Dutch media brands in flux in 2011 A study by Interbrand and Tijdschrift voor Marketing
Dutch media brands in flux A study by Interbrand and Tijdschrift voor Marketing
Authors: Patrick Stal, Max Raison, Floortje Beemsterboer
Last year, Tijdschrift voor Marketing asked us to shed light on the dynamics of the Dutch media brand landscape. We enthusiastically accepted and conducted our first Dutch Media Brands study examining consumer behavior. We took a look at which media brands Dutch consumers are using and which Dutch media brands are successfully engaging Dutch consumers in today’s dynamic media landscape. This year we have again taken up the challenge. Below are our insights on the 2011 Dutch media brand landscape and the developments and changes that have occurred over the past year.
Why study media brands? At Interbrand, we believe brands are living business assets, which if properly managed, can create economic value. In doing so, the biggest challenge for brands is to remain relevant, while also ensuring the brand is consistently brought to life across all pos-
sible touchpoints with the consumer. Part of this proper management is making sure that the brand adapts to change in a relevant way, while remaining authentic and consistent. In today’s consumer environment, media brands are omnipresent and consumers are continuously choosing between different brands and different media types. The rate of change in the media industry is unequalled, Driven by technological developments and changing consumer preferences. As a result, media brands are constantly faced with the challenge of remaining relevant and fulfilling consumers’ evolving needs. It is one of the most dynamic branding sectors and the lessons learned here could well apply to other sectors. Studying media brands provides key insights to marketers and brand leaders in the media industry and beyond. One of the main challenges media and other brands currently face is how to engage consumers across different media platforms.
Nederlandse mediamerken in beweging in 2011 Interbrand & Tijdschrift voor Marketing
Many brands are active across different social media, but is there still room for improvement? This year, another interesting development was the launch of the tabletPC, most notably the iPad. How has this new tool changed the way Dutch consumers interact with media in 2011? These are some of the questions we sought to find answers to in this year’s analysis of the Dutch media brand landscape.
What we did Similar to last year, Interbrand conducted a survey of a representative sample of 600 Dutch consumers.124 Dutch media brands were included across different mediums including television, radio, the internet, magazines, and newspapers. Although global category benchmark brands such as Google, Facebook, and Wikipedia were included again in this years study, we were less interested in comparing them to Dutch media brands and more interested in establishing how global trends, such as Facebook’s incre-
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asing dominance over local social networks, were taking hold among Dutch consumers. (For a full list of brands included, along with our definition of “Dutch media brand” please see 8) The research was focused on determining consumer’s opinions about: • Dutch media brand strength (consisting of awareness, likelihood to choose, overall opinion, and overall satisfaction) • Current and preferred use of media brands and types • Choice of brands and media types by occasion (including: entertainment, local news, and information) • Brand trust and reasons why • Cross-media communication and engagement Based on the survey results, we identified and ranked the 25 strongest Dutch media brands of the moment. To establish this ranking, a composite metric was used, based in part on Interbrand’s Brand Strength Scoring methodology. This metric consisted of weighted ratings for each brand on awareness, choice, opinion, and satisfaction, allowing us to arrive at an overall score for each brand. (You can read more about our Brand Strength Scoring methodology here at www.bestglobalbrands.com).
Strongest Dutch Media Brands per category: Best Magazine Brand: Donald Duck Best Newspaper Brand: de Telegraaf Best Radio Brand: Radio2 Best Television Brand: RTL4 Best Website Brand: Martkplaats.nl A look at the list of Top 25 media brands shows some interesting changes from last year. Most obvious is that 2009’s number one has dropped to third place, while last year’s number two – RTL4, the first commercial television station in the Netherlands which originated under the name RTL Véronique - is now leading the list. This is due to RTL4’s continued offer of high quality, locally relevant entertainment infused with current events. One of the brand’s specific successes has been the talent show “The Voice of Holland,” which has succeeded in renewing the talent search category in the Netherlands. With the “Voice of Holland,” RTL4 has successfully engaged audiences across a wide array of media platforms, building strong equity and involvement with the RTL4 brand across audiences.
The top 25 Dutch media brands (2010 brand ranking in brackets) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.
RTL4 (2) Nederland 1 (-) SBS6 (1) Hyves.nl (4) Nederland 3 (-) Net5 (7) Nu.nl (5) Veronica (8) Radio2 (21) RTL5 (15) RTL7 (9) Q-music (16) NOS (3) 3FM (20) Nederland 2 (-) De Telegraaf (6) Sky Radio (14) Algemeen Dagblad (12) 100%NL (-) TROS (10) Radio1 (23) Metro (19) VARA (13) Radio 538 (11) Slam!FM (-)
"RTL4 is the strongest Dutch media brand in 2011, while last year's number 1 – SBS6 – now holds third place" Nederlandse mediamerken in beweging in 2011 Interbrand & Tijdschrift voor Marketing
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Nederland 1, 2 and 3 at the top One of the biggest discussions that emerged from last years’ strongest Dutch media brands study, was the decision to omit Nederland 1, 2, 3 from the research because they were not mentioned by audiences as “media brands” in unaided awareness studies. This year, to better illustrate the dynamic surrounding the channel and content media brands on the public channels, and to reflect the efforts in branding of Nederland 1, 2, 3 in the last year, we included these brands in this year’s study. Interestingly, Nederland 1 has come in at second place in this year’s ranking And Nederland 3 claims fifth place. We clearly see the public content media brands such as NOS, TROS, VARA dropping in the list now that the full spectrum of media brands are included in the study. Nederland 1, 2, 3 have all engaged in significant efforts across the last year to become more prominent as brands and to present a clear and relevant value proposition to potential audiences. This effort is clearly reflected in this years’ list. Another testimony to the importance of relevance and clarity for any brand, are some of the other newcomers to the list. Both SlamFM and 100%NL are new to the list, and surprisingly come from a medium whose commercial future is the subject of much discussion: radio. By targeting specific audiences and providing a clear and relevant offer to those audiences, these brands are rapidly growing in strength. In addition to the shifting of brand positions in our ranking, the ranking also raises some questions, which require a more in-depth look. Why do television brands still dominate the list? Why do consumers trust certain
brands? How do Dutch consumers think of these brands, and why do they choose them? A closer look at the results reveals five primary insights that help to answer these questions and explain the dynamics of the Dutch media brand landscape in 2011.
The 5 most important insights 1. The Internet continues to be ubiquitous Across different media consumption occasions (e.g. seeking entertainment, searching for local news, relaxing, and wanting comic relief) consumers continue to indicate that they choose the internet most frequently as their preferred medium. 2. Traditional media prevail for entertainment, but for how long? Television brands continue to be preferred for entertainment, but we have seen a significant drop in this preference since last year. 3. Building trust is fruitful Trust appears to generate preference. Building trust is done differently depending on the focus of the brand. 4. Biggest challenge: building strong media brands across different media platforms Despite the opportunity to engage consumers across different media platforms, including social media, few brands have succeeded in doing so. 5. Local can still compete with global Although we engage with global brands on a daily basis, locally relevant media brands continue to dominate the landscape against global category benchmarks.
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The Internet continues to be ubiquitous Across different media consumption occasions (e.g. seeking entertainment, searching for local news, relaxing, and wanting comic relief) consumers continue to indicate that they choose the internet most frequently as their preferred medium. The internet is especially preferred when people are looking for local or international news. One explanation for this is the increasing importance of social media in relaying information about current events as recently demonstrated by current events in Egypt and across the Middle East and North Africa. The internet, including social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, enable people to show and report about events as they are happening.
“Consumers continue to indicate that they choose the internet over TV when looking for local and international news, weather and traffic, business news and humor”
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Audiences have an increased understanding of how they can use social media and it is important for brands to develop the same understanding in order to engage consumers in a relevant way. The emergence of social media has dramatically changed the way brands can engage consumers across different media platforms.
When looking for local or national news, 44.4% of consumers surveyed prefer the Internet
Information now please Given consumers demand for up to date information all the time, it is not surprising that Nu.nl remains prominent in the list of most preferred news sources. According to Dutch consumers, Nu.nl is the primary source they consult for local news and the secondary source for international news (following Nederland1).
For local/national news 44,4% prefer the Internet, while 26,9% prefer to watch television, and only 19,9% prefer newspapers
Top 5 most preferred brands for local/national news Nu.nl Nederland 1 RTL 4 Algemeen Dagblad (AD) De Telegraaf
Top 5 most preferred brands for international news Nederland 1 Nu.nl RTL 4 De Telegraaf NOS
For international news 50,1% prefer the Internet, while 34,7% prefer to watch television, and only 9,1% prefer newspapers
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T raditional media prevails when it comes to entertainment, but for how long? Although the internet is still the preferred media type among Dutch consumers, eight out of ten brands featured in our top 10 are television brands. Why does television still dominate the preference of the Dutch consumers when overall, when internet is indicated as the preferred media type for the majority of occasions? In an increasingly media saturated world, where people are over-stimulated, television appears to be taking on a role as a welcome “passive” medium. While information and entertainment is ubiquitous on the internet, sometimes consumers simply want to be entertained. Television watching requires minimal exertion and allows people to make minimal choices. Not surprisingly, the top five brands chosen by consumers when they “just want to be entertained” are television brands – in order of preference, RTL 4, SBS 6, Veronica, Net 5, and Nederland 1. Interestingly, this trend appears to be shifting. In comparison to last year, the results show an overall decrease in television consumption and an increase in internet use when consumers seek entertainment and relaxation. The present study showed that 50.9 percent of Dutch media consumers prefer television when they “just want to be
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entertained,” compared to 73 percent last year, a significant decrease. When consumers “simply want to relax,” 39 percent prefer television compared to 37 percent last year while 24.2 percent of consumers prefer the internet for relaxation, compared to 15 percent in 2009. Although television still dominates, there is an increasing use of the internet for entertainment and relaxation purposes. Consumers also indicated they prefer using the Internet to listening to the radio when they want to relax. When the Dutch consumer wants to relax 38,6% prefer television 24,2% prefer the internet 15,9% prefer radio, while 14,4% prefer reading a magazine
“Although television still dominates, there is an increasing use of the internet for entertainment and relaxation”
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Building trust is fruitful What do consumers mean when they say they trust a brand? Does trust vary depending on what a brand is used for? Most importantly, does trust translate into choice? In order to answer these questions, we asked consumers to indicate which Dutch media brands they trusted the most and why. The results: Nederland 1, RTL 4, SBS6, NOS and Nu.nl are the top five most trusted Dutch media brands.
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“Nederland 1 is the most trusted Dutch media brand” Interestingly, the top three most trusted brands are the same as the top three Dutch Media Brands (Nederland1, RTL4 & SBS6). The three most trusted brands are also the top three most used media brands. It appears that perceived trust leads to preference and choice, making it a key focus for any media brand. How do you build trust? Trust is hard to gain and easy to lose, but if gained and maintained it can create ongoing advocacy for a brand. The reasons people trust a media brand differ depending on the reasons they choose to engage with a brand. And yet, the way brands can build trust depends fully on the focus of a brand.
Most trusted Dutch media brands
Nederland 1 RTL4 SBS6 NOS Nu.nl
23,7 % 19,2 % 10,4 % 9,8 % 9,3 %
For example, whereas commercial television brands SBS6 and RTL4 are trusted because they conjure a “positive feeling” among consumers and have a “good reputation,” public television brands Nederland 1 and NOS are trusted because they are “independent” and “informative.” Given that Nu.nl, RTL4, Nederland 1 and NOS are all regarded as well established news sources, consumers indicated that their level of trust is influenced by how critical and objective the news broadcast on each channel is.
Interestingly, despite allegations of censorship regarding their page rank system and concerns about users privacy related to data compilation based on consumers’ search histories, 15.6 percent of respondents indicated Google as the brand they trust the most positioning it at number three on the list of most trusted brands, if we were to include it.
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Biggest challenge: building strong media brands across different media platforms Consumers have an ever-increasing understanding of how they can communicate across different media platforms. As a result, many brands are developing ways of engaging consumers across different types of media. However, there is still room for improvement, either because brands are failing to create a truly novel experience for new media types or because the types of media they are using are not relevant to their brands. Relevance and consistency are the most important factors in building crossmedia brands. Cross-media brands invite the consumer to cross over from one medium to another. Brands that do this add value by interacting and relating more effectively with consumers on different levels and in a multidimensional way. Communication becomes dynamic and multi-faceted, guaranteeing a deeper, more enduring brand experience.
consumers across different media platforms, primarily NRC Handelsblad, de Volkskrant and de Telegraaf. Although 73 percent of respondents claimed they visit the website of the NRC Handelsblad ranging from monthly to daily and 59 percent claimed they visit the website of de Volkskrant on a weekly basis, the newspaper which has succeeded in engaging the most people on the most regular basis is de Telegraaf. Metro and Spits are the newspapers that are read the most in print – closely followed by de Telegraaf – but are interestingly read the least online. This is not surprising since they appeal to a specific niche of free news consumers. Overall, however, the newspaper is the medium whose content is most frequently accessed on the internet. More than half of all respondents access the content of their newspaper through the website 50 percent or more of the total time they spend with that newspaper. Magazines are getting there Based on our results, Veronica Magazine is not only the most read magazine but also the magazine, which has most successfully penetrated different media platforms. In general, more than half of magazine readers read the print copy of magazines 75 percent or more of the time. Of the people who read Veronica Magazine, 42 percent also access the website on a monthly basis.
Newspapers know-how to build their brands across different media platforms Of the different media types we looked at, only newspapers are successfully reaching
Nederlandse mediamerken in beweging in 2011 Interbrand & Tijdschrift voor Marketing
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Smartphones and tablets not revolutionizing media usage In last year’s study, we hypothesized that although television dominates consumers’ current media experience, it may not in the future. In 2010, over two million smartphones and 350,000 e-readers and tablet-PC’s (of which 200,000 iPads) were sold in the Netherlands. Both smart phones and tabletPC’s offer consumers easier access to information and entertainment while facilitating their mobility. Contrary to the prediction that the tablet-PC would revolutionize our media habits, only 6.5 percent of the respondents in this survey own a tablet PC and 62.2 percent even claimed they would never consider buying one. Those respondents that do own a tablet-PC, primarily use it for browsing the web, listening to music and playing games and not for reading newspapers and magazines. In addition, when consumers were asked whether they access the internet primarily via their mobile phone or via the computer, a significant majority answered via their computer. Although consumers’ media habits are changing and technological advances are providing new means of engaging with consumers, it does not necessarily have to be at the cost of more traditional types of media such as television. Media brands from any medium, should find a way of relevantly leveraging the new tools consumers now have at their disposal.
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Local can still compete with global Last year’s study showed a powerful resonance of Dutch content in consumers’ media preferences. Has this changed? Although Dutch brands remain strong, we observed some interesting patters regarding consumers’ use and opinions of global brands. Global programs tailored to the Dutch public are still a formula for success. Dutch versions of global talent and reality shows including Idols, X Factor, and Benelux Next Top Model feature contestants from the Netherlands,
which Dutch consumers can empathize with, and provide opportunities for interaction and involvement by enabling viewers to vote. Meanwhile, as we have seen, original Dutch programs, such as “The Voice of Holland,” have proven very successful as well.
work sites. When asked which media brands respondents use the most, 13.3 percent said Facebook whereas 18.6 percent said Hyves. Despite the overall changes in the top 25 list, Hyves was able to maintain its position at number four.
While Google is omitted from our results as it is a global brand, we did conduct research into its role in Dutch consumers’ lives. In our results, we found that it is a category killer that is always mentioned first or second when consumers are asked which media brands they rely on for different kinds of information. No surprise then that Google comes in at number four on the list of most used media brands, after RTL4, Nederland1, and SBS6.
What does this all mean? In a media-saturated world, where change is the order of the day, Dutch consumers are constantly faced with the choice of which brands to use and which type of media to engage with. The results of the present study show what influences these decisions and which brands are successfully engaging the Dutch consumer.
“Local brands are still standing strong, in part by gaining and maintaining the trust of the Dutch consumer in a relevant way” We did not include Facebook in last year’s study either but, given Facebook’s significant growth in the Netherlands, we were interested in looking at it in comparison to Dutch media brands. We found that although Facebook grew by 50 percent in 2010, while Hyves use dropped by three percent in the Netherlands, according to TNS Nipo, Hyves is still the preferred social network with eight million unique visitors. When asked how satisfied and positive they were about both brands, respondent’s opinions were comparable for both social net-
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The internet remains ubiquitous, which is reflected in consumers’ preference for the internet across most media consumption and information seeking moments. Although global brands, such as Facebook, are gaining ground, local brands are still standing strong, in part by gaining and maintaining the trust of the Dutch consumer in a relevant way. What is the next step for Dutch media brands? The main challenges for Dutch media brands are: • Creating clarity around what they are to whom • Building relevant trust to create ongoing advocacy for their brand • Engaging with consumers across different media types • Driving consistency in the brand experience across media types
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Appendix
Defining a “Dutch Media Brand” Based on desktop research and a pre-test of unaided awareness of Dutch media brands, we compiled an extensive list of Dutch media brands. For the purpose of this study, we defined a “Dutch media brand” as: Brands that a consumer can choose to engage with when they desire to interact with media for information or entertainment purposes, further specified by the following criteria: • Brands must service the Netherlands as their primary market, either originating from the Netherlands, or, if not, providing programming that is primarily focused on or created for the Dutch consumer • Brands that have a broad public profile and awareness • Brands that are customer-facing The brands included represent television channels, websites, radio stations, newspapers, and magazines. They exclude “holdings” such as EndeMol, SBS Broadcasting, and PGN. This criteria explains why certain global brands, such as MTV, were generally excluded; though these brands have been tailored to the Dutch market, their content is not primarily focused on and created for Dutch consumers. However, some global benchmark brands were included in parts of the study to better understand how Dutch media brands perform in comparison to these top global brands
Brands included in the study Public Television - AVRO - BNN - EO - KRO - MAX - NCRV - NOS - NPS - Nederland 1
Magazines - Nederland 2 - Nederland 3 - Powned - Teleac - TROS - VARA - VPRO - WNL
Commercial Television - Film 1 - Jetix - MTV NL - Net 5 - Nickelodeon - RTL 4
- RTL 5 - RTL 7 - RTL 8 - SBS 6 - Sport 1 - Veronica
Radio - 100% NL - 3FM - Arrow - BNR Nieuws Radio - Classic FM - Fresh FM - Radio 1 - Radio 10 Gold - Radio 2 - Radio 4
- Radio 5 - Radio 538 - Radio 6 - Radio Veronica - Sky Radio - Slam!FM - Wild FM - FunX - Kink - Q-music
Internet - 9292ov.nl - Anwb.nl - Buienradar.nl - Detelefoongids.nl - Geenstijl.nl - Hyves.nl - Martkplaats.nl
- Autovisie - Autoweek - Avrobode - Beau Monde - Buitenleven - De Groene Amsterdammer - Donald Duck - Elle - Elsevier - Esta - Fancy - Flair - Girlz - Glamour - Grazia - Happinez - HP/De Tijd - Jan - Kijk - Libelle - Linda - Margriet - Marie Claire
- Miljonair - Nieuwe Revu - Oog - Opzij - Panorama - Party - Power Unlimited - Primo - Prive - Psychologie - Quest - Quote - Residence - Sportweek - Stars - Story - TV Film - Veronica Magazine - Viva - Voetbal International - Vriendin - Vrij Nederland - Weekend
Newspapers - Algemeen Dagblad (AD) - De Pers - De Telegraaf - de Volkskrant - Het Financieele Dagblad (FD) - Het Parool - Metro
- Nederlands Dagblad - NRC Handelsblad - NRC.next - Reformatorisch Dagblad - Spits - Trouw
- Ns.nl - Nu.nl - Startpagina.nl - Tvgids.nl - Dumpert.nl - Dutchcowboys.nl
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The Individual Ratings Most Used Brands
Top of Mind Brand RTL4 SBS6 Veronica Nederland 1 De Telegraaf NOS Radio 538 Algemeen Dagblad Nu.nl 3FM Nederland 3 Nederland 2 Net5 Q-music de Volkskrant Sky Radio TROS RTL7 VARA RTL5
% bekend 45,7 28,0 20,4 19,1 16,8 15,7 11,5 9,1 8,5 8,5 7,7 6,4 6,7 4,7 4,1 4,0 3,6 3,1 3,0 2,5
Brand appreciation All of the brands listed below, including category-killers, have an overall appreciation score of 7,25 or higher on a scale of 1 to 10.
- Google.nl - Wikipedia.org - Nu.nl - Facebook.nl - RTL4 - Marktplaats.nl - Hyves.nl - Buienradar.nl - SBS6 - Radio 538
- Net5 - QMusic - Nederland 1 - NOS - RTL5 - Nederland3 - Anwb.nl - Donald Duck - 3FM - Veronica
Brand
Most Trusted Brands % bekend
Nederland 1 RTL 4 SBS 6 NOS Nu.nl Nederland 3 Veronica Algemeen Dagblad Nederland 2 RTL 7 Radio 538 De Telegraaf Buienradar.nl Net 5 3FM Radio 1 De Volkskrant EO Martkplaats.nl NRC Handelsblad
23,7 19,2 10,4 9,8 9,3 7,5 5,3 4,8 4,6 3,6 3,6 3,5 3,2 2,8 2,8 2,8 2,8 2,7 2,5 2,3
Brand RTL 4 Nederland 1 SBS 6 Hyves.nl Nederland 3 Veronica Martkplaats.nl Net5 RTL7 Nu.nl Nederland 2 Radio 538 RTL5 Buienradar.nl De Telegraaf Q-music 3FM Sky Radio NOS Algemeen Dagblad
% bekend 39,3 33,7 31,2 18,6 17,4 16,4 15,4 13,8 12,8 12,8 11,9 10,9 9,5 9,5 9,1 9,0 8,8 8,3 8,0 7,1
Who is Interbrand? Since 1974, Interbrand has challenged standard convention of what a brand can be by pioneering new brand solutions that the world wants and needs. Our brand professionals serve clients globally with over 30 offices in over 20 countries. Working in partnership with our clients, we combine rigorous strategy and analysis with world-class design and creativity. Our services include brand analytics, brand valuation, strategy, naming and verbal identity, corporate identity, packaging design, retail design, integrated brand communication, and digital branding tools. We enable our clients to achieve greater success by helping them to create and manage brand value. www.interbrand.com
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Patrick Stal As Director Business Development Patrick Stal is part of the leadership team of Interbrand Amsterdam. Patrick’s responsibilities at Interbrand include project leadership for national and international key-accounts, growing Interbrand’s activities and reputation in the BeNeLux. Patrick is recognized as one of Interbrand’s thought leaders on retail-, family- and automotive branding and brand-driven change management. Patrick has extensive experience with leading and executing complex brand strategy projects, the translation of brand strategy to operational execution, visual & verbal identity, brand architecture and brand experience. While at Interbrand, Patrick has worked with Philips, Opel/Vauxhall, ABN AMRO, DSM and ASICS among others. Patrick led the re-branding of the Belgian Post to bpost in 2010 and was employed as Senior Consultant at a global management consultancy firm before his time at Interbrand. In that function Patrick executed numerous change projects for leading international retail brands in Europe and the Middle East (including de Bijenkorf, V&D, Intersport, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hoogenbosch Retail Groep, Escada, Globus, Al Maktaba). Patrick has a Cum Laude MSc in Management from Nyenrode Business University, grew up internationally, and speaks Dutch, English, Spanish and German fluently. patrick.stal@interbrand.nl
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