A new survey from E-Poll concludes, not surprisingly, that on-air promotion and word of mouth are the major ways people find out about new shows. Reviews from critics were far less important, and even less important than that? Blog posts! I don’t take any personal offense to that because a.) it seems very likely true and b.) we don’t typically spend any time promoting new shows, instead just waiting until they air to comment on the ratings.
But here’s what they had to say about Internet promotions:
Current Internet promotions are largely ineffective, as the Internet falls far behind television as a source of new program awareness, at about 15% recall vs. 94% for TV ads. Online advertisers have an opportunity to better engage potential viewers by discarding re-purposed 30-second spots and creating custom content that lives in the unique online environment.
Here’s the full list:
(METHODOLOGY: This online survey was conducted among a nationwide, representative sample of 1644 individuals age 13 – 54. The margin of sampling error at 95% confidence for aggregate results is +/- 3%. Sampling error is larger for subgroups of the data. The survey was fielded May 21 – 26, 2009.)
Someday DVR and VOD will be a bigger promotional vehicle for new shows
Although outside of the people who write press releases, the TV industry is generally fearful of the impact of DVR and other technology, the E-Poll survey concludes that when it comes to watching new shows, people who use DVRs and Video On-Demand are much more likely to check out new shows. Nearly twice as likely as non-users, according to the survey. E-Poll views that as a major opportunity when it comes to marketing of new shows. While I generally agree, right now it seems there are too few DVR users (and far fewer VOD users) to make much of a dent, particularly when it comes to broadcast shows. But we have seen cable networks over the last couple of years premiere shows first on VOD ( Showtime and Nurse Jackie, for example)
Here’s the sad thing. I used to look forward to the Preview Guide of the old small TV Guide and I would read the descriptions of the new shows and pick and choose what I would like to watch for the season. I did that when I was a kid and my parents, sister and grandmother went along with it. I did that as an adult and my husband and then my kids went along with it until the children were old enough to choose on their own. As an adult I am the one to watch the football, baseball, golf, and basketball in my household. The others could care less.
The point being that I had one source of information about what was on and what to watch.
Now I keep current on new shows with the dreadful object they call TVGuide and Entertainment Weekly and the Internet. I cannot depend on advertisements on varying channels because I watch mainly CBS, Comedy Central, USA, MSNBC, and TNT, pretty much in that order. On ABC I only watch General Hospital (usually recorded). My grandmother got me hooked on that. Otherwise I channel surf and check the Internet guides. I work in an elementary school and we don’t talk about television much except for Survivor. I am 58 today, in the “we don’t care about you” demo, but I am the viewer they are probably looking for, but younger version of me, one that samples new shows (any genre) and stays loyal to old ones, as long as I think the show is worth my time (okay General Hospital is just awful right now…habits are strong).
And I record a lot of shows too. We had a DVR machine before the cable outlets were offering them. My biggest viewing problem is that I don’t have enough machines on the days when three shows I want to watch are on at the same time and then I have to find the time to watch them, but that is another problem altogether.
I’m sure that TV Guide and the weekly guides in the Sunday newspaper inserts used to be far more instrumental with promoting awareness of new shows. I can’t remember the last time I had a paper TV listings product anywhere near my coffee table.
This all rings rtue true, with promos and word of mouth way ahead, and channel surfing a distant third. ( Channel surfing is the way I do it because I have no brand loyalty at all except for a few cable shows, and once I get sick of them I never watch them much again. Odd that Nielsen once soliocited me to be a Nielsen family. ) Also, all the space devoted in papers and all the mags and critics therein are so much dust in the wind, statistically. Like Catherine, I used to love the TV guide critics and features. I wasn’t as bad as George Constanza’s old man, but I was quite a reader and TV Guide was part of the mix. Of course it went to a paper version three or four years ago – you could see it coming. The articles were nothing but polished-up Enquirer and shameless PR for every show with low ratings. ( ” The best show yo’re not watching … ) I give Matt Roush credit for turning me on to Gilmore Girls, but if I hadn’t liked the first episode I saw, the spring break epiosode where Paris and Rory rent old movies and read books instead of getting wasted and taking their tops off, I would never have watched it again. The end of a media era, maybe – the sad slow corrosion of TV Guide.
This is certainly interesting, but new show awareness also doesn’t equal high ratings.(90210/Knight Rider for examples) It doesn’t even necessarily mean an extremely high number of viewers will sample it. The important information here seems to be that if broadcast networks want a new show to be successful, the quality of its 30 second TV spots need to be really high. I think ABC and NBC need to fire most of their marketing department. But it also means that shows with simple premises (and bonus points for being interesting or familiar) that can be communicated clearly in 30 seconds have the best shots at being hits out of the gate.
Competition shows ala American Idol are good bets because the format is so familiar making it extremely easy to communicate.
Crime procedurals receive the same benefit and the ones with easy to communicate and interesting twists will do the best. Mentalist with its fake psychic did a lot better than Life with its…I still don’t know its hook. Ditto, the unusuals on ABC.
Lost, although not actually a simple premise, was promoted as a simple tropical island survival show; a drama version of Gilligan’s island.(time travel and smoke monsters weren’t really hinted at in original promos.)
Shows with tough premises to communicate have struggled. Dollhouse, Life, Jericho, among other fan favorites.
What Dave said about type of promotion being crucial looks true to me.
This isn’t especially surprising or jaw dropping news. I will however say that I think its strange everything came in that far behind word-of-mouth primarily because I see word-of-mouth linked into things such as internet blogs, reviews and magazine articles/previews.
Having said that this does just further the importance (as mentioned by Dave) of a plot and concept that can be summed up quickly and easily not only by networks but by fans of the show. I think it also speaks volumes for how important it is to have something that immediately grabs an audience given you’ve got to win them over in a 30 second spot. I’d actually be interested in what it is that grabs peoples attention in the 30 second spots (and I’m sure the US networks have done a lot of research on that over the years). I mean that in the sense of is a spot built on a character and his quirks grab more people than something that focuses on a central plot or something that tries to sell a basic concept.
On an NBC its no coincidence that Heroes was there last major freshman hit and it had the following insanely simple selling points
- Ordinary people get super powers
- Save the cheerleader, save the world
I still think that one catchphrase made the first season of Heroes a hit more than anything else that actually happened on the show.
Brilliant, now we’ll get even MORE animated promo bugs at the bottom of the screen.
I wonder if some people think of blogs when they put word of mouth? I have friends with blogs, I have one, and if I were answering that question I’d think of it as hearing it from a friend, and not think too much about whether I got it from their blog or from actually talking to them.
Also interesting that out of home isn’t on there, as networks do tons of tune-in OOH, and not just in major cities.
Oh I definitely agree, but less so on the on-air promotion, I’ve hit one too many bad shows, that look good, then stink. Now I go by word of mouth and ratings, thanks to this site!!
And I must agree with PP, I would consider a blog a word of mouth.
Another reason for networks to worry about DVRs.
This also is one of many explanations why the ratings for CHUCK didn’t go up in its last weeks of the season despite all the internet chatter and praise from critics.
Lol at Internet Blog!
This site is an internet blog! No wonder why Chuck is still getting low ratings after the all the “buzz/msgs” that this site is giving about the show.
Influencing 4 people out of 100 is still a big deal. Of course it would all have to be the same blog…
I think the whole internet adverts not working is a conspiracy by the advertising companies to keep from paying the prices they were paying in the 90s.
i just saw a Promotion for The Closer on cbs
I actually read Matt Roush before deciding what new shows to watch. He tends to have the same taste as me.
my moms freind told me i should watch i am Ceberitly get me out of here and i was like no sorry i am not into reatily shows
I got to say though NBC has very talented advertisers, I did want to see Im A Celebrity, but couldn’t make it through 10 Minutes, the comercial showing them being dropped out of a plain was very clever, they also did a good job getting word out about Kings, Southland, Park and Rec.
The problem is that they advertise on NBC, I don’t see that many adds anywhere else not even Universal channles like USA and SciFi.
Also alot of times the adds are better than the show, also NBC does overuse that this Apprentice moment is the worst ever, craziest ever, etc.
ABC adds are to quick, and quirky to get my attention, The Scrub adds made me not want to watch the show because they would choose the goofiest moments to run a 15 to 30 second spot about…..then repeat the same ad several times a day, rarely saying time just Tue on ABC, Scrubs is back better than ever, and then play a short song
My favorite source for info on new shows is still TV Guide (magazine, not website). I always look forward to their fall preview issue, whereas I don’t care about their website. Paper listings all the way.
i spread the word all the TIME
and today my moms freind said she saw a preview for Trauma today and was asking me if i would watch it and i said yes i will
Don’t forget to watch the best show you’re not watching, “Better Off Ted,” this Tuesday 9:30/8:30c on ABC!
Wait, what? This is an internet blog? Oh. Never mind.
Yes, TV by the Numbers,and actual entertainment mag with a blog site, and severel blogsites so well-known and also mediocre I will not mention them all qualify as word of mouth, I would think ( though since I didn’t see the study in toto, I’m not sure that’s what tjhey meant. … the only friend I have who watches enough tv to give advice likes everything, I mean Becker, the Nanny, you name it. But he can’t stand Seinfeld. So much for his opinion, and his word of mouth propaganda ( ” Ya gotts watch Dirt!!!”) … those idiotic promos at the bottom are just annoying enough for my blood to boil, not annoying enough to get me to change the channel like actual 30 second spots do. Very clever – diabolically clever.
Becker greatest show ever…thank goodness USA still reruns it at 2AM and WGN shows it too.
Word of mouth helps but, it also gives you false hope when all of your friends that like scifi love T:TSCC and you think its doing great then Fox moves it to Friday and 7 weeks later it is gone never to be seen again and you think it was doing great since everyone you know whatches it, but you never asked your Mom, Dad, old lady at the bank, etc…must be the neilsens their data system sucks.
I wonder what kind of response the smart people get when they release pilots on the p2p networks for people to download and start the buzz early ?
For the right kind of shows with powerful pilots this should work quite well.
How scientific is e-poll? Do you know anything about how they collect this data?
Intuitively I think these results are pretty accurate but I’d like to know more about how they got here.
I’m obviously somewhat biased since I run a TV blog, but I’ve always considered that a blog would fall under the word-of-mouth category. While I’m not friends in real-life with a lot of TV bloggers, I visit them everyday and trust their opinions as I would if a friend came up to me in person said, “You’ve got to check out this show.”
seen a Promation for Hbos Hung and i think it looks good
i mean it does look good haha