IAG Launches TV Product Placement Ratings Services.

IAG has developed a system that gives marketers an objective way to measure and value the impact of brand and product placement within TV shows. Called IAG In-Program Performance, the service addresses two fundamental challenges facing marketers engaged in TV sponsorships and product placements — effectiveness measurement and return-on-investment.

IAG In-Program Performance measures every product placement on every primetime reality show, sitcom and sports program, as well as weekend sports programming, across the six broadcast networks. With a comprehensive database of over 230,000 surveys and counting, IAG’s factual, audience-driven system is poised to become the standard for placement ratings.

IAG In-Program Performance is being developed with some of the world’s largest consumer brands. Marketers and agencies can use this service to:

determine an individual brand’s most effective forms of sponsorship and placement programs

select program audiences with the highest placement performance levels

assess the combined effectiveness of product placement and advertising within a given show

value potential sponsorship and placement deals based on actual, historical category, and historical genre performance
“This is an important service for anyone engaged in program sponsorships and product placement. Understanding how to value product placements is essential in a world where marketers need to go beyond traditional forms of advertising to reach TV viewers,” said Phil Geier, former Chairman of IPG.

Industry Need

The number of hybrid product placement and sponsorship programs is increasing. This has been spurred by an upsurge in reality TV programming, changing business models in the entertainment industry, and the adoption of digital video recorder technology. TV advertisers are responding to this dynamic. In an August 2003 poll conducted by Entertainment Marketing Letter, 20% of media management executives said they had negotiated a TV product placement deal in the last 6 months, and 75% predicted significant growth over the upcoming year.

The emergence of product placement and sponsorships as a true marketing channel means that marketers no longer view such programs as one-off, added-value opportunities – they are looking for ways to effectively measure sponsorship and placement programs over time. Moreover, the wide range of possible placement types makes assessing their effectiveness a particular challenge.

“TV sponsorships and placements have become a strategic part of a lot of major marketers’ media plans. An estimated $100 million has been spent on these programs this year, and no one has a true sense of what ROI looks like. IAG and their In-Program Performance service is an excellent step towards helping marketers assign objective values to placement ROI,” said Phil Guarascio, former Vice President of Corporate Advertising and Marketing at General Motors.

IAG In-Program Performance Coverage

This syndicated ratings service tracks and measures:

in-program product and brand placement, including on-screen supers

sponsor segments

show sponsorships

branded content (example – Ford’s ‘No Boundaries’ show, broadcast on The WB in 2002)

Initially, IAG In-Program Performance will cover primetime reality shows, sitcoms and sports, as well as weekend sports programming across the six broadcast networks.

For more information at http://www.iagr.net