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Media & Tech

It’s an exciting time to be working in media and advertising.  There has been a remarkable proliferation in the number of different media available. This fragmented media landscape means that assessing campaign ROI and measuring media audiences requires increasingly sophisticated thinking. 

Advances in internet and mobile technologies have transformed the world we live in.  The internet has democratised access to and distribution of information, but has also been a very disruptive technology, changing the face of industries as diverse as travel, retail and media.

The mobile revolution has taken two forms – in wealthier countries it has not just enabled us to stay in touch wherever we are, but has, especially with the emergence of smartphones, given us the ability to take advantage of the potential of mobile internet access. In developing nations the impact is arguably even greater – in the absence of established fixed line networks, mobile phones have brought connectivity where none previously existed.  

Through regular reports and bespoke research, BDRC Continental has helped make sense of a changing world and quantify the value of both new and more traditional media.

Some of our key clients in this evolving sector include Channel 4, Microsoft Advertising, CNN, ITV, Classic FM, Cartoon Network, The Newspaper Society, eBay, Microsoft, Ofcom, Global and Discovery. 

We believe every project is different. Our approach is to come to your brief with no preconceived ideas or set methodologies. Instead our experienced consultants tailor the research approach to the specific needs of each client. 

To find out more about Media & Tech research, please contact one of the team.

 

On 20th October, James Myring attended the Westminster eForum: Implementing the Digital Economy Act - site blocking, notifications and encouraging behavioural change.

James was an active speaker in the discussion which considered encouraging behavioural change and discouraging copyright infringement.

If you would like to find out more about this discussion, read the BBC's article, 'Whatever happened to the Digital Economy Act?', or contact James Myring (020 7490 9129).

Drawing on research carried out by our Media & Tech team, Marketing Week's recent article, 'Free samples are still best way to win friends' reveals the free sample is still highly valued.

For more information, contact Rebekah Reynard (020 7490 9132)

Areas of expertise


We’ve worked on a diverse range of projects including:  

  • Word of Mouth Research - using our Grapevine product

  • Video games - demonstrating the value of In-game advertising.

  • Created norms databases to assess ROI across a range of media (TV, radio, online in-game, outdoor, experiential)

  • The monetisation of online media content - click here to see our paper on the Monetisation of online media content.

  • The benefits of sponsorship

  • How multi-platform campaigns can increase reach and campaign impact

  • Experiential research – over 50 experiential research campaigns conducted in this growing sector

  • Audience segmentations - most notably for video gamers

  • International media research – large number of projects conducted in Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America and the Middle East

  • Understanding customer behaviour and commitment: shopping journey, churn and emotional brand loyalty

  • Pricing and new product development for a wide range of telecoms & online services: opportunites for mobile networks to expand into other sectors such as finance and education

  • Smartphone and internet security

  • Mobile broadband: Usage and attitudes towards niche products    

  • Usage of and attitudes towards search, webmail and messenger

  • Video games: Demonstrating the value of in-game advertising

  • Video on Demand – including usage and attitudes, both for our own published reports, as well as for major national broadcasters

  • Mystery shopping for telecoms and online services that involved multi-mode (store, phone, online) mystery shops  

BDRC Continental has been working with some of the world’s leading media players, broadcasters and trade bodies for more than two decades.

Put simply, the team helps make media more accountable by evaluating advertising, measuring reach, segmenting audiences and analysing their behaviour. The team has expertise across the whole media market from TV, radio, press and outdoor, to interactive TV and online, to newer technologies including IPTV, video on demand and in-game advertising. In addition, a particular area of speciality is the assessment of the effectiveness of experiential marketing.

Whatever you want to know about how people consume media and advertising and its impact on their behaviour, BDRC Continental has the expertise to bring you closer to your audience.

For a number of key clients we have constructed benchmarking databases to produce campaign effectiveness norms. These benchmarking databases which span international, domestic and interactive red-button TV, radio, in-game advertising and experiential marketing allow the impact of individual campaigns to be put into context.

We view all our clients as long-term partners, relishing the opportunity to build lasting relationships by understanding your business. We believe this is why we have a client retention rate of over 90% and work with the biggest names in the sector.

Media Research Group Conference, Malta 3-6 November

At the 2010 MRG conference in Malta, BDRC Continental sponsored a panel discussion on piracy and presented the results of their latest research in this controversial area, and James has also written an article commnenting on the growing issue of piracy.

The MRG conference examined today’s constantly changing media environment with a view to what is challenging the future of communications. Leading industry figures presented and engaged in panel discussions to help understand the impact these media changes have on businesses and their customers.

For a copy of the conference presentation or if you would like more details, please contact James Myring.

Online news content

We are becoming more and more interested to see pay-walls emerging in the world of online news content so in November 2009 we looked at the monetisation of online content (particularly micropayments) at the MRS New Media conference.

This has been a huge industry for some time and it is no surprise that gaming has attracted the attention of advertisers.  We presented a paper in February at the MRG – in-game advertising flourishing through the downturn.  It featured Max doing an impression of Charlie Brooker! 

Advertisers console yourselves and play the game

James recently wrote an article on in-game advertising for MrWeb. He suggests that as games consoles become increasingly present in the home, they will become an ever more significant platform for advertisers to reach a wider demographic.

Since 1997 we have been researching the usage of internet and mobile technologies and reporting on their subsequent conversion.  Our research seeks to provide understanding of the emerging consumer landscape and predict the technologies with the potential for success.

Some recent work we have carried out in this area includes:

Ofcom's report on telecoms services provided to consumers with disabilities

Ofcom have now published the research we conducted for them, revealing what information the major fixed and mobile telecoms companies provide to consumers with disabilities about products and services that are designed to benefit them. This followed similar research we conducted in 2004 and 2006. If you would like to read more on the report, see the article published in The Guardian or download the full report.

Ofcom's Communications Report

Ofcom have released their seventh annual Communications Market report. It supports Ofcom's regulatory goal to research markets and remain at the forefront of technological understanding, the research for which was conducted by BDRC Continental.

The report acts as a reference source covering the UK communications sectors, aimed at industry, policy makers, analysts and consumers. It contains data and analysis on broadcast television and radio, broadband and fixed/mobile telephony, and also offers insights into how people are using the internet and converged devices to access audio-visual and audio content. To read more, have a look at the full report.

The piracy arms race

James has recently written an article entitled 'The piracy arms race' commenting on the ever-growing issue of piracy and touching on some interesting research that the team are conducting around this sensitive area.