Using MIMIEO, thousands of
movie fans are watching and voting on movie trailers for Oscar-nominated films using the iPhone, Facebook (PickMe application), and the website http://www.VoteOscarsAds.com . The polling is part of a graduate student research
effort to gauge advertising effectiveness.
The technology offers viewers a convenient method for getting current on Oscar nominated films, and preparing for the February 24th broadcast of the Academy Awards on ABC. Following each movie clip, participants will be
asked whether they thought the trailer was entertaining, and whether the ad
made them more or less likely to go see the film. Polling responses will then be used to create real-time movie rankings on the http://www.VoteOscarsAds.com website.
The graduate student research is unique since polling data is collected from mobile devices and the web simultaneously, and it offers insight into measurement of both the entertainment and marketing value of ads.
Polling results to date indicate the Oscar nominated movies “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “American Gangster,” “Beaufort,” “In the Valley of Elah,” and “Surf’s up” have the highest score for entertainment value in measured ads.
The students will also be conducting research on the commercials televised during the broadcast of the Academy Awards. With spending at an estimated $1.6 million for each 30-seconds of commercial time, the cost nearly rivals the February 3rd Super Bowl ads. Companies including General Motors, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, J.C. Penny, Coca-Cola, and MasterCard are each expected to participate.
The MIMIEO system previously measured effectiveness during the Super
Bowl XLII commercials broadcast February 3rd on FOX. Key findings showed some advertisers, such as Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment with
the ‘Iron Man’ trailer, ranked high in entertainment, but lower in marketing score. Alternatively, advertisers such as Universal Pictures with
the ‘Wanted’ trailer, ranked higher in marketing score, but lower in entertainment score. The MIMIEO findings revealed more viewers found the
‘Iron Man’ trailer to be entertaining, but when it came down to the ads ability to influence preference for which movie to go see, the ‘Wanted’
movie had the higher score.
The survey methodology was created in collaboration with MIMIEO, graduate students, and faculty from Northwestern University.
