EPG Builds Nickelodeon Audience Share
StumbleUponNickelodeon has become the first broadcast channel to promote its programmes on the Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) on digital cable TV, to attract new viewers to the channel and increase audience as this case study reveals...
Nickelodeon was the first broadcast channel to promote its
programmes on the EPG and highlights of the initial two-week
campaign include its banners being displayed over 2.9 million
times. Data extracted from the campaign is now used to plan
future programming and services, as this case study
reveals...
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Highlights of the initial 2-week campaign included:
• Nick Jr. banners displayed over 2.9 million times
• Information gleaned about viewer preferences will be used to plan future programming and services
Nick Jr. is the baby of the Nickelodeon family and, when launched in 1999, was the world’s first channel dedicated to viewers under five years old. On air from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week, the channel features a variety of pre-school programming that gets younger viewers laughing, playing and joining in.
Programmes include Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, Angelina Ballerina, Enjy Benjy, Bob the Builder and Bananas in Pyjamas. In addition, Nick Jr. offers red button games and an interactive website, which is home to online message boards and communities.
Attracting an audience
In recent years, Nick Jr. like many other digital cable channels, has found itself fighting for audience share as the number of channels across the platform increases. To combat this problem, Nick Jr. needed an effective way of reaching a wider audience and boosting the number of younger viewers and their parents.
“Building awareness of and driving tune-in to our new programmes and on-air stunts is key. With digital cable TV audiences growing rapidly we know there are a huge number of potential viewers out there and we are always looking for new and effective ways of getting right in front of them and really influencing their viewing habits. The EPG offers exactly this opportunity,” explained Sarah Mieran, marketing manager at Nickelodeon.
New forms of advertising
In Q1 2005 ntl enabled its Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) to carry interactive advertising above its traditional TV listings. As the only media sales house for interactive digital cable TV advertising, 24/7 Real Media had the knowledge and expertise to advise Nick Jr. of the benefits to the broadcaster of this new opportunity.
Recognising that every month 90 per cent of viewers accessed cable’s interactive services, including ntl’s EPG, 24/7 Real Media believed that broadcasters were missing a prime opportunity to capture audience share. When using the interactive services, cable viewers come out of the broadcast stream to play games, shop and review the latest news and sport, as well as make decisions about what to watch next. It is at this stage that viewers are actively engaging with their TVs and considering what to do next.
Making use of highly visible interactive advertising, broadcasters are able to influence viewer choice at this moment before they decide to return to the broadcast stream and pick a channel to watch. Banner ads on the EPG, similar to those found on websites, allow viewers to ’click through’ to access programmes, channel information, games and competitions.
24/7 Real Media is the only company currently offering the tools to serve this type of advertising. Through its ad serving tool Open AdStream, 24/7 Real Media manages the set up, delivery and maintenance of interactive cable TV ad campaigns within the EPG. Open AdStream also offers extensive reporting functionality, enabling channel owners to measure the success of their campaigns.
“The technology allows us to influence parents and kids right at the point where they are choosing which channel and programme to watch. Through working with 24/7 Real Media we can serve the creatives and then track how many click-throughs we receive, at what time of day and record resulting viewer numbers,” said Sarah.
The first campaign
The first EPG ad campaign went live on 14 March 2005 to promote and build awareness of the popular animation ‘Dora the Explorer’ and the special ‘Dora Day’ which took place on 27 March. Banners were run on the ntl EPG, which included interactive elements for viewers to explore more with Dora and her monkey Boots. It also drew viewer attention to a special half-hour programme of ‘Dora the Explorer’ and led them to a variety of games and access to other Nick Jr. TV programmes
Interactive banners highlighting ‘What’s on Nick Jr’ were also served on the ntl EPG and interactive portal, between 8am and 8pm, refreshing hourly in line with the channels programming schedule. These included channel numbers and messaging informing the viewer what was on now and next. Viewers were also encouraged to go interactive to access TV guides, win prizes and play games. In total over 400 interactive banners were produced along with two interactive sites built to promote the Nick Jr channel and ‘Dora the Explorer’.
Campaign results
The initial campaign ran from 14 March to 27 March 2005 and produced some fascinating results, allowing Nickelodeon to see how many viewers clicked through the banners and selected to view or interact with the channel. Nick Jr. banners were displayed over 2.9 million times.
“We were very pleased with the results of the campaign. Knowing which banners produced the most click-throughs and what services and programmes were accessed has given us clear information upon which to base future campaigns,” said Sarah.
Following the success of the initial campaign, 24/7 Real Media has gone on to work with Nickelodeon – Nick UK's parent channel aimed at viewers between 7-12 years old, to drive awareness of two new shows, ‘Zoey 101’ and ‘Unfabulous’.
‘Zoey 101’ stars Jamie Lynne Spears, sister of Britney, as one of the first girls to attend Pacific Coast Academy, formerly an all boys' boarding school, while 'Unfabulous', starring Emma Roberts, niece of Julia Roberts, chronicles the life of teenager Addie Singer, who uses music to describe her feelings.
The campaign went live on 4 April 2005. Banners on the EPG linked to 'Zoey 101' and 'Unfabulous' micro-sites, through which viewers were able to access interactive links to forthcoming programmes and show information. Viewers also had access to competitions run to coincide with the launch of the new shows, including a chance to win one of five mini-iPods for 'Unfabulous' and £250 for a London shopping spree with a personal stylist for ‘Zoey 101’.
“We know that kids today are very technologically advanced and are the most likely to press a TV handset’s red button to play games or access extra programming information. This has provided us with the perfect opportunity to trial this new media on both Nick Jr. and Nickelodeon, with great results,” added Sarah.
Nickelodeon continues to work with 24/7 Real Media on future campaigns to significantly raise awareness and channel share in a crowded multi-channel environment.
About 24/7 Real Media:
24/7 Real Media, Inc., a pioneer in interactive marketing and technology, targets and delivers audiences for publishers and marketers. Our customers generate increased revenue and profits through media and search services, coupled with one seamless platform of serving, targeting, tracking and analytics technologies. The company is headquartered in New York, with offices in other major U.S. cities, Canada, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.247realmedia.com
[Register and post your own comments on this article below...]
Highlights of the initial 2-week campaign included:
• Nick Jr. banners displayed over 2.9 million times
• Information gleaned about viewer preferences will be used to plan future programming and services
Nick Jr. is the baby of the Nickelodeon family and, when launched in 1999, was the world’s first channel dedicated to viewers under five years old. On air from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week, the channel features a variety of pre-school programming that gets younger viewers laughing, playing and joining in.
Programmes include Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, Angelina Ballerina, Enjy Benjy, Bob the Builder and Bananas in Pyjamas. In addition, Nick Jr. offers red button games and an interactive website, which is home to online message boards and communities.
Attracting an audience
In recent years, Nick Jr. like many other digital cable channels, has found itself fighting for audience share as the number of channels across the platform increases. To combat this problem, Nick Jr. needed an effective way of reaching a wider audience and boosting the number of younger viewers and their parents.
“Building awareness of and driving tune-in to our new programmes and on-air stunts is key. With digital cable TV audiences growing rapidly we know there are a huge number of potential viewers out there and we are always looking for new and effective ways of getting right in front of them and really influencing their viewing habits. The EPG offers exactly this opportunity,” explained Sarah Mieran, marketing manager at Nickelodeon.
New forms of advertising
In Q1 2005 ntl enabled its Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) to carry interactive advertising above its traditional TV listings. As the only media sales house for interactive digital cable TV advertising, 24/7 Real Media had the knowledge and expertise to advise Nick Jr. of the benefits to the broadcaster of this new opportunity.
Recognising that every month 90 per cent of viewers accessed cable’s interactive services, including ntl’s EPG, 24/7 Real Media believed that broadcasters were missing a prime opportunity to capture audience share. When using the interactive services, cable viewers come out of the broadcast stream to play games, shop and review the latest news and sport, as well as make decisions about what to watch next. It is at this stage that viewers are actively engaging with their TVs and considering what to do next.
Making use of highly visible interactive advertising, broadcasters are able to influence viewer choice at this moment before they decide to return to the broadcast stream and pick a channel to watch. Banner ads on the EPG, similar to those found on websites, allow viewers to ’click through’ to access programmes, channel information, games and competitions.
24/7 Real Media is the only company currently offering the tools to serve this type of advertising. Through its ad serving tool Open AdStream, 24/7 Real Media manages the set up, delivery and maintenance of interactive cable TV ad campaigns within the EPG. Open AdStream also offers extensive reporting functionality, enabling channel owners to measure the success of their campaigns.
“The technology allows us to influence parents and kids right at the point where they are choosing which channel and programme to watch. Through working with 24/7 Real Media we can serve the creatives and then track how many click-throughs we receive, at what time of day and record resulting viewer numbers,” said Sarah.
The first campaign
The first EPG ad campaign went live on 14 March 2005 to promote and build awareness of the popular animation ‘Dora the Explorer’ and the special ‘Dora Day’ which took place on 27 March. Banners were run on the ntl EPG, which included interactive elements for viewers to explore more with Dora and her monkey Boots. It also drew viewer attention to a special half-hour programme of ‘Dora the Explorer’ and led them to a variety of games and access to other Nick Jr. TV programmes
Interactive banners highlighting ‘What’s on Nick Jr’ were also served on the ntl EPG and interactive portal, between 8am and 8pm, refreshing hourly in line with the channels programming schedule. These included channel numbers and messaging informing the viewer what was on now and next. Viewers were also encouraged to go interactive to access TV guides, win prizes and play games. In total over 400 interactive banners were produced along with two interactive sites built to promote the Nick Jr channel and ‘Dora the Explorer’.
Campaign results
The initial campaign ran from 14 March to 27 March 2005 and produced some fascinating results, allowing Nickelodeon to see how many viewers clicked through the banners and selected to view or interact with the channel. Nick Jr. banners were displayed over 2.9 million times.
“We were very pleased with the results of the campaign. Knowing which banners produced the most click-throughs and what services and programmes were accessed has given us clear information upon which to base future campaigns,” said Sarah.
Following the success of the initial campaign, 24/7 Real Media has gone on to work with Nickelodeon – Nick UK's parent channel aimed at viewers between 7-12 years old, to drive awareness of two new shows, ‘Zoey 101’ and ‘Unfabulous’.
‘Zoey 101’ stars Jamie Lynne Spears, sister of Britney, as one of the first girls to attend Pacific Coast Academy, formerly an all boys' boarding school, while 'Unfabulous', starring Emma Roberts, niece of Julia Roberts, chronicles the life of teenager Addie Singer, who uses music to describe her feelings.
The campaign went live on 4 April 2005. Banners on the EPG linked to 'Zoey 101' and 'Unfabulous' micro-sites, through which viewers were able to access interactive links to forthcoming programmes and show information. Viewers also had access to competitions run to coincide with the launch of the new shows, including a chance to win one of five mini-iPods for 'Unfabulous' and £250 for a London shopping spree with a personal stylist for ‘Zoey 101’.
“We know that kids today are very technologically advanced and are the most likely to press a TV handset’s red button to play games or access extra programming information. This has provided us with the perfect opportunity to trial this new media on both Nick Jr. and Nickelodeon, with great results,” added Sarah.
Nickelodeon continues to work with 24/7 Real Media on future campaigns to significantly raise awareness and channel share in a crowded multi-channel environment.
About 24/7 Real Media:
24/7 Real Media, Inc., a pioneer in interactive marketing and technology, targets and delivers audiences for publishers and marketers. Our customers generate increased revenue and profits through media and search services, coupled with one seamless platform of serving, targeting, tracking and analytics technologies. The company is headquartered in New York, with offices in other major U.S. cities, Canada, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.247realmedia.com
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