Discovery’s Power of the Package Lifts All Brands

What happens to perceived media brand equity value among different stakeholders when individual networks within a family of networks have a range of competing genres and divergent target audiences? How do individual content brands impact overall corporate equity? Discovery Networks, home to Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, TLC, Cooking Channel, Investigation Discovery and OWN, enjoys strong brand equity as one of only two TV network groups, along with Walt Disney Television, that is highly ranked among all three primary stakeholder groups measured in The Myers Report Media Brand Equity Study: advertiser executives, media agency professionals and consumers.

While individual brands within TV network groups have varying levels of brand equity, the value of packaging at Discovery and Disney, according to John Bishop, president of The Myers Report, “is a story of a rising tide elevating all ships. All the ships in the package are not perceived the same among all constituencies, but across the corporate platform each network has a role to play.”

·         Among consumers, overall Discovery Networks positive brand equity is driven primarily by Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, which rank 4^th and 5^th respectively 

o   Discovery Channel ranks #1 among TV networks, and follows only YouTube and Netflix, for “Distinctiveness.”

o   Discovery Channel is the 2^nd highest ranked TV network for “Cultural Relevance,” behind only National Geographic Channel.

o   For “Emotional Connections” with its audiences, Discovery Channel ranks 1^st, Animal Planet 2^nd and Food Network 6^th among TV networks.

o   Audiences ranks Discovery Channel 1^st, Animal Planet 6^th and HGTV 7^th among TV networks for “Interest in the Content.”

o   Animal Planet ranks first among all 100 media brands for “Corporate Social Responsibility.”

·         Among brand advertisers, HGTV ranks highest for overall brand reputation among the Discovery family at 15^th, followed by Food at 20^th, Animal Planet 22^nd, and Discovery Channel 23^rd. This combination enables the Discovery package to rank 6^th overall among 17 media brand groups evaluated by The Myers Report.

·         Among media agency professionals, HGTV and Animal Planet drive positive perceptions, ranking 12^th and 13^th among all 100 brands. While other Discovery networks included in the study ranked below 30^th among agency respondents, the strength of two powerhouse brands drives Discovery’s corporate brand equity to 7^th among this cohort.

EXCLUSIVE TO MEDIAVILLAGE MEMBER COMPANIES: Scroll to the end of this report or visit The Myers Report for detailed data comparing the corporate brand equity of Discovery Networks and Walt Disney Television to social media groups, streaming/OTT, secondary digital players, and audio.

In the past, it would be rare for multi-brand TV network groups to promote their corporate brand to consumers. But the brand game will need to be played differently in the emerging world of streaming over-the-top brands dominated by Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video. On the horizon are Walmart’s Vudu and NBCU’s Peacock with Discovery not far behind. Hallmark Movies Now has a paid subscriber base approaching one million fans (at a monthly $5.99 cost); Viacom and CBS have yet to define the brand voice for their merged assets; A+E Networks, as previously reported by The Myers Report, boasts powerful brand affinity among consumers. Audio-based content curators Pandora and Spotify are gaining brand traction and fighting for a growing share of the attention of both professionals and consumers. As noted in The Myers Report data chart above, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram represent an almost impenetrable fortress of brand dominance among advertisers, with legacy media fighting an increasingly difficult battle. Attacking social media with consolidated brand force is an imperative.

As TV and digital brands move toward inevitable consolidation, the need for differentiated, relevant, consistent and well-communicated brand equity will be a required asset to sell-through marketing solutions and promotional programs to both advertisers and consumers. This understanding appears to be the foundation of ViacomCBS’ continuing prioritization of the Viacom Vantage service, which new CEO Bob Bakish reinforced in a recent interview with The Myers Report.

MediaVillage members should have access to The Myers Report data chart below. If you believe you are a member or to request membership details, contact Mark Altschuler, E.B. Moss, John Bishop, or Jack Myers.

This article first appeared on www.MediaVillage.com