Developed With the Nielsen Company, New Metric Calculates Viewer Loyalty, Engagement, Network Viewershipand ad Receptivity to Determine Campaign Effectiveness
NEW YORK, NY – October 25, 2010 – To meet advertisers’ growing need for proven return on investment, Sundance Channel today announced the "Measurement Innovation Metric" (MIM), a new qualitative metric that measures an advertising campaign’s effectiveness across multiple networks, regardless of whether the campaign employs branded content or traditional advertising.
Commissioned by Sundance Channel and developed by The Nielsen Company, MIM calculates audience loyalty and engagement as well as receptivity to advertising. For each campaign, a MIM score is applied, allowing advertisers to qualitatively measure the level of ad effectiveness of a campaign, beyond the scope of traditional ratings.
"We developed MIM to give advertisers a universal metric to measure the effectiveness of their advertising, including branded content, across their entire television marketing campaign," said Evan Shapiro, president, IFC & Sundance Channel. "As a proven leader in branded content, we wanted to lead the way in developing a next generation measurement tool for advertising content, and we’re proud to work with Nielsen on this initiative."
To determine viewer loyalty and engagement within a branded environment, Nielsen will survey 3,000 online respondents to develop a MIM score for targeted advertisers that measures both behavioral and emotional attitudes towards the network. The behavioral calculation compares frequency and quantity of viewership (Nielsen National People Meter Ratings data). Emotional interest and attitudes are measured by weighing several variables such as loyalty, affinity and brand perceptions towards the network. By combining the results of both levels of viewership and engagement, an integrated score is created that accounts for all levels of viewer involvement within a branded environment and can be compared to competitive networks.
Next, viewer ad receptivity is measured, which is also broken down into two categories. The first measures viewers’ overall receptivity to advertising (i.e. Is the viewer open to watching commercials? Do they fast forward? Do they rely on advertising for information?). The second measures how the advertising fits overall within the network’s brand environment. These two factors together generate a second score.
By combining the engagement and ad receptivity scores, a MIM score is generated which measures an ad campaign’s effectiveness across multiple networks.
"Rather than measuring viewership alone, MIM uses a mix of quantitative and qualitative data to gauge the overall effectiveness of a campaign," said Daniel Marcu, vice president, research, IFC & Sundance Channel. "While ’ROI’ and ’engagement’ have been buzzwords in the last few years, we’re excited to be the first to introduce an actual metric that proves both. Given Sundance Channel’s leadership in developing branded content, we’re pleased to offer our sponsors this new tool."
About Sundance Channel
Under the creative direction of Robert Redford, Sundance Channel is the television destination for independent-minded viewers seeking something different. Bold, imaginative and uncompromising, Sundance Channel offers audiences a diverse and engaging selection of films, documentaries and original programs. Launched in 1996, Sundance Channel is a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC. Sundance Channel operates independently of the non-profit Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, but shares the overall Sundance mission of encouraging artistic freedom of expression. Sundance Channel’s website address is www.sundancechannel.com.
About Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media owns and operates some of the world’s most popular and award-winning entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel, WE tv, Wedding Central and IFC Entertainment (IFC Center, IFC Films, IFC In Theaters, IFC Midnight and IFC Productions). Additional information about Rainbow Media’s multiplatform brands is available at www.rainbow-media.com.