Sears Department Store and Chevrolet Camaro Achieve Highest Product Placement Scores for June, Nielsen Reports

NEW YORK, August 28, 2007 – The Sears Department Store placement on ABC’s “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” had the top product placement score on broadcast network television in June 2007, The Nielsen Company reported today in a new metric based on both brand recognition and positive feeling.  According to Nielsen’s product placement measurement service, 58.1% of the “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” audience not only were able to recognize the presence of the Sears store brand during the program but also came away with a positive feeling for the brand as a result of that exposure.  (For all tables and charts concerning this release, please see full PDF download version of release).

Among the cable network television programs currently being monitored by Nielsen’s product placement service, TLC’s “Rides” had the top product placement with a 63.0% audience recognition and positive feeling score for the Chevrolet Camaro brand.

Place*Views, Nielsen’s enhanced product placement monitoring application, now provides scores on the impact that product placements have on television audiences, by episode and by brand.  These scores may be used in conjunction with audience ratings to estimate not just the size of an audience during a product placement, but also the ‘quality’ of that placement.  They can be used to reveal that audience’s level of awareness for the placement, or whether that exposure resulted in positive feelings towards that brand, or yet still, whether it raised purchase interest for it.

The following June ’07 product placement performance analysis combines recognition and feeling metrics to provide one score. (See tables "Top Placement by Network –Broadcast Network TV June 2007" and "Top Placement by Network –Cable Network TV June 2007" in full PDF download of release).

“Along with a thorough measurement and classification of product placement activity, the Nielsen Product Placement Service now enables our clients to evaluate past and future product placements, effectively eliminating the guesswork from the planning process,” said Annie Touliatos, Director of Product Development and Marketing for The Nielsen Company.  “These recent enhancements to our service provide invaluable audience purchasing insights to the branded entertainment community.”

Additional Analysis Findings for June ‘07:

• ABC’s “Fast Cars & Superstars” had the top recognition and positive feeling score (35.5%) in the telephone product category with the Alltel brand

• Chevrolet Camaro was not the only auto product placement to score high during that period: MTV’s “Pimp My Ride” came in a close second at 58.2% for the Honda brand
• Bravo’s “Kathy Griffin My Life on the D List” had the top score (25.0%) for the computer category with the Gateway brand
• NBC’s “The Office” had the top scoring product placement in the restaurant category with the Hooters brand at 41.3%
• Examining scores alongside ratings data can unveil further insights regarding possible tradeoffs between audience size and the ‘quality’ of that placement: For instance, CT Homes Realty on A&E’s “Flip This House” scored low compared to TLC’s Camaro integration (42.6% vs. 63.0%, that is approximately 1/3rd lower), but the show delivered a larger audience for the brand (0.6% vs. 0.4%, that is 1/3rd higher)
  
  

Methodology

In 2006, Nielsen launched a landmark primary research study to determine which factors contribute to impactful product placements in terms of recognition, positive brand feeling and purchase interest.    The study was administered at Nielsen’s renowned testing facilities in Las Vegas to help clients pursue product placement initiatives with more confidence.  This “Valuation” study included over 10,000 participants who viewed one of 50 programs configured with various combinations of commercial activity.  The results of this study produced a proprietary methodology that allows for the prediction of key performance metrics for all types of brand integrations, including how they stack up against more conventional TV commercials.  The results of these predictions are then fully integrated into the Place*Views application. 

The methodology to calculate these metrics takes into consideration numerous factors, including  Placement Characteristics (placement types, total duration, and number of occurrences), Brand Familiarity and Program Loyalty.

This study is now ongoing, with new programs added regularly in order to keep the scoring metrics up-to-date.

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence (NetRatings and BuzzMetrics), trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit www.nielsen.com

 

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