TiVo and Innerscope Research(R) Identify Strong Correlation Between Emotional Engagement with TV Ads and Viewers' Fast-Forwarding Behavior

BOSTON and ALVISO, Calif., -TiVo Inc., the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), and Innerscope Research, a revolutionary media research firm, announced today the results of a joint study that identified a clear and strong correlation between TV viewers' emotional engagement with advertisements and their subsequent fast-forwarding behavior.

In a live study of 55 national ads, TiVo and Innerscope found that TV viewers are 25 percent more likely to fast-forward through ads with low emotional engagement than those with high emotional engagement. The data clearly suggest that ads that are more emotionally engaging are more likely to be viewed in their entirety even in a time-shifted environment. The findings, which will be co-presented March 31 at the Advertising Research Foundation's Annual Conference, show that sustaining viewers requires an understanding of their emotional engagement with an ad.

"Ads with poor engagement lose 25% of their viewers. Our products provide specific recommendations to help advertisers get those viewers back," said Dr. Carl Marci, CEO and cofounder of Innerscope Research.

In addition to overall engagement, results revealed the importance of establishing engagement during an ad's first few seconds. Ads beginning with low engagement received a precipitous drop-off in viewership, and those viewers electing to fast forward do not return to an ad - regardless of its subsequent effectiveness.

Building on prior work from Innerscope that showed that viewers do not turn off their emotions during fast-forwarding, the study also found that if engagement remains consistently above average, viewership remains stable throughout ads, and that if engagement declines over the course of the ad, then viewership declines at a similar rate.

"In a world where DVRs are already in nearly one third of households (and concentrated in the households with characteristics advertisers most covet), the integration of emotional engagement and behavioral response offers advertisers an effective tool to lessen fast-forwarding behavior and gauge the overall resonance of their message," said Todd Juenger, Vice President & General Manager, TiVo Audience Research & Measurement.

scores from TiVo's Stop||Watch ratings service, which collects anonymous, second-by-second audience research data from 100,000 TiVo subscribers.

Innerscope measured the emotional engagement of two groups of 20 viewers as they each viewed one hour of live content in real time with ads included. Viewers wore Innerscope's Biometric Monitoring System(TM: 63.44, 0, 0%), which features lightweight, wireless vests that monitor heart rate, breathing, skin sweat and motion.
Engagement scores for 55 national ads across both shows were then matched with TiVo's Stop||Watch(TM: 63.44, 0, 0%) ratings service to compare when, and how many, viewers elected to fast-forward through an ad. When the two metrics were compared, the emotional engagement of Innerscope's viewers correctly predicted whether, and how many, viewers would elect to fast forward at any given moment.

TiVo's Stop||Watch ratings service data is derived from a daily, aggregate, anonymous, stratified random sample of 100,000 TiVo subscribers - from which the second-by-second "clickstream" of behavior and viewership is collected and assessed. The Stop||Watch ratings service includes data for: Total Viewing, Live Viewing, Timeshifted Viewing (less than 1 hour, 1-6 hours, 6-24 hours, 24-48 hours, 48-72 hours, 3-7 day, and 7-14 day delay and C3), Program Ratings, Commercial Ratings and a Commercial Viewership Index. The Stop||Watch  ratings service uses ad occurrence data from TNS Media Intelligence to identify commercial spots. For more information on the Stop||Watch  ratings service, visit https://stopwatch.tivo.com.

About Innerscope Research: Innerscope Research(R: 28.37, 0, 0%) is dedicated to solving difficult market research questions by measuring and analyzing subconscious emotional responses to media. With its breakthrough Biometric Monitoring System(TM: 63.44, 0, 0%), Innerscope accurately predicts consumer behaviors, providing Fortune 100 companies with an unprecedented level of consumer insight. Founded by Harvard and MIT scientists, Innerscope leverages the latest advances in biometrics, neuroscience and eye tracking to measure moment-to-moment emotional engagement, the primary driver of behavior and choice. For more information, visit http://www.innerscope.com