The dynamic new Entertainment Insider Report is, says Brett Willms, Hotspex’s Vice President Research & Strategy, “based on Hotspex intuitive technology and methodology which gives participants a rewarding online experience. It’s about enjoyable two-way dialogue and reciprocal value between consumers, studios and sponsors. It is a uniquely consumer-friendly research environment that encourages participants to stay tuned longer, thereby offering more integral, in-depth information.”

Researchers have long been successful in predicting purchase behavior of fast moving consumer items, explains Brett, adding that “we’re excited to apply a new proprietary question set to movies and DVDs using large online representative samples that incorporate our current panel and the wide reach of Inside Entertainment’s magazine and affiliated online properties.

The questionnaire measures and tracks virtually everything a decision-maker would want to know, including: unaided awareness; attitudes toward storyline, actors, characters; effectiveness of media vehicles; purchase probabilities; and movie genre preferences. “I especially like the Buzz –O-Meter, which will essentially record the level of “buzz” a specific titles generates across the country and its polarity [positive or negative] as the opening weekend or on-sale date approaches,” says Brett.

The two companies aim to give studios a complete view of marketing effectiveness, allowing them to optimize their marketing mix, ad spending, and campaign arc on a market-by-market basis. “To our knowledge, nothing of this magnitude has ever been attempted for the entertainment industry,” says Geoffrey Dawe, President of Kontent and Publisher of Inside Entertainment magazine.

There’s even a new vehicle for studios and sponsors to spend promotional dollars. An innovative by-product of the predictive research will be a finely-profiled moviegoer email database that can provide customized information to the right people about upcoming movies, events, and associated products they will be interested in.

“Current email lists can offer some targeting, but our email marketing campaigns will be able to include selects on over 30 different entertainment-related variables,” says Dawe.

Hotspex and Kontent expect the new service to significantly enhance their knowledge of the entertainment consumer. With so much timely data at our fingertips,” says Dawe, “we will know the entertainment audience inside out and will be able to create promotions and marketing programs that reflect so intimate an understanding.

Entertainment Insider Report is scheduled to be up and running by July 10th , 2002.