Researching and Measuring Entertainment Audiences

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Researching and Measuring Entertainment Audiences

• Chapter 7

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Why We Conduct Research

• Finding out and describing - tracks a changing
  audience landscape
• Explaining - answer why questions for
  predicting future trends
• Evaluating - judging success or failure

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Branches of Empirical Research

• Theoretical data research - draws general
  conclusions about a phenomenon through deductive
  hypothesis testing
• Applied data research - inductive, interpretive
  model that explores and discovers
  audience-related issues

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Descriptive Studies

• Observation and field-based
• Unstructured data collection
• Ethnographic approach
• Culture-orientation
• Emic perspective

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Consumer Ethnography
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Critical Incident and Trailer Call Techniques

• Critical incident (CIT) identifies best
  practices and audience requirements on a
  periodic basis. Focus is on an incident, what led
  up to it, and how it helped compete an
  interaction.
• Trailer calls obtain immediate feedback on
  performance of a transaction on a continuous
  basis using a short list of questions.

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Projective Techniques

• Information emerges from research
• types
• Constitutive
• Constructive
• Interpretive
• Cathartic
• Refractive

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Rorschach Test
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Haire Study

• Good wife
• 1 1/2 lb. hamburger
• 2 loaves Wonder bread
• Bunch carrots
• Maxwell House coffee (drip ground)
• 2 cans Del Monte peaches
• 6 lbs. potatoes

• Lazy Wife
• 1 1/2 lb. hamburger
• 2 loaves Wonder bread
• Bunch carrots
• Nescafe instant coffee
• 2 cans Del Monte peaches
• 6 lbs. potatoes

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Projective Techniques for Audience Motivation
Research

• Word associations
• Symbolic associations
• Thematic apperception test (TAT)
• Object sorting

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Rich Description Techniques

1. Free association
2. Choice ordering
3. Completion
4. Construction
5. Expressive

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Free Association

• Brand-specific use personification techniques
• Photo sorting matches pictures with a brand
• Photo and tale collages

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Associations for Mall of America

• Attributes
• Product-related Attributes User
  Imagery Brand Personality
• Multiple shopping options Fashionable,
  trendy, Fun, adventuresome,
• Ample parking stylish, unisex athletic,
  artsy
• MALL OF AMERICA
• Benefits
• Functional benefits Experiential
  benefits Symbolic benefits
• Big names, wide range of Greenery,
  escalators, Feeling of self-prices, product
  variety kid activities, cafe smells
  expression and self- assurance

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Completion Devices

• Sentence completion in first or third person
• Use in group interactions and individual
  interviews
• Easily developed and administered

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Construction Techniques

• Story development from specific stimuli
• Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique collage
  development and respondent stories
• Cartoon bubble completion

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Consumer Collage
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Cartoon Bubble
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Other Techniques

• Role playing - generates consumer narratives from
  their acting out a situation
• Brand obituaries - tales help companies
  understand the brand and its perceived value

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Evaluative Research

• Audience analysis by syndicated research
  companies
• Exposure ratings use both gross and cumulative
  measures such as GRP, CPP, and CPM

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Advertising Research

• Measures who sees the ad
• Determines audience response to ads
• Evaluates effect of ad through sales data
• Nielsen Media Research tracks product placement
  ratings
• Podcast audience tallies

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Q Factor

• Celebrities and stars are rated using the Q
  rating system where audiences grade using a
  6-point scale
• In your opinion the performer is.
• One of my favorites
• Very good
• Good
• Fair
• Poor
• Someone Ive never heard or seen.

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Analyzing Qualitative Research

• Sorting and categorization of interview text is
  used to identify emerging themes
• Top-of-mind preferences are used to answer the
  question why
• Projective techniques yield patterns
• Triangulation uses multiple methods to
  authenticate the data collection and analysis

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Internet Audience Research

• Chat groups
• Listservs
• Groupware
• Threaded discussions
• Guestbooks
• Surveymonkey.com

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Protocols

• Templates for research guidelines
• Focus group questionnaire
• Survey components introduction, completion
  instructions, questions using scaling techniques,
  demographic information.

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Questions

• What is the best method for researching declining
  attendance at a local performance venue? How
  would you design data collection and analysis?
• What ethical issues are involved in gathering
  personal information from attendees or
  participants of events? How can they be overcome?