Case Study — July 07, 2025
Transforming Advertising Sales Enablement for a Global Media and Entertainment Company
THE CLIENT:
A global media and entertainment organization
USERS:
Advertising Sales
Media companies have long thrived by utilizing a dual revenue stream strategy that monetizes video content through subscription fees and advertising. In the current environment, cord cutting and a diversification of viewing options has made the video advertising market more fragmented than ever. As video consumption behaviors continue to adapt to new forms of digital distribution, media companies are grappling with declining advertising revenues for linear TV networks.
Basic cable networks have been more vulnerable to declines than the broadcast networks as original content spending has shifted away from traditional cable networks such as TNT and USA toward streaming services like MAX and Peacock. S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Kagan estimates that advertising revenue for the basic cable network industry in the US fell 9.1% in 2023 to $21.4 billion, the lowest level since 2009. That correlates with a 12.5% decline in prime-time viewership, according to data from Nielsen.1
At the same time, these companies are launching ad-supported digital platforms (FAST Channels, AVOD services) that help to mitigate declines from the linear sector.
These media companies now have the difficult task of selling advertising inventory across traditional linear and digital platforms. New measurement metrics have emerged to fill in monetization gaps across platforms, and advanced targeting capabilities have played an integral role in boosting prices for ad spots that target specific demographics of viewers. New forms of video advertising have also emerged across digital platforms with brand placements appearing on pause screens and smart TV home screens.
As the video advertising market becomes more fragmented, consistent data points across linear networks and streaming services are crucial for companies looking to monetize content. A clear picture of the flow of advertising spending from linear to streaming is vital for ad sales teams to unlock full revenue potential.
Pain Points
The global advertising sales department at the client’s organization faced significant challenges due to the absence of a centralized, up-to-date and reliable data source in their CRM. Without a single source of truth, the team struggled with duplicate company records, and inconsistent, fragmented and stale company data.
Compounding these operational inefficiencies were the macro industry trends of cord cutting and video consumption diversification, which negatively impacted advertising revenue growth across the company’s traditional linear TV business. Facing revenue pressures and increased competition from global streaming players, the client needed better market intelligence and sales-enablement tools to optimize ad sales processes and maintain a competitive edge.
The organization was missing crucial data points necessary for effective sales intelligence and decision-making. Specifically, it sought comprehensive insights, including end-of-day stock prices and major fluctuations, the latest reported revenue figures, detailed company descriptions with industry classifications, and essential corporate details such as headquarters locations and website information.
Additionally, the organization wanted more visuals and indicators to inform the ad sales team’s business development thinking. Market data would allow the sales team to gauge company stock performance over time. It also wanted a sales-enablement tool to notify the team of changing stock price, acquisition activity and new product launches.
Recognizing the need for a more efficient and data-driven approach, the organization turned to S&P Global as a trusted business partner to help solve its market data challenges with innovative technical solutions.
The Solution
The ad sales team leveraged the expertise of S&P Global Market Intelligence to enhance sales intelligence, improve targeting and maximize advertising revenue opportunities. They were able to use Market Intelligence tools to:
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Increase results and efficiency using up-to-date, enriched data |
The Salesforce app cleanses, enriches and transforms data, ensuring that the CRM system contains reliable and current information with nightly refreshes to pull in the latest data. It allows users to enrich accounts, contacts and leads with trusted data from S&P Global, including company profiles, key developments, financials, professionals and company relationships. The Market Data tab provides key stats such as Total Enterprise Value, volume and shares outstanding, along with a custom Market Capitalization field for enhanced search, sorting and reporting. Users can prospect for clients with powerful search capabilities within the Salesforce app — screening for potential accounts, contacts and key developments — without ever leaving their instance of Salesforce. |
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Gain better integration and data consistency across platforms |
The organization needed a streamlined way to unify its advertiser data across multiple systems. While it had stock tickers for some advertisers, the data lacked consistency, making it difficult to connect with broader market insights. To address this, the organization leveraged Cross-Reference Services (CRS) as the first line of matching, mapping advertiser identifiers — such as tax IDs, CUSIP and tickers — to S&P Global’s unique Capital IQ IDs. This integration allowed it to seamlessly link advertisers to financial data, market intelligence and industry classifications across all platforms. |
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Improve data mapping and decision-making |
In cases where advertiser data was incomplete or the Slaesforce entity was at the product or campaign level instead of company, Kensho Link’s advanced machine learning provided an additional layer of precision. Kensho Link ensured accurate mapping to company level from the advertiser or campaign level. This approach enabled the client to enhance data consistency, improve decision-making and unlock richer analytics across their advertising network. |
Key Benefits
Members of the business strategy and intelligence team quickly saw the value in having access to S&P Capital IQ Pro with Kagan research. Today, team members are benefiting from the ability to:
- Eliminate manual processes and enhance the workflow through S&P’s extensive linked cross-reference data, which allows users to save time and gain valuable perspectives on company relationships.
- Cleanse Salesforce data with S&P’s lightning-ready Salesforce App, which allows users to establish a single source of truth whether they're merging CRMs or keeping data clean.
- Enrich Salesforce accounts, contacts and leads, which includes access to company profiles, key developments, financials, people and organizational relationships.
- Improve prospecting with cleansed and enriched Salesforce records. The sales team is able to capture business descriptions, contact information and five years of financials including revenue, EBITDA and net income — without leaving Salesforce.
- Obtain a 360-degree view of their customers, gaining business intelligence to identify opportunities, facilitate outreach and better understand customer needs.
- Seamlessly link and integrate the organization’s global data with S&P’s cross-reference services, which has empowered the team to effortlessly link company, security and industry data. The team has also been able to use Kensho Link's advanced machine learning to accurately map incomplete data without identifiers.