The Cultural Impact of Network Programming

The Association of National Advertisers ANA has long studied these issues and recently published new work on the subject The ANA39s Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing AIMM has released an indepth report detailing how culture impacts purchase intent The report is crucially important as advertisers and marketers want to place their branding in front of audiences that are most likely to be receptive to shared messaging The attention economy dominated by fractured channels and a segmented market makes timing and placement more valuable than everThe new report also introduces the Cultural Insights Impact Measure CIIM which is designed to give a sense of how culture in ads and programming will positively impact and lift brand growth The CIIM which was created in partnership with NBCUniversal and AIMM evaluated advertising creative and programming in a variety of categories The goal is to measure with some certainty the degree that culture by way of representation can move the dial for brands and marketersThe depth of the study is impressive having gathered more than 20000 evaluations from 10500 African American Asian differentlyabled Hispanic LGBTQ and nonHispanic white TV viewers The sheer amount of data gathered confirmed that there is little doubt that culture matters when it comes to content and how consumers respond Programming with an aboveaverage CIMM score shows a higher net likeability rating relative to shows that track below the norm It should be no surprise that representation is a vital component of getting viewer buysin amp8212 and that linking ads in a favorable environment is the goal Culture however extends beyond the image and it is there that we see valuable insights on nuance begin to surfaceThere is a famous saying in DampampI circles quotDiversity is being invited to the dance and inclusion is being asked to dancequot CIMM takes that saying and makes it a living part of its analysis CIMM consists of nine cultural attributes that have shown to contribute to whether a show receives a higherthanaverage rating Five of those have the most significant impact on viewers 1 Acknowledgment and inclusion 2 Reflect my cultural values 3 Positive depictions 4 Role models and 5 Celebrate my culture This is the difference between a general market spot using diverse actors that has a universal message amp8212 seeking the broadest appeal possible amp8212 and an advertisement that has particular cultural resonance and is specific to the culture with attributes language and tone that make it uniqueThose different measures illustrate that a show such as Blackish that is on an endemic network can still have a high CIMM measure The network is important but cultural resonance is a more significant measure of what will be meaningful to viewersThe one exception seems to be the Hispanic market Research shows that in the Hispanic market cultural relevance is delivered through endemic networks Azteca Telemundo and Univision Of course this would make sense as programming will be most likely in Spanish and language is central in any culture conversationAfrican Americans can slip between endemic and nonendemic with a fluidity that is not based on language But even African American Vernacular English AAVE is a way to capture core values regardless of network Programming in an authentic black voice will more than likely reflect and celebrate cultural valuesBut ultimately if you don39t see or feel represented in a program regardless of the network why would you watch The disconnect between what is popular and culturally relevant among nonHispanic whites and African Americans and Hispanics can be vast The study cites recent shows such as Young Sheldon Big Bang Theory and Last Man Standing but this can be expanded to the obsession with the 25th anniversary of FriendsFriends star David Schwimmer was recently taken to task for suggesting we reboot Friends with a multicultural cast He had to be reminded that the popular 1990s show Living Single predated Friends In essence Friends was the reboot but you wouldn39t know it by mainstream coverage The CIMM gives brands and marketers a method to pull back the curtain and get a better sense of what is relevant to multicultural audiencesDon39t stop now Stay in the know on the impact of DampampI influence and influencers with more from Phil McKenzieClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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The Cultural Impact of Network Programming

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Philip McKenzie

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The Cultural Impact of Network Programming

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