Research Identifies the ABCD of Successful Virals

Marketers around the world are looking to achieve expanded reach through creating ads that "go viral." Yet, new research released today by Millward Brown found that less than one in six video ads achieve high viral viewing volumes.* Predicting viral success prior to launching an ad has now become easier with the development of a new Creative Viral Potential (CVP) metric. CVP is the first pre-testing metric to help marketers predict the likely viral viewing of video advertising. It is available immediately to customers of Millward Brown's LINK™ pre-test research tool.

CVP was developed through new research that analyzed behavioral viewings data from YouTube for 102 video commercials alongside survey-based pre-test measures. It uncovered four essential components to viral success: the Awareness Index (a measure of branded engagement that has long been used by advertisers to predict the success of their TV advertising) as well as Buzz (which identifies whether an ad is likely to generate pass-along); Celebrity (the profile of a celebrity when used in an ad), and Distinctiveness (a measure of originality).

Duncan Southgate, global innovation director at Millward Brown, will showcase the research for the first time today at WARC's Measuring Advertising Performance conference in London. Commenting on the findings he said: "As an advertiser, your chances of a major viral success are relatively low, but it's a prize worth aiming for and our new validated pre-test metric makes it an easier target to hit."

"There are many media factors which can drive viral viewing. Level of TV advertising support plays a major role, which is evidenced by the online success of many commercials shown during this year's Super Bowl. Viewings can also be influenced significantly by viral seeding or PR activities that place the ad appropriately with opinion formers and then fan the flames to ensure wider awareness," Southgate continued. "However, this research clearly shows that creative factors (awareness-building engagement, buzz, celebrity and distinctiveness) play a huge role in determining viral success."

To demonstrate the power of this new predictive framework, Millward Brown conducted additional analysis of eight recently successful US viral videos. The analysis confirms that a high Awareness Index is important to viral success. It also highlights that the other measures of success: Buzz, Celebrity and Distinctiveness can generate viewings for some ads with more moderate Awareness Index scores.

"Three of these ads had only average engagement scores among the general population, but have achieved viral success by appealing very strongly to a specific target audience," said Southgate. "Audi is targeting green consumers, Carl's Jr is appealing strongly to men, and Google Nexus One is targeting a youth audience. However, others including the Old Spice, E-Trade, Snickers and Coke commercials have managed the rare trick of being engaging and distinctive, yet still appealing to a broad audience."

The main drivers behind the success stories of the eight ads are detailed below:

Millward Brown, a global leader in brand, media and communications research, today announced its plans to open a new office in Vietnam during 2010.

Millward Brown has had a presence in Vietnam since 2005 through a licensee arrangement. The new Millward Brown Vietnam business will be headed by Phil Worthington, who previously worked with Millward Brown Thailand during 2005 and 2006.

Phil Worthington is one of the most experienced market research practitioners in Vietnam, having worked in the market for over 15 years. Previously with Nielsen, Phil has held key regional client development and global product development roles and successfully driven consumer research business in Vietnam and Thailand.

Also confirmed as a key member of the Millward Brown team in Vietnam is Pham Chau Linh. Linh has 10 years’ market research experience in Vietnam and will play a key role introducing Millward Brown services to local clients.

Gonzalo Fuentes, Managing Director Millward Brown South East Asia said:

"After five years in Vietnam working with a licensee, having our own presence in Vietnam is now a priority for Millward Brown. It is an increasingly important market for our multinational clients and they need people who are focused full time on Millward Brown solutions and areas of specialization. Local clients also represent a great opportunity for us. Our commitment is to bring new approaches in the area of branding and communication insights. We are very pleased to have Phil and Linh on board who will build a team of strong research consultants to achieve this vision.”

Millward Brown Vietnam plans to commence operations in the second half of this year, subject to approval from the Vietnamese authorities.

Innovative research fittingly uses avatars or "virtual hosts" to poll the public

Contact: Michelle Robertson 646-279-5775

According to a study by Millward Brown, conducted through the innovative use of avatars, or "virtual hosts," Avatar is favored by the public to win the Academy Awards' most coveted honor, Best Picture. The study also reveals that Invictus produced stand-out choices for Best Actor and Supporting Actor and that Sandra Bullock is favored for Best Actress.

In what looks to be a huge year for the awards, 68 percent of those surveyed were likely¹ to watch the Academy Awards on Sunday night.

"With its seamless integration of CGI and 3D, Avatar the movie, set a new standard for the use of technology to heighten the viewing experience. Similarly, Millward Brown stretched the research envelope by exploring the use of avatars to drive higher engagement and richness of response in its survey," said Eileen Campbell, Global CEO at Millward Brown. "Our choice to conduct this type of research for the Oscars, an advertising event that rivals that of the Super Bowl, is particularly fitting in a year when Avatar broke the movie mold."

The new research approach is part of ongoing efforts to improve respondent engagement. In the study, 9 out of 10 respondents indicated that they enjoyed their avatar-enhanced survey experience. According to Jake Kolb, Vice President of Innovations at Millward Brown, "Having more engaging dialogues with consumers is fundamental to gaining quality insights, and that principle drives our research innovation."

Avatar, The Blind Side and Up represent the "Best Picture" nominees that the respondents would most like to see win. However, the list changes based on people who actually saw the films (see complete lists below).

"While The Hurt Locker was very well regarded by people who actually saw it, only half of those surveyed had even heard of it according to our research," said Kolb. "This year, the number of films nominated increased from 5 to 10 which was not only well received (with more than half responding that it is good to have more choices), but also good for the exposure of these lesser-known films that would have likely continued in relative anonymity were it not for their nominations."

Best Actors/Actresses

While Invictus was not nominated for Best Picture, its two leading men, Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon ranked as top picks for Best Actor and Supporting Actor, respectively. Stars of Precious also captured hearts, with Mo'Nique ranked highest for Supporting Actress and Gabourey Sidibe third highest for Best Actress. Meryl Streep follows Sandra Bullock as 'top choice' for Best Actress for her role in Julie and Julia.

Top Choice, Actors

Top Choice, Actresses

¹31% were "very likely" and 37% were "somewhat likely"

Australians willing to accept more ads to keep sites free

Dynamic Logic, the online research business operated by Millward Brown, today announced the results of its AdReaction survey of Australian online habits and attitudes to advertising. One of the more surprising findings was that over 90 percent of Australian social network users notice advertising on social networking sites yet on average, 64 percent of these people do not believe it impacts their experience of the site.

A massive 71 percent of consumers would be willing to accept more advertising rather than pay to use their social networking site. Even 66 percent of Twitter users, which currently does not accept advertising, say they would tolerate advertising to keep the site free.

According to the survey, advertising on Facebook is the most visible with 72 percent of Facebook users noticing advertising on the site. MySpace and Windows Live followed with 55 percent and 53 percent respectively.

The survey also touched on the effectiveness of social network advertising with 26 percent of users reporting they have visited a brand’s website as a result of seeing advertising on their social networking site and 12 percent saying they have looked for a brand in-store.

Interestingly for brands, the research also revealed 17 percent of social network users follow companies and/or brands through social networks with the top four categories followed being online shopping sites, technology companies, food companies and retail stores.

Importantly for marketers and advertisers, 51 percent of brand followers believe a brand is more appealing if it has a social network presence, a view shared by 28 percent of those who do not follow brands on social network sites. According to Millward Brown’s Director of Digital Solutions, Mark Henning, the AdReaction survey findings provide a strong case for brands to include social media as part of their communications strategy.

"The AdReaction survey confirms that consumers are accepting of advertising and brand presence on social networking sites and many consumers view brands as more appealing as a result. These findings should give brands the confidence to establish a presence and begin testing the effectiveness of social networks," Mr Henning said.

Additional survey findings:

Membership of social networking sites (percentage of respondents):

• Facebook – 67 percent
• Windows Live – 40 percent
• MySpace – 24 percent
• Twitter – 15 percent
• LinkedIn – 5 percent

Profile of Social Network Users (percentage of respondents):

• Facebook – majority of users aged 18-54; overall 54 percent female, 46 percent male
• Myspace – high percentage of users aged 13-24; overall 52 percent female, 48 percent male
• Twitter – largest category of users aged 18-24; overall 59 percent female, 41 percent male
• Windows Live – Most users aged 18-44; overall 49 percent female, 51 percent male
• Linked in – Most users aged 25+, attracts largest percentage of users 45+; overall 38 percent female, 62 percent male

Active participation in online activities (percentage of respondents):

• Emailing 95 percent
• Reading News/current events 78 percent
• Social networking 77 percent
• Banking online 74 percent
• Shopping online 70 percent
• Playing games 56 percent
• Watching online videos (TV, movies, clips) 54 percent
• Downloading music 50 percent
• Listening to streaming radio/music/podcasts 44 percent
• Participating in community chats/blogs 34 percent

The AdReaction survey was undertaken as part of the global Dynamic Logic AdReaction survey through interviews with 400 Australians in late 2009.

New consumer research released today by Millward Brown reveals that Amazon.com is the top performing brand in the U.S. based on "trust" and "recommendation," the key ingredients to brand success, according to a new report entitled "Beyond Trust: Engaging Consumers in the Post-Recession World."

The "Beyond Trust" study was conducted in partnership with The Futures Company and introduces "TrustR," a new metric for understanding and strengthening the bond between consumers and brands.

"The 'TrustR' metric is very relevant in a global economy that is struggling to emerge from a gloomy recessionary period. Consumers are less likely to spend hard-earned money on brands that they don't trust. In fact, we found that the number one "TrustR" brand in each of the 22 countries we researched was nearly seven times more likely to be purchased and consumers were 10 times more likely to have formed a strong bond with these brands," commented Eileen Campbell, Global CEO of Millward Brown.

TrustR is calculated by looking at consumer responses to the questions "how trustworthy is this brand?" and "would you recommend this brand?" The scores are indexed and combined to reach a TrustR score. The average score is 100, and anything over 105 is considered "good."

The Top 10 Most Trusted and Recommended Brands in the U.S.

Source: Millward Brown

Note: Study conducted over the course of 2009, prior to Toyota's recent recall

"When a person recommends a brand they put their own personal trust and credibility on the line. They are only willing to recommend brands which themselves have proven reliable and trustworthy," said Nigel Hollis, EVP and Chief Global Analyst of Millward Brown. "Amazon.com, the brand ranked first in the U.S. by TrustR, has achieved that status through exceptional service and providing its own recommendations to users. This combination has made Amazon the gold standard of trust and recommendation in the U.S."

The full report is available exclusively to WPP clients, but a summary version can be accessed at www.millwardbrown.com. TrustR Brand Workshops conducted by Millward Brown and The Futures Company are also available; please contact peter.walshe@millwardbrown.com for further information.