CASE
A roadmap for better connection with Gen Y and Gen Z in a crowded media landscape
Identifying the brand levers and salience gap for the ABC.
How it started
The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) witnessed a slow erosion in the Australian audiences’ value perception over time, as well as a slight decline in trust (as measured by their own corporate tracking programme).
The brand sought to find the data patterns that would allow to prioritize where they needed to improve, building on perceptions of trust, personal relevance, and community value. The ABC also wanted to identify audience segments where the brand is performing well, and those where it has issues.
How we inspired change
Using the ABC’s existing corporate brand tracking data, we explored what drives the perception of value according to the Australian market. Here, trust was identified as a valuable component. A qualitative phase followed, to understand the identified weakness areas amongst Gens Y and Z. In tune with the audience, we spoke with 50 young Australians over a two-week period in an online insight community, to hear how they connect with media and where the opportunity to build ‘personal relevance’ was for the ABC.
How it lives on
Our quant-qual approach clearly outlined how the ABC needs to communicate in order to build trust and a strong value perception amongst Australian audiences. Using existing data helped the team understand the audiences’ journey, bringing clarity to the levers driving affinity and value across different audience segments. We found that the stark disconnect for the younger generations was largely driven by a salience gap, highlighting the opportunity space. Our recommendation to the ABC was to remove internal silos and take a holistic approach to reminding diverse young Australians why they love the ABC, whilst inspiring a roadmap for connection and content discovery. With a generation that fears boredom and is always connected, the challenge is to continually remind them why they should come back to the ABC.
“Thank you for the great work across the value modelling project… There are some rich insights developed in your work that we can use.”
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