Key Objectives
Our client, a major movie network, was in the process of developing and positioning a new Spanish language video on demand (VOD) movie service. The objectives of this study were to really understand household dynamics around Spanish versus English TV viewing of movies, awareness and usage of VOD services, and attitudes towards SAP, subtitles, and dubbing in Spanish-dominant and bilingual Hispanic homes– the core target audience for this VOD product. The insights from this study would help our client program and position this Spanish language VOD offering, as well as anticipate barriers to adoption and usage.
Methodology
Ethnographic research was the ideal methodology to meet this client’s objectives, because it allowed us to see how household dynamics around TV viewing and on demand usage played out in a real-life setting, not just what people tell us about it. We conducted about 20 visits among Spanish dominant and bilingual ”On Demand” households (with the service in the home) in two different markets, ensuring in each case that the majority of household members would be there for the visit so that we could observe individual as well as group behaviors.
Our bilingual ethnographers observed as the different members of the household interacted with their TV remotes, their interactive program guides, and their On Demand menus and paid close attention to their familiarity and comfort level with these interfaces. We noted who seemed to control TV choices and queried the household on why. We listened as different household members talked to us about their preferences when it came to language and genres for movie viewing, and probed for the motivations behind those preferences. And we gathered important insights on what consumers knew, what they did not, and why, when it came to VOD services.
Results
Through our observations in these homes, our client was able to better understand the role of and dynamics around in-language movie viewing in these Hispanic households, which helped them shape their programming strategies for this new offering. Importantly, we identified major linguistic, cultural, and technological barriers to VOD usage and adoption, which helped shape their consumer marketing and communications around this product. Further, our client shared these findings with their affiliate partners, which led to improvements to the cable companies’ menues, guides, and VOD interfaces, to make them more user-friendly for less acculturated Hispanics.