Viewer choices of TV news sources in the Middle East—particularly in the aftermath of the Arab Spring—are about to be evaluated by the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors, which also will assess recent promotional efforts for its Alhurra TV operations.
Specific to Middle Eastern consumer preferences, BBG will enlist private-contractor services to obtain answers to the questions:
- To what extent is brand identity a driver of the choice of TV stations for news?
- What are some of the brand identities for TV news audiences view positively? Negatively?
- How do audiences learn about these brands?
- What are some of the differences in preferences by country or demographic groups?
- What is the role of content in shaping perceptions of the TV news brands?
- What is the news and information content audiences are looking for in the wake of the Arab spring?
- Which TV channels do they believe are providing this content? Why?
- To what extent are audiences getting this news from non-TV sources such as the internet, radio, newspapers, etc?
- What attracts them to these sources?
The 2nd phase of the project will focus on the outcome of its new 30 second TV advertisement campaign, “I am the news. I am Alhurra.” (see YouTube frame above). The goal of that study segment will be to:
examine the identity the advertisement conveys and the extent to which the advertisement promotes an image consistent with audience preferences, along with the implications for future marketing and advertising efforts.
BBG requires the selected contractor to conduct a region-wide assessment, but will consider proposals "to limit the research to Egypt, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia, as long as the offeror submits a regional assessment as well.”
Source document: Solicitation #BBG50-R-12-0022.
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