Hulu Knows the Secret of Digital Fluency

What Hulu has found according to Julie DeTraglia the company39s head of research and insights is that the actual enjoyment of technology is a better indicator of digital fluency than age She defines digital fluency as quotcomfort with technology and a willingness to interact that way with all types of categories and brandsquotThe Journey to UnderstandingquotWe really didn39t set out to do this specific type of studyquot she explained quotPreviously we did a generational study where we concentrated on the differences in television behavior between Gen X Gen Y and Gen Zquot The intent was to simply do a followup to that study folding in other types of behaviors across other categories as well as attitudes towards advertising and brand relationships But quotas we started brainstorming we realized that it is not just Gen Z that has changed Everybody hasamp8230quot And she claims that this change has occurred across all generationsThe first study found that consumers of all ages have changed their behaviors and attitudes becoming more digitally fluent as opportunities for convenience became available Her example was Uber quotWe were taught from childhood to never to get into a car with a stranger But now we are doing it all the timequot she noted attributing the change to the convenience of ondemand car servicesThe Big TakeawayHulu studied digital behavior and identity finding that the consumer spectrum was segmented in a way that age was essentially a nonissue quotWe tried to understand that journey how people identified themselves and the identity they had around technologyquot DeTraglia said noting that Hulu released the first study last year during Advertising Week quotThe one thing that moves people across the spectrum is the enjoyment happiness and inspiration they get from technologyquot and this parses out relatively equally across age rangesquotDigitally fluent people use technology often and derive a lot of happiness with their digital connectionsquot she explained quotPeople in the middle use technology to make their lives easier but they are not necessarily getting joy from it Then there are those people who we call minimalists who use technology because it39s the way they can get things done but they don39t really love it However one of our biggest insights was that age is not a factorquot she said Just as many young people as seniors described themselves as minimalists on the digital spectrum 19 percent of Gen Z compared to 16 percent of boomers But whyquotIt could be that Gen Z is interpreting the questions differently than older generationsquot she posited quotOr maybe they are just a little more overwhelmed by itquot since they are so immersed for example in social media that is quotonquot all the timeIn the second phase of the study released just in time for this year39s Advertising Week Hulu created segments around motivations and behaviors and quotthat is where we saw the segmentations flatten out a bitquot DeTraglia said quotMost people define themselves as being somewhere in the middle but when you do a segmentation there were just about equal percentages of all of the segmentsquot from low to highDeTraglia noted that technology prompts behavioral change across segments Take for example streaming video One might start in the living room then move into the bedroom and then onto a computer or tablet Once content became available on smart TVs Hulu saw that consumers transitioned back to the living room That then leads to more comfort with technology and could lead to transactions and shoppingConclusionsBased on what DeTraglia saw in this brand study phase she advises advertisers to adjust their creative so there is differentiation in the messaging for the various digital fluency segments quotIt is no longer onesizefitsallquot she explained quotDigitally fluent people should get different adsquot according to the viewing environment and platformDeTraglia added that Hulu also has changed based on these consumer shifts quotHulu has worked hard to come up with ad products that can work in different ways depending on what our clients39 needs arequot she said quotFor those who are more digitally fluent they want messaging that is more personalized They want to interact with the creative They want more personal connection and control and relevancequot whereas other less fluent groups just want to be informed with clear messaging Advertisers take noteClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Hulu Knows the Secret of Digital Fluency

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Charlene Weisler

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Hulu Knows the Secret of Digital Fluency

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