Oscars 2019: movie fans and the power of celebrity influence

Movie and celeb fans alike are becoming increasingly abuzz about the prospect of seeing the spotlight fall on their favourite films and actors.
21 February 2019
movie film projector awards oscars
James Powell
James
Powell

Senior Marketing Manager, Media Division, UK & Ireland

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With one of the biggest awards nights of the year – the Oscars – around the corner, movie and celeb fans alike are becoming increasingly abuzz about the prospect of seeing the spotlight fall on their favourite films and actors.

Confirming its status as an out-and-out feelgood event, data from our Kantar Social TV Ratings reveals that on Wednesday this week, 38% of tweets in the UK about the Oscars have been explicitly positive in tone and only 8% demonstrably negative. Similarly, the emotion most often evident in tweets has been that of admiration, evident in 34% of Oscars-related tweets.

Movie lovers the world over are particularly likely influenced by celebrities

The link between engagement with movies and celebrities is strong, with big ramifications for how advertisers can most effectively engage film fans. Latest data from our TGI Global Quick View survey of connected consumers in 22 of the most dynamic markets worldwide, reveals that those who regularly consume content about cinema and films are 73% more likely than the average connected consumer to consume celebrity interviews and stories content.

Similarly, those who watch movies or TV shows via an online subscription service (e.g. Netflix, Amazon Prime) are 26% more likely than the average connected adult to also regularly consume celebrity interviews and stories content. Meanwhile, those who watch movies or TV shows that they rent or buy online are 40% more likely to consume such celebrity content.

A picture reflected in Great Britain

Great Britain tells a similar story. Compared to the average adult in Britain, those who are amongst the top fifth of the population by frequency of cinema visits (which is 8.2 million adults), are over twice as likely as the average adult to agree ‘Celebrities influence my purchase decisions’ and 77% more likely to agree ‘I enjoy watching ads featuring my favourite celebrities’.

These heavy cinema goers are particularly likely to admire a number of high profile celebrities from film, music and other sectors. For example, they are 50% more likely than the average adult to like Harry Styles, 34% more likely to like Brad Pitt and 23% more likely to like David Beckham.

These cinema addicts are particularly likely to wish to imitate the celebrities they admire by being noticed. They are 74% more likely to agree ‘I like others to look at me’, 71% more likely to agree ‘I like to stand out in a crowd’ and 70% more likely to agree ‘I am usually the first amongst my friends to know what’s going on’.

In good news for advertisers, they are also an audience with a predilection towards advertising engagement and for choosing premium products and services. They are 69% more likely to agree ‘Advertising helps me choose what I buy’ and 56% more likely to agree I tend to go for premium rather than standard goods/services’.

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