News

Time Warner opens brand laboratory in New York

January 26, 2012

Time Warner Inc. today announced the opening of a state-of-the-art Medialab for research and development at its worldwide headquarters in New York City. The Time Warner Medialab has been designed to generate valuable insights into consumer behavior, evolving media habits and industry trends across all of Time Warner's businesses, brands and advertising partners, the company said in a press release.

"By opening this lab, we're able to elevate the art of creating and distributing compelling content to the next level," said Jeff Bewkes, chairman and CEO Time Warner Inc. "The Medialab's cutting-edge technologies and the breadth of its research capabilities will give our businesses and ad partners an unmatched ability to look inside the mind of the consumer as we develop even more engaging content. And that fact that it is located in the heart of New York City makes it even more valuable."

The Time Warner Medialab, located within Time Warner Center on New York's Columbus Circle, provides an unprecedented destination for testing engagement throughout the entire consumer experience, according to the release. The facility offers different everyday settings for conducting studies including a 50-seat theater, an in-home style living room, a consumer retail area with a mock checkout, an eye-tracking station and gaming stations, all observable live by researchers both at the lab and around the world.

The lab incorporates testing for consumer emotion through biometric monitoring devices that measure a participant's physiological responses to content. The center's virtual testing room is configured for eye-tracking studies that test the effectiveness of content and ads on PC/web, television and mobile devices. The lab also houses several large focus group and observation rooms, all equipped with the latest technical and mobile viewing devices.

Time Warner's premier partner in creating the Medialab was Ipsos MediaCT, a client-focused market research company that concentrates on analyzing consumer behavior. Ipsos MediaCT applied its specialization in understanding consumer behavior into the center's technology and research techniques. It is the only global market research company that is still controlled and operated by market researchers.

"Having the ability to effectively test consumer reaction to all types of media will revolutionize business and research," said Bruce Friend, president of Ipsos MediaCT. "The possibilities for transformative research in the lab connect content to the consumer like never before."

The Medialab complements existing labs and research capabilities at Time Warner's core divisions, HBO, Time Inc., Turner and Warner Bros. Ahead of the launch, HBO used the lab to test the latest version of HBO Go, and Turner's Adult Swim conducted biometrically-informed focus groups to test its new shows and content. One major differentiator of Time Warner's Medialab is its ability to utilize its research capabilities within live programming. CNN has already taken advantage of the research center during last night's State of the Union address by incorporating audience reaction during coverage. Turner will be experimenting in the lab during the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship to show audience interaction with the games on various devices, while researchers are able to watch in the observation rooms. The retail research area will be stocked with NCAA advertiser products to offer participants the complete consumer experience.