Twitter Engagement During TV Shows Leads To Higher Rate Of Ad Recall
- by Ben Frederick @mp_benfred, March 18, 2016
Twitter hypothesized that viewers respond differently to commercials, based on their emotional reactions to the content they are currently viewing.
Starcom and Twitter partnered with Canvs, a social TV analytics company that measures emotional reactions based on social media content. Comparing the emotional content of tweets to ad recall showed that users who reacted emotionally to a show had higher rates of ad recall.
The study also found that users who were actively following a conversation on Twitter about the show they were watching were 62% more likely to recall ads as well.
“This research shows that audiences who are emotionally invested in a TV show are more responsive to both TV advertising and corresponding Twitter advertising — finally dismissing the nagging notion of the distracted social viewer. Social and emotional TV data combined help illustrate the value of emotional engagement for brands beyond a single impression on either screen,” stated Kate Sirkin, global head of audience measurement, Publicis Media.
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In addition, 61% of viewers who used key emotional words in their tweets while following a TV show said they would purchase from the brands that advertised either now or in the future.
Coordinating ad campaigns across screens can be enormously effective for brands looking to engage viewers whose attention is increasingly fragmented. By associating with the strong emotions a show can generate, brands can generate higher rates of recall.
Not surprising findings, however, the question arises about how many viewers perTV show---and, specifically, per episode----are engaged in this form of activity. If the answer, on average, is 25% and this can be documented, that's a very important plus for the concept and advertisers had better take notice---assuming that the costs of using social media in this manner are acceptable. If, however, the answer is that only .25% of the audience is normally involved in such behavior per telecast---exceptions notwithstanding---- then we are more into an experimental, not an operational, mode.