BBC StoryWorks unveils new tool which measures impact of branded content

BBC StoryWorks, BBC Advertising’s global content marketing arm, has launched a new initiative which allows clients to measure the impact of their branded content and sponsored editorial to understand the emotional engagement and subconscious association shift it elicits in consumers.Based on its ‘Science of Engagement’ research studies, which highlighted the impact of emotional engagement on brand perception, the process combines biometric and psychological techniques to examine how a brand’s creative alters subconscious attitudes around their key metrics.Qualitative tests benchmark consumers’ subconscious association between the brand and desired attributes prior to seeing the content.  Bespoke facial coding technology from CrowdEmotion then takes second-by-second measurements of six key emotional states, whilst eye-tracking identifies the relationship between what is being viewed, and the emotions experienced at that time. A post-exposure survey measures traditional brand metrics such as brand awareness, message association, brand favourability and purchase intent compared to a control sample to evaluate the true impact of the campaign.The tool has also been configured to allow fast turnaround insight during the campaign period, enabling the BBC to optimise the client’s campaign strategy. It can be applied to any content where the BBC has a commercial partner - sponsored editorial or branded content. Also revealed is which part of the consumer decision funnel the content most contributes to in order to determine what role each creative plays within the overall campaign strategy.Richard Pattinson, senior vice president, BBC StoryWorks, said: “Proving the effectiveness of content for brands is a challenge across the industry and we’re incredibly proud to have harnessed the expertise built up through years of in-depth research to offer clients a way of truly understanding the impact of their campaigns, using this unique combination of scientific tools.  As we continue to roll out this system, we will build on the insights to further reveal how our storytelling can create the right emotional engagement to enable our clients to maximise the impact of the campaigns we deliver with them.”The initiative is already proving a success, having been trialed on the Asia Pacific StoryWorks team’s series of content pieces - ‘Huawei: The Explorers’.The new Science of Engagement tool was able to demonstrate that, in the case of one Huawei creative, the narrative built a steady crescendo of emotion throughout, before delivering a final spike in positive feelings as the brand was revealed. According to BBC StoryWorks, it identified that the predominant feelings were happiness, surprise and curiosity, and pinpointed the exact moments which generated the most emotional impact."In addition, the product showed that the creative execution succeeded in driving a clear uplift in subconscious association between Huawei and key brand attributes such as being innovative, inspiring, environmentally responsible, and high quality. Following exposure, audiences also had a high desire to engage with the Huawei brand; brand awareness rose by 216%, brand association went up by 23% and purchase intent increased by 19%," the press release said.Joy Tan, president of global media and communications at Huawei Technologies said “We believe in openly collaborating with media partners to deliver the finest results possible, and the BBC Asia Pacific Storyworks team is no exception. Not only does our partnership stem from an open exchange of thoughts and insights, it also grows from year to year to create visually spectacular and unique content, thus driving interest and building strong connections with audiences around the world. The work of the team, and the results we have seen, are essential cornerstones that elevate our corporate identity.”(Photo courtesy: 123RF)