Emotional DNA with Mike Bloxham | Ep. 74

Mike Bloxham joins Sima in a discussion involving consumer data,  consumer behavior, viewer perceptions of video content at an emotional level, and how this is used. Mike is the Senior Vice-President of The Global Media and Entertainment Division at Magid. He is involved in the development of different services and products that get taken out to the market place, and liaison and delivery around different types of projects, such as qualitative, quantitative, development issues, or understanding performance of particular products in the market place The State of Media Purchasing There’s a large-scale move towards making use of data. We’ve gained use to more granular data as a result of technology, with a better ability to integrate different datasets.  This has enabled us to look across broader spans of data to gain deeper insights about consumers, about behavior, and about how the media will function with regard to consumer direction and engagement, which is incredibly important. Some think, however, that the pendulum has swung towards the opportunity that data represents, a little too fast and a little too far, and somewhat at the expense of the insights side of the business. “Emotional” DNA It’s imperative to address the human side of why people behave the way they do, both why they engage or why they do not engage, with the different offerings available to them. If this is not done, you’re not getting the fullest picture. EmotionalDNA® is a product has been on the market for about five years and can be accessed on a syndicated basis, as well as on a custom basis. It’s a large-scale, systematic, quantitative assessment of viewer perceptions of video content at an emotional level. It’s a viewer-derived portrait of the emotional tonality of the video lens.  Measuring Viewer Engagement Magid spent 18 months in the development of EmotionalDNA® before it became available on the market place. During that process, Magid arrived at 36 key attributes, or descriptors, that people use.  Their research is still ongoing and utilizes around 1,000 people a week, who are not from the same town. Over the course of a year, they have research from over 50,000 people. There are currently over 3,500 shows in the dataset and more than 200 networks and platforms. At the core of the exercise, they ask people about seven shows that they have watched in the last several months, and ask one key question: “Out of the following 36 key attributes, or descriptors, which of these terms would you use to describe the show?” The viewer can choose as many terms as they would like, which are then used to conduct a factor analysis. Advertising and Changing Behaviors Horizon Media was the first agency to buy into the EmotionalDNA® product, and have integrated it into many of their planning and buying procedures.  Mike discusses one metric within the product, intentionality, and how Horizon Media might it use it as a proxy for engagement. He goes on to say that some advertisers are driven by engagement, and so the intentionality score becomes something which is indicative of that. An overview of different metrics and different TV shows provides a fascinating glimpse as to how the underlying power of television, and of video, actually impacts audiences. That’s what TV and advertising is all about: moving audiences.   Quick links to connect with Mike Bloxham: Twitter LinkedIn Sima loves to hear from her listeners with input, questions, suggestions and just to connect! You can find her at the links below! LinkedIn Twitter infinity-2.com Sima is passionate about data and loves to share, learn and help others that share that passion. If you love data as much as her, subscribe on iTunes and don’t forget to leave a rating and review!