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Penny Browell, Head of TV research at Other Lines of Enquiry, used OnePoint’s mobile survey technology as part of a multimodal research project for the television marketing consortium, Thinkbox.
Thinkbox, the trade marketing body representing the commercial broadcasters, works with advertising agencies and clients to help advertisers get the most from using TV as a marketing platform. With the growing influence of online media, Thinkbox wanted to know the relative position and value of TV in the lives of young people. Is it true, as some pundits suggest that television is being marginalised by online media?
The study investigated the media habits of young people aged 8-21. Among this age group, it might be supposed that the gap between an 8 year old and a 21 year old is so vast that any comparative data is diminished in value. “It is a challenge addressing what appears to be a broad spread of ages, “ confirms Penny, “but the reality is that in terms of behaviours and consumption of media types, the difference is not so stark. What we wanted to know was not so much about what specific programmes they engage with, but how, when and with whom they engage with the media.” The bigger challenge was administrative; “when researching children’s behaviour, there is a lot of work you need to do to assure parents of what you are doing and why, and you must get their approval and support first.”
The range of research processes, from qualitative to quantitative, used across the study meant that different types of behavioural and attitudinal responses to different media could be gathered. OnePoint’s mobile survey system was a vital component because it is the only research tool that captures respondents’ thoughts ‘in the moment’. As Penny says, “Mobile surveys give a sense of immediacy.” Further, mobile surveys are a good tool to use with this age group. “They have a phone, they are very attached to it, and we’ve found that respondents often prefer it to online surveys,” she says.
The question bank used asked respondents to describe what was happening, at a given moment, based around three concepts: What are you doing? With whom are you doing it? And, was it your idea? Initially, the study required the respondents to trigger the questions themselves, but Penny found that by leaving respondents to tell her when they started some sort of media consumption, the volume of feedback was insufficient. “So, we turned it around, and sent a text prompt to them at different times in the day”. Some of the questions were framed within a multiple choice structure, others open ended, allowing for precision grouping and giving voice to the respondents. The multiple choice questions trigger others, so for example, the question, what are you doing; A = COMPUTER, B = TV, and so on, triggers the next question; Are you doing anything else?
From a sample base of about 1,000 people across the whole study group, about 200 were selected for the OnePoint mobile element of the study. Overall it was a very robust study, and the mobile element was statistically strong enough to give the researchers insight into what is actually happening ‘in the moment’ of media engagement. Penny explained that the volume of responses varied according to different times of day, but the results were very useful. OnePoint mobile surveys “give colour” explains Penny and is a great research methodology in certain situations; “it allows you to get into people’s minds while something is actually happening. Recall can be an issue with other types of research and mobile research overcomes this by getting to people at the right moment.”
Penny explains the current situation and assurances given with Other Lines of Enquiry using OnePoint’s mobile studies; “Recruiting is strong for mobile research. Mobile is quite ‘cool,’ and because the respondents already own a phone and replying using the OnePoint system is free, the cost is low. We only ever send questionnaires to people who have opted in to our surveys and when we work with children, we go through a complex process of permissions. We guarantee that people’s numbers are never sold on, and this gives respondents extra confidence to work with us.”
Did the study confirm concerns about a decline in TV consumption among the young? “Quite the opposite,” says Penny, “the study indicated that, as ever, television is a social medium. It is something that people do with other people. We were also interested to see how people use TV relative to other media, and the study found that people multi-task across different media. Multi-tasking happens across the board, and they were very happy to send us messages via their mobile phone to tell us all about it.”
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