Entertainment Testing

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Theatrical Movies

No product demands a more rapid buildup of 'brand' recognition and meaningful recall than a theatrically released movie. While a new soft drink may have a year after launch to build its consumer base or a television show may have a season or two to find its audience, most movies have one weekend, or at most two, to prove their viability in the marketplace before competition turns moviegoers' attention in another direction. In such a marketplace, communicating an appealing message is not a guarantee of success. Many critically acclaimed movies do not have the box office revenues to reflect their intrinsic superiority. Rather it is movies that audiences connect with at an emotional level, whether it is in terms of their humor, sense of adventure or action, romance, or suspense, that rise above the fray at the box office.

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So how is it possible to gauge a marketing campaign's success in communicating not only an attractive, but also an evocative message about a movie? In order for a message to be consistently persuasive, its moving parts must be cohesive, each, not only encouraging meaningful recall, but also effectively contributing to the intended broad marketing image. One crucial step in achieving this goal is maximizing the effectiveness of the print images associated with the movie. Print images build the foundation of early stage movie brand recognition and contribute significantly to recall throughout a theatrical marketing campaign.

Utilizing cutting-edge non-intrusive eye-tracking technology and the exclusive iMotions™ Emotional Tool®, the VERT methodology provides invaluable insight into moviegoer's sub-conscious emotional response to your print ads, posters, billboards etc. With our proprietary Attensity Values, we also deliver in depth feedback about what images in your ad moviegoers gravitate to and pay the greatest attention. Not only can we tell you what images receive the most notice, but, with the use of our advanced Highlight Tool™, it is possible to examine attention points in greater detail or select images of interest (logos, background details) that fall outside the range of immediate notice. This insures that your print images benefit from the highest levels of moviegoer emotional engagement and eye-catching visual stack the odds in your favor in terms of heightening recognition of your movie during the initial stages of your campaign and motivating emotionally evocative recall in the crucial build up to opening weekend.

Television Commercials

While it is true that in our media rich world, outlets to reach moviegoers only multiple, the fact remains that regardless of who your target audience is, television commercials are a primary source of awareness about your movie. Yes, even among the younger crowd who are on the computer, while they text a friend, with the television showing a baseball game in the background, television commercials remain a dominant source of information about movies.

So, what does VERT have to offer that traditional commercial testing lacks? The answer is a view of your commercial through moviegoers' eyes. Using state-of-the art Attention Tool technology, a moviegoer's eye movements are tracked throughout the duration of your television spot. We can tell you what moviegoers are paying the most attention to visually and how their gaze patterns relate to your communication goals. More specifically, is their visual attention engaged at moments that move the story line forward or provide a comedic punch or a strong action sequence. While, through traditional lines of questioning, we get a good sense of what they understood from the commercial and what parts they remember liking or disliking, now we have the tools to directly access how your commercial's visual images impact these messages and perceptions.

DVD Packaging

While a successful theatrical marketing campaign can provide the underpinnings for DVD sales success, the DVD marketplace is a highly competitive environment with its own unique creative marketing challenge. DVD marketers build upon the achievements of some theatrical marketing campaigns, while also navigating around the challenges of others. Adding further complexity to their role is the demand to create engaging packaging designs. The visual print advertisements from a theatrical marketing campaign are not always the optimal designs for DVD packaging both in terms of the limited cover space and the possibility of a shifting consumer base.

The VERT Advantage

The VERTual Packaging test methodology is ideally positioned to meet the challenges of DVD Packaging design research. Included in our arsenal of research tools is cutting age non-intrusive eye-tracking technology, iMotionsTM Emotional Tool®, and VERTual shelf displays, each delivering invaluable information about the consumer's visual response and emotional reaction to your DVD cover design. Our team of experienced researchers from both the entertainment and CPG industries utilizes these unique measures to provide actionable strategic recommendation about you DVD packaging design and competitive positioning.

Our methodology begins with a test of your package designs utilizing our exclusive eye-tracking Attensity Values and the iMotionsTM Emotional Tool®. Perspective cover designs will be compared and contrasted with respect to DVD purchasers' initial emotional reaction to each design ('stopping power'), and in terms of the most engaging attention points within each design. Included in our VERT methodology is evaluation of your DVD marketing hooks and potential purchase interest based on the package design (including front and back cover) and corresponding marketing elements.

What is our greatest edge over the competition?

Most current research methodologies for DVD packaging testing offer at best, broad assessment of the competitive environment, without evaluating the point-of-purchase environment in a realistic way. VERT fills this void by leveraging our advance technological capabilities. We utilize our proprietary VERTual Shelf, a life-size simulated shelf environment, to evaluate each of your packaging in a competitive scenario in terms of how well each draws attention and sustains notice. Ultimately, the true marketplace strengths of your package can only be discovered when it is evaluated in a real world scenario. Only VERT gives you the peace of mind that your most effective product design is breaking through the surrounding clutter.
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