54 audiences, the family of A+E Networks ranks 4th. And among the 18–34 cohort, A+E Networks ranks 8th.

Clearly, the strength is among the 55+ viewer base, but that's where the bias against age kicks in. Among the more than 300 brand advertiser respondents to The Myers Report survey, A+E Networks ranks 8^th, and 9th among agency media professionals. Those who allocate and invest media budgets align with the 18–34 cohort, which restricts the ability of A+E Networks to monetize its greatest strength: a strong and positive connection with its older audiences.

Similar age-based biases impact Discovery Communications, many broadcast networks, and most legacy media brands. It can't be all bad to reach an audience that is more likely to view live linear TV, watch commercials, remain loyal to networks and programs, and purchase a wide spectrum of advertised products and services beyond pharmaceuticals. It is bad for an industry to remain embedded in outdated and inappropriate behavior simply because "it's the way it has always been done."

Full details from "The Myers Report Media Brand Equity Study" are available to MediaVillage member companies. Contact a MediaVillage team leader: Mark Altschuler, E.B. Moss, John Bishop, or Jack Myers.