Join us at the Digiday Publishing Summit from March 24-26 in Vail
Like many publishers, the BBC wants to prove native advertising works. But instead of just relying on awareness and brand lift surveys, the BBC is turning to facial-recognition technology.
In the fall, the BBC used software from CrowdEmotion to measure 5,000 people’s conscious and subconscious emotional responses to content marketing campaigns on BBC.com from clients like HSBC, Dassault and Hainan Island Tourism. Now, the BBC is rolling out the capability broadly to clients of its StoryWorks content studio.
The facial-recognition software uses webcam tests with each participant activating the tech via their desktop. For the unconscious measurement, facial movements were recorded on a second-by-second basis and then divided into six possible emotions: sadness, puzzlement, happiness, fear, rejection and surprise.
“CMOs often talk about difficulties around internal buy-in and appreciation of [content marketing],” said Richard Pattinson, head of BBC StoryWorks. “Audience appreciation indexes have been bread and butter for broadcasters for decades for testing response to their shows, but it’s a newer area for brands. It can give us more metrics beyond the usual dwell time and pageviews.”
BBC Advertising may have been later than other publishers to launch a content-marketing shop, having hung up a shingle only last June. But it hasn’t wasted time catching up. Currently, revenue that come through StoryWorks is at 30 percent of overall ad sales, and Pattinson expects that to rise to 50 percent in the next few years.
“Early attempts to use digital actions such as clicks, likes and comments as a proxy for true mental ‘engagement’ have a lot of drawbacks, and there’s little evidence that they will correlate with business results,” said Jerry Daykin, global digital partner at Carat. “Facial recognition may prove to be a more encapsulating measure of how consumers are relating to content because they help capture more of the passive reaction that we know most consumers have.”
During the test, the BBC examined a sponsor-content campaign with HSBC. The facial-image recognition tech showed that the emotional involvement with the campaign was heightened when the brand labeling was made clear.
More in Media
How Pinterest went from selling views to selling clicks and conversions, with CRO Bill Watkins
Pinterest’s is getting louder in its battle for ad dollars with AI-powered ad tools and an increase in ad volume.
Creators and influencers on edge about Meta’s reported Reels spin-off
The notion that Meta is planning a Reels-spin off has created many questions for creators, including speculation over the potential decrease in Reels viewership, as well as concerns about whether or not Meta will allow creators to port over their Instagram followings to the new app, should the decision go through.
Roblox’s ad expansion sparks backlash from creator studios
In 2025, Roblox’s relationships with creator studios have soured, according to studio creator representatives, four of whom told Digiday that they feel their relationship with Roblox has shifted from partner to competitor.