The Challenge
STX Entertainment, the production company behind films like The Upside and Hustlers, uses data analytics to find new audiences. As a start-up in the entertainment industry, it can be challenging to identify a market segment for a certain film.
STX had the additional challenge of having no data foundation, databases, or analytics tools to build from. “STX is a five-year-old company, and as a start-up, we didn't have any existing data," says Amy Elkins, President of Marketing, Innovation & Media at STX Entertainment.
“We had an original partner that was a cookie-based data management platform (DMP), and we were struggling porting that data with accuracy," says Erin Foxworthy, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Innovation. “When we looked at Neustar, we found that their durable identity was strong enough that we were able to port to places like walled gardens and to multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs)."
The Neustar Solution
For STX, finding a partner that was flexible and adaptable was very important, so the fact that Neustar had the option of portability and onboarding to various platforms was critical. “We have a very short life cycle, and we have to move very quickly and the audiences we're finding through the flight change," says Foxworthy.
When evaluating partners, STX also looks carefully at things like company ethos and culture. “When I'm evaluating partners to work with, one of the primary things I look at is what type of value do they have around people?" says Elkins. “Do they have a strength-based approach? Will they be flexible?"
This was an approach that Neustar had no trouble adapting to. “The main priority for the team over at Neustar is to view ourselves as an extension of the team here at STX. So whatever their priorities are, are also our priorities," says Courtney Kerrigan, Director of Consulting Services at Neustar.
Innovation is built into STX's culture, so Neustar had the opportunity to take a more creative approach to problem-solving. “Because it's the entertainment industry, timing is a big factor in making sure that we are delivering what STX needs. Our focus has been to try to troubleshoot weeks in advance," adds Kerrigan.
The Outcome
Neustar’s innovative approach to partnership with STX has made it possible to onboard within days (even hours) to platforms needed to activate to drive ticket sales.
“Neustar has given us very rich consumer insights that help us give sort of the psychographic shape and lifestyle of the person we're trying to reach before we're out in market activating, or have the backend metrics," says Elkins.
By working with Neustar, STX has been able to track their potential audience through a variety of channels, which helped them drive marketing awareness for their films. “If we want to find a person who's watching television, and also find them within Facebook, and then also find them from a CRM perspective and email, that identity has to be clean and accurate," says Foxworthy. “And that's something that Neustar was able to provide for us."