Lam+M+Focus+Group+Report

http://engl317s10.wikispaces.com/Lam+M

TO: Proximity Video Team FROM: Matt Lam SUBJECT: Video Focus Group Report DATE: March 28, 2010

Here is my report on a focus group I ran with five college students (three males, two females) on how they go about viewing video. I was able to cover all five of the questions developed by our team. The consensus of the participants was that they like to do most of their video viewing online, apart from the occasional movie that they watch on TV. - a little wordy maybe say how they choose to watch videos or access and watch videos... up to u


 * Focus Group Rationale**

Premium video content is increasingly being delivered through the Internet, giving Gen-Y users many different ways to access TV shows and movies. As a result broadcast TV audiences are being fragmented and the movie industry can no longer assume that box office revenues alone will pay for the production of new movies. The rationale for our focus group sessions is to determine how Gen- Y users are currently watching premium video and which broadband technologies they prefer. This information will allow us to advise Proximity clients on how to best target Gen-Y using ads associated with premium content.


 * Setting and Participants**

The 45 minute session was held in at a Starbucks on Wednesday, March 17, 2010. The participants were:


 * Jason, 21, a Univ. of Maryland junior business major;
 * Edwin, 19, a Montgomery College sophomore engineering major;
 * Ashley, 19, a Univ. of Maryland freshman journalism major;
 * Christiane, 19, a Univ. of Maryland sophomore criminal justice major;
 * John, 20, a Univ. of Maryland junior engineering major.

We covered the following five topics during the session:
 * Session Topics**

__Types of TV shows watched when first broadcast__ All participants stated that they //used// to be avid viewers of TV shows. Ashley stated that she watches the premiers of "The Real World" on MTV. However, because of college and busy schedules, the participants generally do not have time to view movies anymore.

__Avoidance of advertisements, or alternatives/preferred way to view advertisements__ None of the participants avoided advertisements through use of a DVR, or Comcast's "On Demand." John stated that he would occasionally watch Family Guy online to avoid TV commercials.

__Viewing movies at the theater__ Edwin said that he rarely goes to the theater and does not keep track of new movie releases. Christiane said that she would sometimes keep up with new movie releases and prefers to watch them in the theater. Jason, Ashley and John felt that they would only go to the theater if it were a movie of epic proportion, such as Spider Man. All participants viewed going to the theater as more of a social event where they can gather friends to hang out.

__Medium used to view movies at home__ Ashley stated that she would rent a movie from Blockbuster or the Redbox to watch with her roommates about once a month. Jason downloads video torrents on his laptop. John and Christiane enjoy watching movies on TV, but will opt to view movies on their laptop if feeling too lazy to visit Blockbuster.

__Importance of size and quality of screen when viewing video__ All participants expressed that in a perfect world, they would like to view movies on an LCD or plasma HD TV screen. Jason preferred a TV that is 42 inches or larger. However, Jason said that the size of the screen is not a big determining factor, and that he would be happy to view it on his laptop. The others just stated that a bigger TV would be preferred, but not so important because they do not watch movies that often.


 * Findings**

The session revealed that the participants


 * Are not very picky about how they view movies;
 * Would like to have a nice TV with a large screen, but they do not have enough time in their schedule to fully appreciate it;
 * View movies as a social event, and do not care so much about the movie content.

These findings should be compared with the results from sessions with our other focus groups. Although TV has it's advantages, the participants in this session would rather view video content on their laptops due to convenience.

In conclusion, the participants in my session would generally opt for a larger, higher quality viewing screen when possible. However, when viewing movies alone, the participants did not have a strong preference and would usually act on whatever is convenient. We should conduct further focus group interviews to determine the proper marketing strategies for our Gen-Y clients.