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3 October 2005
New York, NY, USA
Nielsen Outdoor, a unit of VNU, announced that it has been awarded the contract for measuring South African outdoor advertising ratings as a result of a carefully considered decision made by the world-recognized South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) – the advertising industry sponsored body that controls advertising audience research in South Africa.
Harnessing the power of the Global Positioning System (GPS) through the market-proven Npod™ device (Nielsen Personal Outdoor Device), Nielsen Outdoor will provide demographic audience information plus reach, frequency and outdoor ratings data, to all SAARF stakeholders -- advertisers, agencies and outdoor media companies. Outdoor media buyers and sellers in South Africa will be able to use audience measurements that are similar to traditional ratings data used to plan radio, television and print.
“This is a major breakthrough in outdoor media research worldwide and will place the South African outdoor medium in a position to compare audiences on an equal footing with other media in this country,” said Dr Paul Haupt, chief executive officer of SAARF.
The South African service will roll out nationwide over three years (2006 to 2008), covering key metropolitan markets as well as smaller urban and rural areas.
“I am sure I express the views of the outdoor advertising industry in South Africa when I say that the commitment by SAARF, to underwrite the GPS Outdoor Measurement System will be a huge leap forward in our understanding of the magnitude of Outdoor advertising audiences in South Africa and their demographic profiles,” said Barry Sayer, chief executive officer, Clear Channel Independent. “The credibility that Nielsen Outdoor brings to the project and their connectivity with similar developments in the international world affords us the opportunity to finally participate in a truly credible international outdoor measurement currency.”
“The GPS-based audience measurements from Nielsen Outdoor provide an easy-to-use, familiar dataset that will increase outdoor’s attraction for sophisticated, large advertisers,” said Les Holley, executive director, Out Of Home Media SA. “The introduction of this measurement tool through SAARF will place outdoor research on a par with other media and we firmly believe it will grow outdoor’s share of advertising spending.”
“Nielsen Outdoor promises to bring new accountability to this great media by accurately measuring the size and composition of its audiences. Nielsen Outdoor will provide the outdoor industry the chance to compete for its fair share of advertising spending”, said Lorraine Hadfield, managing director for Nielsen Outdoor. “Our launch in Chicago offered proof that a GPS, people-based audience measurement system for outdoor advertising is commercially viable. We are therefore delighted that South Africa, the pilot country, will be the first country to commercialize our service on a national basis”
Nielsen Outdoor and its technology partner, RDP Associates, developed the Npod, which is about the size of a cell phone. Measurements are drawn from people who are simply asked to carry the Npods in their pockets, purses or wear them on a belt clip while they travel on foot or in cars – they are not asked to do anything other than carry the device. Representative samples of individuals are chosen to carry the Npod, which is continuously linked to orbiting satellites that circle the entire world.
This continuous linkage enables Nielsen Outdoor to identify where the people are located relative to the location of outdoor advertising messages; their speed and direction of travel; and the exact time of day when they passed the outdoor advertising locations. The persons who participate do nothing more than carry the device in their pocket. The GPS-based system is passive, personal, portable, and affordable – features that are highly desirable within the advertising industry.
The service was piloted in Johannesburg in 2003, done in collaboration with SAARF and the GOAC (Global Outdoor Advisory Council) as a first step toward launching a global ratings service for the medium. Field tests were conducted in Frankfurt, Seattle and New York before live deployment in Chicago in 2004.
Chicago is the first market that data has been collected using the Npod in collaboration with input from the GOAC and Traffic Audit Bureau (TAB). The ratings data from that market has been pre-released to the GOAC with general release planned on November 21.
Beyond South Africa and Chicago, Nielsen Outdoor is working closely with the advertising industry to finalize plans to expand the service in top U.S., European and Asia Pacific markets
About Nielsen Outdoor
Nielsen Outdoor, a unit of VNU, is dedicated to developing and launching a global audience measurement service for outdoor advertising. VNU is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media measurement and information (Nielsen Media Research) and business information (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Computing, Intermediair). VNU is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands and New York, USA. The company employs 38,000 people. Total revenues under IFRS amounted to EUR 3.3 billion in 2004. VNU is listed on the Euronext Amsterdam (ASE: VNU) stock exchange.
For more information, please visit the VNU website at: www.vnu.com
For more information on Nielsen Outdoor please visit: www.nielsenoutdoor.com
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