Media brands which extend onto several platforms – such as magazines, online, mobiles, radio and so on – work even harder for the advertiser than brands which are only on one platform.

Emap Advertising conducted a study in the UK called Engagement Squared. It was based on interviewing over 3,000 consumers about their multi-platform media consumption and their response to advertising campaigns. This was supplemented by parallel qualitative research.

Key findings

Consumers who use a media brand on more than one platform spend more time with that brand, and have a deeper connection with it, than consumers who only experience the brand on a single platform. For example Kerrang, which began life as a magazine only, now spans many platforms. Among Kerrang users who only use one platform (e.g. read only the magazine) 52% agreed it is a ‘cool’ brand, whereas 72% of those who interact with Kerrang on more than one platform agreed it was ‘cool’.

Similarly among FHM consumers, 66% of those who only read the magazine thought it was ‘funny’, compared with 74% of those who read the magazine and visit the website. 76% of magazine-only readers thought the brand is ‘sexy’, compared with 87% of those using both magazine and website.

The research also found ‘multiplier’ effects for the advertising. A campaign for chocolate bar Snickers ran in Kerrang with the key message ‘Snickers supports new music talent’. Among consumers who only used one Kerrang platform 68% agreed with the Snickers message, but among those using three or more Kerrang platforms 84% agreed.

In studying two other advertised products, Nik Naks snacks and Impulse deodorant, the Engagement Squared study suggested that ads using two platforms of the same brand could be more effective than the same weight of advertising spread between two media brands. Awareness of the ad messages was higher, and so was preparedness to consider purchasing the products.

Implication

These findings confirm the common-sense conclusion that the people most keenly in tune with a media brand’s ethos are more likely to use the brand in more ways (magazines, internet, radio station, etc) than those less in tune with it. Multi-platform users are the most ‘core’ consumers of the brand, the keenest fans, the most engaged audience. Consequently an advertiser whose product fits a media brand’s profile would do well to use that brand on more than one platform, because the campaign will be targeting the brand’s most enthusiastic consumers – who are likely to be the most receptive to the advertising content.

In addition, there is valuable repetition, and the synergistic effect of conveying the same broad message through different senses. Key to this is an integrated creative execution.

More information: www.emapadvertising.com