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Brand-to-Media Engagement Assessments

Brand-to-Media Engagement for Cable Options

In partnership with KeySpan Energy, a research program was implemented to determine:

The degree to which a cable channel on which a commercial for KeySpan might appear would either enhance or hurt KeySpan's overall brand equity score, i.e., how it measures up to the consumers' expectations; and
The commercial's subsequent performance via a traditional advertising test on measures of both category-aided advertising awareness as well as direct image ratings of KeySpan on eight product imagery statements.

This research was conducted to determine the effects each of 11 cable networks had on KeySpan's ad awareness scores and on target audience ratings of the brand.

Telephone interviews were conducted with 500 members of KeySpan's primary target audience (residential and commercial decision-makers) within KeySpan's New York service area. Each respondent was asked to rate

KeySpan on eight (8) image statements,
The KeySpan brand as a stand-alone entity (i.e., not in the context of any particular media vehicle),
The Ideal Energy Provider, and
The KeySpan brand within the context of each of 11 cable networks:
- BET
- News TV 12 (Cablevision)
- CNN
- The Discovery Channel
- ESPN
- FX Network
- The History Channel
- Lifetime Television
- The Sci Fi Channel
- TNT
- WLNY TV 55

Based upon the Brand Keys algorithm and the top four drivers of brand loyalty for the energy provider category, these assessments indicated:

KeySpan's overall brand equity index independent of any specific TV media context was 116.
KeySpan's overall brand equity score (an average of the 8 image statements and independent of any specific TV show or cable network) was calculated to be 4.88.
KeySpan's brand equity scores - if advertised on each of the 11 cable networks. Positive enhancement of the KeySpan brand values would be indicated by a score of 121 or more. Negative detraction from those brand values would be indicated by an equity score of 111 or less. In this case, the B2ME scores were found to be:
- CNN 129
- The History Channel 126
- ESPN 124
- TNT 122
- FX Network 118
- Sci Fi Channel 116
- News TV 12 114
- Lifetime Television 111
- The Discovery Channel 109
- WLNY TV 55 108
- BET 106

As the general industry practice views cable networks as "electronic magazines," initial B2ME assessments were gathered solely on the basis of the name of the cable network, e.g., TNT or Sci Fi or ESPN.

However, in order to determine precise Brand-to-Media effects, in a second Phase of the research, a current 30-second TV commercial for KeySpan was inserted into 2 programs appearing on each cable network. To maintain a truly "competitive" frame, shows were selected on the basis of a single day of the week (Thursday) and two time-slots (10:00 AM and 8:00 PM). The only exception to this was WLNY Channel 55 where two specific programs had been scheduled. These were "Oprah" and "Dr. Phil."

The shows included:

BET:	BET Start, Open Mike
News 12:	Daytime Edition, Evening Edition
CNN:	CNN Live, Connie Chung
Discovery:	Home Matters, Critical Rescue
ESPN:	Sports Center, NHL Hockey
FX:	MAS*H, Sleepers
History:	Fire on the Mountain, Mysteries of the Bible
Lifetime:	Golden Girls, Unsolved Mysteries
Sci Fi:	The Sentinel, Soulkeeper
TNT:	ER, NBA Basketball
WLNY:	Oprah, Dr. Phil

A standard captive audience, clutter-exposure test was conducted to measure ad awareness and KeySpan brand perceptions after exposure to the program in which the KeySpan ad appeared. The same KeySpan TV commercial, "Fireplace," was inserted into all 22 programs, 14-16 minutes into each show. For analysis purposes cable network awareness and brand imagery evaluations were obtained by averaging the two shows' effects together.

TABLE 1

	Phase 1	Phase 2
	Brand Keys Brand-to- Media Engagement Score	Mean Category-Aided Advertising Awareness	Mean Overall Average Attribute Rating

CABLE NETWORKS

CNN	129	16%	5.78
The History Channel	126	13%	5.38
ESPN	124	14.5%	5.49
TNT	122	12%	5.25
FX Network	118	10%	5.01
Sci Fi Channel	116	8%	5.00
News TV 12 (Cablevision)	114	8%	5.15
Lifetime Television	111	7.5%	4.95
The Discovery Channel	109	9.5%	4.90
WLNY TV 55	108	19%	5.79
BET	106	8.5%	4.95

n.b., KeySpan-- not in the context of any media-- was assessed an overall 116 and an overall imagery rating of 4.88.

As shown by the following chart, there is a remarkable correlation between the B2ME scores and the category-aided advertising awareness it received in the test.

There was also a notable correlation between the brand equity scores that KeySpan received and the mean brand attribute ratings it received in response to the cable shows.

An Insight.

In this research, a single deviation from the norm appears in the assessment of WLNY. Assessed as a cable network, "WLNY" engendered a relatively low B2ME score. Assessments of the individual shows, on the other hand, provided relatively high KeySpan awareness and imagery scores.

Individual TV shows work nearly as hard as the brands themselves to establish values that (they hope) will become emblematic among the viewing public. For that reason, the B2ME assessment allows us to more clearly understand the degree to which individual shows' values either enhance or detract from the advertised brands' values.

But media is not always purchased on the basis of individual shows. On the basis of our findings, it is clear that cable networks may not have defined their own values clearly enough for the viewing public. Apparently some cable networks have neither found ways to characterize the "values" they seek to represent nor successfully or meaningfully conveyed these values to the viewer. For cable networks, relying upon the "halo effect" of specific shows is a risky strategy because - as we all know - there are only so many "Oprahs," "Dr.Phils," and "Sports Centers" available.

But whatever the media, the Brand-to-Media Engagement Model proves that media planners can now be armed with a new, highly effective metric that can result in superior media plans for their brands, and attendant increased levels of connectivity and effectiveness for their clients.

And they can now do it before they spend their money!