Nielsen Companies Partner on Prod. Placement Study
August 11, 2005
By Katy Bachman
To assess the factors impacting the effectiveness of Product Placement in TV programming, Nielsen Media Research and Nielsen Entertainment announced Thursday they would collaborate for the industry's first major research study into the growing practice. The study will be fielded next month, with the first results available later this fall. Although Nielsen Media Research has been tracking Product Placement since 2003, the objective of this study is to go beyond the syndicated service's data about on-screen appearances to determine how the brand's placement might impact consumer response. The study will also take into account the relationship viewers have with a specific program as well as their familiarity with the brand and product featured.
Both companies are owned by VNU, which also owns Mediaweek.
To help design and develop the study, NMR has partnered with several of its clients including Viacom's CBS and UPN Television Networks, Discovery Television Networks, The Weather Channel, media agencies Magna Global, Mediacom, OMD and PHD and Zenith Optimedia, as well as phone service provider Sprint. The charter subscribers will be the first to have access to the data.
"Numerous marketers are increasing their commitments in the product integration arena, while there continues to be precious little industry research to guide executives with crucial business decisions," said Steve Sternberg, executive vp and director of audience analysis at Magna Global. "This study is an essential first step towards more advanced and customized research analyses in predicting the relative impact of differing levels and types of product integration."