Nielsen study commissioned by UP TV and Scripps Networks Interactive Underscores Value of Family Programming Environment to Advertisers
ATLANTA – A new study, commissioned by Scripps Networks Interactive and UP TV, reveals that ads seen in TV-G rated programming score substantially higher in generating attention and purchase intent than commercials appearing in television shows with TV-14 and TV-MA ratings.
“I think it’s fair to say that advertising in family programming makes too much business sense to ignore.”
The Family Entertainment Brand Impact Study, conducted by Nielsen, utilized both attitudinal and biometric methodologies to better understand how individuals react to advertising placed in breaks around different types of content.
Highlights from the attitudinal research, which measured how viewers feel about brand advertising and the programming environment, include:
- Commercials running in a TV-G family programming environment scored 27 percent higher among all viewers across various attributes including interest in products, attention to brands and purchase intent. This lift was seen across all demographics.
- The lift nearly doubled to 51 percent among viewers who said they regularly seek TV-G content (the “family in mind” segment).
- Intent to purchase, attention to brands and interest in products were even higher among high-income ($75,000+), African-American and Hispanic households.
- The positive impact of advertising in TV-G programming was seen across all measured advertising sectors, including consumer packaged goods, retail, quick-service restaurants, automotive, clothing and alcoholic beverages.
In the biometric section of the study, the Nielsen Consumer Neuroscience Biometric Engagement Score measured how viewers emotionally respond to what they are watching and found that:
- Overall findings from the attitudinal research were confirmed by biometric response.
- Emotional engagement was 30 percent greater for ads appearing in TV-G shows compared to TV-14, and 173 percent greater in TV-G versus TV-MA.
“There is one very clear takeaway from these studies: People react more positively to ads running in TV-G environments,” said Ron Plante, svp audience research and strategy, UP. “I think it’s fair to say that advertising in family programming makes too much business sense to ignore.”
“Our audiences are among the most receptive in all of television viewing, and our programming provides a trusted and engaging atmosphere for families and for brands,” said Chris Ryan, senior vice president of ad sales research for Scripps Networks Interactive, parent company of HGTV and Food Network. “We’ve always known there’s a powerful connection between our shows and ads, and this study helps to explain exactly why.”
Both Scripps Networks Interactive and UP offer TV-G programming with broad family appeal. Scripps Networks is one of the leading developers of engaging lifestyle content in the home, food and travel categories for television, the Internet and emerging platforms. UP is committed to developing and acquiring programming with family in mind, providing viewers with “feel good TV for you and your family.”
The final step of the companies’ joint research effort will be the release of Family Entertainment segmentation data fused with Nielsen’s NPX panel and GfK’s MRI marketing database. The fused data will be available this spring for inclusion in programmatic advertising solutions.
Approximately one-half of cable programming today is rated TV-14 or TV-MA.
About Scripps Networks Interactive
Scripps Networks Interactive (Nasdaq: SNI) is one of the leading developers of engaging lifestyle content in the home, food and travel categories for television, the Internet and emerging platforms. The company’s lifestyle media portfolio comprises popular television and Internet brands HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel and Great American Country, which collectively engage more than 190 million U.S. consumers each month. International operations include TVN, Poland’s premier multi-platform media company; UKTV, an independent commercial joint venture with BBC Worldwide; Asian Food Channel, the first pan-regional TV food network in Asia; and lifestyle channel Fine Living. The company’s global networks and websites reach millions of consumers across North and South America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Scripps Networks Interactive is headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn. For more information, please visit scrippsnetworksinteractive.com.
About UP
UP is television’s trusted entertainment brand dedicated to providing viewers with “feel good TV for you and your family.” UP uplifts viewers every day with premiere movies, original reality, dramatic and comedy series filled with compelling stories and characters with character. In keeping with its brand promise, UP’s pro-social initiative, “Uplift Someone,” inspires people to do simple, everyday acts of kindness. UP is widely available on cable systems and satellite providers across the United States. Based in Atlanta, UP is a division of UP Entertainment, LLC and partners with the ASPiRE network on sales, marketing and other operational services.
Methodology:
The attitudinal portion of the study was conducted through an online quantitative survey of nationally representative, TV viewing, cable-plus households. A total of 2,400 respondents were recruited and randomly placed into 1 of 6 cells under the assumption that they would be evaluating a show. In each cell, respondents were exposed to a full 44 minute episode with four ad breaks consisting of four commercial spots each break. Each cell had the exact same commercial pods and order of advertisements. There were two cells for each Parental TV Rating (TV-G, TV-14, and TV-MA) and everyone within a cell was a non-avoider of the genre of the show presented. After viewing the show, respondents answered a series of questions for content ratings, brand recall, brand attributes and perceptions, advertising attitudes and advertising effectiveness.
The Nielsen Consumer Neuroscience study used medical grade, FDA-approved wearable biometric devices to collect second-by-second data across four channels: heart rate, skin conductance, respiration and motion, while 90 participants watched a TV show with natural ad pods. Emotional engagement was calculated by collapsing the individual data signals across an entire audience, using a patented algorithm that accounts for both intensity (how high or low each participant’s signals are) and synchrony (how entire audience’s signals are increasing or decreasing at the same time). The Biometric Engagement Scores for target ads are composite ratings on a per-ad basis which were percentile ranked across all 81 ads viewed.
