Social buzz could help advertisers anticipate top shows

Watch lists, where consumers select programmes they are interested in hearing more about and then watching, could become a valuable source of data for both programmers and advertisers who want to anticipate whether shows are going to be hits and then track their progress. TV Guide.com and TV Guide Mobile, the online and mobile versions of the popular U.S. TV listings/magazine brand, started to make data available to advertisers informally last year and was able to predict in May what would be the top rated new series this autumn in the U.S. based on what was being added to the watch lists after the shows were first announced and publicised.

The company wants at least a second year to monitor its data to ensure it is reliable enough to make available formally as a ‘product’. However, Christy Tanner, Executive VP & General Manager for TVGuide.com & TV Guide Mobile, believes this kind of ‘social TV’ data could complement traditional measurement from companies like Nielsen when it comes to understanding the impact of programmes. “If you are a programmer or advertiser and you completely ignore ‘buzz’, you are really missing out on some valuable decision making data,” she suggests.

“We can provide this data the week after the ‘upfronts’ [where the programmers present their new season of viewing to the advertising industry] and we will be happy to share what is trending on our watch list with the people that are making advertising decisions. Some people are already selling aggregated Twitter data to the agencies, saying that a show is getting a lot of buzz, something that could help make advertising decisions. I think our watch list data will be more valuable than some of the solutions out there because when you add a show to your watch list it is a really strong statement of intent to watch it. You are putting it among your favourites.”

Christy Tanner will keynote at the Future TV Advertising Forum on November 28th

The digital versions of TV Guide provide a good example of how the television ecosystem is expanding and the new partnerships that can be formed between second screen apps providers, programmers and advertisers in the areas of content discovery, synchronous interactive experiences and social TV communities. TV Guide.com is designed for the laptop/PC and TV Guide Mobile is the iOS and Android app that boasts 8 million downloads and 2 million active users, with both services found within an independent business unit whose primary mission is to help consumers discover content they are going to enjoy.

Tanner points out that content discovery is becoming harder so TV Guide has been working to make it easy and fun. It enables people to search over 225,000 episodes of premium programming and partners with both programmers and distributors to expose their content. In 2011, for example, TV Guide became the first third-party to expose what is available inside Comcast’s rapidly growing on-demand catalogue. The service links through to content from ABC, Hulu, HBO GO and others from the mobile app, curates collections of shows that are trending on TV Guide (in partnership with the programmers) and provides celebrity watch lists where stars talk about their favourite shows, which are also curated into ‘channels’.

The services are monetized via advertising and Christy Tanner will be discussing new advertising opportunities and concepts at the Future TV Advertising Forum in London, November 28-29.

Personalisation and ‘buzz’ are two of the things TV Guide can harness to add value for advertises. As an example, a typical ad campaign on the digital services is a programmer trying to entice people to add a new series to their watch list. Tanner says this provides a good return on investment. “Every dollar you spend to get someone to add that show to their list has value all the time the show runs because even once the sponsorship ends the programme stays on the watch list.” TV Guide also has a check-in feature, where you can let everyone know you are watching a show and this can be sponsored. These advertising opportunities are also of interest to mainstream consumer brands, like Starbucks, TGI Friday and Panasonic, as examples.

TV Guide works with advertisers to create custom campaigns. Thus a company promoting spicy hot chicken wings could sponsor a specially created category of spicy hot shows that consumers can add to their watch list or ‘check into’. And while there is no evidence to suggest that socially active TV viewers are more valuable to advertisers generally, Tanner observes: “Logically, people who are more interested in buzz are more interesting to programmers. Our users do consider themselves influencers and actively seek to influence others in what they watch.”

For some TV Guide users, television is more of a passion than an interest. “There are people who follow TV like football fans follow football – all year around,” Tanner notes. “They are watching right now to see which actors are getting cast in the pilots and which pilots are going to continue.” Given the growing importance of social communities around programming, this gives the company a head start in what could become a race to engage us on the second screen. It also illustrates the opportunity to be a constant presence rather than a fleeting 30 minute appointment when a show airs once per week.

Tanner says you need to be there 24/7 to harness this passion. “Buzz starts to build long before any video content has even become public,” she points out. TV Guide users comment about shows via their social networks while the shows are airing but she adds: “We tend to see more social activity on our app and website before and after shows air because certain shows, especially scripted programming, are still a lean-back experience. We tend to see a lot more discussion immediately before the show. From our perspective, social TV is something that takes place any time.” She points out that the dramatic rise in non-linear viewing makes this a necessity anyway. “We actually view second screen as a 24 hour non-linear opportunity,” she reveals.

The role of second screen apps and synchronous second screen engagement in television advertising will be discussed at some length at the Future TV Advertising Forum, which is one of the leading conferences on television advertising.  You can see the speakers here, or download the agenda here.