A Research Study on the DVR Effect

Sun, August 19, 2007

Tags: Advertising, Brands, DVR, TV

So, do you remember all of those TV commercials that you fast forwarded through last night during your nightly dose of “So You Think You Can Dance?” – me neither.

Well, according to a new study on viewer responses during DVR replays (and I quote), “people did remember brands pretty much to the same extent as they did during real time.” Yes, I said that without laughing – you have to read this to believe it. Personally, I think this smells like a big slice of denial pie on the effect that DVR’s are having on reaching consumers through television advertising. Read on.

NBC U Tracks Viewer Responses During DVR Replays
By Christian Lewis -- Multichannel News, 7/23/2007 5:25:00 PM

Washington -- In a discussion about innovative strides in cable research at the CTAM Summit here Monday, one of the more cutting-edge practices was presented by NBC Universal vice president of news research Jo Holz.

“NBC has been using neurological and biometric methods of research,” she said, explaining how its testing seeks to address the impacts that people aren’t aware of, don’t want to admit to or can’t articulate.

By outfitting 20 regular viewers of Heroes with specially designed vests during digital-video-recorder playback of the show, the network was able to measure heart rate, respiration, galvanic skin response and physical activities of each volunteer.

One question they sought to answer, Holz said: “Are people getting anything out of the commercials as they’re fast-forwarding through them on their DVR?”

The study found that people were actually highly engaged, evidenced by tracking eye movement and other physiological responses similar to those achieved during real-time commercial viewing.

“People did remember brands pretty much to the same extent as they did during real time,” she added.

Admittedly, the study spurred questions regarding impacts on the subconscious in cases where people were affected physically by commercials but couldn’t remember the brand names, but on the whole, Holz said NBC has been talking a lot about this kind of research. “This kind of measurement has been around, but the technology now is much less intrusive,” she added.

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