Nielsen IAG measures TV viewer engagement

Nielsen has announced the UK launch of Nielsen IAG, a solution that measures how engaged viewers are with both television programming and the advertising placed within it.

This includes advertisements, sponsorships and product placements.

Nielsen IAG quantifies how closely viewers are paying attention to the programme and the adverts, providing a 'quality' metric to support the traditional 'quantity' ratings data.

Many of the top 100 US advertisers - increasingly frustrated by people skipping ads or multi-tasking on PCs and mobiles while watching television - now peg prices to how engaged viewers are with the programmes.

In 2006, based on Nielsen IAG metrics, NBC became the first US TV network to guarantee viewer engagement levels to advertisers including Toyota and Johnson and Johnson.

The first UK data from Nielsen IAG shows that while Colgate's advert featuring a tooth-sensitivity test in a shopping mall was the most memorable ad (87 per cent more likely to be remembered than the average ad), Mr Muscle's 'superhero' ad helping a woman unclog a sink scored highest in terms of made it the most recalled advertiser (157 per cent more likely to be recalled than the average advertiser).

Darren Moore, vice-president of research at Nielsen IAG, said: 'Ideally, an ad would score well on how many people remembered it (general recall) but also on how many remembered who the advertiser was (brand recall).

'The first is a measure of an ad's ability to break through and generate a memorable impression and is the main indicator of creative strength.

'The second reflects impact, a key gauge of how well a brand is being commercialised through an ad.

'Mr Muscle's "superhero" ad, for example, scored high on both general recall and brand recall.

'An ad that has much higher general recall than brand recall, however, may be suffering from poor brand communication.

'For example, the ad in which Formula One's Lewis Hamilton helps build a big red Lego-type bridge scored very high on ad recall but comparatively low on how many remembered it was for Santander,' Moore added.

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