VIDEO˜ON˜DEMAND - CTAM (VOD) television programming. AAMP leverages the collective knowledge and...
Transcript of VIDEO˜ON˜DEMAND - CTAM (VOD) television programming. AAMP leverages the collective knowledge and...
Summary Findings to Date of the
Advanced Advertising Media Project
aamp
and the Consumer Advertising Experience
VIDEO-ON-DEMAND
The Advanced Advertising Media Project (AAMP) is an industry-wide
research initiative that brings together media industry stakeholders to
test, measure and analyze the effectiveness of advertising within free
video-on-demand (VOD) television programming.
AAMP leverages the collective knowledge and expertise of agencies,
advertisers, programmers and cable operators to shape dynamic
advertising strategies and measurement that can help the industry to
accelerate the monetization of VOD content.
http://aamp.blackarrow.tv
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aamp
AAMP MISSION AND MEMBERS
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Fi n d i n g s S u m m a ry
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KEY FINDINGS
VOD is fundamentally a television experience, but with
heightened attention and engagement compared to linear TV.
Consumers accept advertising on VOD. Today’s consumers
expect to see advertising on TV and related platforms, and its
presence on VOD is neither a surprise nor a barrier to enjoy-
ment.
Ad load on VOD does not affect key measures, such as viewer
enjoyment of the show, engagement with the advertising,
brand recall, interest, and purchase intent. VOD ads are
equally effective and viewer engagement is equally strong
across light, moderate and heavy (linear-style) ad loads.
VOD creates opportunities for different ad formats. VOD
offers a more engaging platform than linear TV. Consumers
respond positively to longer-form, branded content (and poten-
tially other ad formats) that recognize their heightened level of
attention and engagement.
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A A M P I n i t i at i v e S u m m a ry
MARKET TRENDS
With time-shifted television viewing accelerating at an annual growth
rate of 17.9 percent*, consumers are clearly expressing their viewing
preferences. In parallel, this rate of change has prompted agencies,
advertisers, programmers and cable providers to rethink historic
advertising strategies and models.
This continuing evolution of television viewing behavior was a driving
factor behind the creation of the Advanced Advertising Media Project
(AAMP) - an industry-wide research initiative to quantify the impact
of advertising within on-demand television environments. AAMP
harnesses the collective expertise of key advertising stakeholders to
maintain the integrity of the consumer viewing experience and to
accelerate the monetization of VOD content.
* Nielsen State of the Media TV report, March 2011
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A A M P I n i t i at i v e S u m m a ry ( c o n t. )
Research Overview
AAMP is a three-phased industry initiative designed to systematically test, reveal and apply the findings of each stage
to inform the next, in order to create a progressive body of learning.
Summary Findings, In Context
This AAMP report starts with a foundation of highlights from the Media Insights study, which set the stage for
the VOD Consumer Video Lab. The lab component, completed in September 2011, revealed new insight on
consumers’ perceptions of advertising in VOD television environments. These findings are being disclosed
publicly for the first time as part of this report.
THE THREE PHASES OF AAMP
Media Industry Insights qualitative analysis
In-depth study establishing a baseline understanding of current industry
perceptions of the challenges, opportunities and expectations for
advertising on free VOD (status: completed)
VOD Consumer Video Labquantitative analysis
Laboratory consumer research to explore and measure viewers’ experi-
ences when engaging with advertising in simulated VOD and linear TV
environments (status: completed)
Live Testmarket trial
In-market test using insight and data gathered in the first two phases as
a basis for a practical, live consumer trial of VOD advertising
(status: 2012)
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I n R e v i e w : To p - l i n e F i n d i n g s f r o m A A M P P h a s e I
There remains a deeply held belief that major
growth for VOD lies ahead.
“It is way too hard [to sell and manage VOD advertising]. But, we believe in it as a medium. It is funny, my team will moan and complain about it, but nobody wants to give it back to the television team, because we still believe it is the future.”
�- ad sales executive, programmer
VOD affords an opportunity for advertisers to forge a
closer relationship with consumers in a highly engag-
ing, focused viewing environment.
“VOD offers the consumer the ability to manipulate time, content and access, in ways I don’t get to do in linear TV…Now we are talking about not CPM or impressions, but going further into the relationship-building process with the consumer.”
�- senior marketing executive
Metrics that approach established measurement
tools already in use within the industry were
identified as critical to helping advertisers under-
stand the value of on-demand placements.
“If you can use existing metrics that everybody sort of accepts, but use them in a way that helps us understand and demonstrate what we want to show, I think you are better off. Any metric we have is always, in some way, a proxy for a real gain: ‘Did we sell more Coca-Cola today?’”
�- research executive, programmer
Full-scale research is required to gauge consumer
awareness and usage of VOD, as well as reactions to
advertising in a VOD context – where little visibility
exists today.
“I really want to understand how the consumer makes a distinction between linear TV, VOD and their DVR. Is there any distinction? What is it that VOD would give them that they are not getting now?”
�- research director, TV network
Media Insights: Key Themes Among Industry Stakeholders
Findings
During the initial Media Insights survey phase, researchers conducted more than 20 in-depth interviews with
senior media executives to gauge industry perceptions and opportunities related to dynamic VOD advertising.
The exhaustive survey covered such topics as the current perceptions of TV; the future of advanced TV; barriers
to advertising adoption within VOD; and the prioritization of requirements of VOD advertising.
Key findings are summarized below; a more detailed version of the report can be downloaded from
http://aamp.blackarrow.tv
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A A M P P h a s e I I M e t h o d o lo g y
Phase II of AAMP represents one of the most
comprehensive market research studies ever undertaken
on VOD. More than 1,000 consumers – all likely targets
for VOD – watched 30 minutes of television in a highly
realistic context within sophisticated media labs in New
York City and Los Angeles. A custom-built VOD
platform offered a choice of 19 television shows across
the comedy, drama and reality genres from 11 networks.
Aspects of the viewing experience were systematically
varied across respondents, creating an experimental
design that pinpointed the effects of:
Three main types of data were collected:
The design of the Phase II research is summarized on
the following page.
Platform (linear versus VOD)
Fast-forward functionality (enabled versus
disabled)
Ad format (spots versus longer form, branded
content)
Ad load (light, moderate or heavy, defined as 3,
5.5 or 8* minutes of ads per 30 minutes of
viewing time, respectively)
AAMP Phase I I : Study Design
Dial test data
Collected second-by-second reactions using a
custom-built dial application on a touchscreen
phone given to each respondent, synched to a
VOD set-top box to log files for analysis
Survey data
Collected immediately after the respondent
finished watching the show, with core metrics
such as viewer enjoyment, ad recall, brand recall,
purchase intent, and other measures of
ad efficacy.
In-depth interviews
Conducted after the survey by experienced
qualitative moderators with 30 respondents
* Linear TV typically contains an eight-minute ad load per 30 minutes of programming.
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Phase I I Research Summary
Screening Questions:
Age, gender, ethnicityVOD usage (all respondents used VOD at least once a month)DVR usageGenres enjoyedSpecific shows (from our list of 19) enjoyed
N = 200
N = 100 N = 100
N = 800
N = 400 N = 400
N = 100/cellN = 100/cell
RECRUITMENT
LINEAR(CONTROL) FVOD
FAST FWDDISABLED
VODLIGHT 1*
VODLIGHT 2*
VODMODERATE*
VODHEAVY*
VODLIGHT 1*
VODLIGHT 2*
VODMODERATE*
VODHEAVY*
FAST FWDENABLEDNON-DVR* DVR*
A A M P P h a s e I I M e t h o d o lo g y
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En
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SHOW SEGMENT 1 SHOW SEGMENT 2 SHOW SEGMENT 3 SHOW SEGMENT 4
A A M P P h a s e I I : K e y F i n d i n g s
One of the most fundamental questions in the VOD
industry has been: “Will consumers accept advertising
on the VOD platform like they do on linear TV?”. The
AAMP Phase II research indicates the answer is a
resounding “yes.”
Dial test data shows that engagement on VOD builds,
even with the presence of advertising (Figure 1). On
average, respondents watching VOD with an ad load
equivalent to that of linear TV were 11% more
engaged with Segment 4 than they were with
Segment 1 during a 30-minute TV show.
When asked unprompted, open-ended questions about
their viewing experience in the post-viewing survey,
most did not mention advertising as a factor that
positively or negatively affected their lab TV experience.
Only 18% of respondents commented on the ads
in a negative way – mainly because they didn’t like
the product, or the creative, or had seen a
particular ad many times before.
Only 6% expressed the unprompted opinion that
there were too many ads.
VOD (with Linear ad load)
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POSITIVE 65%
49%NEGATIVE
Good Ads, Funny, Interesting, Informative, Entertaining, Eye catching
Boring, Bad ads, Couldn’t relate to them, Out of date, Don’t like advertised products
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Acceptance of Advert is ing on VOD
Figure 1
Figu
re 2
When specifically asked about the ads in VOD, 9% said
there were “too many ads,” while 10% commented that
there were “not too many ads.” In general, positive
comments about the advertising outweighed negative
ones (Figure 2).
The survey data also shows that ad load does not
affect viewer enjoyment, with consumers no more
likely to say “too many ads” for an eight-minute linear
ad load than for a three-minute light ad load (Figure
4). In addition, respondents in the heavier ad loads
were no more likely to fast-forward through ads than
those in the light ad load.
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As described above, engagement with VOD programming averaged an 11% increase from Segment 1 to
Segment 4. Importantly, this same increase exists for all three ad loads in VOD, demonstrating that engagement
is not affected by the size of the ad load (Figure 3).
Ad Load Does Not Impact Viewer Enjoyment
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SHOW SEGMENT 1 SHOW SEGMENT 2 SHOW SEGMENT 3 SHOW SEGMENT 4
VOD (Moderate ad load) VOD (Linear ad load)VOD (Light ad load)
Figure 3
“Everything has ads…if there were 10
commercials in a break then it might make
a difference.”
�- male respondent
While it is true that a very small minority of consumers
rejects any amount of advertising, the vast majority has
no issue with having an eight-minute linear ad load on
VOD. Ads are commonplace today, and their presence is
neither a surprise nor an issue for consumers - provided
ad loads do not exceed the perceived “normal” level of a
standard linear-TV ad load.
11%10%
12%
VOD(Light ad load)
VOD(Moderate ad load)
VOD(Linear ad load)
Figure 4
A A M P P h a s e I I : K e y F i n d i n g s
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SHOW SEGMENT 1 SHOW SEGMENT 2 SHOW SEGMENT 3
Linear TV for this study was defined as 50% DVR and 50% ‘live’
SHOW SEGMENT 4
While VOD is fundamentally a television experience, the act of selecting a show heightens viewers’ attention
and engagement and creates a more personalized experience when compared to linear TV. For example, the dial
testing data shows that for non-live programming, VOD is consistently more engaging (Figure 5).
The qualitative, in-depth interviews reaffirmed the added feeling of control that VOD provides viewers. Overall,
VOD offers viewers the choice they have come to expect from “TV Everywhere” type of video, coupled with the
familiarity and comfort of the TV/living room environment.
VOD (with Linear ad load) Linear TV
VOD: TV, But Not as We Know It
Figure 5
A A M P P h a s e I I : K e y F i n d i n g s
Earlier data showed that viewer engagement with a TV
show is not affected by ad load; similarly, ad load has no
impact on the effectiveness of advertising. This is
perhaps the most important finding from the AAMP
Phase II study, and suggests an opportunity for utilizing
full, linear-style inventories.
Not surprisingly, unaided ad recall is slightly higher for
light ad loads. For aided recall, however, average scores
for all ad loads are statistically the same, and consistent
across all demographic sub-groups (Figure 6).
Advertising in VOD significantly and consistently increased purchase intent and interest in advertised brands,
regardless of ad load, indicating no loss in ad efficacy at higher ad loads (Figure 7).
Ad Load on VOD Does Not Have an Impact on Ad E�ect iveness
63% 58% 59%
VOD(Light ad load)
VOD(Moderate ad load)
VOD(Linear ad load)
Aided recall of any of the advertised brands
+3% POINTS
+5% POINTS +5% POINTS +5% POINTS+4% POINTS +4% POINTS
VOD(Light ad load)
VOD(Moderate ad load)
VOD(Linear ad load)
“Very interested” in finding out moreabout advertised brand
VOD(Light ad load)
VOD(Moderate ad load)
VOD(Linear ad load)
Would be first choice brand
Charts show average uplift in % points for all advertised brands versus a control cell
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Figure 6
Figure 7
A A M P P h a s e I I : K e y F i n d i n g s
Phase II of AAMP also explored different ad formats, revealing that 90-second spots can significantly increase
interest in an advertised brand, relative to a comparable 30-second spot. Moreover, for VOD, there is an
“interest premium” reflecting heightened viewer engagement with the platform; a 90-second VOD spot gener-
ates a 64% increase in the level of interest in the advertised brand, relative to linear TV (Figure 8).
The in-depth interviews underscore how consumers’
increased engagement with VOD makes them more
attentive for advertisers bold enough to utilize non-
traditional formats. Consumers believe advertisers
should use this opportunity for innovation, to tell them
something they didn’t know or to reward their height-
ened level of attention. In short, the viewer sentiment
is: “You’ve got me, now impress me.”
VOD Rewards Di�erent Ad Formats
“I expect to see different ads [on VOD] do
something a little different as they know
people don’t want to watch (standard) ads.”
�- female respondent
Percent of viewers “very interested” in finding out more about the advertised brand.
14%
28%
:30 TV spot on VOD :90 Branded Content on VOD
Vs. :30 Spot on VOD Vs. Linear TV
On Light VOD ad load (3 mins per 30) On Linear ad load (8 mins per 30)
14%
23%
:90 Branded Content on Linear TV
:90 Branded Content on VOD
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Figure 8
A A M P P h a s e I I : K e y F i n d i n g s
C lo s i n g Th o u g h t s
As a result of the first two phases of AAMP, the media community is gaining greater clarity regarding the
potential of advertising within VOD programming. Based on the results of the Phase II media lab study, it is
clear that the VOD environment has a positive impact on the level of engagement and responsiveness of
consumers across all ad loads, as well as their interest in new ad formats. The implications of these findings
suggest that agencies, pay-TV operators and programming networks have an opportunity to leverage heavy,
linear-TV ad loads in VOD while advertisers may utilize new, longer-form creative approaches. AAMP will test
these conclusions, and more, in a market trial in the first half of 2012.
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Conclusions
Ac k n o w l e d g e m e n t s
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AAMP Research and Technology Partners
Engagement Marketing Group AAMP Phase I
Engagement Marketing Group (EMG) is an advisory firm of senior executives. Founded in 2006, EMG has
expertise across consumer and market research, strategy development, database and cross platform measure-
ment. Clients include leading companies in the digital services space, often in the early stages of development.
About Ipsos OTX MediaCT AAMP Phase II
Ipsos OTX MediaCT is the market research specialization within Ipsos, built to reach, engage and more
effectively understand today’s digitally driven consumer in the fast-moving media, content and technology
space. Through custom and syndicated research, the company offers a complete view of today’s evolving
media and entertainment ecosystem, and the role played by new technology in driving change.
About NDSAAMP technology partner
NDS is a leading global provider of digital TV technology and advanced advertising solutions for the payTV
industry with customers such as DIRECTV, Cox, Cablevision, Comcast and more than 70 other pay-TV
companies worldwide. NDS has been a participant in AAMP from its inception. Leveraging its expertise in
TV user experience and interface design, as well as STB software and applications, NDS provided the under-
lying media platform for the second phase of AAMP.
©2011 AAMP. All copyrights and logos are property of their respective owners.
AAMPPII151111
Published November 15, 2011