Nielsen Media Research Product Placement Service.

Nielsen Media Research announced that it has signed a multi-year agreement with ZenithOptimedia Group for its Product Placement service. ZenithOptimedia is the first major media specialist to subscribe to the new service.

Product Placement or brand integration is a rapidly growing advertising alternative in television and provides substantial new opportunities for advertisers. Responding to this growing form of advertising, Nielsen launched its Product Placement service earlier this year. Place*Views, the web-based application, provides information on brand occurrences that appear on broadcast television. Place*Views allows users to identify which brands are featured, what type of placement is being used, when and where the placement has occurred, and the audience size and demographic composition for the program minute at the time of placement.

Product Placement data is currently available beginning September 2003 for the 2004 broadcast season. Users are able to search the database by brand, advertiser, product category, program, and/or network.

“Product Placement is emerging as an important media vehicle for advertisers to enhance communication between brands and customers,” said David Harkness, senior VP of strategy and alliances for the VNU Media Measurement and Information group. “Place*Views empowers both the advertisers and content providers with the information needed to assess and optimize their opportunities.”

Tim Jones, Chief Strategy Officer, ZenithOptimedia USA Group, said, “With audiences continuing to fragment, and new technologies and advertising clutter complicating the media landscape, we are always looking for ways to forge stronger connections with our brands’ consumers. Brand integration is a big part of that effort, and Place*Views will help us quantify and maximize the return on those investments.”

Kyra Koury, SVP National Sales Director, Nielsen Media Research, said, “We’re happy to strengthen our relationship with ZenithOptimedia, and look forward to continue working closely with them to help achieve their goals.”