We cannot live by VOD alone VOD excels at satisfying personal approaches to TV, specifically indulging and escaping, but it is less equipped for more social needs such as unwinding and seeking comfort. This is supported by the finding that of 54% of the occasions we watch live TV we’re with someone else, compared to 30% for VOD. And for viewers who want to connect and feel like they are sharing a TV experience with the outside world, then live TV was judged by far the best way. For kids, the idea of watching what they want, when they want, is a given, and with the advantage of repeated viewing providing developmental benefits to younger viewers, VOD is an opportunity. But this should be considered in terms of the shows that you are supporting and the congruency of the creative in order to maximise the potential ROI.
Match the advert to the need The study found that congruent advertising (where the ad creative matches the need state of the viewer) can help advertisers maximise the effectiveness of their campaign; a finding which supports previous studies into congruence. Matching the category or brand, tone and message to the predominant need state of the audience will increase response, especially if this also suits the device being used. Since live TV satisfies all the need states identified by the study, a wide range of narrative styles and advertisers will fit. Since VOD excels at particular need states, and is currently used
on other devices, advertisers need to be more cautious.
‘What’s on’ is the first port of call Even among the heavy VOD viewers in the research sample, 60% typically checked what was on the live TV schedule first before considering other options.
The TV set rules The TV set is overwhelmingly the preferred way to watch, whatever the reason people are watching. This is especially true of TV for comfort or to unwind, where at least 90% is watched on the TV set.
Young people are happy to wait (so they can share) Connecting was the most important reason to watch TV for the 18-24 age bracket. 28% of their viewing was in order to connect; almost double the average from the research sample (15%). When given a choice between having the option to download a new series they liked in one go, or waiting to watch it week by week on live TV, 73% of the 18-24s in the research sample said they prefer to watch it week by week. This was more than the older audience of 35-55s (57%).
TV remains rooted in the living room, but new devices enable ‘place-shifting’ Live TV is almost exclusively watched on a TV set, however in the study’s heavy VOD-viewing
sample, VOD was split across different screens: 37% was watched on the TV set; 45% on a PC; 14% on a tablet; and 4% on a smartphone. The further away people go from live TV, the less likely it is they are watching on a TV set. Only 5% of social video – such as on YouTube – was watched on a TV set, compared to 62% on a PC, 11% on a tablet, and 22% on a smartphone. It is also less likely they are watching with someone else: 54% of live TV viewing was with someone else, compared to 30% on VOD and 19% on social video. Social video is also watched in different locations: 34% in the living room, 56% in another room, and 10% out of home. For VOD, this place-shifting is evident, but less pronounced, with 51% of viewing in the living room, 43% in another room, and 6% out of home. Neil Mortensen, research and planning
director at Thinkbox, said: “This research gets to the heart of why we watch TV and explains the apparent conundrum of why people choose to watch so much live TV when they don’t have to. It shows that VOD is a brilliant and treasured new way to enjoy TV, but it can’t give people everything they demand from TV; particularly the highly-valued social elements. Live TV is best equipped to meet all of the needs and that is why it will endure, no matter what new platforms emerge. Live TV is our daily food, whereas VOD is more like a box of chocolates.”
David
Ripley Chief Operating Officer of Winning Moves
Bringing back the
magic Toys are an inherently fun and exciting product area, and therefore anyone associated with the toy industry has the right by association to enjoy their work in creating fun and excitement for children of all ages. Not too many years ago there was an often-seen phenomena (typically around Christmas time), when parents would be queuing outside toy shops eagerly awaiting opening time and ready to do battle in the aisles with other parents in the same mindset. The battle was to secure the latest, scarce ‘must have’ toy so their child would get the rarest of gifts they so desired on Christmas day without needing to re-mortgage the house in
36 Toyworld
order to buy it on eBay at twenty times the RRP. In recent years this wild Christmas hysteria has abated, and this activity in relation to the toy industry has become increasingly rare. The opportunity to purchase items anywhere the customer chooses, has radically changed the habit of how we now shop.
The column inches that this type of hysteria generates are also lost, which is detrimental to the profile of the toy industry as a whole. Arguably, Hasbro did a great job with Furby last year, and TMX Elmo is another success story in the more recent memory. Gaming retailers still manage to get customer queues with well-planned midnight launches of anticipated new titles in a way that online retailers just cannot compete. Having your finger hovering over the checkout button at a minute to midnight could never hold the same excitement or anticipation of actually being one of the first to physically purchase a new and sought after item; the prolonged wait for the Royal Mail delivery also lessens the excitement of shopping online. Where am I going with this? Well, I think TRU, with the announcement of their Star Wars Black series events, are starting to understand that they have an enviable position with their destination format stores to significantly differentiate their offer and engage customers in a way that the online specialists cannot. The Entertainer, and many independent toy retailers, have known forever that customers need real engagement and
a reason to repeat visit their stores. As a child, I remember pestering my parents to go past our local toy store (Silverhill Models) just to see the working electronic train in the window. In one of my Viewpoints from early last year, I pleaded for TRU to give me a reason as a long- standing customer to visit their stores outside of the standard Easter and Christmas seasons. It appears that they are responding to the many observers who see the TRU store model as an opportunity to engage customers and give them something they cannot get from a grocery or catalogue store visit. I hope that the TRU Star Wars Black Series
event that was held at their Brent Cross store was hugely successful, and is just the first of many such events and brings much needed custom back into their stores. It will be exactly this type of experiential activity that will bring back the magic to bricks and mortar retail. My July Viewpoint column touched on the
green shoots of economic recovery, and this month has been full of positive economic reports highlighting further signs of an economic recovery. Retail sales are experiencing their strongest surge in several years, house prices are making positive gains, and employment is at an all time high.
Long may the positive economic news continue and galvanise customer confidence ahead of the critical Q4 trading period.
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