Adverstising Agencies have long taken it on faith that certain programming was popular on college campuses, but now Nielsen Media Research, the largest media/marketing researcher in the U.S., will give them data to confirm their hunch. Nielsen says they will start to include out-of-home viewing at college dorms starting in 2007.
Why Care?
Nielsen's move to the dorm room further confirms the importance of the 16-28 demographic that has increasingly been driving the markets of TV, clothing and music since MTV and co. gave a voice to this demographic with the launch of their programming in the early 90's. The youth obsessed culture of the U.S. places an even greater importance on what products teens and 20-somethings are wearing, watching and listening to on their iPods. Over the past couple of years advertisers have turned to stealth marketing tactics to reach this younger group of consumers. Companies have been pouring millions in to precise and caculated product placement in movies, TV shows and on the backs of celebrities, without knowing whether or not their efforts were really making a difference. Nielsen is going to capitalize on tracking this niche market of buyers.
The Next Marketing Challenge
Now that Nielsen is going to be tracking collegiates , their next big task is to conquer the TiVo. How can advertisers know whether or not you are hitting fast forward on your TiVo and ignoring all of the wonderful products they have to show you? Good question. Local broadcast stations depend on advertising support, and without valid research to back up viewer information, advertisers may lower the price they are willing to pay on local stations. I'm not suggesting that advertisers are going to stop utilizing local TV as a platform for their products, but the development of a tracking system that synced up with TiVo and other DVR's would provide invaluable, more accurate information to advertisers that would instill a greater confidence in the effectiveness of the non-cable, local broadcast.
Closing Thoughts
While some people view advertising as a sleazy form of communication, understanding consumers and target audiences is an invaluable and powerful tool for any organization to hold.
1 comment:
I read this today and am so glad they are finally including college students! What an important audience to poll!
I participated in the Nielson survey once. I thought it was really cool! I had to keep a journal for two weeks on the shows I watched live, recorded, sat down and paid attention to, had on in the background, etc. I love participating in stuff like that!
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