Case Study: A+E Networks achieves a top-rated "Vikings" Season 3 premiere and major audience growth with Salesforce DMP

Krux Activates Audiences to Drive Viewers for A+E Networks

A+E Networks, owner of cable brands including History, A+E and Lifetime, needed to grow and retain viewers as it expanded from reality TV into scripted series—most notably the drama Vikings—while competing for attention in a crowded, multi-platform market. Facing the critical challenge of driving tune-in for Vikings Season 3, the network aimed to turn its audience data into actionable marketing to boost viewership between seasons.

Working with Krux, A+E ran a two-part “catch-up” and “tune-in” campaign that used Krux’s DMP to build seed segments from past viewing and mobile app data, expand reach with lookalike and discovery tools, and incorporate second-party fan data. The campaign delivered ~90 million display and nearly 1 million video impressions across eight audience segments, helping Vikings post a 4.6 million Live+3 premiere (top-rated cable) and driving 1.1 million uniques to History.com; attribution analysis showed measurable lift and the effort validated a data-driven approach now being scaled across A+E.

A+E Networks

Aaron Smolick

Senior Director, Audience Data Strategy, CRM