Having tested thousands of concepts, sizzles, host reels, pilots, continuing series, promos, print ads, and other forms of content, Element’s TV and Media team has a unique and extensive history of working with cable TV clients and production companies to inform and improve their products.
Whether we are testing a pilot to assess its viability to be on the air or improve its chances of on-air success, testing an array of sizzles to inform a channel’s development decisions, testing multiple promos in a marketing campaign to fine-tune their messaging and inform the media buy, or simply tracking a channel’s brand equity and attributes over time to understand its strengths and weaknesses relative to its competitive set, our breadth of experience and reservoir of knowledge uniquely position Element to assist our clients in helping them achieve what is most needed for success: cultivating strong brands, and producing great marketing and programming content.
Industry: Media and Television
Area of Focus: Ad Effectiveness
Target: Consumers
Method: Quant online survey
Background: A cable and satellite television channel had experienced some audience atrophy for one of its reality-competition shows. As the series prepared for its sixth season on air, our client wanted to understand the key drivers of viewing interest, and whether promos for the show should focus on the competition, the contestants, or the subject matter, in an attempt to get consumers excited about the show again.
Business Questions: Which aspects of the show are most compelling to viewers? What is the key element that differentiates this show from other reality-competition shows? Do different messages resonate with different target audiences?
Approach: Online survey conducted among viewers of the show and heavy category users, in which a variety of promos for the series were tested.
Outcome: Study findings were used to more effectively target heavy category users, home-in on the most compelling elements of the series and the things that differentiate it from other shows in the category, and establish if the primary focus of the promos should be on the competition elements, the contestants, or the host.
Industry: Media and Television
Area of Focus: TV Pilot Testing and Series Maintenance
Target: Program Viewers
Method: Quant online survey and focus groups
Background: A cable and satellite television channel had a hit reality show with an ensemble cast whose contracts were up for renewal. Our client wanted to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the current show, which cast members contributed most and least to viewer satisfaction, and if any of the strong cast members could be spun off to a new show without hurting the original series.
Business Questions: Does the original series have positive or negative momentum? Which cast members are most valuable to viewers? Which storylines are of most interest for the show’s next season? Are any of the cast members strong enough to carry a spinoff series? If one of those cast members were given his own show, how much would interest in the original series suffer?
Approach: Online survey conducted among viewers of the show, and focus groups among similar respondents.
Outcome: Study findings were used to postpone producing a spinoff featuring one of the original series’ cast members, identify the current and potential cast members with the most appeal, and determine the best storylines to focus on in the show’s next season.
Industry: Media and Television
Area of Focus: TV Program Development, Planning, and Strategy
Target: Consumers
Method: Quant online survey and focus groups
Background: A cable and satellite television channel was in the process of developing an OTT streaming product. Our client needed to understand the overall market size and viability of the product, evaluate various content areas of interest, and assess the product features of most and least interest.
Business Questions: What is the market size for the product? Who are the most likely users/subscribers? Are consumers willing to pay a monthly fee for the product, and, if so, how much? What are the content areas of most interest? What should each content area focus on to be of most value to consumers?
Approach: Online survey conducted among a general sample with subsets of heavy category users and streamers of video content, and focus groups among similar respondents.
Outcome: Study findings were used to more confidently assess the viability of the client’s product, provide a better sense of what a reasonable monthly fee should be, and identify the content areas of most interest to consumers and the content areas that have little value.
Industry: Media and Television
Area of Focus: TV Program Development, Planning, and Strategy
Target: Consumers
Method: Quant online survey
Background: A cable and satellite television channel decided to produce a hosted studio show that would air every night during their week of themed programming. Our client needed to assess four potential hosts in order to choose the one who was most appealing to viewers and fit best with the program.
Business Questions: Which host is the most appealing to viewers overall? Which host is the best interviewer? Which host delivers the strongest monologue? Which host fits best with the client’s brand?
Approach: Online survey conducted among viewers of the client’s channel, and non-rejecters of talk shows. Separate samples evaluated clips of the four potential hosts.
Outcome: Study findings were used to select the best host for the show. The show continues to air as part of the network’s themed week of programming.
Industry: Media and Television
Area of Focus: TV Program Development, Planning, and Strategy
Target: Consumers
Method: Quant online survey and focus groups
Background: A cable and satellite television channel had a number of holes to fill in its schedule and had received hundreds of treatments and sizzles for new shows from production companies. Our client was interested in having consumers evaluate the treatments and sizzles in order to move forward on production of the most viable submissions.
Business Questions: Which shows resonate the most on a conceptual level? Which shows fit best with the client’s current brand positioning? Which show fare best among high-income viewers who are most appealing to advertisers? Which shows are positioned to fill a current white-space need of consumers? What are the most appealing aspects of the shows, so that the effectiveness of the pilots to be produced can be maximized?
Approach: Online survey conducted among viewers of our client’s channel, and focus groups among similar respondents.
Outcome: Study findings were used to weed out weak alternatives and move forward with the production of over ten pilots. Our client also used the research to inform editorial decisions about the shows in order to improve their chances for success, and prove to advertisers that the shows should be able to attract high-income viewers.
Industry: Media and Television
Area of Focus: TV Program Development, Planning, and Strategy
Target: Consumers
Method: Quant online survey and focus groups
Background: A cable and satellite television channel wanted to explore airing shows in a category that was new to them but was already moderately well-established on other channels. Our client was interested in gaining a better understanding of the category in order to inform development, production, and marketing efforts.
Business Questions: Why do viewers watch shows in this category in the first place? What are the best and worst shows in the category, and what can be learned from these shows? Which subgenres in the category seem saturated, and where is the white space? How strong is the client’s brand fit with these kinds of shows, and should this impact their willingness to move forward with shows in the category?
Approach: Online survey conducted among viewers of the category and viewers of our client’s channel, and focus groups among similar respondents.
Outcome: Study findings were used to understand the key drivers of the category, establish best practices for producing these kinds of shows, home-in on the best opportunities for this client to enter the category, and both weed out weak concepts under consideration and pinpoint the strongest concepts to develop. The client has since aired several shows in the category that have performed well.
Industry: Media and Television
Area of Focus: Target Profiling & Message Optimization
Target: Consumers
Method: Quant online survey
Background: A cable and satellite television channel decided to start airing shows in a category that was new to them but was already well established on other channels. Our client needed to create marketing materials that would be most effective at attracting viewers to these shows.
Business Questions: What are the demographics of heavy category viewers? Which aspects of these shows drive viewing? Which shows on their channel do category users already watch, so that scheduling and marketing efforts could be informed? Are there best practices other channels use when marketing these kinds of shows that our client could learn from?
Approach: Online survey conducted among viewers of the category, in which a variety of promos for competitors’ shows in the category were tested.
Outcome: Study findings were used to more effectively target the most likely viewers of these shows in our client’s media buy, fine-tune scheduling and cross-promotion strategies, and optimize the messaging and visuals utilized in promos and other marketing materials for the shows.