Viacom International Study Finds Multiplatform Involvement Drives Consumer Engagement on MTV, Nickelodeon

By John Consoli -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/31/2012 9:48:13 AM

Viacom has conducted an international neuropsychological brand engagement study to better understand what emotionally drives consumer engagement for MTV and Nickelodeon viewers.

Be Viacom, the international brand solutions sales unit, partnered with psychologists at Neurosense to identify five basic human psychological needs relevant for testing brand engagement among young viewers. Those included dependability, functionality, social inclusion, enjoyment and individuality. They spoke with more than 4,000 kids and millennials between 8 and 29 years of age across 11 markets in Europe, Asia and Latin America. The respondents' levels of engagement were measured on how the MTV and Nickelodeon brands deliver against those psychological needs.

"Since engaged viewers are active consumers, and 80% of all buying decisions are made at an emotional or implicit level, engagement matters for brands," says Christian Kurz, VP of research, insight and reporting for Viacom International Media Networks.

In the study, engagement was defined as a feeling that attracts and holds the attention of the viewer. "To capture implicit engagement, a comparative engagement score on a scale of one to ten was created using rapid word-brand pairing, multiple responses from random samples and statistical analysis," Kurz says.

Among the findings for MTV was that multiplatform viewers exhibit more than twice the level of engagement than TV-only viewers. Multiplatform viewers scored a 7.1 on the engagement scale, compared to TV-only viewers who scored a 2.9. The ratio is closer for Nickelodeon viewers.

Kurz says that "while Nickelodeon viewers are multiplatform users, TV is the key starting point to engagement" for them. The study found that while multiplatform users score a 9 on the engagement scale, TV scores a relatively close 7.4.

The study found that MTV is a growing multiplatform youth brand, with 367 million international touch points across TV, online, mobile, social media and events.

Kurz says the study shows that MTV's abundance of multimedia offerings drives active consumers to access them more often, but always on their terms.

Here are some MTV findings:

• Over 75% of the MTV TV-viewing audience have accessed the brand on more than one platform -- and nearly one-third do so regularly.

• 69% have accessed MTV content online, and 22% do so regularly.

• Almost half follow MTV on social media, and 20% do so regularly.

• 42% have accessed MTV content on mobile devices, and 15% do so regularly.

The study showed that Nickelodeon is also growing its multiplatform brand, Kurz says, with 284 million touch points across TV, online, mobile, social media and events internationally. With Nickelodeon's international audience, multimedia activity is very prevalent among its kids viewers, but it is not yet as prolific among its millennial viewers.

Here are some Nickelodeon findings:

• While 87% of Nickelodeon's TV-viewing audiences have accessed the brand on more than one platform, 17% do so regularly.

• 61% have accessed Nickelodeon content online and 16% do so regularly.

• 64% have played Nickelodeon games online, and 20% do so regularly.

• 52% have bought Nickelodeon consumer products, and 11% do so regularly.

Kurz says the study overall shows that multiplatform access is key to growing brand engagement. "For the majority of the Viacom audience who go beyond our TV channels, their positivity and engagement with our brands rises explosively."