Social Conversation Around Emmy Nominations Identifies TV Fans Interests and Affinities

What TV markets can learn from social media analysis

Award shows capitalize on quite a few of Americans’ favorite things: glitz and glam, celebrities, entertainment, and the spirit of competition. One of the most beloved awards shows is the Primetime Emmy Awards, which celebrates the year’s best television series, actors, and actresses. The Emmy Awards begin the celebration early when they announce the nominees, sparking conversation across the web.

This year the ceremony will take place on August 25th and the nominees were announced on July 10th. The awards span 36 different categories and a wide variety of television programming. Fans, marketers, and television producers are interested in identifying who is talking about the nominations and what they are saying in order to shape future advertising campaigns and simply see if their show is the center of conversation. These few weeks can help structure the direction of advertising budgets and marketing strategies for the entire year.

An analysis of the popular hashtag #EmmyNoms, and variations such as #EmmyNom and #EmmyNominations, allow social media analysts to analyze roughly 80,000 Twitter posts to identify who is talking about the nominations and what they are saying.

Not surprisingly, the states were the most Tweets were written included New York and California, both homes of many movie and television stars and enthusiasts. Over 8,500 Tweets have been written in each state. However, the excitement didn’t stop there as Tweets were authored in all 50 states and countries around the world, from Canada to Cambodia.

Social Media Demographics for TV marketers

Of the number of posts with identifiable gender, 56% were female and 44% were male. While female viewers may be more likely to Tweet about the red carpet glamour before the ceremony, a slight preference for women at the nominations cannot be so easily explained. However, audience affinities are weighted towards the composition of authors’ dominant location and gender.

In terms of location, the #EmmyNominations audience is 14 times more interested in Broadway and 10 times more interested in Los Angeles than the general Twitter audience.

The female majority is also reflected through an interested in traditionally gendered topics. For instance, they are 9 times more interested in Entertainment news and ½ as interested in Sportscenter than the general Twitter audience.

Not surprisingly, TV shows and networks are extremely popular. Emmy fans are 30 times more interested in NBC, the host of the Emmy Awards, and 26 times more interested in Star Trek than the general Twitter Audience.

Interestingly, there is also a leaning towards the political left. The audience is 25 times more interested in MSNBC and 9 times more interested in liberal politics than the general Twitter audience.

TV marketers social media affinities

Getting to know the Emmy Nomination audience, people who are concentrated in California and New York, TV lovers, composed of a slight majority of women, sheds an interesting light on the conversation they are having.

The top mentions are weighted towards the popular online TV show that has earned 12 Emmy nominations, Orange is the New Black. Of the 10 top mentions, 4 referred to the show. These included the show’s Twitter profile, @oitnb, and 3 cast members.

Social Media Top Mentions for TV marketers

While the star of the show, Taylor Schilling, received over 2,100 mentions, she was surpassed by her co-star, Laverne Cox, who was mentioned in over 2,700 posts. Ms. Cox received support from many of her fans as she made history as the first openly transgender woman to be nominated for an Emmy.

However, Lena Headey earned the most mentions for her role in Game of Thrones. Other top mentions included House of Cards, Parks and Recreation, and Kerry Washington, star of ABC’s Scandal.

Top Hashtags also favored Orange is the New Black (#oitnb) with over 4,800 uses, following the most popular Emmy hashtag #emmynoms that was used over 60,000 times.

Social Media Emmy Hashtags for TV marketers

Interestingly, Game of Thrones, which earned an impressive 19 nominations, the highest for this season, trailed #oitnb with 3,800 hashtag uses as did The Normal Heart (16 nominations) with only 1,600. Many other shows did not reach the top ten such the very popular House of Cards and Scandal.

One explain for popularity of Orange is the New Black is the cast’s active involvement in social media. The actresses’ Tweets were among the most retweeted posts as they brought attention to the success of the show and their cast members.

Other shows’ top retweets were produced by the show’s profile, the top retweets from Game of Thrones, and Kevin Spacey who was the only star from House of Cards to enter the top 10.

It appears as though this new revolutionary show has garnered a wide fan base and community that has inspired an active Twitter presence, surpassing other popular contenders. While further analysis is needed to understand the conversations that surround other hit shows, it is clear that Orange is the New Black has made waves in the television industry. Fans will have to wait until August 25th to see if this popular series will continue to reign supreme.

To learn more how media and TV marketers gain valuable insight into viewing audience interests, we invite you to download our case study on consumer reactions to TV cancellations.