Studios Get First Alert on Breaking TV Ads.

Motion-picture studios have a new competitive weapon at their disposal, a rapid-alert system from Nielsen Monitor-Plus that lets them know when TV commercials for new movie releases break on national television.

The Internet-based system – dubbed Movie*Sentry – was developed jointly by Nielsen Monitor-Plus, the US ad-tracking service from the Nielsen TV ratings people, and corporate sibling Nielsen NRG, the leading Hollywood market researcher.

Using proprietary, real-time tracking technology, Movie*Sentry automatically alerts studio execs any time a new movie ad appears on national TV. Users get a flash e-mail notifying them of the latest commercials within 48 hours of initial airing, complete with program-specific links to view digital images of the spots and gain access to other, detailed information, such as POD positioning.

“Our goal in developing Movie*Sentry was to give the motion-picture industry the best competitive intelligence and insights possible, in a system tailored specifically to how the industry looks at things,” said Teri Seide, Nielsen NRG’s executive vice president, Business Development. “By harnessing the incredible tracking technologies of Nielsen Monitor-Plus, and the industry expertise of Nielsen NRG, we have created a gold-standard product for industry. Judging from the interest we’re getting from the studios, I would say the industry agrees.”

Anthy Evergates-Price, SVP Media for Universal Pictures and Home Entertainment, said, “Movie*Sentry provides a quick and easy reference to what is happening competitively as it unfolds. We no longer have to wait for untimely competitive reports and can evaluate competitive campaigns and use the information to our advantage.

Several other studios have tested Movie*Sentry and are currently using the service, according to Seide.

“Movie*Sentry provides the motion-picture industry with the ultimate intelligence on competitive advertising,” said Jeff King, senior vice president and managing director of Nielsen Monitor-Plus. “We monitor the airwaves 24/7 to give studio executives the first alert on breaking movie commercials, whenever and wherever they air.”

Movie*Sentry delivers the commercials – displayed in full color with motion and sound, or in storyboard format – right to the users’ desktop. Detailed information for each commercial includes the name of the network and program on which the commercial aired; the daypart and precise broadcast time; the length of the commercial, and even its positioning within the commercial break – a key factor in consumer recall and advertising effectiveness.

Movie*Sentry users also can view, by movie title, historical advertising activity – for the most recent 48 hours, for any single day specified by the user, or by cumulative activity within the past 28 days. Users can get summary reports of all advertising activity, or drill down for more details about a specific theatrical release.

For more information at http://www.moviesentry.com