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Given our mission to deliver television viewership through data-driven program promotion, we were excited to attend the 2009 Promax|BDA conference June 16-19, 2009 at the Hilton New York.B We expected to see fabulous examples of promotional marketing messages and to meet people responsible for their production.B What we didnbt expect to find was data that affirms our focus on traditional, On-Air promotions as the best medium for making viewers aware of programming.

Promax|BDA is an industry group representing marketing, promotion and design professionals in the entertainment industry.B Its conference is an opportunity for the creative designers and producers to celebrate their accomplishments and catch the eye of network marketers planning their campaigns for the Fall programming season.B For Simulmedia, the conference was a chance to appreciate the craft of program promotion and immerse ourselves in promotional marketing culture.

At a panel discussion on Day 3 of the conference, bPromotions in the Multi-Media Market – Where to Put Your Moneyb, Mary Ann Farrell, SVP Research at E-Poll Market Research, presented a study of television viewers, their viewing habits and their attitudes toward promotional marketing.B E-Poll based its study on analysis of a nationwide online survey of a representative sample of 1,644 individuals aged 13-54, fielded May 21-26, 2009.

The E-Poll study featured several findings relevant to Simulmediabs focus.

	Fewer than2 in 10 consumers are bvery interestedb in finding out about new programs.B This is evidence of televisionbs bdiscovery problemb.B Perceiving too many programming options and too little time to discover and sample them, many viewers report a disinclination to seek new programs.
	Viewers with digital video recorders are more interested in finding out about new programs than their non-DVR-using peers and have higher rates of promo recall.B As DVR penetration increases, promotional messaging becomes a better use for television advertising inventory.
	Television is the primary source of new program awareness.B 94% of respondents said on-air promotions created the best source of recall.B Television is the most impactful media channel for conveying new program information.
	The perception of promotional ads on TV is more favorable than on other media channels.B 40% of respondents said that a TV promotion had caught their attention.B 7% of respondents reported finding TV promotions annoying.B Compare that to the internetbs 20% attention catching rate and 20% annoying rate.

Taken together, these findings are a compelling endorsement of Simulmediabs goal to deliver television viewership through data-driven program promotion.