I must confess, I always think of Gracenote as a traffic log service but I found out, by talking with MAGNA Global’s, Brian Hughes, Executive Vice President, Audience Intelligence and Strategy, that there are great reserves of important audience data contained in their logs that can be applied in a myriad of ways.
Why Gracenote?
One of the major reasons why Gracenote is important to IPG is, according to Hughes, its ability to reveal how certain programs perform with under-represented groups. “We've made commitments to invest in Black owned media in the next several years. Part of those efforts and one of the things that we've seen in our own research in the past is that representation is very important. If we want to connect with very important audiences, then it's important that we are aware of that. Gracenote data allows us to be able to see a relationship to the population,” he explained.
Gracenote parses data in a way that shows, “how different programs stack up in terms of representation, giving us good information to us to strategically use our dollars to connect with those audiences,” he said.
Gracenote Data
Nielsen, which owns Gracenote, has been analyzing the data and has created a product that can register all content whether it is on streaming, broadcast or cable. “They've identified some very key metrics that I think will come in very handy for us,” he began and added, “It's a pretty simple comparison of the most visible cast members on a given show and how that compares to the general population.” Knowing how the percentage of the cast of a particular under-represented group matches up with the population will enable IPG to connect more authentically with that audience.
Gracenote, offered Hughes, “has a lot of metadata around TV programming whether it's the production crew, the staff, similar to IMDb. They have a lot of that information behind the scenes and then what Nielsen does is match that up with the viewing data that they already have so that we can do comparisons.” What can be revealed through this confluence of data is the degree of connection between the program’s attributes and the target audience so the agency can, “put our messaging in front of those audiences and get our brand messaging out to them,” he explained.
The theory behind this is that people are more responsive to content when there are characters that remind viewers of themselves. “We feel that also extends to advertising,” Hughes noted, “So what we'll be able to do is identify programs that are resonating with a particular audience and ultimately place advertising creative that aligns with that messaging to make it contextually relevant and have that connection for the audience.”
Next Steps
This approach is in the early stages. For now, more research is being conducted. “We are really digging into it now and figuring out the best kind of wholesale way to apply it. It is still early days,” he explained. “But we've definitely looked at, in a general sense, where the video landscape is in terms of this representation and this is where we see the need for improvement.”
As far as Hughes’ clients are concerned, “They have been very supportive of all the other equity work we're doing and I think they will definitely want to lean into this as a component and they're definitely interested in our efforts around spend. This can be an element, a way to do that better and be more effective.”
Equity Upfront
Ultimately, this approach fits in well with IPG’s overall commitment to outreach. “We made commitments to spend with Black owned media partners. We're going to do 5% in over the next three years and we've held the Equity Up front in the spring. The Equity Upfront was designed to focus on minority owned and Black owned specifically media companies to build awareness for them and help them. We've been doing monthly equity sessions to allow different minority owned media companies to come in and present to our colleagues and clients to share what they're doing and put their products out in front of us in order to encourage that spend,” he stated.
While currently specifically within IPG, the plan is to eventually make this an industry-wide effort. “I definitely would like to see the Equity Upfront become an industry wide thing. That is a goal of ours. We would definitely like to see minority owned businesses that are just starting out and that might be underserved right now have an opportunity to be successful. We can put this data to good use in terms of making the video industry in general more equitable,” he concluded.
This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com
Artwork by Charlene Weisler
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