••• brand research
Chuck E. Cheese’s mascot makeover doesn’t score with kids
Chuck E. Cheese gave its mascot a new look – and a guitar – as part of an image overhaul but since he made his July 2012 debut, the rebranding hasn’t been all fun and games for the restaurant chain, according to Mark Brandau’s November 29, 2012, article, “Chuck E. Cheese’s mascot loses some consumer appeal,” for Nation’s Restaurant News.
The revamped mouse is part of a new marketing campaign aimed more directly at parents but research shows that Chuck E. has declined in appeal with children and their parents. According to the E-Score Character study from E-Poll Market Research, Encino, Calif., the new Chuck E.’s appeal with boys ages six to 12 dropped 11 percent to 46 percent. Among girls of the same age, his appeal fell from 57 percent to 49 percent. Increasing the appeal to those kids, especially boys, will be crucial for the chain in the future. “If the character improves the chain’s image among boys, who are usually the first to reject something new, it stays hip longer,” said Gerry Philpott, president and CEO of E-Poll.
E-Poll also reported a 28 percent drop in total awareness and a 9 percent drop in appeal when survey respondents were asked to compare the new Chuck E. with the mascot’s previous version. Among the 1,500 mothers interviewed, 60 percent were aware of the old character while only 11 percent were aware of the new one. The change in mascots had a smaller effect on his appeal, as 26 percent of moms liked the old character and 24 percent liked the new character.
Failure to make inroads with mothers is not as big a concern as a drop in appeal with kids, said Philpott, because parents tend to go to whichever restaurants their children enjoy anyway.
••• television research
Time-shifted TV viewing continued its rise in 201
Sporting and live events ruled when it came to wooing U.S. TV viewers in 2012, as has been the case in recent years, but time-shifted viewing has been a boon for cable programming, playing a larger role in American TV-viewing in 2012 than ever before, according to data from New York researcher The Nielsen Company.
Only two scripted shows made the list of top-10 prime-time TV programs (NCIS and Vegas) but scripted programming dominated time-shifted viewing. In fact, cable shows comprised 90 percent of this year’s list and all of the top time-shifted shows were scripted dramas.
Each program on the list of top 10 time-shifted TV programs of 2012 more than doubled its live viewership (Breaking Bad, 130 percent increase; Mad Men, 127 percent; Warehouse 13, 127 percent; Covert Affairs, 117 percent; Suits, 110 percent; Justified, 108 percent; White Collar, 108 percent; Fringe, 106 percent; Sons of Anarchy, 105 percent; and American Horror Story, 103 percent). In 2011, the highest gain was 90 percent, indicating that the use of DVRs and on-demand viewing is quickly becoming more popular.