Akoo’s Campus Expansion And Research Findings
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
Akoo place-based ‘social television’ recently announced its continued expansion across additional top U.S. college campuses and universities, including: Ohio State University; University of California, Santa Barbara; University of North Florida; Tennessee Tech University; California State University, Stanislaus; Lindenwood University; Austin Peay State University; Morehead State University; University of Pittsburgh; and California State University, Dominguez Hills.
And with it, the company also announced the results of an independently conducted on-campus study that demonstrates soaring viewership and engagement with social television among students aged 18-24 that augurs well for advertisers.
The large study – which included a sample of 15 schools across the U.S. – found that students in the 18-24 age group watch Akoo programming for more than 14 minutes on average when visiting an Akoo location on campus, with nearly 1 in 5 students watching for 21 minutes or more per visit. Further, the average time spent by students in seating environments featuring Akoo – typically highly trafficked student unions, recreational centers, and dining halls – exceeds 45 minutes per visit. Students visit Akoo locations six times per week on average.
More than 89% of Akoo’s viewers on campuses are between the ages of 18-24. Akoo deploys multiple pairs of large-screen HDTVs and a professional audio system throughout each seating environment to provide an immersive audiovisual experience.
In addition to its presence on college campuses, Akoo reaches 90 million consumers each month in the nation’s largest malls.
As we’ve mentioned before, – See our CEO Spotlight with Niko Drakoulis, Akoo’s founding chairman and CEO, Ed.– Akoo’s programming includes exclusive and originally produced entertainment content, as well as licensed music videos from all four major record labels – Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI.
Akoo viewers can participate in the programming experience by requesting featured on-demand content with their mobile devices, via a free mobile app, the mobile web, or SMS text messaging.
“Our students especially enjoy the on-demand feature of Akoo,” said Branden Dalley, associate director of operations for the Student Union Building at the University of Utah, which launched Akoo in 2010. “Akoo has really added to the overall experience in our Student Union Building, and it has been rewarding to see the students have so much fun with the network. As a result, we’re including Akoo in all our plans moving forward, as we continue to improve the overall student experience on our campus.”
In addition to time spent viewing and the high number of on-demand requests across its network, strong media engagement was measured during the study as evidenced by advertising recall. On an unaided basis, 11% of viewers recalled TV ads for a game console, which were broadcast on Akoo only once per 30 minutes on average during the study. More than 42% of viewers recalled the TV ads on a brand-aided basis.
To top it off, a full 90% of respondents agreed that Akoo social television is a creative way to reach students with a message, and 28% said they would be interested in receiving offers on their mobile phones from advertisers.
Akoo will be featured at the Association of College Unions International conference Feb. 27-March 3 in Chicago.
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