MUMBAI: Research is a key ingredient before the launch of any product or brand. And creating content is nothing without appropriate research about the audience and their choices, explains Nepa India managing director Esha Nagar while giving a presentation at the fourth edition of The Content Hub 2020 organised by indiantelvision.com.

Nagar, while explaining the nitty-gritty of the research involved in the content business, says, “Research is not everything to make content but it definitely is important to understand the viewers behaviour related to the content, its content taste and the clutter he/she likes.”

Nagar points out the importance of understanding how the content resonates with the audience. She mentions that the choice of the content is driven by two concepts - behaviour and physiography. Behavioural aspect is dependent on the relevance, brand and category, whereas the psychographics rely on the social and cultural persona of the viewers.

Nagar says that a binge-worthy content is a dedicated balance between viewers’ resonance and creative fluidity, which includes different phenomenon such as ideas, service, clutter, quality, flow, loyalty among others. Nepa India is in the business of research and the business of media & science.

Giving an example of an educated middle-age home-maker, Nagar says, despite her busy schedule, a person will certainly take out time to continue watching a show that he/she was binge-watching a night before. She adds that even while travelling, having a meal or in their free time, of even a few minutes, a viewer wants to know and watch more about the content he/she is engrossed in.

Nepa India’s MD also states it has been proved by a research that content gets major popularity due to word of mouth. She also says that at least 50 per cent of the audience watches a show on OTT platform due to ‘fear of missing out’ and peer pressure.

Due to the proliferation of over-the-top platforms, content is now consumed across genres, genders, and boundaries. And while pointing out some research numbers, she adds that at least 60 per cent of the south viewers watch Hindi content.

“Lately, a change in the consumption pattern has been seen in both male and female audience,” says Nagar. “It has been found that at least 45 per cent of women viewers prefer dark themed genre content, whereas 53 per cent of men watch romcom and drama genres.”

Nagar says, “With over 40 OTT players and growing in the content market, we are on the verge of doubling up its viewer base by 250 million and 88 billion minutes of content per month by 2020. We are in the process of making a super viewer in the content business like an FMCG super consumer."

Nagar, before concluding her presentation, also guides fellow and budding content creators to help them understand the importance of research involved in the spread of the content. “Research before the release will help the content get proper traction and attention of viewers,” she concludes.