Everybody talks about multiplatform ad campaigns. Some networks sell them. Some agencies put them together for their clients.
Now MTV Networks says it can measure them.
The argument has long been made that by giving customers more interconnected ways to receive and connect with a brand message, there’s a greater chance that consumers will engage with the message and react positively. They might even buy the product or service advertised.
Because most research is designed to measure a specific media, rather than multiple platforms, it has been especially hard to quantify the effect these multifaceted campaigns have had.
During its upfront presentation to advertisers, MTV Networks showed off what it called its Multi-Screen Engagement Case Study, which was built around its buzz-worthy top-rated show “The Hills” and its multiple digital extensions.
MTV Networks said the study indicates audiences develop stronger emotional connections to content and advertising messages when they consume and interact with them across multiple platforms.
“Advancing technologies are altering consumers’ relationships with brands, and we make it our business to focus on consumer behavior and input,” said Hank Close, MTV Networks’ president of U.S. ad sales.
“Multi-screen measurement is a core competency at MTVN. In this landmark study, we found that television is still the biggest driver of brand awareness, and that multiplatform media campaigns perform at double to triple the effectiveness of a single media platform,” he added.
The research was conducted by Harris Interactive, which worked with MauroNewMedia to look at consumers using virtual-world technology. The study questioned 600 cable television viewers ages 13 to 24, including viewers and non-viewers of MTV. The research followed up to get answers to qualitative questions through online chat sessions.
The report found that 50% of the viewers who watch “The Hills” only on TV showed a strong emotional connection to the program, while 76% of viewers who watch it on cable and also view online content from “The Hills” say they feel a strong emotional connection to the show.
Viewers who have gone online to the virtual “Hills” and created their own avatar are even more likely to have a strong connection to the show. And a whopping 96% of those who do all three—watch on TV, view clips and other material online and participate in the virtual “Hills”—report a strong connection.
Marketing messages also are enhanced as viewers go from screen to screen.
While 75% of cable viewers of “The Hills” said they recognized a TV ad during the show, that number grew by 10 percentage points among viewers who went online or to the virtual “Hills.”
Pepsi not only advertised on “The Hills,” but also used commercial breaks during the show to promote a micro-series called “Fashion: The Life” that appeared on a special Web site set up by MTV.
The micro-series featured designers Danny Shaw, who designs the PepsiStyle apparel line for Pepsi, Steve Aoki and Luam Keflezgy as they got ready for a major trade show in Las Vegas. The series’ 3- to 10-minute episodes were available on the new site, as well as on MTV VOD, attached to “The Hills” on-demand content and on the show’s third-season DVD.
The series also was featured on the virtual “Hills,” where users were able to meet the designers.
You can’t get much more multiplatform than that.
MTV Networks’ research found that people who recognized Pepsi’s ads across multiple screens were much more likely to think the sponsor was “in touch with youth culture,” “is not afraid to try something new” and, most tellingly, is “cool” or “hip.”
MTV Networks also announced a partnership with Marketing Evolution, a custom market research and consulting firm.
Through the partnership, MTV Networks said it will be the first media company to offer clients a suite of measurements, based on Marketing Evolution’s premium data analysis and marketing effectiveness metrics, in order to give them a better idea of what kind of return they’re getting on their spending with MTV’s networks.
The metrics are called “Effectiveness Targeting.”
“Our partnership with Marketing Evolution will allow marketers, for the first time, to see exactly how our brands can deliver on attributes ranging from awareness to word of mouth,” said Mr. Close. “Effectiveness Targeting represents a major breakthrough in marketing accountability. Nothing like this exists in the market today.”
MTV said Effectiveness Targeting will enable clients to identify a specific marketing goal—ranging from building awareness around a product launch to immediately driving sales—and optimize advertising buys to achieve that goal with the best possible return on investment.