Capturing Complete Values of Social TV Data
File under: Measurement/Social TV/ Methodology
By Mark Ghuneim

There has been a lot of chatter and debate around the concept of social engagement surrounding television; from the value and opportunity present in tightly coupled synchronous viewing to engagement before and after a show airs. While there are some competing methodologies and approaches to quantifying and qualifying this behavior, one thing is clear.  This is a new factor in the TV ecosystem equation and one that advertisers, producers, network executives and on-air talent are beginning to understand and implement. As the founder and CEO of a company that was the first in this space to really address this phenomenon, I believe there is some value in explaining the methodologies and values of the new Social TV frontier.

At Trendrr.TV, we qualify and quantify the audience attention and engagement around television through social data as an important incremental lens to potential reach. In contrast to those in the TV industry who would assume the most valuable data is only that which happens during a show airing, we quickly realized the real opportunity is not just measuring activity during the show, but understanding the total level of engagement around the show and correlated advertising at any point in time.

Trendrr.TV charts measures Social TV data 24/7/365.  By looking at Social TV data  for what it is — an ongoing conversation unrestricted by the parameters of TV schedules — the TV industry can capture the true value of all that is created from production to consumption and see the rich social behaviors and experiences that are taking place  at all times. Sure, the vast majority of activity happens during a scheduled airing, but in today’s time- shifted world where consumers decide when to consume and socialize around content, to NOT include those insights would be a disservice to the industry.

The great news is that the interest in analytics around Social TV has been growing as has the number of social measurement companies in a variety of industries. Because there is variation in methodology, and often numbers put out there don’t reflect the entire conversation around a TV show ecosystem, we think it’s important to reiterate the need to be comprehensive. As we watched the sophistication of TV networks and advertisers progress to become more socially active, it has become more apparent that content creators as well as advertisers can realize a significant upside both creatively and financially in doing so.

To that end, we have made a very specific marketplace bet.  Measure the window of scheduled on-air time, but the big picture is better.

For producers, talent and networks to realize the full value of their narrative, we must measure the big picture by looking at all the data that brings visibility to the persistence of the engaged viewer.  It is how you buy social in 2012.  By looking at the viewer’s connection as a persistent relationship, fans of shows and events are not just connected when a show airs but across a shows lifetime.

This is not new Social TV voodoo but a tried-and-true measurement mantra: How many ? How long? How often?

By looking at all the data around Social TV data, we’re able to determine how actively engaged the audience is and the depth of the resonance of the show to better understand the complete relationship with the viewer.

Empirical vs Supporting

Our methodology around Social TV is based on the premise that all Social TV engagement is not equal.  We can view the data around the social television ecosystem in total, but also segment it further by data type – empirical vs supporting:

Empirical examples would be Audio Content Recognition applications you are able to know via the ACR sync that a viewer is watching the show. The same applies for real-time conversation.

Supporting sources are more anecdotal.  Engagement taking place around a show does not necessarily take place in the frame of air window, and therefore a viewer does not necessarily need to be watching at that time. For TV networks, time-shifted viewers also represent an important and growing subset of their audience. Social TV data helps TV executives and advertisers understand and better cater to the needs of this viewing segment.

Supporting actions include brand advocacy assertions like Facebook Likes, second-screen check-ins not concurrent with viewing, social follows, sharing photos and blog posts. Through these actions, a viewer displays brand affinity but because they are not necessarily real-time, they should be considered supportive, not empirical.

The Real Social TV Opportunity

It would be a disservice to everyone to fall back to the conventions of old vs. exploring the abundance of new insights and understandings around Social TV.  By looking at the comprehensive swath of Social TV data we can better value this engagement and it’s why we have focused on this as a one of our key differentiators.

In summary, the opportunity is not just measuring activity during the show, but to measure the big picture, the persistence to get the insights in a changing and increasingly less appointment based media landscape.

Social TV measurement must address the total level of engagement around the show: its narratives, cast and creators from production to consumption across all devices and services.  Then and only then can we understand the value of the network, off-the- network.

Trendrr.TV is committed to working across the Social TV landscape — with brands, advertisers, networks and producers — to not only understand the depth-and-breadth of audience engagement but to harness the power and value of real-time social data to grow the business and content creation.