Nielsens mull product integration
Aug. 12, 2005
Nielsen Media Research and Nielsen Entertainment announced Thursday the collaborative launch of a research study that they claim will provide for the first time an assessment of the factors affecting the effectiveness of Product Placement.
Nielsen's Place Views Service has been tracking the physical characteristics of Product Placement since the beginning of the 2003-04 broadcast season. The objective of the new study is to "look beyond the onscreen appearances and determine how the context of a placement's execution can impact consumer response," the companies said.
Among the issues the study will seek to evaluate are viewer loyalty to a program; viewer familiarity with the brand and category featured in the show; viewer relationships with the show, its stars and the integrated brands; viewer recall of the Product Placement after the show has aired; and viewers' attention level to the show and the products placed in the program.
"We went out and talked with all the major players that are involved in Product Placement and culled together a list of all the things that need to be assessed," said Adrienne Becker, general manager of Nielsen Entertainment's strategic development group. She said the findings, expected to be available in late fall, will lead to a comprehensive evaluation service of product integration based on empirical findings.
"We expect the existing services from Nielsen, combined with the results of our study, to deliver findings that can lead to more actionable information, which can be used to make Product Placement a more measurable and effective selling tool," Nielsen Entertainment president and CEO Andy Wing said.
Becker said the study will evaluate viewer responses to several dozen TV programs of "varying genres on a diverse assemblage of networks."
The study's initial participants include CBS and UPN, Discovery Television, Magna Global, Mediacom, OMD, PHD, Zenith Optimedia, the Weather Channel and Sprint.
"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," Magna Global executive vp director of audience analysis Steve Sternberg said. "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."
Nielsen Media Research and Nielsen Entertainment are owned by VNU, parent company of The Hollywood Reporter.