Cracking the Code on Cross Media Engagement
Five Things Every Marketer Should Measure
by Ginny Musante – Trade Marketing Manager - Microsoft Advertising
December 9, 2009
Introduction:
If you are like most marketers these days, your
advertising budget is under closer scrutiny than ever
before. The new economic reality is demanding that
every campaign deliver concrete value and clear
return on investment. But how do you know if you
are spending your money in the right places? How
can you tell which forms of media are yielding the
greatest impact?
The importance of finding a consistent way to
measure audience engagement and advertising
impact across media types has never been greater.
People are multi-tasking like never before. You
know your ad was delivered, but how do you know if
anyone paid attention?
Survey based ad effectiveness research is helpful.
But the methodology differs with different media
types, making direct comparison difficult, if not
impossible. Behavioral data is helpful too. But
that’s most often collected only in the digital domain.
We wanted to do better. We wanted to find a way to
not only measure impact, but also audience
engagement. And we wanted to compare the results
across media types.
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Overview:
What began as a small innovative pilot study by Microsoft,
Mediabrands, and EmSense, a neuroscience research
company holds enormous potential for the industry.
• The goal - to find a way to measure consumer
engagement and advertising impact cross media.
• The result – a new approach to research that could help
all marketers make the most of their media mix.
Comparing Xbox LIVE ads to :30 and :60 second spots
Results showed there was more time spent, greater recall,
and higher levels of emotional and cognitive response in
association with the interactive Xbox LIVE campaigns than
with traditional 30 and 60 second spots.
Executive Summary:
“Being able to accurately measure cross-media engagement is a holy
grail for marketers,” said Mark Kroese, general manager of the Microsoft
Advertising Business Group, Entertainment & Devices Division, Microsoft.
“We are very excited about the methodology used in this initial study
and its tremendous potential for the industry. If we can truly crack the
code on this, marketers and advertisers will be able to pinpoint solid
ROI on dollars spent and know which campaigns in which media are
yielding the greatest impact.”
For years marketers have been measuring what
people say through self-reported measurements and
survey data. The digital age bore witness to what
people actually do through behavioral measures and
metrics reports. Today, insight can be gained into
how people feel using biosensory measures of
cognitive and emotional responses.
By combining survey data and behavioral data
with biosensory measures, the team found a
compelling way to compare engagement cross
media. As mentioned previously, researchers set
out to compare ads encountered on Xbox LIVE to
traditional :30 and :60 second spots. They did this
for two major brands – Hyundai
and Kia.
While both types of advertising showed positive
impact, consumers in the study spent more time,
demonstrated greater recall and exhibited higher
levels of emotional and cognitive response in
association with the interactive Xbox LIVE
campaigns.
“The interactivity of Xbox LIVE played a key role in driving
metrics like emotion, cognition, and time spent – in other
words, in increasing the overall impact of the campaign,” said
Tim Hong, senior vice president of Product Development &
Analytics at EmSense.
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Even more compelling than the result is the approach used
in this study, because it may hold the key to cracking the
code on code on cross media measurement.
Test subjects were recruited to a lab where they were
exposed to various media and various campaigns while
wearing a special sensor laden headset. The data collected
focused on five things we believe every marketer should
measure:





Memorability
Favorability
Purchase Consideration
Time Spent
Cognitive and Emotional Response
The first four are not new. What’s unique about this study
is that they were measured in a consistent manner across
media types.
Methodology:
Research subjects were recruited to a test facility where they were exposed to various media and campaigns
while wearing the EmSense bio-sensory EmBand (shown below), a wireless, lightweight headset. The EmBand
tracks brain activity, breathing rate, head motion, heart rate, blink rate, and skin temperature. Test subjects
were also asked to take a post exposure survey.
4
Methodology: (continued)
A two-study group design was utilized to compare the impact of Xbox Live advertising campaigns against
the traditional 30- and 60-second spots.
Study Group #1 – Interactive advertising campaigns on Xbox LIVE
150 respondents from the target audience were recruited to test facilities. There, while wearing the
EmSense bio-sensory headset, test subjects were exposed to:
1. Randomized image reel
Randomized image reel
target/clutter
of of
target/clutter
brands brands
2.Xbox
Xbox
LIVE Spotlight channel
LIVE Spotlight
viewing
including exposure
channel – including
to Hyundai/Kia
toexposure
Kia/Hyundai
content
content
5
3. Randomized
Randomized
image reel
image reel
of of
target/clutter
brands
target/clutter brands
4. Finally, respondents
Respondents were asked
were
askedthetoEmBand
remove the
to remove
and fill out
a fill out a selfEmBand
and
questionnaire.
completed
questionnaire
Methodology: (continued)
Study Group #2 – Traditional 30- and 60-second video ads
150 respondents from the target audience were recruited to test facilities. There, while wearing the
EmSense bio-sensory headset, test subjects were exposed to:
Randomized image reel
of target/clutter brands
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Reel of traditional video
ads – including Hyundai
and Kia
Randomized image reel
of target/clutter brands
Respondents were asked
to remove the EmBand
and fill out a
questionnaire.
Methodology: (continued)
Key Measures - Multiple dimensions of the experience were captured.
Bio-Sensory Measures: (during experience)
Including emotional and cognitive response to branding
Behavioral Measures: (during experience)
Can include: time spent
Self-Reported Measures: (after experience)
Can include: memorability, favorability, purchase consideration
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Xbox LIVE Example: Bio-Sensory Measurement of the Experience
The line graph below illustrates one person’s experience, tracing the viewer’s emotional response to the
images with the Kia content on Xbox LIVE. You can see that positive emotion builds strongly and finally
peaks on the repeat image of the Kia Soul surrounded by blue and white lights.
“We know from
our standard
performance
metrics that our
Xbox LIVE
campaign is
effective,” said
Michael Hayes,
executive vice
president,
Managing Director
of Digital,
Initiative. “What’s
compelling about
this research is
that we now know
that consumers
are making an
emotional
connection as
well.”
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Traditional Video LIVE Example: Bio-Sensory Measurement of the Experience
The line graph below illustrates one person’s experience, tracing the viewer’s emotional response to the
traditional :60 second spot. The initial response to the hamsters is positive, as is the response when the car
accelerates. The most positive emotions occur in the first half of the ad.
Hamsters in Wheels
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Product Reveal
Product in Motion
Final Branding
Results:
As mentioned previously, results demonstrated there was more time spent, greater recall, and higher levels of
emotional and cognitive response in association with the interactive Xbox LIVE ad campaigns than with the
traditional 30- or 60-second spot.
Kia Summary
Hyundai Summary
 Respondents spent a significant amount of time
interacting and exploring Xbox LIVE interactive
ads, resulting in extended exposure to the brand
and product.
 Respondents spent an average 365 seconds
interacting with Xbox LIVE ads versus 30 seconds
with traditional TV ads - over 12 times more brand
interaction.
 Respondents spent an average 298 seconds
interacting with Xbox LIVE ads versus 60
seconds engaging with traditional video ads.
 Xbox LIVE content effectively engages viewers
cognitively, communicating new information about
the Hyundai Genesis Coupe.
 The Xbox LIVE ads delivered more positive
emotions and high cognitive engagement around
the brand and product.
 The traditional TV spots utilized music to elicit more
positive emotions around the brand on average.
 The Xbox LIVE ad delivered 90 percent unaided
brand recall rate; this was a significant difference
versus 78 percent unaided brand recall for the
traditional video spot.
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 The Xbox LIVE ads delivered a 67percent unaided
brand recall rate.
Results: (continued)
What follows below is a closer look at the five things that we believe every marketer should measure to crack the
code on cross media engagement.
Memorability
Favorability
Better unaided recall of Kia in the Xbox LIVE study
suggests that its content is more memorable, one
indicator of greater engagement.
Before and after comparison of the visceral, biosensory response to the image of the Kia Soul
indicates a significant positive emotional visual lift as a
result of the exposure to Xbox LIVE content, as well as
lower cognition, suggesting “easy enjoyment” of the
product visual.
90%
78%
Bio-Sensory Responses
Before & After
Emotional Response:
Negative
Emotions
% Listing “Kia”
Positive
Emotions
more positive emotionally
42nd Percentile
94th Percentile
Cognitive Response:
Low
Cognition
Xbox LIVE
less thought
provoking
Video Spot
3rd Percentile
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High
Cognition
38th Percentile
Results: (continued)
Purchase Consideration
Cognitive and Emotional Response
Thirty-eight percent of respondents indicated that they
were more likely to purchase a Kia Soul after viewing
the Xbox LIVE content. Continued research in
purchase consideration will allow for the comparison
with other media types.
The positive emotional and high cognitive response
to the Xbox LIVE Photo Gallery significantly
outperforms brand imagery seen in the video ad,
indicating higher levels of engagement with the
brand in the interactive context.
Time Spent
High Cognitive
Response
COGNITION
Respondents spend a significant amount of time
interacting and exploring Xbox LIVE content,
resulting in an extended exposure to the brand and
product.
298 seconds
Traditional Ad
Brand/Product Response
Low Cognitive
Response
Avg duration of
brand interaction
Negative Emotional
Response
60 seconds
Xbox LIVE Spotlight
12
Xbox Live - Photo Gallery
Video Spot
EMOTION
Positive Emotional
Response
Conclusion:
While it’s impossible to predict trends or draw
conclusions from a single study, we believe this
research is ground breaking in that the methodology
allows marketers to measure five critical indicators of
engagement in a consistent manner across multiple
media types.





Memorability
Favorability
Purchase Consideration
Time Spent
Cognitive and Emotional Response
These five indicators may hold a key to measuring
consumer engagement and impact across media;
something that will help all marketers make the most
of their media mix and generate greater return on
their advertising dollars.
For more information:
Contact the author: Ginnym@microsoft.com
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About the author:
Ginny Musante has vast experience in the media
business. On the content side as a television journalist, on
the agency side as founder and creative director of
Network Media, Inc.,and finally on the client side as a
marketer at Microsoft. In her current role, Ginny leads the
global trade marketing efforts for the Entertainment &
Devices Advertising Business Group, the team that’s
responsible for the ad monetization of Xbox, Zune and
other emerging platforms.
About Microsoft Advertising:
Microsoft Advertising provides world-class advertising
tools and solutions for digital advertisers and publishers
to drive brand and consumer engagement. The portfolio
includes all of Microsoft’s digital advertising businesses:
its global media network that includes MSN, Windows
Live, Office Live, Xbox LIVE, Live Search, Facebook and
more, and its global technology platforms and tools that
include Atlas, AdECN, adCenter, DRIVEpm, Massive and
ScreenTonic, which together create engaging digital
advertising experiences for their consumers. Microsoft
Advertising helps make buying and selling media simple,
smart and cost-effective across media and devices in the
Microsoft network of properties and beyond, which spans
42 markets globally and 21 languages. Visit
http://advertising.microsoft.com for more information.