MEC Australia today announced a pioneering neuro science study of social TV viewers that has revealed that interacting with social media while watching TV drives a 9% increase in program engagement.

MEC and Seven teamed up to conduct the study with Neuro-Insight in the quest to discover the impact of social media interaction on viewers’ engagement levels on the 1^st and 2^nd screens.

Viewers recruited for the study were typical social TV participants; monitored though hidden cameras as they watched a live broadcast of the Seven Network’s reality show X-Factor late last year. Any interaction with social media occurred naturally.

The results disprove the theory that second-screen usage during TV viewing negatively impacts audience engagement, and substantiate the value of TV sponsorships and social media extensions.

Chief Strategy Officer for MEC, James Hier said, “Engagement is impossible for people to articulate through crude measures of recall, attitudinal research or even eye-tracking. The only way to measure engagement is neurologically.”

“Never before has a study been done that measures neurological responses to live TV viewing, at such a granular level, with such a robust number of interactions”. Peter Pynta Director of Marketing Neuro Insight added.

The study revealed:

• Interacting with social media while watching TV drives a 9% increase in program engagement
• Average social media interaction during a TV program: 4 times
• These interactions serve as “reset moments” after which viewers return to an engagement level higher than before
• Throughout the program, cumulative increase in engagement is 26%
• Second-screen interaction positively impacts Detailed Memory Encoding – the ability to remember specific elements of the broadcast.

“Seven Network can use these insights to improve our clients’ communications effectiveness. Sponsors that are fully integrated in a TV show can capitalise on the higher intensity of engagement and enjoy better results,” said Kurt Burnette Chief Sales & Digital Officer.

“This study teaches us that advertising messages should capitalise on viewers’ heightened receptivity to details, and that we should optimise the type and timing of advertising messages within a TV program,” James Hier added.

MEC, Seven Network and Neuro Insight unveiled the study results at the 2013 Australian Broadcasting Summit.

Visit our YouTube channel MEC InAction for the video The re-socialisation of TV

In a move to further enhance the agency's digital strategy and search resources, MEC China www.mecglobal.com today announced three major appointments in its Interaction team.

Paul Yan joined as National Head of Search, and James Graver and Ivy Au joined as Digital Strategists.

All three will report to Karen Ho, Head of Interaction, MEC China. “MEC’s strategic approach, its focus on digital and its access to analytics and data are what makes us stand out from the competition," said Karen Ho. “I am thrilled to have these three highly experienced specialists join the team. We will work together to strengthen the existing strategy and direction for MEC Interaction, and to build on our current success to create even better results for our clients in the future.”

Paul Yan, as National Head of Search, MEC China, will be responsible for the development and improvement of MEC’s search business in China. Paul has 14 years’ experience in China’s Internet industry with focus on e-commerce in the last four years. Focusing on leading the integrated planning process across paid, owned and earned channels, James and Ivy will be responsible for activating and accelerating MEC’s digital offering across key clients, with a particular focus on improving strategic thinking and creative processes.

James joins MEC China after one year with MEC UK, serving as Digital Strategy Director. Prior to that, he had been with UM UK for five years focusing on digital and creative.

Ivy has nine years of experience in digital planning and buying in Sydney, Shanghai and Hong Kong for OMD and PHD.

Christian Guinot, President, MEC China commented, “At MEC, we have evolved our approach to ensure that digital is fully integrated throughout all areas of our business and runs through the veins of the work we deliver our clients. These appointments reflect the critical importance of digital expertise to our business. We are extremely pleased that Paul, James and Ivy have joined us at this exciting time of change for MEC across China.”

Paul and Ivy are based in Shanghai and James is based in Beijing.

MEC India has been awarded the media duties for Dixcy Scott, the nationally renowned innerwear brand.

The company markets premium innerwear under the brand names Dixcy and Dixcy Scott. Bollywood A-lister Salman Khan endorses Dixcy Scott.

MEC won the business after a closely contested multi-agency pitch and will handle the account from their Bangalore office.

Speaking on the development, Raghul Sikka, Director of Dixcy Scott said, “We have very aggressive plans for the coming year and we wanted a like-minded partner on board. It was a tough fight between equally competent agencies. We believe we have found that partner in MEC. We look forward to working with MEC.”

Ganesh Sharma, who heads the advertising and promotion at Dixcy Scott added, “Being a low involvement category, our media product needs depth coupled with an innovative approach to reach our target audience, which will eventually deliver the desired results for us.”

Commenting on the win, T Gangadhar, Managing Director, MEC India said, “Dixcy Scott is a key player in the Indian innerwear market and we are delighted to have them on board. We look forward to a mutually rewarding association.”

MEC is a leading global network and a founding partner of Group M, and operates in 84 countries. In India, MEC has a wide repertoire of blue-chip clients that includes Colgate Palmolive, Britannia, Reliance Industries, LG, Honda, FlipKart, Citibank, NIVEA, Zee Network, CavinKare, DHL, Jaypee Group and Accenture.

MEC announced the findings of their IPL TV Rating Estimation Study.

Now in its fifth edition, the study has come to be the definitive barometer to gauge expectations around the blockbuster event. A combination of primary research and high-end analytics, the study has achieved 100% accuracy in the past, including last year. The research was conducted in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Pune, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad. As in previous years, the study has been carried out in association with Meritus, WPP’s analytics company.

Key findings of the study were:

• Average TV rating for the league stage is expected to go up from 3.8 last year to 3.9 – an increase of 2.6% (15+ years, Male/Female, SEC ABC

• MI (4.5), KKR (4.2) and CSK (4.1) games to have the highest ratings
• Home team (84%), favorite team (79%) and Indian stars (64%) continue to be deciding factors to watch a match. Time of the match (49%) is also gaining importance.
• MI (23%), Chennai (19%) and KKR (14%) are the most popular teams. Support for Hyderabad has gone up by 200% (2% to 6%), Bangalore has dropped by 50% (12% to 8%)
• Sachin Tendulkar (80), MS Dhoni (79), Yuvraj Singh (76), Virat Kohli (74) and Virender Sehwag (73) are the most popular Indian players in the League; Chris Gayle (60), Ricky Ponting (55), Brett Lee (51) and Kevin Pietersen (50) are most popular foreign players

Said T Gangadhar, Managing Director, MEC India, “Our study suggests that the IPL has matured as a property. The study clearly establishes that ratings in the first phase (first 18 games) impacts the fate of the entire league. With Pepsi activating their title sponsorship in a big way, the BCCI launching the IPL Fantasy League and India’s strong performance against Australia, the first stage of the league could get further momentum.

We expect the IPL Fantasy League to become a key part of the live broadcast experience and as a result, social chatter around IPL could grow significantly”, Gangadhar added.

Sunder Muthuraman, Managing Partner, Meritus Analytics, also believes that the IPL brand is reflecting the behaviour of a typical mature consumer product. “Our proprietary survey, that is integral to the forecast, shows that there is a segment of audience who will watch more than last year (say, the loyalists) and another segment who will watch lesser (say, the rejecters). Given that the former segment is larger than the latter, the ratings are likely to be marginally higher than in 2012. Given our past successes, we hope our pioneering rating forecast methodology will be adopted by all broadcasters and advertisers”, Sunder concluded.

MEC in Singapore, a leading global media agency, was named the Overall Agency Winner with the ‘Best of Show’ award at the Mob-Ex Awards ceremony held in Singapore.

In addition, the agency won a further nine awards including:

Gold

Best Use of QR Codes for Mercedes-Benz 125! Race

Best Original Content for Mercedes-Benz 125! Race

Most Innovative use of Mobile for Mercedes-Benz 125! Race

Silver

Most Creative App for Mercedes-Benz 125! Race

Best Viral Marketing for Mercedes-Benz 125! Race

Best App/Content for a Consumer Brand for Mercedes-Benz 125! Race

Bronze

Best Direct Response Campaign for Modern Family - SingTel mioTV

Best Mobile Advertising Solution for Modern Family - SingTel mioTV

Best Use of Multiple Mobile Channels for Modern Family - SingTel mioTV

The Mob-Ex Awards recognises Singapore’s leading contributors of mobile excellence and honours organisations that have pushed the limits in the mobile marketing ecosystem.