1

Sony Tracking Draft Proposal

2

Background and objectives (1)

Sony Pictures have run a weekly survey in partnership with Troy Research since 2000, tracking the interest in, and research of, upcoming theatrical releases amongst cinema-goers, as follows:

Recruitment controls:

• No direct contact with the film industry and / or the fields of journalism and research

• Not to have participated in film-related research in the last 5 weeks.

Method: Online self-completion questionnaire

Sample definition: To be aged 13-49, with quotas on age and gender

Sample size: n=400 per week per market

Markets: UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Mexico

3

Background and objectives (2)

Six years after the launch of the programme, Sony Pictures and Troy Research have observed that sample achievement has been lower, with key demographics more difficult to fill.

Sony Pictures has also noted that the reporting of the data needs to be out-sourced, as more senior executives within the company no longer have time to take ownership of this task.

Based on these issues, the objectives for First Movies International are …

To identify and address specific issues within the online panels which are preventing regular sample achievement

1

To propose a weekly reporting programme for the track, in addition to other analysis mechanics through which to maximise insight from the data

3

4To maximise the track’s potential; creative thinking to ensure the track delivers pertinent information across the Studio. Encouraging departments to put more in, to get more out

To propose changes to the current questionnaire, to expand the track’s potential, offering Sony specific insights into the impact of their marketing campaigns

2

4

A. The Current Health of the Panels …

5

Status of the Online PanelsFirst Movies International has identified the following issues within the online panels. All of these issues are related to each other and, as a whole, need to be resolved to allow Troy Research to deliver the necessary completed interviews for the track…

The panel population is lower than you think

1

Low representationof specific demographics

2

Over-use of the panels

3

Low completion rates

4

6

Total number

40,382 23,333 39,057 30,738 35,810 39,963 25,498

Occupation 1,495 1,366 5,646 1,918 3,116 1,446 2,325

Residency 1,205 42 2,371 189 2,193 5,500 -

Age 4,143 954 1,083 525 1,521 6,066 759

“The panel population is lower than you think”

The below table shows the total number of panellists per territory but a number fail to qualify past the following screeners:

11

• Occupation: some work in professions such as market research and journalism

• Country of residence: some live and / or work outside the country they represent

• Age: some are older than the upper limit of 49 years of age.

AU MXIT ESFRUK DE

Scre

en

ed

ou

t

While there will be overlap in each group screened out, the highest useable number of panellists is…

Actual number

36,239 21,967 37,974 28,820 32,694 33,987 23,173

7

MALES

13-17 2% 7% 6% 15% 8% 1% 4%

18-24 14% 14% 18% 9% 11% 8% 21%

25-34 16% 11% 16% 11% 20% 9% 18%

35-49 9% 9% 9% 8% 9% 9% 10%

FEMALES

13-17 2% 9% 10% 14% 5% 2% 4%

18-24 19% 22% 19% 13% 17% 17% 18%

25-34 18% 15% 12% 17% 18% 20% 15%

35-49 10% 9% 7% 9% 6% 19% 7%

TOTAL 40,382 23,333 39,057 30,738 35,810 39,963 25,498

“Low representation of specific demographics”

The track has specific weekly quotas, but some demographics are poorly represented in the panels…

12

AU MXIT ESFRUK DE

8

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Base: All Business flyers

Mar 18-20 March 25-27 Apr 1-3 April 8-10 April 15-17 April 22-24 April 29 -May 1

May 6-8 May 13-15 May 20-22

%

“Over-use of the panels”

Currently, the re-contact period for panellists is five weeks, while the market research industry standard is a minimum of three months

13

This could lead to respondents contributing to data on a movie more than once, consequently invalidating the results …

And as the panel has aged, this frequent re-contacting has contributed to…

‘Definite’ interest for SPIDER-MAN 3

Respondent A completes first interview

Respondent A completes a second interview, meaning the weekly sample is not

mutually exclusive and, therefore, invalid

9

“Low completion rates”

The average completion rate across territories has decreased over time and is now well below the 15% achieved in FMI online creative testing

0

10

20

30

40

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

%Average cross-territory completion rate over time

The average FMI completion rate for all online trailer testing is 15%

14

10

B. Immediate Solutions to the Issues …

11

Engaging panellists

In addition to being re-contacted too often, some panellists have been completing the same survey from Troy research for the last six years.

As a result, the low completion rate for the track might also be linked to respondents not wanting to take part in the “same old survey”, despite the need for consistent measures

1

Another solution could be to maximise the power of online, showing panellists images of posters and TV spots they may have seen.

One solution could be to send panellists mini surveys (possibly a handful of short questions, but no longer than five minutes), asking about a variety of issues within the film industry:

• How do panellists view and engage with piracy?

• What are their attitudes towards potential titles for movies?

• Who do they think will win an Oscar® in the 2008 nominations?

There’s also no reason why non-film, entertainment-related issues could be posed, or cultural/social issues, to gain a deeper ‘snapshot’ understanding of the marketplaceThese ad-hoc mini surveys would go a long way to re-engaging panellists, thereby improving completion rates and weekly sample achievement.

12

Recruiting panellists from First Movies research events

To help minimise recruitment costs, panellists can be sourced from FMI research screenings. According to the MRS guidelines, it is possible to re-contact a Respondent to take part in similar research on behalf on the film industry in the future, if the Respondent’s permission has been obtained at the previous interview.

In the UK alone, this could lead to a substantial cost saving:

2

2006 - 2007

10,000 cinema-goers attended an FMI recruited audience screening

Assuming a 30% take-up rate, 3,000 UK panellists would be recruited, saving a considerable amount

We can also ask for contact details from audience members participating in exit polls, further reducing recruitment costs to boost the panels.

13

Using multiple sample suppliers and recruitment techniques

3

Standard recruitment costs could be reduced by tapping into other sample sources and techniques, such as:

• Google key word searches: pay per click on a banner, not qualifying recruit. While there are no guarantees of a substantial yield, it has proved to be a cost-effective method for other First Movies panel generation projects

• Identifying more cost effective sample suppliers: First Movies and Troy Research could contact a number of alternative sample recruiters with the aim to reduce the average cost per recruit

• Drawing on existing panel members: we can ask parents the age of any children in their household and, if they are aged 13 to 16, we can ask if they would like to join the panel (NB: Parental consent regulations could differ from country to country).

14

These solutions could help grow the panel in a cost effective way and, in time, increase the re-contact period to a minimum of eight weeks, helping to secure the long term future of the panel…

11 Engaging panellists

12 Recruiting from FMI events

13 Multiple suppliers and techniques

Increasing the re-contact period for panellists

Better quality panellists

Higher completion rates

Better quality data

15

C. Weekly Reporting …

16

Current Reporting

Currently, a .pdf file of the data tables is issued, per market, with the inclusion of summary tables and graphs of key measures at a topline level. In addition, comparative tables and 2-3 page Executive reports are sent out, to aid the interpretation of the data.

17

Proposed Weekly Reporting (1)

FMI propose that the core essence of the current weekly reporting will be retained; essentially, providing Sony Executives with a summary of the week’s data, with graphical interpretation of key measures and accompanying text commenting on the scores.

For familiarity, the tables will retain their structure. However, with the necessary time and local insight at our disposal, we propose taking the accompanying report to the next level.

A revamped Executive Summary will illustrate more of the key figures (giving a deeper, visual snapshot of all movies on the track):

• The week’s scores (awareness, definite interest and first choice) across all titles still to release (making the comparisons easier)

- also shown by quadrants and (potentially) sources of awareness

• Percentage changes from the previous week’s scores

• First choice ‘share of voice’ among titles opening and released

• Trends in key scores for movies opening within the next two weeks, plus all SPRI titles

OPTION: Via our local partners, we will also be the eyes and ears for media buzz on the ground, reporting on events and news that will help explain the results achieved.

18

Proposed Weekly Reporting (2)

19

D. The Interactive Database …

20

The Interactive Database (1)To get the most out of the track, it’s our wish to encourage as many Sony Executives as possible to put more in. Their interaction with the data will harness the track’s true power, providing insight otherwise not thought possible.

In turn, it’s hoped that this will encourage a wider use of the panel, providing a more rewarding experience for the panellist, thereby aiding higher completion rates and better quality data. In turn, the data will become less ‘dry’ for Sony Executives.

The database will consist of four broad sections, all of which will interact with each other, allowing Execs to drill down further into the weekly data and to run trend reports/comparative analysis:

There will be the ability to view data extractions in tabular or graphical form, with a variety of functions to allow results to be saved elsewhere, or e-mailed on.

Note, to ensure that data is not misinterpreted, various levels of access are proposed, specifically to give the research team more scope to manipulate the data.

Demographic data, lifestyle variables and media/movie consumption

12 Existing survey data from the inception of the track

3 New survey data, including responses to the new, additional measures

4 Media spend data

21

The Interactive Database (2)

Questionnaire Development:

The following additional measures to the existing questionnaire are proposed:

• A double open-end to extract as much spontaneous title awareness from respondents as possible

• New answer options to the sources of information question, to reflect the changing landscape (for example, more comprehensive list of Internet sources)

• For two titles per week, questions to investigate:

• The signals and messages communicated by their TV advertising and trailers (open-ended question)

• The extent of the word of mouth being spread and its tone

• The content of the (positive or negative) word of mouth being spread (open-ended question) - - exactly what’s being said?

• Projected ‘relationship’ with the title, established through a list of prompted statements such as ‘I am put off by what I’ve seen’ and ‘I have already made plans to see it’.

22

E. Taking the Insight Further with Quarterly Reviews …

23

This type of long-term, regressive analysis would help us understand…

Which media channels were responsible for increasing awareness and interest

Why certain media channels worked as well as they did (or not)

While the tracking data will always, first and foremost, be used to give a weekly steer on where Sony movies sit against the competition, specific movie reports would relate the marketing to the consumer response.

1

2

3 Whether the media campaigns worked efficiently to increase awareness for the movie

The extent to which specific executions helped raise interest to see the movie

4

24

0

1

23

4

5

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100 UNAIDED awareness DEFINITE interest

Base: All Business flyers

Mar 18-20 March 25-27 Apr 1-3 April 8-10 April 15-17 April 22-24 April 29 -May 1

May 6-8 May 13-15 May 20-22

Relating media spend to audience response for SPIDER-MAN 3In this dummy example for the UK, we can see that print media maintained the

already buoyant interest in the movie. Meanwhile, significant investment in TV served to increase awareness, but had little effect on interest…

%

TVSpend

£M

0

1

23

4

5

PrintSpend

£M

Release Date

25

Investigating why significant TV spend did not increase interest

By allowing respondents to describe what they recalled in the TV advertising they saw, we can begin to pick apart potential reasons for any low responses. Filtered on those who recalled this advertising, the response can be crossed by any number of variables, most notably, levels of interest

You mentioned you had seen television advertising for SPIDER-MAN 3. Please type in everything you remember, giving as much detail as possible

“I remember the black suit; it looks really cool and I want know why Peter turns evil”.

The black suit was strongly recalled and generated intrigue…

26

Where was the overlap between the different media channels?We saw that TV raised overall awareness prior to release, but where was there

overlap with other channels and what can we learn for SPIDER-MAN 4? The following Venn diagram illustrates the overlap between awareness from different media sources prior to release…

74%

Time Period: April 29 to May 22

All respondents: (1600)

Internet

TV

Billboards

Trailer at a cinema

Print

16%

56%

18%

21%

TV did well to extend the awareness achieved by trailers, while a large proportion were reached by print, billboards and TV. While Internet achieved a low overall level of awareness, it was the most efficient source, as a majority of those aware via the Internet were not reached by other media.

Learning for SPIDER-MAN 4…

27

Modelling spend efficiency for TV

By historically relating levels of TV ad awareness to media spend for all Sony movies tracked, we can model expected rates of increase and decay and understand how efficient the spend was:

• This would be a database model, based on facts and what happens in the data, rather than theory

• Based on the differences between actual awareness for the movie and predicted awareness (calculated from the average of all movies in the database), a single index score would be produced.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100UNAIDED awareness

NORMATIVE awareness

%

Weekly

TV

RS

SPIDER-MAN 3 Release Date

050

100150200

Mar 18-20 March 25-

27

Apr 1-3 April 8-10 April 15-17 April 22-24 April 29 -

May 1

May 6-8 May 13-15 May 20-22

Index score: +1.4 (0 is average)

28

Relating specific executions to interest in the movie

On an ad-hoc basis, we can ask respondents if they have seen posters or TV ads in market:Have you seen this poster for SPIDER-MAN 3 recently?

Yes

No

78

36

0

20

40

60

80

100

%

Recognisers

Non-recognisers

We would then compare interest in the movie between those aware and unaware of the execution…

‘Definite’ interest in SPIDER-MAN 3.

29

F. The ‘Fun Stuff’ Every Once in a While …

30

Thinking Creatively

Whilst there are clearly fundamentals that need immediate attention, the following might be considered further down the line as ways to improve the use of the track and shed further light on its findings:

• Allowing panel members to post .wav or .mpg files expressing their thoughts on selected titles - - what they’ve heard, what they’ve seen and what they think

• Scrapbook: encouraging a mini-group of panellists to also be eyes and ears regarding media buzz

• Instant messaging with a select group of individuals each week: short (2-3 minute) conversations to add qualitative flavour to the number crunching

Again, it’s hoped that as many departments as possible see the potential power behind such a research vehicle and utilise the resources in ways appropriate to their business.

31

G. Fees for Consideration …

32

Annual recruitment costs per market:

• Ongoing recruitment of n=75 per week (necessary to ensure n=400 with a eight-week re-contact period)

• Assumes response rates will remain low (c.5%), target interviews will remain at n=400 and half of the new recruits will be teenagers

• $3 per respondent recruited by FMI through test screenings and exit polls

Annual consultancy fee per market: ballpark of £60,000-£80,000

• Advising on the content of each week’s questionnaire (specific areas for investigation and additional questions)

• Weekly meeting at the Studio (or conference call), with the Research team, to optimise the week’s questionnaire

• Weekly soft word document reports (excluding data processing)

Options: costs upon request

• Quarterly (teleconference) presentations to local offices

• Interactive database