SURVEY RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

ONLINE MEDIA
Jessica Godfrey, Brittany Bivings, Camie Knight, Bryce Lawrence, Kristi Reamer
Brigham Young University FALL 2013

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SURVEY RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

LOGISTICS
In order to obtain relevant and accurate data from the survey, each research team constructed a list of questions based on prior research and client-given research directives. The research groups then pooled question lists together and a separate team of survey leads, consisting of one member from each group, gathered to select the best questions from the comprehensive list. Once questions were selected, the survey was created with the online survey software Qualtrics. After completing survey development, the survey was passed on to a third party service, Survey Sampling International (SSI), for distribution. Survey respondents were U.S. residents ages 18 to 30, with a greater focus on females than males. In order to select respondents for online survey distribution, SSI combines 62 proprietary panels with thousands more sources (Targeting the right people, 2013). This survey was distributed via Web.

SAMPLE DEMOGRAPHICS
There were 434 respondents who completed the entire survey. The sample selection was 61 percent female and 39 percent male. Fifty-six percent of respondents were between the ages of 18 and 24, while 43 percent were between the ages 25 and 30. Roughly 16 percent of respondents identified as Hispanic with the remaining percentage identifying as non-Hispanic. Of the non-Hispanic respondents, 69 percent identified as White or Caucasian, 2.7 percent identified as Alaska Native/Native American, 14.5 percent identified as Asian/Pacific Islander, 12.4 percent identified as African American/Black, 5.3 percent as other and one percent chose not to respond. Sixty-three percent of respondents reported an

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SURVEY RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

Confidential average yearly income level of $49,999 or lower. Forty percent reported being employed by a private or public company and 23 percent reported employment as a student. Seventy percent identified as single and 29 percent as married or cohabiting. For more detailed information on income levels, occupation, geographical origin and other demographic information, please see survey results in Appendix B. The sample effectively aligned to the national average with one notable exception. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2011), the amount of males within the selected age group was slightly higher than the amount of females. The survey sample, however, contained more females than males in order to reflect the clients desired emphasis on female buyers.

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SURVEY RESULTS
Findings for online medias potential in regards to the client are focused on answering two main questions. 1. What additional platforms for advertising infomercials are effective? 2. What is the future in infomercials advertising? Main findings include: What media most influence consumer purchase behavior and how it varies depending on factors such as age and gender The most effective ways to reach and influence modern consumers via online media Why consumers use the social media they do and suggestions for how Infomercials Inc. can use it to an advantage Why consumers do or do not purchase from infomercials How consumers prefer to purchase infomercial goods

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MEDIA INFLUENCE ON PURCHASE BEHAVIOR

On average, the same four media ranked highest in influence on purchasing behavior. TV, Amazon, social media and company websites ranked highest in influence on participant purchasing behavior. Participants were asked to rank given media based on their influence of the participants purchasing habits. The media ranked as follows among all participants with one being most influential: (1) television, (2) online shopping webpages such as Amazon, (3) social media, (4) company websites, (5) movies, (6) mobile apps, (7) magazines, (8) newspapers, and (9) radio (see figure 1.4).

Figure 1.4. Survey results for question 12 (see appendix B for more information).

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Confidential Regardless of gender, age or race, television ranked as the most influential platform on purchasing behavior. Social media, company websites and online stores almost always ranked in the top four. These top four media remained consistent across virtually all demographic categorizations save a few minimal exceptions. Notable exceptions are: Females rank social media and mobile apps higher on average. Social ranked second as opposed to third and mobile apps ranked fifth as opposed to sixth. African Americans ranked movies fourth while dropping company websites to fifth. Respondents earning more than $125,000 per year ranked online stores and company websites first and second, respectively, while dropping social media to last. Individuals with three or more children ranked movies at number two in place of social media. Participants who reported advertising influences them in areas targeted by the direct response industry (gardening, dieting, automobiles, health food/vitamins, childrens entertainment, pets, physical fitness/exercise, health and beauty and cooking) also reported the same top four platforms in terms of the platforms influence on purchasing. We expected television and Internet platforms to rank highly. However, given prior qualitative discoveries, television was not expected to rank higher than Internet. The difference may be accounted for given the survey included more widespread demographics, particularly in the age of the participants.

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Confidential Television advertising is still influential. Internet channels are increasingly popular, but Infomercials Inc. need not employ all of its resources toward online marketing. A successful approach will combine marketing tactics for both television and online channels. Younger participants ranked social media and mobile apps higher than older ones. Conversely, 25 to 30 year olds ranked television and magazines higher on average than did 18 to 24 year olds. A Kruskall-Wallace statistical test run on the data calculated average rankings while controlling for age range. The test revealed four statistically significant averages. First, social media showed a statistically significant difference between the two age groups. The p value of the data was .020 (any p value below .05 is considered statistically significant). Socials average rank among 18 to 24 year olds was 171.98 while older respondents ranked it 197.61 (lower numbers signify a higher rank in the context of this question). Mobile apps showed a similar pattern, ranking 171.95 among 18 to 24 year olds and 197.64 among respondents aged 25 to 30. Television and magazines ranked in opposite fashion. The test run on television yielded a p value of .006. The younger demographic ranked television 195.33 on average while the older ranked it 166.67. Magazines were also rated more influential by 25 to 30 year olds. They ranked magazines at 167.45 while 18 to 24 year olds ranked them 194.74 (again, lower numbers indicating a more influential rank). This data also matches expectations. Prior research indicated that a younger generation relies more on the Internet for information than does the older generation. Focus

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Confidential group participants reported significantly more time spent online as opposed to viewing television. The younger generation uses the Internet more than older generation. As time passes, more content will need to be produced for Internet platforms as opposed to television. This should be done cautiously, however, and with additional research. This research does not prove whether the younger generation will remain online or transition to television with age. The most effective social media platforms in terms of advertising are Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Fifty-six people (approximately 15 percent of respondents) ranked social media as the most influential medium on purchasing behavior. Participants were also asked to rank given social media platforms based on the effectiveness of their advertising. Those who ranked social as the most influential medium also ranked the following as the most effective social platforms: (1) Facebook, (2) YouTube and (3) Twitter. This data confirms expectations gained from prior qualitative research. Focus group participants preferred social media to television. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were among their preferred platforms as well. As the company begins to market via social media, we recommend it begin by creating content for Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Other platforms may follow eventually. Initially, however, resources should concentrate on these three platforms. People who ranked social media in their top four reported they would follow a company for new product alerts, sales/special deals and funny/interesting posts. Two hundred fifty-one participants (56 percent) ranked social media as one of the top four most influential media. They were also asked to select reasons they would follow a company on social media. Fall 2013 SURVEY RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS 7

Confidential Of those who ranked social media in the top four, fifty-six percent said they would follow a company for sales/special deals. Fifty-four percent said new product alerts, and fifty-one percent said funny/interesting posts. Only twelve percent said they do not follow companies on social media. This finding is slightly surprising in light of prior research. Multiple focus group participants indicated they do not and would not follow companies on social media. When creating content for social media platforms, offer sales, alert followers of new products and make posts entertaining. The data suggests more consumers will follow organizations with posts that meet these criteria. People who have ordered several times from an infomercial ranked company websites highly. Among individuals who said they have ordered 10 or more times from an infomercial, company websites ranked equally with television in terms of purchasing influence. Websites ranked second behind television for those who reported six or more infomercial orders. Company websites ranked fourth among those who said they have never ordered from an infomercial. In harmony with prior research, this data suggests a website is influential in the purchase process, particularly for direct response purchasing. The products website is important. Spend resources to make the website a userfriendly experience. This is important not only to draw first-time buyers but also to keep customers coming back for more.

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WHY CONSUMERS FOLLOW COMPANIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA

To better understand how to reach the target market, we analyzed why survey participants follow a company on social media. Survey participants were asked if it was because of (1) funny or interesting posts, (2) new product alerts, (3) sales alerts or special deals, (4) the opportunity to interact with the company or provide feedback, (5) online contests or (6) giveaways. Respondents were also given the options of not interacting with companies on social media, or other. The other option included a space to leave personal insight (see figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1. Survey results for question 17 (see appendix B for more information).

No responses correlated significantly with demographic information; however, statistically significant themes were found regarding effective advertising, placement of new product alerts, the effect of product quality on social media interaction and why some participants have not made purchases as a result of infomercials.

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Confidential Funny or interesting posts were the third highest reason participants reported for interacting with a company via social media. Out of participants who interact with companies on social media because of funny or interesting posts, Pinterest and YouTube were reported to have the most effective advertising. Both Pinterest and YouTube were statistically significant with a p-value of .022 for Pinterest and .038 for YouTube. Forty-eight percent of survey participants indicated funny or interesting posts as the primary reason for social media interaction with a company. Therefore, creation of this kind of social media content is an effective way to encourage customer social media interaction. If Infomercials Inc. decided to use Pinterest and YouTube to reach target markets, their advertising could be decidedly more effective. Following a company on social media because of funny or interesting posts and cross tabulating it with effective ads being on YouTube was an expected find. In the focus group conducted, many participants mentioned that humor or intriguing advertisements stood out. From the participants who stated this, a few mentioned that if an ad on YouTube looked interesting in the first five seconds (before the skip button is available), they would watch it. Some of the reasons for making a good impression in the first five seconds included music or fun images. If a funny or interesting advertisement on YouTube is able to make a watcher abstain from clicking the skip button, it is more effective than it would be on other advertising media. Pinterests popularity was an unexpected finding as Pinterest has not been effective with their sponsored pins. However, Pinterest is a good place to find the clients target market. In the previously conducted focus group, Pinterest was mentioned as a place where participants spent time. If Infomercials Inc. begins posting products on Pinterest advertisements will be more effective. Fall 2013 SURVEY RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS 10

Confidential New product alerts is the second highest reason why a user follows a company on social media with 51 percent of respondents indicating so. Another interesting find was that Instagram is a great way to alert the clients target market of new products. This finding was statistically significant with a p-value of .036. As Infomercials Inc. gains new clients and looks for new ways to market to these clients, they should consider using Instagram. Instagram for new product alerts was an expected find. In the focus group, many participants stated that they follow companies on Instagram. Instagram is an easy way to get a message across to its audience because it involves posting a picture and description that appears in the users newsfeed. Social media users who follow companies because of the opportunity to interact or provide feedback also find that quality is the most important element to them when making a purchase. Part of the purpose of social media is to create a conversation between user and company. This finding was statistically significant with a p-value of .04. Infomercials Inc. sells and markets many different products. By having high quality products, more people will be driven to Infomercials Inc.s website to provide input and will generate more conversation. This conversation is valuable to Infomercials Inc. as more social media users will see it and will inturn generate better public relations for Infomercials Inc. In the focus group, the stereotype that infomercials do not provide quality products was discussed. Infomercials Inc. should place an emphasis on their high quality products to drive more conversation and brand awareness to their social media pages. Forty-three percent of survey participants said that they follow companies on social media because of the giveaways.

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Confidential After doing a cross tabulation with why participants dont purchase items from infomercials, no exposure to infomercials was statistically significant with giveaways with a pvalue of .041. In order to drive more sales, Infomercials Inc. should start providing giveaways on their social media pages. This will drive traffic of users who follow companies because of giveaways to Infomercials Inc.s social media pages and more exposure will be given to Infomercials Inc. The connection between survey participants who have little to no exposure to infomercials and the participants who follow companies on social media because of giveaways was an unexpected find. However, when we analyze why these two factors are related, it makes sense as it describes the target market. The target market is 36 percent students with 38 percent of them having an annual income of $0-$24,999. 46 percent stated that they follow companies for giveaways. From the focus group, it was discovered that the amount of live TV watched from this demographic was very little. Since infomercials main medium of advertisements is through live TV, this demographic is not exposed to them as frequently. And since this demographic is most likely in school and is making little money, it makes sense that they would be interested in giveaways on social media. In order to best utilize the information about why participants follow a company on social media, Infomercials Inc. should consider (a) putting interesting or funny advertisements on YouTube and Pinterest, (b) creating new product alerts on Instagram, (c) focusing on the quality of products to promote conversations on social media and (d) giveaways for social media users who have little to no exposure to infomercials.

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MOST EFFECTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING

Research conducted on advertisements influence from eight social media platforms (Facebook, Google Plus Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Pandora and Hulu) provides insight on how to most effectively reach the specific demographic of men and women ages 18 to 30. Statistical significance was found in the demographic information of gender and in themes of influences purchasing habits, important factors of a purchase and the preferences of how to make a purchase. Statistically significant results within demographics provide insight into who should be targeted and where the advertisements should be placed in order to produce highest visibility and most favorable reactions from the designated demographic. Media platforms with the most effective exposure are Facebook and YouTube. Facebook is by far the best media platform to place an advertisement, as it proved to be one and a half more times effective in exposing advertisements than YouTube (see Figure 1.3). With men and women ages 18-30, it was expected to see Facebook as a leader in advertisement exposure and effectiveness. In the focus group we conducted prior to this survey, similar results supported the popularity and functionality of Facebook. Following Facebook and YouTube, the platforms decreased in effectiveness by .5 percent beginning with Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, Instagram, Pandora and last Hulu. The focus group results also supported the notion of low results in Hulu advertisement effectiveness, as many participants in the focus group claimed to take time to accomplish other tasks while commercials on Hulu run. Statistically, most success within the media platforms surveyed will be in placing advertisements on Facebook and YouTube. Infomercials Inc. should place advertisements on Facebook and YouTube to find greater success in online advertising.

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Figure 1.3. Survey results for question 21 (see appendix B for more information). Graph indicates advertisement effectiveness ranked from one to eight, with one being most effective and eight being least.

Advertisements placed on YouTube and Twitter were best received by males while females were most receptive to advertisements on Pinterest and Instagram. Advertisements placed on Facebook, Google Plus, Instagram, Hulu and Pandora had no statically significant difference on the impact they have on a particular gender. It is recommended to develop specialized advertisements on YouTube and Twitter for males and Pinterest and Instagram for females to find greater advertisement effectiveness on these media platforms. Social media and mobile applications were ranked as statistically significant influences of these demographics purchasing habits within the platforms of Facebook, Google Plus, Pinterest and YouTube. This finding was expected as previous background and qualitative research shows a trend of this demographic turning to Internet and mobile devices more than to television for entertainment. Infomercials Inc. should invest in social media advertising to make an impact on these demographics purchasing habits.

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Confidential Statistically, important factors of a purchase involved good product reviews on social media within the media platforms YouTube, Google Plus and Hulu. Good reviews in these platforms were an important factor for effective advertising. It was expected to find reassuring results for the YouTube and Google Plus influence; however, it was unexpected to find that good reviews expressed in advertisements within Hulu were considered impactful. Surprisingly, word of mouth reviews were not statistically significant. Although recommendations through friends and families word of mouth did not prove to be statistically significant in the survey, our qualitative research suggested otherwise. In the focus group, participants voiced an increased likelihood to try out a product if they had heard positive things about it from friends or family. Infomercials Inc. will benefit as good product reviews are showcased online through YouTube, Google Plus and Hulu; efforts in word of mouth over social media advertising is also recommended as a viable tactic for future success. Another interesting statically significant factor involved purchase-making preferences. Significant results related phone calls with YouTube advertisements and in-store and off the Internet with Facebook advertisements.

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CONSUMER INFOMERCIAL PURCHASE BEHAVIOR

To get a better understanding of which avenue would be most beneficial in reaching our target audience based on their preferred purchasing method, we asked the following question: Assuming you wanted to buy a product advertised by an infomercial, how would you prefer to buy it? The respondents chose from the following options: (1) Over the phone, (2) At a retail store, (3) Internet and (4) Mobile apps (see figure 1.2). A total of 395 respondents answered this question. The mean value for this question was 2.44 for males and 2.41 for females. The standard deviation for males was .67 and .65 for females. In other words, both males and females average answer was between (2) At a retail store and (3) Internet.

Figure 1.2. Survey results for question 26 (see appendix B for more information).

The average answer was also split when considering age. As expected after our indepth research in the focus group, for those between the ages of 18 to 24, nearly the same amount of people preferred to shop at a retail store (48 percent) or via the Internet (45 percent). For those between the ages of 25 to 30, 34 percent preferred to shop at a retail store while 51 percent would prefer to make the purchases online. The results also identified that more males (approximately 51 percent of males) would prefer to make the purchases online. Fall 2013 SURVEY RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS 16

Confidential We also expected a very small amount of respondents to prefer over the phone and mobile purchases. Supporting that expectation, only four people preferred to make mobile purchases and only 34 preferred the traditional infomercial technique of placing an order over the phone. Infomercials Inc. should consider removing over the phone purchase options and going completely in the store and online. Across the board, in-store and Internet purchases are the leading preferences with no significant preference between the two. Whether comparing race, state or even annual income or occupation, both in-store and Internet purchases are roughly even. This suggests that when considering preference, half of all people, regardless of demographics, would purchase an infomercial product in the store while the other half would purchase it via shopping online. However, this question is based on preference and not actual purchasing behavior and does not imply causation. Overall, 48 percent of respondents indicated a preference to purchase a product advertised by an infomercial on the Internet. However, even of those that would rather purchase from a retail store, 66 percent of respondents Agree or Strongly Agree that they would rather purchase an identical item from a website instead of an infomercial. Conversely, of those who would rather purchase online, 71 percent of respondents Agree or Strongly Agree that they would rather purchase an identical item from a store rather than from an infomercial. From these results with a p-value of 0.04 there is a significant preference to shopping online or in the store rather than from purchasing from an infomercial directly. We believe this means that it is crucial to have both a retail and online presence to have a greater chance of success in the infomercial industry. And though society is slowly moving towards a greater virtual online presence, for the near future, it is still important to have a physical presence. This means that infomercial products have a greater success rate readily available in the store for purchase at will. Fall 2013 SURVEY RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS 17

Confidential However, it is important to note the amount of times respondents have ever ordered from an infomercial. Over 52 percent of respondents have never made a purchase from an infomercial, compared to the largest group of respondents, 28 percent, who have made at least one or two purchases from an infomercial. With a p-value of 0.00, there is significant evidence to show that people simply do not want to make purchases over the phone. When given the option they will almost always, or 95 percent of the time, choose to make an in-store or online purchase. When it comes to making purchases, respondents repeatedly suggested that it comes down to the sales. For those who would rather purchase online, the top three characteristics of advertisements most influential to visiting a companys website are sales promotions, relatability and humor. This suggests that when considering those who prefer to make online purchases, the best way to get them to your website is to offer them sales. Similarly, for those who prefer making purchases in the store, the top incentive that drives them to make an immediate purchase is a sale.

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IN SUMMARY
Television advertising is still influential. Social media is also hugely popular and will become increasingly important with time. In addition, an emphasis on quality is necessary to establish infomercial goods as a viable purchase for many consumers. Social media users reported the most effective social media platforms are Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Consumers want sales, new product alerts and entertaining social media posts. Use social media to drive consumers to the company website. A users experience with the website affects his or her likelihood to buy more, and therefore, the continued success of Infomercials Inc. and its product.

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WORKS CITED
"Age and Sex." U.S. Census Bureau. United States Census Bureau, 2011. Web. 7 Dec. 2013. <https://www.census.gov/population/age/>. "Targeting the Right People." Survey Sampling International. Survey Sampling International, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2013. <http://www.surveysampling.com/en/sample/targeting>.

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