'Anger Management' Gets High Level of Emotional Attachment in Multiple Demos

By John Consoli -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/5/2012 1:46:50 PM

FX's Charlie Sheen sitcom Anger Management received the highest rate of emotional attachment from both viewers age 18-24 and among viewers 35-64, according to data from NewMediaMetrics Emotional Attachment Index.

The NMM data shows that 18.9% of 18-24 year-old viewers are emotionally attached to Anger Management, while 14.9% in the 35-64 demo are, which represents the highest attachment percentages for any broadcast or cable TV series in their respective demos. NBC's freshman drama Revolution drew 14.9% emotional attachment in the 35-64 demo group; the series also draws emotional attachment from 16.5% of the 18-24 demo, ranking it in third, right behind The CW's Beauty and the Beast, which gets emotional attachment from 16.5% of the younger demo.

NewMediaMetrics, a brand strategy company founded in 2004 by Gary Reisman and Denise Larson, works with agencies and advertisers to determine consumers' emotional attachment to brands and media platforms. P&G, Wal-Mart and Target are among the clients that have used the Index to help increase sales and launch new products using this type of metric.

The data-gathering process is similar to the way new product development testing is done, according to Reisman. "It is predictive of how new shows will perform, as well as returning shows," he says, adding that, "our accuracy has been in the mid-80% range."

Further data found that six of the Top 10, and 15 of the Top 20 emotionally appealing shows among the 18-24 demo come from cable.

Beyond Anger Management, Beauty and the Beast and Revolution, the survey suggests that marketers wishing to reach millennials in the 18-24 demo with their ads should be looking at Who Gets the Last Laugh, TBS (13.9% attachment within the demo); Arrow, The CW (13.7%); Men at Work, TBS (13.3%); The Client List, Lifetime (12.5%); 72 Hours, TNT (12.4%); Guys With Kids, NBC (12.4%); The Moment, USA (12.2%); Killer Karaoke, truTV (11.7%); Perception, TNT (11.3%); 666 Park Avenue, ABC (11.2%); Common Law, USA (10.4%); United Stats of America, History (10.2); King of the Nerds, TNT (10.1%); Last Resort, ABC (9.8%); BrandX, FX (9.7%); Elementary, CBS (9.7%); and Top Engineer, Discovery (9.7%).

Five of the top 10 and nine of the top 20 emotionally attractive shows among the 35-64 demo are also cable entries, making it a more even split than with the younger demo.

Beyond Anger Management and Revolution, if marketers want to reach the 35-64 demo, here are the shows they should be advertising in based on percentage of viewer attachment within the demo: Dallas, TNT (13.8%); Beauty and the Beast, The CW (13.4%); Major Crimes, TNT (12.1%); The Client List, Lifetime (12.1%); Perception, TNT (11.7%); Chicago Fire, NBC (11.3%); Vegas, CBS (11.2%); Last Resort, ABC (10%); Elementary, CBS (9.9%); Common Law, USA (9.7%); Arrow, The CW (9.6%); Longmire, A&E (9.3%); The Mob Doctor, Fox (9.3%); The Moment, USA (9.3%); Boston Blue, TNT (9.1%); Cajun Justice, A&E (9.1%); 666 Park Avenue (8.8%); and Animal Practice, NBC (8.6%).

Shows that 18-24 year-olds are emotionally attached to-that their older counterparts are not-include: 72 Hours, Guys With Kids, Killer Karaoke, United Stats of America, King of Nerds, BrandX and Top Engineer.

Conversely, shows that appeal emotionally to the 35-64 demo but not to the 18-24 crowd include Dallas, Major Crimes, Chicago Fire, Vegas, Longmire, Boston Blue, Cajun Justice and Animal Practice.

Reisman says the 35-64 demo was selected for the study because "many of our clients and some of the TV networks asked us to expand it beyond 54. There is a broad recognition today that viewers up to 64 years of age are meaningful and that understanding what content they are most attached to, as well as brands they are attached to, has become increasingly important."

The choice also offers marketers and the networks a comparison of what TV content younger and older viewers find themselves attached to.

And emotional attachment of viewers is of increasing importance to marketers. "In a very confusing world with many alternative viewing options, it's important to target media that individuals are highly attached to," Reisman says. "We have proven that 46% of those who are highly attached to a show view it more often, and when viewing it, those attached to it view it 40% more intently. In essence, emotional attachment ratings predict engagement."

Reisman adds that, "Marketers who target individuals attached to a brand-in a media property they are highly attached to-can expect to find consumers who are three times as likely to consider buying the brand. This drives significant return on investment for marketers who deploy their media buys in this way."

NewMediaMetrics also provided some data from its Cross-Platform Emotional Attachment Study that compares how 18-24 demo viewers watch TV content, compared to how the 35-plus group watches. The numbers show that while the 35-plus group clearly prefers watching traditional TV compared to other platforms, the percentages of those totals change depending on the show. The 35-plus group also prefers watching via other platforms in significant amounts, although not as high as the young demo does.

NMM provided cross-platform data comparing two NBC series, sitcom The New Normal and drama Revolution.

According to the study, 60% of 18-24 year olds are emotionally attached to watching The New Normal on regular television, 54% are attached to watching via the Netflix app for viewing TV and video on a tablet device, 42% are attached to watching via the Hulu Plus app on a tablet device and 38% are attached to viewing directing on a tablet. The percentages overlap because of attachment to multiplatform viewing.

For The New Normal among 35-plus viewers, 75% are emotionally attached to watching it on regular television, 50% via the Netflix app, 41% via the Hulu Plus app and 46% directly via a tablet.

For Revolution, 48% of 18-24 year olds are emotionally attached to watching on regular TV, 33% via the Netflix app, 25% via the Hulu Plus app and 27% directly via a tablet.

And among 35-plus viewers, 72% are emotionally attached to watching Revolution on regular TV, 30% via the Netflix app, 22% via the Hulu Plus app and 28% direct via a tablet.

All this data was gathered in May and June following the networks' upfront presentations. Participants in the study were shown show concept descriptions written by the networks themselves minus the marketing fluff and asked which ones they most related to on an emotional level. "We have found that emotional attachment measurement and ratings are predictive of what will happen as long as six months later," Reisman says.