A week ago I attended an event in New York City at which Comscore unveiled its new Validated GRP(TM) tool that rates the effectiveness of digital ads. Validated GRP takes the rating standards advertisers apply to TV advertising (Gross Rating Points) and establishes a similar metric that will apply to digital advertising. For advertisers, this is a metric to judge online campaign effectiveness–to make an apples to apples comparison between the effectiveness of TV and the effectiveness of online display and video ads.

In the development of its Validated GRP tool, Comscore conducted a  major study on the quality of campaign delivery  that allowed it to investigate discrepancies between expectations and reality when it comes to ad delivery. The full study, the results of which will be released in March, included twelve major brands with household names like Ford, Sprint, Kimberly Clark, and Kellogg’s.

To conduct the study, Comscore used the AdXPose technology it acquired earlier last year. The AdXPose team tipped us off in advance because we were already partnered with them. We got a sneak preview of the study’s highlights, which we are now free to share here.

In December 2011, Comscore measured 2,975 placements on 380,898 site domains — totaling over 1.7 million impressions, all delivered in iframes.

The conclusion? Something we, as an ad server and a advertising technology partner for publishers, have already observed: many ads are served, but not seen. That’s because web pages are no longer mostly short pages with static user experiences; they’re long pages with dynamic usage. Many use the increasingly popular “infinite scroll”. By the time an ad at the top of the page is served, the reader may have already scrolled by. Yet many ads further down may be very visible to the user. In Comscore’s own words:

“It’s not just an ‘above the fold versus below the fold’ issue. Sometimes people scroll down quickly to get to the content they want, and miss home page ads. In those cases, the action might be below the fold. Compelling ads can work in both places – but only if they’re visible.” Comscore found that 24% of ads above the fold were not visible.

While this is not great news for the advertisers who paid for those campaigns, It is great to see Comscore measure this for advertisers. And it’s why we developed the InView slider formats. Web pages, like the Huffington Post and Daily Mail are getting longer. And they are increasingly optimized for tablets where users are quick to scroll and therefore quick to skip past the top of the page to get to the content they want to read.

Comscore’s findings become very important, especially as online advertising moves from simple banner display ads to on-page video. And I believe it will move to great video ads for cars, cosmetics and movies etc right on the page. Right now, we’re selling the InView Slider ad unit with great confidence that it works for advertisers wherever you place it. It only appears if the reader is going to see it. The InView slider gives publishers a way to boost revenue, and gives advertisers a great way to guarantee to catch scrolling readers.

We’re also launching an in page video ad that will appear when the viewer is guaranteed to see it.

The InView slider has been quickly adopted by publishers since the summer because all the revenue for the publisher is additional and yet there’s no additional work involved.

We look forward to Comscore publicly presenting the full results of its study in March, and of course we are proud to be their partner in making advertising on the web as good as the best advertising on national TV.

About ZEDO

ZEDO, Inc. is a digital ad solutions company that offers products and services for a publisher’s premium, self service, and remnant inventory. Products include ad network optimization, innovative rich media formats for publishers’ direct sales teams, full featured ad serving, behavioral targeting data built into the ad server, an exchange-like platform for publishers to sell behavioral and DMA targeted inventory at high CPMs (see: www.zedoadnetwork.com), a self service platform to allow advertisers to buy directly from a publisher, outsourced ad ops and more. These products are integrated into one technology platform for publishers to choose from, or use seamlessly together. ZEDO has been in the internet advertising industry for over 10 years, and is the most successful independent ad server in the US. The company provides innovative solutions that boost revenues for Internet publishers. ZEDO is headquartered in San Francisco and has four development centers in Russia and India.

Reach out to ZEDO at http://www.zedo.com, or follow the company on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/ZEDOadsolutions) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/zedoinc).

- golfers and owners of full-size vehicles are highly likely to watch the game;

- sales professionals, husbands of single family households and sci-fi movie lovers are very likely to watch the game;

- those on the market for an Amazon Kindle are likely to watch the game.

Another interesting observation is that, although the Super Bowl ad spending has been decreasing in the past years, the percentage allocated to the Super Bowl from the advertisers’ annual budget is climbing steeply.

See below the infographic put together by BlueKai.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Ace Metrix, the authority of television advertising effectiveness, today honors Microsoft Kinect as the 2011 Brand of the Year and State Farm Insurance as the Most Improved Brand of the Year. Microsoft Kinect delivered twelve ads that earned the highest average Ace Score (619) of the nearly 1,000 brands tracked by Ace Metrix in 2011. To be considered for Brand of the Year, a brand must have aired at least 10 new television ads during 2011.

“It is a remarkable achievement to make one great ad, which Microsoft Kinect did with its category award-winning commercial ‘Sensor Turned Voice and Movement To Magic.’ It is, however, an entirely different challenge to consistently create great ads – which is exactly what Kinect was able to do in 2011,” said Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix. “Kinect’s ability to seamlessly blend innovation, possibility, and storytelling across different lengths resulted in an average Ace Score which fundamentally outperformed the field. To think that Microsoft was able to sustain a strong Kinect launch in 2010 with such a compelling set of ads in 2011 is a testament to their outstanding agencies, brand teams, and production teams.”

Joining Kinect as the most compelling brands in 2011 were M&M’s, Apple’s iPhone brand, Coca-Cola and Applebee’s.

“While it is not surprising to see these iconic brands at the top of the list, it is worth noting that each has distinguished itself in highly competitive categories, not only emerging as the brand leader in areas like mobile devices, casual dining, non-alcoholic beverages, candies and snacks, but across the entire advertising landscape,” Daboll said. “While being likeable is important for brands, the ability to reach consumers across a variety of dimensions, from emotional to rational is what creates a strong Ace Score, and these brands performed exceptionally well in this regard.”

Most Improved Brand: State Farm

Most Improved Brand of the Year was awarded to State Farm who demonstrated the most significant increase in average Ace Score from 2010 to 2011.

“As a brand, State Farm made extraordinary strides in 2011 compared to 2010,” continued Daboll. “State Farm increased its average Ace Score by almost 14 percent while airing fewer ads. As a result, they were able to deliver far more value at significantly reduced production costs, making their marketing expenditure work harder in 2011.”

Top Five Brands of 2011, by Average Ace Score*

Click the brand name to view five of the top scoring ads of 2011.

*Definition: Ace Score is the measure of ad creative effectiveness based on viewer reaction to national TV ads. Respondents (n=500+) are randomly selected and representative of the U.S. TV viewing audience. The results are presented on a scale of 0-950, which represents scoring on creative attributes such as Watchability, Relevance, Desire, Attention, Change, Information and Likeability. Norm for ads over the last 90 days is 536. Brand of the Year is calculated from all brands that fielded more than 10 new pieces of creative in 2011. Most Improved Brand is calculated from those qualified brands as compared to their Average Ace Score from 2010. Average Ace Score of a brand is determined by totaling all of the Ace Scores earned by a brand in the calendar year of 2011 and dividing by the number of ads aired.

Ace Metrix will reveal scores for every Super Bowl ad on February 5th.

About Ace Metrix

Ace Metrix is the industry authority in measuring and understanding the impact of advertising creative. Through patent-pending Ace Score™ measurement technology, Ace Metrix collects and measures the consumer impact of every nationally breaking TV ad in near real-time. Through its Creative Lifecycle Management™ suite of products, Ace Metrix provides actionable creative analysis, from ideation through real-time in-market performance optimization, to many of the world’s leading advertisers and agencies. Ace Metrix works with leading global advertisers. For more information, visit www.acemetrix.com

LAS VEGAS – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, announced the launch of Samsung AdHub, its advertising platform for the Samsung Smart TV platform. Through the newly-announced AdHub service, brands can deliver 3D, video and interactive advertisements into the living room via Samsung’s market-leading Smart TVs.

Samsung AdHub allows delivery of advertisements to the front-page of Samsung’s Smart TV interface, with multiple forms of compelling digital interactivity. Advertisements will be dynamic, allowing audiences to click to access video content, new applications and services, or the web browser. The company’s new Smart TV advertising platform will provide marketers and ad creatives new monetization models and opportunities to engage and interact with target audiences.

Samsung AdHub also enables a unique 3D video advertising experience within the Samsung branded 3D VOD service, ‘Explore 3D’ application. Samsung is the first consumer electronics manufacturer to offer 3D advertising on Smart TVs, giving advertisers new opportunities to create compelling and visually dynamic content in native 3D.

“Samsung is delivering the future of Smart TV now. With Samsung AdHub, we are enabling a richer content ecosystem that will benefit advertisers, application developers and consumers. Samsung’s global reach and expertise in Smart TV is creating a unique and innovative way for marketers to reach audiences with exciting and interesting content. We are helping brands break creative boundaries,” said Daniel Park, Vice President of Samsung’s Media Solution Center.

“Our complete Smart TV advertising solution is another example of our commitment to drive innovation in the TV market. Our goal is to create new opportunities throughout the Smart TV value-chain; providing a platform for advertisers and developers to participate is a key element of this goal. Ultimately, we think this is a win for consumers, because a dedicated way for developers to monetize services will contribute to a richer, more robust content experience,” added Park.

Samsung has already begun running several campaigns from leading advertisers such as State Farm and Best Buy. The company has also formed advertising sales partnerships with Rovi and YuMe. Smart TV advertising has launched in Korea and the United States.

Samsung expects to deploy its Smart TV in-app advertising solution in 2012. Smart TV application developers will be able to incorporate in-app capabilities available through the Samsung SDK (Software Development Kit) 3.0 for Samsung Smart TVs.

Visit http://www.samsungadhub.com for more information about Samsung AdHub.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2010 consolidated sales of US$135.8 billion. Employing approximately 190,500 people in 206 offices across 68 countries, the company operates two separate organizations to coordinate its nine independent business units: Digital Media & Communications, comprising Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, and Digital Imaging; and Device Solutions, consisting of Memory, System LSI and LCD. Recognized for its industry-leading performance across a range of economic, environmental and social criteria, Samsung Electronics was named the world’s most sustainable technology company in the 2011 Dow Jones Sustainability Index. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

About Rovi

Rovi Corporation is focused on revolutionizing the digital entertainment landscape by delivering solutions that enable consumers to intuitively connect to new entertainment from many sources and locations. The company also provides extensive entertainment discovery solutions for television, movies, music and photos to its customers in the consumer electronics, cable and satellite, entertainment and online distribution markets. These solutions, complemented by industry leading entertainment data, create the connections between people and technology, and enable them to discover and manage entertainment in an enjoyable form.

Rovi holds approximately 5,100 issued or pending patents worldwide and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with numerous offices across the United States and around the world including Japan, China, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom. More information about Rovi can be found at http://www.rovicorp.com/.

About YuMe

YuMe is the software infrastructure provider powering digital video and the next generation of television with its operating system for TV 2.0. Its video advertising technology and services seamlessly connect advertisers, app developers, content distributors, consumer electronics manufacturers, and publishers across the globe. YuMe’s patent-pending Relevance Engine powers its premium in-stream video ad network, the YuMe Connected Audience Network, and its industry-leading advertising management solutions, ACE for Publishers and ACE for Advertisers. The YuMe Relevance Engine matches the right ad to the right audience on whatever screen they are viewing—PC, mobile, or connected TV. YuMe is a privately held company headquartered in Redwood City, CA with its European headquarters in London. The company is backed by Accel Partners, BV Capital, DAG Ventures, Intel Capital, Khosla Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Samsung Ventures, and Translink Capital. For more information, visit www.YuMe.com, follow @YuMevideo on Twitter (www.twitter.com/YuMevideo), or like YuMe on Facebook at www.facebook.com/YuMevideo.

REDWOOD CITY, CA – YuMe, the operating system for TV 2.0, today announced that it is partnering with Samsung Electronics, the technology leader and innovator in electronics and telecommunications, to provide advertising on Samsung’s Smart TV Platform through YuMe’s Connected Audience Network. As part of this partnership, Samsung will host the first-ever connected TV Brand Lift study through YuMe’s relationship with Vizu, an online ad technology company whose solutions allow advertisers to measure and optimize Brand Lift in real-time. State Farm, North America’s leading choice for auto and home insurance, is the charter advertiser for this video advertising survey trial.

“Our sales partnership with YuMe allows Samsung to leverage their strong relationships with brands, agencies, and third-parties for the Samsung Smart TV Advertising Platform,” said Daniel Park, Vice President, Samsung Electronics, Media Solution Center. We believe the ability to reach consumers through Samsung’s market-leading Smart TV’s and Blu-ray Disc players presents a unique and compelling value proposition to marketers. YuMe is a valuable partner in evangelizing this opportunity and bringing brand advertisers in to participate in this interactive, emerging platform.”

The new connected TV Brand Lift study will gauge how ads impact consumers’ perception by randomly sampling viewers and presenting a small subset with an on-screen survey served from Samsung’s Smart Hub. Viewers respond to the survey using their TV remote. Responses from viewers who have not been exposed to the advertising are compared to those from viewers surveyed while the advertising is running in order to calculate the Brand Lift generated by the campaign. Powered by Vizu, this metric helps Samsung-YuMe advertisers improve messaging and audience targeting for current and future ad buys.

As the charter advertiser for this launch, State Farm is extending the reach of its popular Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers campaign across all screens to drive both brand and social media marketing objectives.

“We are extremely excited to be part of YuMe’s Connected TV launch. The living room is becoming the ‘hub’ of household entertainment, both for traditional as well as online viewing, and the connected TV platform provides a State Farm-branded experience prior to the consumer watching their chosen video,” said Edward Gold, Advertising Director, State Farm Insurance Companies.

“With this new capability, our solutions now enable advertisers to measure and optimize Brand Lift across multiple screens, comparing and contrasting the results generated in traditional digital channels with those from connected television,” said Dan Beltramo, CEO of Vizu. “We are very excited to test this capability with YuMe and Samsung as we jointly lead the way into the next realm of digital media branding measurement.”

Samsung Smart TV advertising inventory expands the reach of YuMe’s Connected Audience Network to include the global leader in connected TV sales. YuMe provides advertisers with an integrated campaign platform for reaching consumers across TV, mobile, and online devices. YuMe’s premium video ad network enables advertisers to reach their target audience at scale whenever and wherever they consume content. With world class customer support, brand-safe content, unmatched data and analytics, powerful reporting, and tremendous reach, the Connected Audience Network offers the essential tools marketers need to engage consumers and ultimately exceed their campaign goals.

“Connected TV is an emerging platform, and we are excited to offer built-in solutions for evaluating ad campaign success across multiple platforms, which have never before been available to brands,” said Jayant Kadambi, CEO, YuMe. “Our YuMe platform works seamlessly to integrate multiple technologies that give companies like State Farm real-time viewer feedback, allowing them to successfully monetize cross-platform campaigns.”

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2010 consolidated sales of US$135.8 billion. Employing approximately 190,500 people in 206 offices across 68 countries, the company operates two separate organizations to coordinate its nine independent business units: Digital Media & Communications, comprising Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, and Digital Imaging; and Device Solutions, consisting of Memory, System LSI and LCD. Recognized for its industry-leading performance across a range of economic, environmental and social criteria, Samsung Electronics was named the world’s most sustainable technology company in the 2011 Dow Jones Sustainability Index. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com

About State Farm

State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 17,800 agents and more than 66,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 37 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com or in Canada http://www.statefarm.ca.

About Vizu

Vizu Corporation (www.brandlift.com) brings the same metrics used to measure and optimize brand advertising effectiveness in the offline world to the online medium. By providing the first real-time, enterprise technology platform that allows brand advertisers and their partners in the digital media ecosystem – publishers, ad networks, exchanges, and demand side platforms – to collaborate around measuring and optimizing Brand Lift metrics, Vizu enables its customers to move their target audience through the purchase funnel, from building awareness to creating intent and preference. Vizu’s brand advertising effectiveness platform is used by over 60% of Advertising Age’s Top 100 Brand Advertisers and Comscore’s Top 50 Media properties to support all key aspects of the advertising lifecycle, including media buying, audience profiling, and Brand Lift optimization.

About YuMe

YuMe is the software infrastructure provider powering digital video and the next generation of television with its operating system for TV 2.0. Its video advertising technology and services seamlessly connect advertisers, app developers, content distributors, consumer electronics manufacturers, and publishers across the globe. YuMe’s patent-pending Relevance Engine powers its premium in-stream video ad network, the YuMe Connected Audience Network, and its industry-leading advertising management solutions, ACE for Publishers and ACE for Advertisers. The YuMe Relevance Engine matches the right ad to the right audience on whatever screen they are viewing—PC, mobile, or connected TV. YuMe is a privately held company headquartered in Redwood City, CA with its European headquarters in London. The company is backed by Accel Partners, BV Capital, DAG Ventures, Intel Capital, Khosla Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Samsung Ventures, and Translink Capital. For more information, visit www.YuMe.com, follow @YuMevideo on Twitter (www.twitter.com/YuMevideo), or like YuMe on Facebook at www.facebook.com/YuMevideo.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – In spite of the introduction of more than 150 new ads plugging new models and holiday promotions, automotive advertisers have experienced a lukewarm reception from U.S. consumers in Q4, according to Ace Metrix, the authority in television advertising effectiveness. The company, which today revealed lists of the most effective luxury and non-luxury automotive ads to break so far this quarter, found Q4 ads from Chevrolet to be a notable exception, leading the non-luxury automotive category in effectiveness—a category that performed far better than its luxury counterpart. This trend is a departure from last year when luxury brands out-performed non-luxury brands in effectiveness.

“Consumers tend to dislike sales event promotional ads, yet this year many brands opted for this type of messaging instead of better-performing, more creative brand/product messaging,” said Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix. “The result is the disappointing performance of many of the nearly 35 holiday-themed automotive ads to break so far this season. Case in point: it’s astounding that four of the ‘Top 10’ luxury automotive ads were below norm– a clear signal that many automotive brands have stepped away from good creative this season and fallen back on ‘Buy it now, you idiot’ messaging wrapped up in sales events and bows.”

Verbatim quotes from consumers who were surveyed included: “It’s the Christmas car bow ad…I think advertisers should know we’re tired of these and they should do something else…” “How many times are car companies going to show a car as a Christmas gift?…It makes me NOT want to buy [from them].”

Lexus, a brand typically in the Top 10 creative rankings, was conspicuously absent this quarter. Last year, the brand had more brand/product ads and had an average Ace Score of 584. This year, Lexus geared its creative toward holiday-themed sales event ads (“December to Remember”), resulting in a 14 percent drop in their average Ace Score to 504 – well below norm for the luxury automotive category.

One consumer said of the Lexus ads, “People don’t buy other people cars, and even if they did, do you think hearing one annoying jingle would really clue them into the fact they were getting a new car? No!”

On a positive note, luxury brands like Cadillac, Audi and Mercedes-Benz got their holiday messages right with Ace Scores above the norm. In addition, ads longer than the standard 30 seconds dominated both lists.

“One trend we are seeing a lot of is what we’re calling ‘the return of story-telling’—longer spots that allow a brand to tell a story,” Daboll commented. “Chevy’s top-ranking ads are a great example of this, as is the top-ranking Thomas Keller BMW ad.”

Most Effective TV Ads for Non-Luxury Automotive, Q4 To Date*

Most Effective Luxury Automotive TV Ads, Q4 To Date*

*Definition: Ace Score is the measure of ad creative effectiveness based on viewer reaction to national TV ads. Respondents are randomly selected and representative of the U.S. TV viewing audience. The results are presented on a scale of 0-950, which represents scoring on creative attributes such as relevance, persuasion, watchability, information, attention, etc.

Ace Metrix will reveal the Top 10 Ads of the Quarter and Top Ads for the Year on January 4th, 2012.

Ace Metrix is the industry authority in measuring and understanding the impact of advertising creative. Through patent-pending Ace ScoreTM measurement technology, Ace Metrix collects and measures the consumer impact of every nationally breaking TV ad in near real-time. Through its Creative Lifecycle Management TM suite of products, Ace Metrix provides actionable creative analysis, from ideation through real-time in-market performance optimization, to many of the world’s leading advertisers and agencies. Ace Metrix works with leading global advertisers. For more information, visit www.acemetrix.com.

Follow Ace Metrix on Twitter for additional insight: Ace_Metrix.

DIRECTV has teamed up with direct response systems leader CoreMedia Systems Inc. to begin rolling out the integration of Nielsen TV ratings for DIRECTV into CoreDirect DRTV software systems, eliminating the need for CoreDirect users to manually input DIRECTV ratings and performance data. It also will provide more accurate performance data for DIRECTV’s 11 genre-based cable network clusters, including precise quarter-hour data.

“The seamless integration of DIRECTV ratings within CoreDirect will simplify the buying process for our DR agency partners by providing an open and easily accessible view of DIRECTV ratings and demographic information,” said Amy Leifer, vice president, Advertising Sales, DIRECTV. “By using CoreDirect, agencies will be able to more easily analyze DIRECTV’s market performance so they can better manage their return on investment.”

“Our clients will now be able to reference DIRECTV’s ratings data during the planning, in-flight and post analysis stages of DRTV advertising campaigns,” said Glenn DeKraker, CEO of CoreMedia Systems. “As a result, they will be more efficient and accurate while achieving better performance for their campaigns.”

The study also found that TV ad breaks have an impact on casual games played on personal devices. Survey participants noted that they preferred games which didn’t take long to complete, or which were not time-dependent, so that they could fit their games activity into the ad breaks.

“Understanding when and how `focus shifts’ between the TV and personal devices occur is key to delivering a superior multi-screen user experience, as well as providing an opportunity to retain the attention of viewers on advertising,” concludes Park.

Note: This ethnographic study presents the findings of twelve in-home observations of individuals who actively engage with multiple personal devices within the home setting while watching TV. The observations and semi-structured interviews were carried out with consumers in the USA and UK in August 2011.

About Strategy Analytics

Strategy Analytics, Inc. provides timely and actionable market intelligence focused on opportunities and disruptive forces in the areas of Automotive Electronics and Entertainment, Broadband Connected Home, Mobile & Wireless Intelligent Systems and Virtual Worlds. Headquartered in Boston, MA, with offices in the UK, France, Germany, Japan, S. Korea and China, Strategy Analytics works with clients through annual multi-client services, management team workshops and custom consulting engagements. For more information, please visit http://www.strategyanalytics.com/

The publicly accessible resources for the DPA Toolset are now available dpatools.cablelabs.com.

“By opening access to the DPA Toolset to vendors, developers and the public at large, CableLabs is offering a speed-to-market resource that will accelerate the availability of technologies supporting advancements in electronic advertisement delivery, including the dynamic insertion of commercials into viewer-requested VOD streams,” said Don Dulchinos, CableLabs Senior Vice President, Advertising and Interactive Services.

The DPA Toolset streamlines the testing and validation process for SCTE-130-compliant technologies by allowing developers to emulate multi-platform architectures involved in the delivery of interactive advertising messages and related content across an array of distribution channels. These channels may include VOD streams, web pages, interactive program guides and other media vehicles.

The DPA Toolset solves a pressing challenge for advanced advertising technology developers: the need to assure interoperability across complex labyrinths of web services and message flows involved in the dynamic delivery of targeted advertising to cable customers. The DPA Toolset provides a specific, well-defined, interoperable and multi-vendor message set for each use case that occurs in the implementation of advanced advertising at national, regional and local levels. With the DPA Toolset, technology developers can test the performance of their solutions in advance of deployment at both isolated service points and across multiple service points involved in advanced advertising implementations.

How it works

The DPA Toolset creates profiles that define the valid web services message for every use case tied to SCTE-130 implementations. These profiles, combined with Web Service Description Language (WSDL) descriptions that define the functionality and parameters of web services involved in SCTE 130 implementations, can be used to test all elements and attributes of messages in an environment that emulates real-world deployments.

The toolset provides a two-pronged approach: a set of profiles and a tool to exercise those profiles. The profiles are exercised in a software emulator that can represent any SCTE-130 service at the message level. The toolset allows any mixture of real and emulated devices to make up a testable configuration. It validates that an actual message exchange contains the correct set of messages, and validates each message exchanged against a specific example of a profile.

Interop event

CableLabs hosted an interoperability event in July 2011 that allowed advanced advertising vendors to exercise the DPA Toolset for the first time.

“It’s critical to our business that the BlackArrow Advanced Advertising System maintains support for the latest standards — ensuring seamless deployments, and maximum interoperability. The DPA Toolset offers our development team a ready resource for testing and verifying the interactions of complex technologies within a real-world emulation environment,” said Chris Hock, Senior Vice President of Product for BlackArrow. “Our participation in the advanced advertising event held at CableLabs this summer enabled us to use the DPA Toolset in a laboratory environment to verify key interoperable aspects of our technical development.”

Although the DPA Toolset is initially directed at implementing and testing SCTE-130 messaging, the technology is generic to any web services messaging environment, including very large and complex problem spaces. The CableLabs community license allows free, non-commercial use of the DPA Toolset to address any problem space. CableLabs invites developers to contact the organization for further commercial use or distribution.

About CableLabs

Cable Television Laboratories (www.cablelabs.com) was founded in 1988 by members of the cable television industry. The Emmy Award winning laboratory is a non-profit research and development consortium that is dedicated to pursuing new cable telecommunications technologies and to helping its cable operator members integrate those advancements into their business objectives. Cable operators from around the world are members. CableLabs maintains additional web sites at www.cablenet.org, www.ebif.tv and www.tru2way.com.

Advanced Digital Cable™, CableCARD™, CableHome®, CableLabs®, CableNET®, CablePC™, DCAS™, DPoE™, DOCSIS®, EBIF™, Go2BroadbandSM, M-Card™, OpenCable™, PacketCable™, PeerConnect™, and tru2way® are marks of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.

LOS ANGELES – Ace Metrix™, the authority in television advertising effectiveness, today announced the Ace Metrix Quarterly Top 10 national ads for the third quarter of 2011, a list led by September 11th tribute ads from Budweiser and State Farm, which garnered Ace Scores of 665 and 662, respectively (on a scale of 950). The list, which was also dominated by ads for food including Sonic, Bisquick, Subway and Red Lobster, also featured ads from auto makers Nissan and Mercedes-Benz, as well as MasterCard and Clorox.

“Much to the distaste of many in the advertising community, September 11th represented the largest TV advertising event of the quarter and possibly the year,” said Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix. “9/11 ads from Anheuser-Busch and State Farm broadly appealed to consumers, overshadowing a quarter that was otherwise dominated by food ads. It’s also notable that while they did not achieve overall Top 10 status, Chevrolet’s 9/11 ads represented four of the top 10 non-luxury automotive ads this quarter.”

Most Effective TV Ads of Q3 2011*

*Definition: Ace Score is the measure of ad creative effectiveness based on viewer reaction to national TV ads. Respondents are randomly selected and representative of the U.S. TV viewing audience. The results are presented on a scale of 0-950, which represents scoring on creative attributes such as relevance, persuasion, watchability, information, attention, etc.

American Consumers Were Hungry in Q3

The effectiveness of food ads in Q3 of this year was a departure from last year when Apple’s iPad ads and other tech ads dominated Ace Metrix’ most-effective list of Q3 2010. Indeed, Restaurant and food ads performed better than a year ago and represented four of the top 10 most effective ads this quarter verses only one (from Dominoes Pizza) for Q3 of last year.

“It is well-documented that people crave food during stressful economic periods, a potential driver of interest in creative food messages in a quarter when economic uncertainty was one of the greatest headlines,” Daboll commented. “The broad spectrum of food—from burgers to pancakes and then from healthy subs to grilled seafood—indicates a lack of consistency in consumer appetites—and a great opportunity for food advertisers in an economy that shows little sign of improvement.”

Sonic’s “Food Fantasy” ad was the most successful QSR ad this quarter and the most effective ad overall behind Budweiser and State Farm’s 9/11 ads. The ad, which touted Sonic’s focus on customized orders, scored an impressive 657 Ace Score, 79 points higher than the average fast food score of 578. Interestingly, it also performed particularly well among young women, driven by high attention and likeability scores.

Following Sonic was an ad from Nissan, which topped the list of most-effective automotive ads for the quarter. Nissan, which produced the 2nd-most effective ad in Q3 2010, represented three of the top 10 non-luxury automotive ads for the quarter, along with 5 ads from Chevrolet, four of which were September-11th themed.

Finally, Mastercard’s ad, which promoted its partnership with “Stand up to Cancer,” was the top-scoring financial services ad, and Clorox’s “Kitchen Volcano” ad was the top-scoring household product ad of the quarter.

About Ace Metrix

Ace Metrix is the industry authority in measuring and understanding the impact of advertising creative. Through patent-pending Ace ScoreTM measurement technology, Ace Metrix collects and measures the consumer impact of every nationally breaking TV ad in near real-time. Through its Creative Lifecycle Management TM suite of products, Ace Metrix provides actionable creative analysis, from ideation through real-time in-market performance optimization, to many of the world’s leading advertisers and agencies. Ace Metrix works with leading global advertisers. For more information, visit www.acemetrix.com

Follow Ace Metrix on Twitter for additional insight: Ace_Metrix.

This report provides an early assessment of the U.S. connected TV advertising market. The report evaluates the main connected TV advertising business segments, assesses connected TV device usage, reviews connected TV advertising strategies, and examines the revenue potential for the emerging ad medium. The study concludes with a presentation of the strategic opportunities and market challenges for industry investors.

The television advertising industry is currently in a state of transition due to the emergence of connected TV platforms, which offer a new content source as well as an advertising delivery method, said Heather Way, Research Analyst, Parks Associates. While digital media platforms, services, and content proliferate in the marketplace, a host of advertising industry participants and their clients are developing innovative ways to monetize the connected, multiscreen consumer experience.

Key Topics Covered:

Data Points
Key Players in Connected TV Development
Research Summary
Purpose of Report & Research Scope
Research Approach
Connected TV Advertising Market Highlights: Sizing the Market & Profiling User
Categorizing Connected Devices
Connected Device Ownership and Usage Trend
Connected TV Device Manufacturers
The Role of the Pay-TV Service Provider
Engaging Audiences through Connected TV Platforms: Profiles of Key Players in Connected TV Advertising & Branded Experiences
The Revenue Opportunity
Connected TV Advertising Business and Pricing Models
Impact of Connected TV Advertising on Advanced TV and Online Video Advertising Markets
Driving Changes in Advertising
Resource Book
Glossary of Terms
Company Profiles

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/35e052/advertising_strate

For the first time, this quarterly report from Kantar Media includes paid search advertising expenditures. Search advertising has been incorporated on a like-for-like basis for 2011 and 2010 time periods.

“Advertising grew at a slower rate in the second quarter, contributing to speculation about the durability of an advertising recovery that is into its second year,” said Jon Swallen, SVP Research at Kantar Media North America. “Key ad spend indicators are painting a mixed picture. On one hand, a majority of media types actually improved their performance from Q1 to Q2. On the other, spending growth for the Top 100 advertisers stalled in Q2 and the ad market became more dependent on the comparatively smaller budgets of mid-sized advertisers as the main source of growth.”

Measured Ad Spending By Media

Internet media accounted for more than one-half of the dollar gain in total ad expenditures during the first six months of the year. Display spending jumped 12.9 percent and search investments rose 8.6 percent as each benefitted from a surge of money from the travel, local service and insurance categories.

Within the television sector, expenditures on cable networks increased 11.8 percent during the first half of the year while network TV spending fell 7.6 percent. One factor shaping these results was the shift of BCS college football bowl games and NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament programming from broadcast networks to cable, producing a large, one-time transfer of ad dollars. Supplementing this was a reallocation of TV budgets from network to cable within the prescription drug, financial service and consumer package goods categories.

Syndication TV expenditures surged 18.5 percent, reflecting more hours of monitored programming and larger budgets from auto insurers and consumer package goods marketers. Spanish Language TV had a 1.7 percent increase in first-half spending as declines from bellwether telecom advertisers were offset by expanded budgets from a few financial service providers. Outlays on Spot TV fell by 0.9 percent, reflecting weakness from the telecom category and a slowdown in Q2 spending by auto manufacturers.

Outdoor (+11.8 percent) was paced by healthy increases from local service businesses, banks and TV media outlets. Consumer Magazine ad spending pulled back in Q2 and finished the half year period up 4.0 percent. Prescription drug advertising in magazines picked up during the spring months but these gains were neutralized by cutbacks from auto manufacturers.

The pace of spending in Radio media remained soft throughout the first six months of 2011. Local Radio was up 2.4 percent compared to a year ago and National Spot Radio fell by 1.6 percent.

Newspaper media continued to lag the overall market, dragged down by National Newspapers (-4.9 percent) and Spanish Language Newspapers (-5.9 percent). However, the Local Newspaper segment ended its streak of 22 consecutive quarters of spending declines and eked out a 2.5 percent increase in Q2 and a 0.6 percent gain for the half year.

Percent Change in Measured Ad Spending¹

Source: Kantar Media

1. Figures are based on the Kantar Media Stradegy™ multimedia ad expenditure database across all measured media, including: Network TV (5 networks); Spot TV (125 DMAs); Cable TV (71 networks); Syndication TV; Hispanic Network TV (4 networks); Consumer Magazines (204 publications); Sunday Magazines (8 publications); Local Magazines (29 publications); Hispanic Magazines (18 publications); Business-to-Business Magazines (332 publications); Local Newspapers (142 publications); National Newspapers (3 publications); Hispanic Newspapers (46 publications); Network Radio (5 networks); National Spot Radio (205 markets); Local Radio (32 markets);Internet search (Google search engine); Internet display (2,087 sites monitored at least one year); and Outdoor. Figures do not include public service announcements (PSA) or house advertising

2. Cable TV figures based on 67 English language networks and do not include any Hispanic cable networks

3. Spot TV figures based on 662 English language stations and do not include any Hispanic stations

4. Spanish Language TV includes 4 Hispanic broadcast networks, 4 Hispanic cable network and 71 local Hispanic TV stations

5. Internet search figures reflect paid activity on Google

6. Magazine media includes Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) data and reflect print editions of publications

7. Newspaper media figures reflect print editions of publications

8. Local Radio includes expenditures for 32 markets in the U.S.

9. FSI data represents distribution costs only

Measured Ad Spending By Advertiser

Spending among the ten largest advertisers in the first six months of 2011 was $8,218.4 million, a 0.5 percent decrease compared to a year ago. Among the Top 100 marketers, a diversified group accounting for more than two-fifths of all measured ad expenditures, budgets rose a miniscule 0.8 percent.

Procter & Gamble maintained its top-ranked position with spending of $1,382.8 million, down 7.8 percent. The company has been shifting budgets into Spanish language media and Internet display at the expense of Consumer Magazines, Network TV and Cable TV.

AT&T was the second largest advertiser for the half year period with expenditures of $1,129.5 million, a decline of 2.6 percent. Since the March 2011 announcement of its agreement to purchase T-Mobile, AT&T ad spending has slowed sharply. At competitor Verizon Communications, first-half ad budgets were $808.7 million, a decrease of 22.5 percent and the biggest percentage decline among the Top Ten marketers.

Whereas four automotive manufacturers landed in the Top Ten for the first quarter, only two accomplished that feat for the half year interval. Chrysler Group hiked ad budgets by 58.7 percent to $621.1 million, the largest rate of increase among the Top Ten. Spending was bolstered by several marketing introductions for new and redesigned models. General Motors reduced its six-month expenditures by 13.3 percent, to $924.6 million. The proportion of GM’s ad budget earmarked towards passenger cars, as opposed to SUVs and pickups trucks, continues to expand and is now at its highest level in more than four years.

L’Oreal investments rose 25.0 percent to $626.3 million. Comcast (+35.1 percent to $884.5 million) and Time Warner (+6.7 percent to $618.2 million) also upped their ad budgets. Results for both companies were driven by their movie studio divisions.

Top Ten Advertisers Of Jan-June 2011¹

Source: Kantar Media

1. Figures do not include FSI, House Ads or PSA activity

2. The sum of the individual companies can differ from the total shown due to rounding

Measured Ad Spending By Category

Expenditures for the ten largest categories grew 4.8 percent in the first half of 2011 to $40,982.7 million.

Automotive was the top category with $6,870.2 million of spending in the six month period, up 9.3 percent. However, after a torrid first quarter auto marketers hit the brakes and Q2 expenditures inched forward by only 0.8 percent. It was a complex environment with Toyota and Honda suffering post-earthquake inventory disruptions; wavering consumer confidence; reduced marketing incentives from manufacturers; and a slowing rate of new vehicle sales across the industry.

The Local Services category had the strongest rate of growth among the Top Ten with a 10.0 percent increase to $4,876.6 million. This performance is consistent with the category’s weighting towards mid-sized advertisers, a segment that has been spending robustly.

Escalating competition among credit card marketers was the catalyst for a 5.6 percent jump in Financial Services expenditures, to $4,647.7 billion. The Travel & Tourism category entered the Top Ten with outlays of $2,927.1 million (+6.0 percent) as marketers launched campaigns targeting the peak spring and summer travel seasons.

After an extended run-up, expenditure growth rates for package goods categories are falling back. Food & Candy was down 1.1 percent to $3,268.7 million. Ad spending for Personal Care Products slowed in Q2 but still finished the half year up 9.9 percent to $3,253.1 million.

Top Ten Advertising Categories Of Jan-June 2011¹

Source: Kantar Media

1. Figures do not include FSI or PSA activity

2. Miscellaneous Retail excludes these retail segments: Department Stores, Home Furnishing & Building Supply Stores

3. The sum of the individual categories can differ from the total shown due to rounding

Finishing just outside the Top Ten in dollar volume but with the largest gain of any category was Insurance. Its spending leaped 25.2 percent, propelled by a select group of auto insurers intensifying their battle for market share. Their need for differentiated and winning messages led to a variety of brand positions around the selling points of price, policy features and customer service. A special report from Kantar Media’s creative monitoring service analyzing auto insurers’ message strategies is available here.

Top Spending Advertisers Within Select Media

The top ten TV advertisers spent $5,165.5 million in the medium during the first half of 2011, down 1.7 percent from a year ago. This group accounted for 15.7 percent of total TV expenditures by all advertisers.

Top Ten Television Advertisers¹ Of Jan-June 2011

Source: Kantar Media

1 Figures do not include PSA activity

2 The sum of the individual companies can differ from the total shown due to rounding

The ten largest Internet advertisers invested a total of $1,323.5 million in search and display campaigns, up 24.9 percent versus a year ago. Despite fragmentation on the web, the group accounted for 11.1 percent share of all Internet ad dollars. The three leading wireless telecom providers each made the list along with a pair of financial advertisers.

Top Ten Internet Advertisers Of Jan-June 2011
(Display + Search)

Source: Kantar Media

1. The sum of the individual companies can differ from the total shown due to rounding

The top ten newspaper advertisers of January-June 2011 invested $1,254.1 million in the medium, a decrease of 4.2 percent. As a proportion of total newspaper ad spending by all advertisers, the top ten accounted for 14.9 percent. Auto dealerships were represented in the ranking with four spots and their increased spending amounts are contrary to the overall trend of declining newspaper expenditures.

Top Ten Newspaper Advertisers Of Jan-June 2011

Source: Kantar Media

1. The sum of the individual companies can differ from the total shown due to rounding

About Kantar Media

Established in more than in 50 countries, Kantar Media enables exploration of multimedia momentum through analysis of print, radio, TV, internet, social media, and outdoors worldwide. Kantar Media offers a full range of media insights and audience measurement services through its global business sectors – Intelligence, Audiences and TGI & Custom. Combining the deepest expertise in the industry, Kantar Media tracks more than 3 million brands and delivers insights to more than 22,000 customers around the world. (www.KantarMediaNA.com).

LOS ANGELES – Ace Metrix™, the authority in television advertising effectiveness, announced the most effective Back-to-School TV ads, a list led by Microsoft and dominated by technology companies and brands, including Best Buy, Staples, Dell, and Wal-Mart.

“Notably, apparel retailers did not make much of a splash with consumers this back-to-school season,” said Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix. “JCPenney was a notable exception, winning big with consumers with their ‘pennies from heaven’ spot that promoted the company’s contributions to local after-school programs. This philanthropic tactic, which was used last year in the Number One back-to-school ad from Kohl’s, has been an effective way of getting consumer attention for apparel retailers.

“The usual reliance of apparel retailers on typically ‘in the box’ ideas like promotion of sales events are just not effective in breaking through to consumers in a cluttered advertising environment.”

Microsoft’s top-rated ad, achieving an Ace Score of 651, offered a free Xbox with the purchase of a Windows 7 PC, an offer also made by Dell, which had the 9th most effective ad with an Ace Score of 569.

Top 10 Most Effective Back to School Ads*

*Definition: Ace Score is the measure of ad creative effectiveness based on viewer reaction to national TV ads. Respondents are randomly selected and representative of the U.S. TV viewing audience. The results are presented on a scale of 0-950, which represents scoring on creative attributes such as relevance, persuasion, watchability, information, attention, etc.

In addition, five of the top 10 ads were focused on college students. By comparison, many of the poorer performing ads were focused on messages around children’s apparel. Crayola was a notable children’s brand to break into the most effective ads promoting its dry erase crayons and achieving an Ace Score of 589.

About Ace Metrix

Ace Metrix is the industry authority in measuring and understanding the impact of advertising creative. Through patent-pending Ace ScoreTM measurement technology, Ace Metrix collects and measures the consumer impact of every nationally breaking TV ad in near real-time. Through its Creative Lifecycle Management TM suite of products, Ace Metrix provides actionable creative analysis, from ideation through real-time in-market performance optimization, to many of the world’s leading advertisers and agencies. Ace Metrix works with leading global advertisers. For more information, visit www.acemetrix.com

CINCINNATI – dunnhumbyUSA, a global leader in building brand value for consumer goods and retail companies, and TRA, a leading media and market research company that helps clients increase TV advertising effectiveness and product sales by matching anonymous television tuning data with consumer purchasing behavior data, today announced a partnership. The partnership leverages dunnhumbyUSA’s data, expertise, customer relationships and analytics to accelerate TRA’s leading solution linking TV viewership and shopper purchase behavior. As a result, consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, advertising agencies and television networks will benefit from the industry’s most comprehensive solution for understanding and improving advertising effectiveness.

Utilizing TRA’s patented Media TRAnalytics® software – which matches second-by-second measurement of TV viewing habits from more than 2 million set-top box households with the purchases of 60 million U.S. households – the solution enables more continuous and accurate results to help companies improve ROI and eliminate waste from ad spends. The companies will also provide clients with custom analytics regarding campaign success and results as well as advanced targeting insights based on viewers’ product purchase behavior.

“We are pleased to partner with dunnhumbyUSA, the industry leader in helping companies increase brand preference,” said Mark Lieberman, Chairman and CEO of TRA. “dunnhumby’s expertise analyzing consumer behavior in-store is a strong addition to the existing Media TRAnalytics® platform, which offers media buyers and sellers the television industry’s most diverse and powerful media marketing database. This partnership will be an important accelerant for the industry, helping media buyers and sellers move away from reliance on traditional panel-based demographics to deliver more effective media plans, measurement and custom analytical capabilities.”

“At dunnhumby, we have found that companies experience success and build preference for their brand by putting the customer at the center of their business decisions,” said Stuart Aitken, CEO of dunnhumbyUSA. “Our partnership with TRA, an innovator within the fast growing space of media analytics, is one more extension of that model, and will offer clients the opportunity to deliver more relevant content, improving the customer experience and at the same time, providing better ROI for advertisers.”

About TRA, Inc.
TRA, Inc. (www.traglobal.com) is a media marketing and analytics software company whose products help advertisers, agencies and television networks improve advertising targeting, accountability and return on media investment. TRA’s Media TRAnalytics® is a web-based platform that matches the TV advertising households actually receive with the products the same households actually buy, enabling TRA’s clients to find “The Right Audience®” while providing an unmatched level of transparency, measurement, media planning/selling and improved ROI. Licensed users of Media TRAnalytics® include 4 of the top 10 advertisers, 45 of the top 100 brands, as well as the top agencies and networks. TRA’s investors include Intel Capital, Kodiak Venture Partners, WPP and Arbitron. TRA is the recipient of the BeyeNETWORK’s 2009 Vision Award for Business Impact in Analytics. TRA is certified under ISO 27001, the information security management system standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) designed to ensure security controls for protecting information assets. TRA owns U.S. Patent No. 7,729,940, entitled “Analyzing Return on Investment of Advertising Campaigns by Matching Multiple Data Sources” and U.S. Patent No. 8,000,993, entitled “Using Consumer Purchase Behavior for Television Targeting.”

About dunnhumbyUSA:
dunnhumby is the global leader in personalizing customers’ experience of retailers and brands. Analyzing data from over 350 million people in 25 countries, we help companies put customers at the center of every decision. We use our insight to improve customers’ experience of stores and communications to earn their lifetime loyalty. Our work with some of the world’s biggest retailers and brands has demonstrated that those companies that deliver value to customers through personalization become and stay their customers’ first choice. This strategic approach to putting the customer first in business improves our clients’ like-for-like sales and profit margins – or, put simply, their brand value. dunnhumbyUSA is a joint venture of The Kroger Company and London-based dunnhumby. Employing more than 1,500 people in 30 offices in Europe, Asia and the Americas, dunnhumby serves a prestigious list of companies including The Kroger Co., Tesco, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Kimberly-Clark, Macy’s, Panera Bread Company, PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble. For more information, visit www.dunnhumby.com.

LOS ANGELES – The war for tablet computing marketshare is being aggressively waged via TV ads, and Ace Metrix™, the authority in television advertising effectiveness, reported that Samsung has won the battle for most effective tablet ad year-to-date with an Ace Score of 650 for its “Feel Free” ad promoting its 7-inch Galaxy tablet. On a campaign basis, Ace Metrix found that Apple’s iPad campaign led the battle for overall effectiveness, with an average Ace Score of 627 for its five ads this year compared to Samsung’s average Ace Score of 607 for its six ads.

“It’s important to note that each of the tablet ads in our Top 10, which also included Blackberry and HP, did very well, and scored above the norm. Despite Samsung’s ‘Feel Free’ homerun, Apple’s iPad campaign firmly leads other tablet makers on an aggregate basis,” said Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix. “iPad’s market momentum preceded all other tablet manufacturers, making the ad game a serious one in converting consumers away from Apple’s initial awareness and product trial.

“Capturing consumers’ attention and willingness to try a tablet other than iPad is the name of the game in this tablet war, and solid creative that conveys compelling advantages– like ability to multi-task, size, ease of use– is just one tactic in competing with the market leader.”

Tablet makers have aired 35 ads this year, eight of which were from HP, more than any other tablet maker. Two of the eight appeared in the Top 10, including its leading ad featuring comedian Russell Brand, which achieved an Ace Score of 633 (compared to HP’s average Ace Score of 605).

On a campaign level, both Samsung and Blackberry achieved an average Ace Score of 607, but only two of Samsung’s ads appeared in the Top 10 compared to two out of three of Blackberry’s Playbook ads and four out of five of Apple’s iPad ads.

The most effective ad among women was iPad’s “Tablet Computer Has Many Uses” ad, while Blackberry’s “Take Anywhere to Take you Anywhere” ad was tops among men.

Most Effective Tablet Ads of 2011, YTD*

*Definition: Ace Score is the measure of ad creative effectiveness based on viewer reaction to national TV ads. Respondents are randomly selected and representative of the U.S. TV viewing audience. The results are presented on a scale of 0-950, which represents scoring on creative attributes such as relevance, persuasion, watchability, information, attention, etc.

Among the lowest scoring tablet ads were two ads from Toshiba, two from HP, two from Samsung, three from Kindle, one from Nook, and one from Blackberry Playbook.

About Ace Metrix

Ace Metrix is the industry authority in measuring and understanding the impact of advertising creative. Through patent-pending Ace ScoreTM measurement technology, Ace Metrix collects and measures the consumer impact of every nationally breaking TV ad in near real-time. Through its Creative Lifecycle ManagementTM suite of products, Ace Metrix provides actionable creative analysis, from ideation through real-time in-market performance optimization, to many of the world’s leading advertisers and agencies. Ace Metrix works with leading global advertisers. For more information, visit www.acemetrix.com.

Follow Ace Metrix on Twitter for additional insight: Ace_Metrix.

LOS ANGELES – Ace Metrix™, the authority in television advertising effectiveness, revealed the most effective beer ads among beer drinkers year-to-date, a list dominated by ads promoting packaging innovations such as Bud Light’s “my Bud Light” scratch-on bottle, Miller Lite’s Home Draft, and Budweiser’s 4th of July can.

“This list is particularly notable as both Budweiser and Miller have announced recently new packaging innovations aimed at driving sales,” said Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix. “It’s clear that Americans like seeing creative packaging for beverages, with three of Bud’s six ads in the top 10 featuring clever new can and bottle innovations. We saw this also with Coca-Cola’s “Shape” ad, the most effective ad of Q2, which promoted Coke’s new bottle shape.”

Top 10 Most Effective Beer Ads of 2011 Among Beer Drinkers, YTD*

*Definition: Ace Score is the measure of ad creative effectiveness based on viewer reaction to national TV ads. Respondents are randomly selected and representative of the U.S. TV viewing audience. The results are presented on a scale of 0-950, which represents scoring on creative attributes such as relevance, persuasion, watchability, information, attention, etc.

“Budweiser clearly has their finger on the creative pulse this year, pumping out a majority of the ads that truly appeal to American beer drinkers. Almost every Bud ad in the top 10 and beyond had very high likeability scores, a hallmark of great advertising,” said Daboll. “Their clever use of promoting product innovation in their advertising pushed information and relevance scores higher.”

Notably, only one ad from Miller Lite, which featured its “home draft” packaging, appeared in the Top 10 list of most effective ads among beer drinkers. This was one of four ads from MillerCoors’ brands that made the list (vs. six from Budweiser), which also included Miller High Life’s “Live the High Life” Veteran’s Day ad, the second most-effective ad scoring an Ace Score of 637 just behind Bud Light’s “Dog Sitting” Super Bowl ad, which scored the highest Ace score among beer drinkers, 643. “Dog Sitting” was one of two Super Bowl ads, both from Bud Light, in the Top 10.

Overall, ads for light beer, with four from Bud Light and only one each from Miller Lite and Coors Light, represented a majority of the top ads on the list.

About Ace Metrix

Ace Metrix is the industry authority in measuring and understanding the impact of advertising creative. Through patent-pending Ace ScoreTM measurement technology, Ace Metrix collects and measures the consumer impact of every nationally breaking TV ad in near real-time. Through its Creative Lifecycle ManagementTM suite of products, Ace Metrix provides actionable creative analysis, from ideation through real-time in-market performance optimization, to many of the world’s leading advertisers and agencies. Ace Metrix works with leading global advertisers. For more information, visit www.acemetrix.com.

Follow Ace Metrix on Twitter for additional insight: Ace_Metrix.

NEW YORK & PHILADELPHIA – Comcast and NBCUniversal announced that they are partnering to use dynamic ad insertion in On Demand programming, further leveraging the On Demand service as an advertising platform. Dynamic ad insertion, which is a service that allows for advertisements to be easily changed at any time, has begun rolling out in several Comcast markets, with plans to expand to the majority of Comcast markets in the coming year. Chrysler and Kraft are the premiere advertisers.

Content from USA Network, E!, Syfy, Bravo Media and Oxygen Media that airs On Demand on Comcast Cable systems will be part of the rollout, which will initially focus on advertisements that run prior to and after a show (pre-roll and post-roll ads) and include dynamic ad insertion for advertisements throughout the show (mid-roll ads) later this year. Content from additional NBCUniversal networks is expected to be added to the service in the coming months.

“On Demand programming is a key way to reach today’s consumers and an important part of an advertiser’s marketing mix,” said Ed Swindler, EVP and Chief Operating Officer, NBCUniversal Advertising Sales. “This capability helps make the service more advertiser-friendly, giving clients greater flexibility to ensure their ads remain timely and relevant.”

“With more than 20 billion views On Demand since we launched the service in 2003, and an average of 350 million views per month, the service is a proven platform to reach consumers,” said Marcien Jenckes, SVP and General Manager of Video Services, Comcast. “Enabling dynamic ad insertion will create more value for advertisers, content owners and Comcast, and allow us to further monetize the VOD platform while presenting more relevant advertising to our customers.”

Traditionally, ads are inserted manually into On Demand programming and remain in place throughout a show’s full window of availability. Technology from Black Arrow’s Advanced Advertising System allows ads to be easily changed or revised when necessary, allowing clients to more effectively target their marketing messages. Comcast will make this capability available to other programming networks on its systems in coordination with Canoe Ventures, which will also enable this capability to a broader footprint covering multiple operators by early 2012.

Comcast Spotlight, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, is bringing dynamic ad insertion to local advertising clients as well. Local advertisers utilizing the technology include South Florida McDonald’s, Richmond’s nTelos, Virginia Credit Union, NBC12/WBBT-TV and Batteries Plus.

“Our business is all about delivering the impressions our local clients need, across multiple platforms,” said Kevin Smith, Group Vice President, Spotlight Integrated Media Sales. “Dynamic ad insertion offers clients the opportunity to reach a highly engaged audience, with the accountability and efficiency they’ve come to expect from Comcast Spotlight.”

About Comcast Corporation:

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (www.comcast.com) is one of the nation’s leading providers of entertainment, information and communications products and services. Comcast is principally involved in the operation of cable systems through Comcast Cable and in the development, production and distribution of entertainment, news, sports and other content for global audiences through NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation’s largest video, high-speed Internet and phone providers to residential and business customers. Comcast is the majority owner and manager of NBCUniversal, which owns and operates entertainment and news cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, local television station groups, television production operations, a major motion picture company and theme parks.

About NBCUniversal:

NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. Comcast Corporation owns a controlling 51% interest in NBCUniversal, with GE holding a 49% stake.

“DIRECTView is one of many sources of data Nielsen is incorporating in our efforts to provide higher quality local TV audience measurement,” said Steve Hasker, President, Nielsen Media Products & Advertiser Solutions. “Our innovative approach to enhance local TV measurement addresses the technological limitations of using set top box data alone, and we expect it will provide valuable benefits to local TV markets.”

“The integration of our DIRECTView data with Nielsen’s local market data marks an important milestone for return path data,” says George Shababb, President, Kantar Media Audiences North America. “The sample size and granularity made possible through return path data advances what audience measurement has traditionally been able to deliver and will help offer advertisers in local markets an improved service.”

Nielsen selected Kantar Media’s DIRECTView service because it is one of the largest set top box services in the United States that anonymously covers live and time-shifted viewing. Nielsen’s use of the DIRECTView data to enhance its industry-leading audience measurement approach follows a successful proof-of-concept test that provided greater stability in local TV audiences.

About Nielsen

Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related properties. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

About Kantar Media

Kantar Media is a unit of Kantar, a leading information, insight and consultancy group that is part of WPP. WPP is the world’s largest communications services group with billings of $66 billion and revenues of approximately $15 billion. Kantar Media, which is represented in over 50 countries, helps clients master the world’s multimedia momentum through analysis of print, radio, TV, Internet, cinema, mobile, social media, and outdoor worldwide. Kantar Media offers a full range of media insights and audience measurement services through its global business sectors—Audiences, Intelligence, TGI and Custom. Kantar Media companies also include Compete, Cymfony and SRDS. Drawing upon the deepest expertise in the industry, Kantar Media tracks more than 3 million brands and delivers insight to more than 22,000 customers worldwide. www.KantarMediaNA.com.

LOS ANGELES – Ace Metrix™, the authority in television advertising effectiveness, announced the Ace Metrix Quarterly Top 10 national ads for the second quarter ending June 30, 2011. This quarter, ads featuring new products and packaging rose to the top. Leading the list was Coca-Cola’s “Shape” spot that featured its new bottle design. The ad, which was Coke’s highest scoring ad of the last three years and the second-highest scoring ad out of more than 500 beverage ads in the Ace Metrix database, received an Ace Score™ of 670 compared to the Beverage category norm of 551.

“Coca-Cola’s ‘Shape’ spot shows how great creative makes a product launch more effective,” commented Peter Daboll, chief executive of Ace Metrix. “The ad had the highest attention and likeability scores among the top ten ads and did particularly well with younger demographics.”

According to one Female, aged 21-35, “I love this ad; it was so cute, and it brought me back to when I was a kid and I used to get the small glass bottles. I also like how Coke is eco-friendly.”

Top 10 Most Effective Ads of Q2 2011*

*Definition: Ace Score is the measure of ad creative effectiveness based on viewer reaction to national TV ads. Respondents are randomly selected and representative of the U.S. TV viewing audience. The results are presented on a scale of 0-950, which represents scoring on creative attributes such as relevance, persuasion, watchability, information, attention, etc. Based on Ace Metrix data collected from January 2009.

Top 10 Least Effective Ads of Q2 2011*

Note: The measure of ad effectiveness is a more robust measure than mere popularity and takes into account such criteria as an ad’s watchability, likeability, relevance, information, persuasiveness, ability to alter opinion, and ability to create desire.

New Products and Features

The second quarter top ten list was dominated by new products and packaging enhancements across several different categories. Oreo launched its Fudge Creme line extension with a new spot featuring a family’s “indescribably good” reaction to the new cookie.

“Oreo’s ad made you want the cookie – it scored the highest Desire score out of all of the top ten ads,” commented Daboll.

Other product launch and packaging enhancement ads include Google’s Chrome browser, Subway’s new salads, M&M’s “design your own M&M’s,” Magnum Ice Cream’s U.S. market launch, Wendy’s new sea salt French fries, Orville Redenbacher’s new popcorn bag, and the iPad 2.

The third highest-scoring ad, Google’s “Dear Sophie,” narrates a little girl’s life through the eyes of her father using a Gmail “diary” that demonstrates the capabilities of Google Chrome.

“Google’s ‘Dear Sophie’ ad tells a compelling story that the audience clearly relates to; the ad achieved the highest Relevance, Change, and Information scores among all of the top ten ads,” Daboll said.

Said best by one 21-35 year old female about the “Dear Sophie” ad: “I am a huge fan of Google and Gmail. I haven’t really had the chance to explore Chrome, but I just might give it a chance having seen this commercial. It was so sweet!”

About Ace Metrix

Ace Metrix is the industry authority in measuring and understanding the impact of advertising creative. Through patent-pending Ace ScoreTM measurement technology, Ace Metrix collects and measures the consumer impact of every nationally breaking TV ad in near real-time. Through its Creative Lifecycle ManagementTM suite of products, Ace Metrix provides actionable creative analysis, from ideation through real-time in-market performance optimization, to many of the world’s leading advertisers and agencies. Ace Metrix works with leading global advertisers. For more information please see www.acemetrix.com. For more information, visit www.acemetrix.com.

Follow Ace Metrix on Twitter for additional insight: Ace_Metrix.

LOS ANGELES  – Ace Metrix™, the authority in television advertising effectiveness, revealed that Oreo’s Father’s Day ad was the most effective ad this week. Oreo, which also produced the top Mother’s Day ad this year, won over Americans with the 15-second spot that scored 22 percent higher than the norm with an Ace Score of 629. The ad, seen here, featured a father and son enjoying a cookie on the stroke of midnight of Father’s Day.

“Just like its Mother’s Day ad, Oreo has kept it simple and produced a heart-warming ad that is both desire-inducing (23 percent above-norm desire scores) and extremely likeable (20 percent above the norm),” said Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix.

Compared to other Candy and Snack ads, Oreo’s Father’s Day ad was 35 points above a norm of 594. Consumers had this to say about the ads:

“I think it was really cute! I love Oreos, and I can really see kids and their dads doing this,” said a female, 21-35 years old with a household income of $40-75,000.
“I love it as much as I love Oreos …the little boy in the ad is so adorable; I would watch this commercial again,” said a female, 21-35 years old, with a household income of $40-75,000.
“I love Oreos and enjoy moments like that with my son,” said a Male, 21-35 years old, with a household income of $40-75,000.

About Ace Metrix

Ace Metrix is the industry authority in measuring and understanding the impact of advertising creative. Through patent-pending Ace ScoreTM measurement technology, Ace Metrix collects and measures the consumer impact of every nationally breaking TV ad in near real-time. Through its Creative Lifecycle ManagementTM suite of products, Ace Metrix provides actionable creative analysis, from ideation through real-time in-market performance optimization, to many of the world’s leading advertisers and agencies. Ace Metrix works with leading global advertisers. For more information please see www.acemetrix.com.

Follow Ace Metrix on Twitter for additional insight: @Ace_Metrix.

NEW YORK – TRA, Inc., which provides the industry’s premium solution for increasing the accountability of television advertising, announced the newest version of its patented business intelligence software solution, Media TRAnalytics® 3.0. The enhanced solution highlights StoryFinder™, an innovative feature that allows clients to quickly find and act on “stories” of which products and categories have the highest purchaser ratings in networks, local stations and programs.

With Media TRAnalytics® 3.0 and StoryFinder™, each segment of TRA’s client base will benefit in varied, but deeply useful ways. With a few simple clicks, advertisers and agencies will be able to instantly develop strategic lists of the media outlets that attract their core audiences, as well as those that attract competitors’ best prospects. Similarly, networks and stations will be able to immediately define which purchaser targets their network or station delivers most effectively, as well as the targets best delivered by competitors. StoryFinder™ allows users to quickly and effectively gain new, actionable insights to improve sales.

David Poltrack, Chief Research Officer and President of CBS Vision explained, “CBS has a long and successful history working with TRA to help us demonstrate to marketers the importance of advertising in the marketing plan and television as the centerpiece of the media plan. Now, with Media TRAnalytics® 3.0 and StoryFinder™, we’ll be able to position our product even more competitively, with deeper insights that will tell us exactly what kind of consumers our audiences are comprised of. For instance, one of the stories TRA has found for us is that ‘The Good Wife’ is highly rated among owners of high-end auto models. This type of actionable data is helping the TV industry shift from Demographic Rating Points to Purchaser Rating Points, and marketers can now make TV advertising investments that directly target viewers’ buying behaviors. To be able to step back and assess our media environment like this is going to be of great value to CBS.”

“We are pleased to announce StoryFinder™ as the next step in the evolution of Media TRAnalytics®,” said Mark Lieberman, Chairman and CEO of TRA. “With each enhancement we make to our service, we enable buyers and sellers to make smarter advertising decisions so that they can drive sales. TRA has helped the industry come a long way, and our clients are taking action and seeing positive results. In the two years since its launch we’ve released 10 updates to Media TRAnalytics® and now, with version 3.0, we continue to pioneer ground-breaking and innovative technologies to further our value to clients.”

Media TRAnalytics® is a web-based business intelligence software solution that matches second-by-second TV tuning data from set-top boxes in 1.7 million households with 57 million households of CPG purchasing data to create the industry’s largest such single-source database of 370,000 households. TRA also offers solutions in the categories of Pharmaceuticals, Automotive, Financial Services, Movies, Restaurants and Telecom. Since its official launch two years ago, broadcast and cable networks, advertisers, and media agencies have been using Media TRAnalytics® to identify The Right Audience™ in order to improve their return on media investment.

About TRA, Inc.

TRA, Inc. (www.traglobal.com) is a media marketing and analytics software company whose products help advertisers, agencies and television networks improve advertising targeting, accountability and return on media investment. TRA’s Media TRAnalytics® is a web-based platform that matches the TV advertising households actually receive with the products the same households actually buy, enabling TRA’s clients to find “The Right Audience” while providing an unmatched level of transparency, measurement, media planning/selling and improved ROI. Licensed users of Media TRAnalytics® include 4 of the top 10 advertisers, 40 of the top 100 brands, and 8 of the top 12 agencies and networks that represent $10 billion in advertising billings. TRA’s investors include Intel Capital, Kodiak Venture Partners, WPP and Arbitron. TRA is the recipient of the BeyeNETWORK’s 2009 Vision Award for Business Impact in Analytics. TRA is certified under ISO 27001, the information security management system standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) designed to ensure security controls for protecting information assets. TRA owns U.S Patent No. 7,729,940, entitled “Analyzing Return on Investment of Advertising Campaigns by Matching Multiple Data Sources.”

NEW YORK – Shazam®, the world’s leading mobile discovery company, announced that, over the coming months, leading companies across a spectrum of industries will be integrating Shazamable moments into their ad campaigns.

“Shazam for TV is the industry standard for how companies can use mobile technology to drive deeper engagement with their television ad campaigns,” said Evan Krauss, Executive Vice President Advertising Sales at Shazam. “We’re now seeing companies in nearly every industry sector taking advantage of Shazam’s ‘second screen’ experience to provide consumers with additional product information or give them an easy and fast point-of-interest retail experience at the click of a button.”

Shazam leads the industry with a reach of more than 125 million users and gives brands the opportunity to connect with their customers during ads they might otherwise fast-forward through. When customers Shazam these ads, they have a simple way to find out more about the featured product, participate in promotions, or shop. Additionally, Shazam integrates social media allowing viewers to share their tags on Twitter or use the Shazam Friends feature to post their discoveries to their Facebook friends and see a real-time feed of what their friends are watching.

The following companies are integrating Shazam for TV into their campaigns:

- Both Honda and Starbucks integrated Shazam to unlock clues in scavenger hunt campaigns
As part of the new Honda Civic campaign, players Shazam videos on the Honda YouTube channel playlist to find the next clue
- Participants in the Starbucks SRCH scavenger hunt used Shazam in the first phase of the hunt to tag the Lady Gaga video for instructions on how to move on to the next phase
- Paramount Pictures – in support of the Transformers 3 premiere on June 29, fans can Shazam TV and radio ads for a free download of an exclusive live version of the Linkin Park single, “When They Come For Me”, watch a featurette, buy show tickets or purchase the soundtrack
- Procter and Gamble – as part of their Future Friendly initiative, viewers can Shazam their ads to see more on the environmental benefits of P&G Future Friendly products
- Progressive Insurance – Shazam their ads to receive an auto insurance quote and download their “Flo-isms” app and custom wallpaper for your mobile device

Early results from other campaigns show a response rate that exceeds that of traditional internet campaigns:

- Shazamable ads drive more traffic! In one ad campaign, Shazam drove 20% more traffic to the mobile microsite than the brand’s website received from all sources
- 0.3% of them Shazam’d the commercial, three times the average online click-through of 0.1%
- 27% of the people who Shazam’d the ad either shopped, downloaded the song featured in the ad or viewed additional content

This new round of Shazamable ads will run throughout the summer with new campaigns being added all the time.

Engage with Shazam for music, TV and the brands you love most, wherever you are. For further information about Shazam Entertainment visit www.shazam.com and @ShazamNews or follow us on Facebook.

For daily music updates follow the Shazam Blog www.shazamers.com and @Shazam

NCTA The Cable Show 2011
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – BigBand Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBND), announced its milestone delivery of more than one billion ad transactions in the last year for seven of the top 10 Multiple Systems Operators (MSOs) in North America. Following on this success, BigBand will demonstrate at the Cable Show 2011 how its solutions can be used for traditional zoned as well as targeted advertising, helping operators deliver and monetize ads for multiple screens via legacy set-top boxes (STBs) to such TV and IP-connected devices as the iPad, PC, Roku and TiVo boxes.

BigBand first began offering advertising solutions in 2003 and has continued to expand this product portfolio, which includes the BigBand Broadcast Media Router® (BMR) and BigBand Media Services Platform (MSP), to meet the demands of the ever-changing digital television market. The solutions are designed to support today’s critical revenue stream while also providing a migration path from traditional zoned-based advertising to more addressable advertising. Operators use the BigBand portfolio to deliver ads for local advertising insertion and interactive advanced advertising applications with Enhanced TV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF).

“The number of ads delivered by BigBand’s solutions continues to grow rapidly as we provide our customers with the ability to extend their advertising reach to multi-screen TV services, targeted geographies and IP-connected devices,” said John Reister, Vice President of Advanced Technology for BigBand Networks. “As the definition of TV evolves, operators will seek innovative ways to monetize their networks. We believe advertising will play a key role in monetizing both today’s traditional advertising and the emerging opportunities with more personalized, IP-enabled advanced advertising to more screens.”

BigBand Demonstrates Zoned and Targeted Advertising to Multiple Devices at the Cable Show 2011

Today’s advertising operations need to support a variety of codecs and formats in order to accommodate the various types of network programming, along with an array of subscriber devices. In BigBand’s booth #449, a legacy STB to the TV, and IP-connected iPad, PC, Roku and TiVo boxes will be sent programming that includes zoned and targeted advertising. During the commercial break, attendees can watch as the same ad is displayed simultaneously on all viewing screens, followed by each screen then receiving a personalized ad. The demonstration will show how operators can expand their revenue potential and help monetize multi-screen services. It will also demonstrate how advertisers can benefit from more effective ad campaigns offering individualized messaging and greater relevance.

Visit http://www.bigbandnet.com/index.php/new-revenue-services.html to learn more about BigBand’s advertising solutions.

About BigBand Networks

BigBand Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBND) provides broadband service providers with innovative digital video networking solutions designed to make it easier to move, manage and monetize video. These solutions are based on BigBand’s video-networking platforms that are built to enable efficient and reliable delivery across a wide range of services, including digital TV, high definition TV, advanced advertising, IPTV, video-on-demand and interactive TV. BigBand Networks has done business with more than 200 customers in North America, Asia and Europe — including seven of the ten largest cable and telco service providers in North America. BigBand Networks is based in Redwood City, Calif., with offices worldwide. For additional information about the company, please call +1.650.995.5000, email info@bigbandnet.com or visit www.bigbandnet.com.

BMR and BigBand Networks’ brand and product names are service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of BigBand Networks, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – YuMe, the leading relevant video advertising technology company, and the IPG Media Lab, announced key findings from a media trial that shows significant differences between the attention paid by viewers to video ads online compared with those on television. Using facial tracking algorithms and biometric monitoring, a second-by-second monitoring of cognition, excitement, and stress found that despite constant distractions in both mediums, online video commands higher attention and recall from viewers.

The attention of TV viewers drops off three times faster from content to ad; online video content captures 8.5 percent more attention than TV content; and online video ads have 18+ percent more fully attentive viewers than TV ads. Overall, the study found online video ads to have 20 percent more attentive advertising impressions.

Designed by YuMe and the IPG Media Lab, the study set out to closely analyze consumer behavior in the attempt to answer some key questions.

- Do people pay attention to online video differently than they do when watching TV?
- If people have the option of avoiding advertising, will they?
- If the experiences of watching TV and Online Video are different, should an online ad impression be valued the same way that TV ads are?
- What exactly are the qualitative and quantitative differences between TV watching and online video watching?

Key findings included the following:

- Viewer distractions, most commonly in the form of smartphones—which are “a persistent companion to video content”—reduce attention to ads for both TV and online video
- Versus online video, TV has 3x the drop in attention from content to ad
- 63 percent of TV impressions were ignored
- Online video content gets 8.5 percent more attention than TV and online video ads have 18.3 percent more fully attentive viewers than TV ads
- Online ads have 1.8x the aided recall and 1.5x the unaided recall of TV ads
- TV viewers are exposed to nearly twice as many video ads as online viewers

Based on the trial, researchers concluded that online video ads have 20 percent more attentive impressions than TV ads. Although fast-forwarded video ads, such as those recorded on a DVR, achieve little recall, ad fast forwarding accounts for only a small amount of wasted ad impressions. A larger factor in the relative ineffectiveness of TV advertising is the familiar cadence of TV content, which increases drop-off to ads compared with online video.

This trial was conducted in the Los Angeles Media lab, where people watching video were observed surreptitiously to see how they really watch when they think they are alone and have access to their phones and laptops. Using facial tracking algorithms and biometric monitoring, researchers tracked whether people were paying attention to the screen and monitored for changes in cognition, excitement, and stress on a second-by-second basis. These data streams were matched to a single time-line, aggregated and analyzed to determine the effects of distraction, then compared to ad recall survey results.

To learn more about the research participant’s behaviors with TV and online, go to http://www.yume.com/content/ipg-media-lab and watch “Advertising Attention in the Wild,” a video whitepaper featuring excerpts from the taped research sessions at the IPG Media Lab.

About YuMe

YuMe is the leading, relevant video advertising technology company. It enables top-tier publishers to maximize profits on their professional video content while safely delivering the most effective advertising campaigns for major brands and their agencies. YuMe’s patent-pending Relevance Engine powers both its premium in-stream video ad network, The YuMe Connected Audience Network, and its industry-leading advertising management solutions, ACE for Publishers and ACE for Advertisers. The YuMe Relevance Engine matches the right ad to the right audience on whatever screen they are viewing—PC, mobile, or connected TV. As a result, YuMe gives publishers and advertisers unprecedented reach, brand safety, contextual relevance, controlled syndication, and consistent delivery across all digital media platforms. YuMe is a privately held company headquartered in Redwood City, CA and backed by Accel Partners, BV Capital, DAG Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Menlo Ventures, and Intel Capital. For more information, visit www.YuMe.com, follow @YuMevideo on Twitter (www.twitter.com/YuMevideo), or become a fan of YuMe on Facebook at www.facebook.com/YuMevideo.

About IPG Media Lab

At the center of Interpublic Group’s Mediabrands network, the IPG Media Lab helps clients and agencies put innovation into action. By creating opportunities for marketers to identify, formulate and test new approaches, the Lab mitigates risk through a process outside the normal campaign methodology. Employing creative thinking and a suite of proprietary research tools to understand how emerging media impacts purchase decisions, the Lab provides hands-on guidance, digital media insight and measurable results to clients. Our product framework is built around three fundamental pillars: Diagnosing Opportunity, Prioritization and Deployment. www.ipglab.com

Subway’s Ad Maligning “Greasy, Fast Foods” has been Most Effective QSR Ad in 2011

LOS ANGELES – Ace Metrix™, the authority in television advertising effectiveness, revealed that Dairy Queen, which has broken seven new ads this year, has been the most effective quick-service restaurant (QSR) TV advertiser YTD with an average Ace Score of 618 (compared to an industry average of 578). Subway, which has launched more new ads (19) than any other QSR this year, had the most successful single ad (Ace Score of 655), which touted the hazards of eating “greasy fast foods.”

“It’s interesting to see Dairy Queen beat the behemoths, including McDonald’s, which has just recently reintroduced Ronald McDonald for the first time since last year,” said Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix. “Subway’s frequency of new ads and commitment to creative messaging this year has also clearly paid off, as four of its ads were among the Top 10 most effective ads YTD, along with four from Dairy Queen, one from Wendy’s and one from Baskin Robbins.”

Subway’s Ace scores have moved from a low of 470 in October to consistently above 600 in recent months.

*Definition: Ace Score is the measure of ad creative effectiveness based on viewer reaction to national TV ads. Respondents are randomly selected and representative of the U.S. TV viewing audience. The results are presented on a scale of 0-950, which represents scoring on creative attributes such as relevance, persuasion, watchability, information, attention, etc.

** Does not include pizza ads

Where Has McDonald’s Gone Wrong?

McDonald’s, recently deemed the Most Valuable Fast Food brand globally according to Millward Brown’s 2011 BrandZ study, has been quite aggressive in introducing new creative, with 16 new ads in 2011. However, none of these ads received high enough Ace Scores to rank among the top ten. Subway, which launched 19 new ads this year, is McDonald’s nearest competitor in terms of ad volume. Unlike McDonald’s, though, Subway’s commitment to creative volume has paid off, as it was the fifth most effective QSR advertiser, and had four ads in the Top 10 QSR ads to-date.

“McDonald’s creative messaging, including its recent reintroduction of Ronald McDonald, has fallen rather flat so far. Food shots, which these Ronald ads lack, can be a major driver of desire in QSR ads, which could be one contributor to the low overall effectiveness scores,” Daboll commented. “But McDonald’s fragmented messages and targeting, which has led to a rather garbled message, is likely the bigger problem. Advertisers need to realize that their ads hit all types of consumers, regardless of the core target. These ads have a cumulative effect in building or detracting from a brand.

“The recent ‘picture frame’ ad featuring Ronald performed better than the ‘Ronald McDonald Smiles Online’ ad, and both ads certainly appealed to a younger demographic — the group McDonald’s appears to be targeting with ads on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network,” Daboll concluded.

About Ace Metrix

Ace Metrix is the industry authority in measuring and understanding the impact of advertising creative. Through patent-pending Ace ScoreTM measurement technology, Ace Metrix collects and measures the consumer impact of every nationally breaking TV ad in near real-time. Through its Creative Lifecycle Management TM suite of products, Ace Metrix provides actionable creative analysis, from ideation through real-time in-market performance optimization, to many of the world’s leading advertisers and agencies. Ace Metrix works with leading global advertisers. For more information please see www.acemetrix.com. Follow Ace Metrix on Twitter for additional insight: @Ace_Metrix.

“Dave and his team have a proven track record of successes with Real Media, then TACODA. Simulmedia is on the cutting edge of the next generation of television advertising that will be driven by audience analytics, and I am very pleased to provide strategic advice and help manage the company’s explosive growth,” says Ms Millard.

Also on the Board are Bill Burke, most recently, president and CEO of The Weather Channel Companies where he oversaw all operations of The Weather Channel® network; weather.com; Weather Services International (WSI); and various digital cable, radio, newspaper and interactive television products; Rich Levandov, a partner in Avalon Ventures, a San Diego-based venture firm; Rachel Lam, SVP and Group Managing Director of the Time Warner Investments Group – which along with Avalon Ventures – has invested in Simulmedia;  and Dave Morgan’s the company founder and CEO.

“Few people are more widely respected and well regarded in the advertising and media businesses as Wenda Millard,” says Mr. Morgan. “With her experience and insights into what drives successful brands, Wenda will be a substantial presence on our Board.”

Ms. Millard joined Media Link in April 2009 from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. where she had been Co-CEO and President, Media. Ms Millard had joined MSLO in July 2007 after three years as a member of its Board of Directors. She oversaw MSLO’s media businesses, which include publishing, internet and broadcasting.

Before MSLO, Ms. Millard was Chief Sales Officer at Yahoo! where she led the team that drove revenue from $700 million to over $6 billion in six years and was consistently credited as the number one sales organization in the media industry. On an industry-wide level her work at Yahoo! established brand advertising on the web. Prior to Yahoo!, Ms. Millard was Chief Internet Officer at Ziff Davis Media and President of Ziff Davis Internet. Previously, Ms. Millard was a founding member of the executive team at DoubleClick, where she served as Executive Vice President responsible for establishing the DoubleClick brand and overseeing the operations of DoubleClick Media. She also served as President and Group Publisher of SRDS, Senior Vice President and Publisher of Family Circle and Executive Vice President/Group Publisher of Adweek, Mediaweek and Brandweek magazines.

Active on behalf of the advertising industry throughout her career, Ms. Millard is immediate past Chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau and former President of the Advertising Club of New York. She has served on the Boards of the Advertising Council, the American Advertising Federation, the Advertising Education Foundation and others. Currently, she sits on the Boards of several emerging media companies as well as on the Boards of the James Beard Foundation and Pop!Tech. She served two terms as a Trustee of Trinity College in Hartford.

Ms. Millard holds an MBA from Harvard University and a BA from Trinity College.

Simulmedia, Inc. (www.simulmedia.com) is a New York City-based television ad targeting company. The company’s targeting platform leverages predictive technologies and anonymous viewing data from more than 16 million US households to help national advertisers and their agencies better reach their target audiences, and better measure the results. Simulmedia aggregates TV audiences through partnerships with TV system operators and national networks and reaches virtually all U.S. multichannel households.   Over the past year, the company helped national marketers and their agencies target, deliver and measure more than 45 campaigns and see results which were 25-300% better than they were able to achieve with traditional TV ad scheduling and targeting methods.

Founded and led by internet entrepreneur Dave Morgan, Simulmedia is backed by Avalon Ventures, Union Square Ventures and Time Warner Investments.

LOS ANGELES – Ace Metrix™, the authority in television advertising effectiveness, revealed the most effective wireless services and device ads to break since January 1, 2011. While T-Mobile’s recent Cowboy phone ad (featuring a Nokia phone) topped all wireless provider ads, Verizon and T-Mobile suitor AT&T demonstrated a neck-and-neck race in ad effectiveness, equally dominating the Top 10 Wireless Provider category with four spots each.

In the wireless device category, Samsung’s “Feel Free” Galaxy tablet ad was the most effective ad since January 1. Category-dominating Apple trailed closely behind with its highly effective iPad 2 ad, which broke during the NCAA Championship game. Four of Apple’s other ads in the top 10 promote the iPhone, and most include a cross-promotion with either Verizon or AT&T.

“The aggressive—and effective—marketing efforts by Samsung, Apple, AT&T, and Verizon demonstrate the race for marketshare and mindshare within the highly competitive wireless services and device categories,” said Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix. “The absence of marketing activity from HP’s Palm is notable, as well as the fact that ads from Sony, Windows/Microsoft, and Blackberry scored lower Ace Scores, ranking outside of the Top 10 Most effective.”

Most Effective Wireless Services TV Ads to Break since January 1, 2011

“One of the most interesting things we found in looking at verbatim remarks from consumers was that they were as impressed with the phones featured in the above ads as the services themselves,” Daboll commented.

Consumers said this about some of the top wireless services ads:

Of the #1 T-Mobile ad, which featured a Nokia phone, consumers said: “It made me want the phone;” “Looks like a really cool phone,” and “I really like Nokia phones.”
Of the #2 Verizon ad that featured a non-specific smart phone, consumers said: “That’s a cool phone,” and “I love Verizon.”
Of the #3 AT&T ad, which featured the Motorola Atrix: “I watched the ad for humor, then my jaw dropped. I want that!” “That phone looks really cool and cutting edge and I like the whole package;” “I want that phone;” “Amazing—I want one.”

Most Effective Wireless Device TV Ads to Break since January 1, 2011

*Definition: Ace Score is the measure of ad creative effectiveness based on viewer reaction to national TV ads. Respondents are randomly selected and representative of the U.S. TV viewing audience. The results are presented on a scale of 0-950, which represents scoring on creative attributes such as relevance, persuasion, watchability, information, attention, etc.
** Featured during NCAA Championship game

Evident among the verbatim comments from consumers regarding the top three wireless device ads was that the ads were effective in providing new information, creating desire, and garnering attention.

Consumers said this about some of the top wireless device ads:

Of the Samsung Galaxy Tablet ad, consumers said, “I did not know Samsung offered this product;” “[The ad] shows what the product can be used for.”
Of the iPad 2 ad, consumers said, “It gets the message out that it’s an amazing product;” “I want one. It was informative;” “I WANT THAT!!!!!”
Of the #3 ranked iPhone 4 ad, consumers said, “Love the iPhone 4. So many possibilities;” “These commercials always catch my attention;” “This ad makes me want to buy the iPhone 4.”

About Ace Metrix

Ace Metrix is the industry authority in measuring and understanding the impact of advertising creative. Through patent-pending Ace ScoreTM measurement technology, Ace Metrix collects and measures the consumer impact of every nationally breaking TV ad in near real-time. Through its Creative Lifecycle Management TM suite of products, Ace Metrix provides actionable creative analysis, from ideation through real-time in-market performance optimization, to many of the world’s leading advertisers and agencies. Ace Metrix works with leading global advertisers. For more information please see www.acemetrix.com.
Follow Ace Metrix on Twitter for additional insight: @Ace_Metrix.

NEW YORK & LONDON – TRA, Inc., an innovative media measurement and analytics software company, and NDS, the leading provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, announced a partnership to market TV advertising accountability solutions.

TRA will integrate NDS Dynamic Audience Measurement data into TRA’s patented Media TRAnalytics® software to enable advanced reporting and analysis of return on investment for advertisers, agencies, networks and platform operators.

Based in New York, TRA’s existing suite of products enables improved advertising accountability and return on media investment by matching second-by-second measurement of TV tuning from set-top box data with actual purchasing behavior. The company’s innovative single-source software solution empowers networks and agencies to utilize purchasing behavior so that advertisers are able to identify ideal programming environments and reach the right audience to drive product sales.

NDS Dynamic Audience Measurement provides accurate viewing data to leading pay-TV platforms around the world. It enables viewing data to be extracted from linear platforms as well as monitoring of time-shifted viewing and interactive usage – data currently unavailable through traditional TV measurement. With robust viewing data, NDS is able to provide a deep understanding of TV viewing behavior.

“With TRA’s solution, advertisers are able to reach more relevant audiences, networks are able to uncover hidden value in their programming, and agencies can deliver better media plans and increased ROI for their clients,” said Mark Lieberman, Chairman and CEO of TRA. “Now, by partnering with NDS, we have the ability to add another meaningful information stream to our already data-rich software. This will enable TRA to offer our clients an even more effective product, powered by more compelling data.”

“Measurement of subscriber viewing with NDS Dynamic provides a value added scenario for all in the value chain; enabling greater relevance for the viewer, greater return for the operator and more accurate segmentation for the advertiser, and now with TRA will enable the ultimate measurement for any advertising campaign – statistics on ROI” said Gideon Gilboa, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Advertising Solutions, NDS. “TRA have proven to have a solution that we feel will add great value to the market.”

About TRA, Inc.

TRA, Inc. (www.traglobal.com) is a media measurement and analytics software company whose products help advertisers, agencies and television networks improve advertising accountability and return on media investment. TRA’s Media TRAnalytics® is a web-based platform that matches the advertising households actually receive with the products the same households actually buy, enabling TRA’s clients to find “The Right Audience” while providing an unmatched level of transparency, measurement, media planning/selling and improved ROI. TRA’s investors include Intel Capital, Kodiak Venture Partners, WPP and Arbitron. TRA is the recipient of the BeyeNETWORK’s 2009 Vision Award for Business Impact in Analytics. TRA is certified under ISO 27001, the information security management system standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) designed to ensure security controls for protecting information assets. TRA owns U.S Patent No. 7,729,940, entitled “Analyzing Return on Investment of Advertising Campaigns by Matching Multiple Data Sources.”

About NDS

NDS Group Ltd. creates the technologies and applications that enable pay-TV operators to securely deliver digital content to TV STBs (set-top boxes), DVRs (digital video recorders), PCs, mobiles and other multimedia devices. Over 75 of the world’s leading pay-TV platforms rely on NDS solutions to protect and enhance their businesses. VideoGuard® is the world’s market-leading conditional access (CA) and digital rights management (DRM) technology, currently deployed on 145 million active devices, and safeguarding pay-TV service revenues exceeding $50 billion. NDS middleware, including MediaHighway® which enables a host of advanced services for subscribers, has been deployed on 171 million devices. NDS DVR technology, centred around XTV™, leads the global industry with 35 million units deployed. (Deployment figures as of 31st December 2010).

Headquartered in the UK, NDS remains committed to investing in R&D with over 75% of its employees dedicated to pioneering work at development centres in China, Denmark, France, India, Israel, Korea, UK and US. NDS has also implemented a host of initiatives aimed at reducing its carbon footprint and helping digital TV subscribers reduce energy consumption.

NDS Group Ltd. is a private company owned by the Permira Funds and News Corporation. See www.nds.com for more information.

LOS ANGELES – Ace Metrix™, the authority in television advertising effectiveness, announced the Ace Metrix Quarterly Top 10 national ads for the first quarter ending March 31, 2011. Candy ads dominated the list with Mars brands nabbing four out of the Top 10 spots. An ad for Snickers Peanut Butter called “Focus Group” scored as the most effective with an Ace Score™ of 668, compared to the “Candy and Snack” category norm of 585. Mars also scored with three M&M brand ads in the Top 10. Overall candy, snacks and packaged foods dominated the quarter with 8 out of the Top 10 spots; two technology ads rounded out the list.

“Mars hit several home runs across this quarter. The top Snickers ad shows that funny still works. It scored high across all demos and was particularly strong with the all-important 16-20 age bracket,” commented Peter Daboll, chief executive of Ace Metrix.

“It’s also good to see Kraft in the Top 10 with two of their highest scoring ads ever, the ‘Choco-Beast’ Jell-o ad and the Philadelphia cooking cream ad.”

“In Q1 we saw the seasonal pattern of advertising take shape, with the volume of new ads in technology, retail, and credit cards declining from the holidays peaks in the fourth quarter, and an increase in new ads in consumer goods such as food, candy, snacks, detergent, health and beauty, and travel,” continued Daboll.

Online Videos Nab High Scores

During the quarter Ace Metrix expanded its service to measure creative effectiveness of online videos. Several tech videos scored especially high including two for the Microsoft/Asus Eee Slate, “Drawing”, outscoring all the top TV ads with an Ace Score of 684, and “Date Night” with a score of 656.

Two other videos with effective creative include “Smart Cover” for Apple iPad 2, which has generated almost 400,000 YouTube views since March 2, with an Ace Score of 666, and Intel’s “The Chase” with Ace Score of 653 and over 2 million views since January 27.

“All of these videos worked with consumers, but they achieved their high scores differently. For instance, the iPad video appealed to a more female-centric audience, while the Intel creative scored highest with the male demo. This insight could clearly make a huge difference in a television media buy for either of these creatives,” continued Daboll.

Celebrity Ads Continue to Disappoint

Five out of ten of the least effective ads of the quarter featured celebrities, including two with Russell Simmons for the Rushcard Pre-Paid Visa from M&T Bank, a Toyota Tundra ad with race car figure Joe Gibbs, and a Danone Yogurt ad with Dylan & Cole Sprouse.

“Use of celebrities continues to be hit or miss, mostly miss. It’s amazing that a full 50% of the least effective ads of the quarter feature celebrity spokespeople. Clearly something’s not working,” continued Daboll.

In January 2011 Ace Metrix published a study “Celebrity Advertisements: Exposing a Myth of Advertising Effectiveness,” that looked at more than 2,600 television ads over the course of 2010 and found that fewer than 12 percent of ads using celebrities exceeded a 10 percent lift versus average industry norms.

The complete Q1 Quarterly Top 10 is as follow, and to view the ads please go here:

Top 10 Most Effective Ads of Q1 2011*

Top 10 Most Effective Ads of Q1 2011*

*Definition: Ace Score is the measure of ad creative effectiveness based on viewer reaction to national TV ads. Respondents are randomly selected and representative of the U.S. TV viewing audience. The results are presented on a scale of 0-950, which represents scoring on creative attributes such as relevance, persuasion, watchability, information, attention, etc. Based on Ace Metrix data collected from January 2009.

Top 10 Least Effective Ads of Q1 2011*

Note: The measure of ad effectiveness is a more robust measure than mere popularity and takes into account such criteria as an ad’s watchability, likeability, relevance, information, persuasiveness, ability to alter opinion, and ability to create desire.

About Ace Metrix

Ace Metrix is the industry authority in measuring and understanding the impact of advertising creative. Through patent-pending Ace ScoreTM measurement technology, Ace Metrix collects and measures the consumer impact of every nationally breaking TV ad in near real-time. Through its Creative Lifecycle Management TM suite of products, Ace Metrix provides actionable creative analysis, from ideation through real-time in-market performance optimization, to many of the world’s leading advertisers and agencies. Ace Metrix works with many of the world’s leading advertisers in technology, automotive, retail, financial services, consumer package goods and other industries.

For more information please see www.acemetrix.com.

Follow Ace Metrix on Twitter for additional insight: @Ace_Metrix.

4A’s 2011
AUSTIN, Texas – Imagine carrying your favorite TV programs with you wherever you go, whether it’s to relieve the monotony of a long line at the supermarket or to enjoy a personal telecast in the bedroom while the rest of the family is watching the living room TV. The potential of more people watching more TV will appeal to the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), which holds its annual meeting in Austin this week and hundreds of conference attendees will get their first view of the new broadcast TV technology now being rolled out by TV stations throughout the country.

Mobile Digital TV is familiar programs transmitted by local TV broadcast stations that utilize the same channel already bringing high-definition broadcasts and other programming to viewers. More than 60 TV stations around the country have already upgraded to offer the new services, including Austin’s KVUE – which is demonstrated Mobile DTV this week and its ability to serve as a local news resource.

Nationwide, local broadcasters are poised to offer a wide variety of viewers’ favorite shows and sporting events, along with real-time news, weather and traffic – an affordable “real TV on the go” experience. Broadcasters are now upgrading their transmission systems to offer a variety of Mobile DTV channels.

Mobile DTV Means Viewers Watch More TV

“Television can be much more than the traditional experience of engaging with your ‘big screen’ in the living room. To that end, we’re very excited about the potential that Mobile DTV broadcasts will bring to our viewers,” said Patti C. Smith, President and General Manager of KVUE-TV in Austin. “We know that our viewers will appreciate the convenience that Mobile DTV offers, meeting their needs for immediacy and transportability. Consequently, advertisers will also be interested in the potential for reaching far more viewers now that digital TV will be available anywhere a consumer travels in the viewing area.”

Mobile DTV’s potential isn’t limited to Austin. A number of broadcast TV stations in Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston, Texas – and dozens of other TV broadcasters throughout the country — have also started transmitting the new services.

“One of the most valuable services our member stations provide is the delivery of timely news and information to viewers. Now, if the weather turns bad, real-time reports can be with you wherever you go. Broadcasters throughout Texas are keenly interested in reaching new audiences outside the home, and Mobile DTV will deliver more viewers as new devices begin to reach the market,” said Ann Arnold, President of the Texas Association of Broadcasters.

A complete list of stations now transmitting in Mobile DTV is available on the web site of the Open Mobile Video Coalition of America’s broadcasters (OMVC), which represents more than 900 TV stations throughout the country. Just visit OMVC.org and click on the “Signal Map” tab to see the latest roster of Mobile DTV broadcasters.

“We’re very excited to be working with the TVB, the not-for-profit trade association of America’s commercial broadcast television industry, to reach out to America’s advertising community this week during the 4A’s conference in Austin. Advertisers will want to find out more about the new services and new devices that are just now reaching retail stores,” said Anne Schelle, Executive Director of the OMVC.

More than two dozen new products are slated for introduction this year for reception of the new Mobile DTV signals, including a new line of RCA portable TV sets that is being introduced this week through online sales. Mobile DTV reception is planned in tablet devices, USB receivers for computers, portable DVD players, and a variety of in-car receivers that can supplement an existing “infotainment” system in a car or van for backseat viewing. Among the devices demonstrated for advertising professionals this week are:

- Prototype netbook computers from Dell that are specially-equipped with circuitry and antennae to receive over-the-air Mobile DTV;
- Sample mobile phones from LG Electronics and Samsung mobile that feature integrated Mobile DTV circuitry;
- New RCA portable TV sets that receive both Mobile DTV and standard digital TV broadcasts in an affordable package;
- Mobile DTV on the iPad and iPhone, with new devices from Valups and Cydle
- A variety of computer USB receivers from manufacturers DTVinteractive, Pixtree, and Hauppauge Computer Works that can turn a laptop or desktop computer into a Mobile DTV device.

Showcase Results Peg High Interest in Mobile DTV

From May through October 2010, OMVC conducted a Consumer Showcase of Mobile DTV technology with nearly 350 consumers getting “hands on” opportunities to use Mobile DTV on prototype cell phones, netbooks, and a new DVD player equipped with Mobile DTV capability. The results were tabulated by market research firms Rentrak (which provided comprehensive Audience Measurement services) and Harris Interactive (which provided Qualitative Research services.)

More than 22,000 comments about the service posted to an online community exclusively for the use of Showcase participants. Among the findings:

Strong Consumer Interest: The majority of Showcase participants maintained a high level of excitement about Mobile DTV throughout the duration of the Showcase and were interested in continuing to receive the service going forward. While free over-the-air service was a major positive with viewers, nearly half also said they would be at least “somewhat likely” to subscribe to premium services for a monthly fee.

Live, Local News Ranks Highly: Showcase participants found themselves tuning into their battery-powered Mobile DTV devices when storms knocked out power to their home TVs or when breaking news unfolded while they were on-the-go. Local stations were considered essential to the Mobile DTV viewing experience, but participants also liked having a variety of programming. Data from Rentrak shows more than 30 different program genres were viewed on the 23 available channels.

Daytime is Primetime: Unlike traditional TV viewing, which is tethered to the living room TV, Mobile DTV viewing tends to peak during the weekday afternoon when consumers can watch their favorite programs while on a break from work or while waiting in line at the supermarket.

Mobile DTV Means More TV: Showcase research suggests that Mobile DTV will result in a net gain in overall TV consumption. 94% of viewers reported watching more or the same amount of TV as before. The average daily viewer spent 50 minutes watching Mobile DTV and tuned in more than twice during the day. In fact, over a quarter of the people watching on a typical day spent more than an hour viewing their Mobile DTV device.

ABOUT THE OPEN MOBILE VIDEO COALITION

Representing over 900 TV stations across the country, the Open Mobile Video Coalition is a voluntary association of television broadcasters whose mission is to accelerate the development of mobile digital television in the United States. The OMVC is composed of 36 members that own and operate over 500 commercial television stations, as well as the Association of Public Television Stations, Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Public Broadcasting Service, which represent an additional 360 public television stations. Membership in the OMVC is open to all U.S.-based television broadcasters. For more information, please visit: www.OMVC.org

NEW YORK, NY – Canoe Ventures, a joint initiative founded by the leading U.S. cable television companies, and Donovan Data Systems (DDS), the advertising industry’s preeminent provider of software and systems, today announced that DDS is developing technology within its cable TV buying systems to support Canoe Ventures’ advanced advertising solutions.

The announcement came at the Transformation 2011 conference of the American Association of Advertising Agencies in Austin, TX.

Canoe is creating advanced advertising solutions for TV, including iTV services which enable digital cable viewers to engage more deeply with TV commercials using their remote controls. DDS is in the process of enhancing its industry leading cable TV buying software so that it can accommodate all aspects of the iTV buy, including the receipt of various response data from consumers.

With nearly 20 million households, Canoe has the largest national iTV platform in the U.S., touching 18 of the top 25 designated market areas (DMAs). The cable operators started Canoe to make advanced TV solutions easier to buy, use and measure nationally. In 2010, Canoe launched its first interactive product called RFI (Request for Information) with three cable networks. RFI enables viewers to request information, samples or coupons during commercial breaks on national network inventory simply by using their remote controls. Canoe-enabled interactivity will soon to be available on seven national cable networks, and there are plans for rapid expansion to more networks this year.

“2011 will be remembered as the year that interactive television became a part of the decision-making considerations of media buyers, and DDS’ commitment to helping its agency clients manage national iTV campaigns demonstrates the importance that advanced TV advertising will play in marketing,” said David Verklin, CEO, Canoe Ventures. “With Americans watching more TV than ever before, television remains an incredibly important investment in many brands’ marketing mix. Canoe Ventures is developing interactive solutions that enable television advertisers to engage consumers more meaningfully, enhancing advertisers’ investments. The systems integration initiative with DDS is an important advance that supports the interactive TV advertising revolution.”

“We’re excited about the innovations happening in the TV space and are particularly proud to be working with Canoe. Its leadership in driving advanced television solutions has been key for the industry,” said Michael Donovan, chairman and CEO, DDS.  “The power of television is increasing and we are committed to supporting agencies as they exploit the new opportunities that advanced, more interactive TV will bring.”

DDS and Canoe Ventures have been working together for the past six months to better understand the way iTV affects the buying process—given the variety of ways that consumers can interact with and respond to iTV options—and to facilitate the adoption of advanced TV solutions by brands. Based on this research, DDS will be integrating iTV functionality into its cable network systems. In 2010, DDS media buying software processed over $40 billion of the total TV billings in the U.S. market, over $15 billion of which were cable buys. DDS clients include eight of the top ten U.S. media agencies.

About DDS:
Donovan Data Systems is the advertising industry’s leading systems and software provider. In the rapidly evolving world of media, developments including interactive and addressable television, new types of audience metrics and increased video-on-demand availability, present new challenges and opportunities for all stakeholders. DDS is working in collaboration with its clients and partners to identify, analyze and standardize business processes, to ensure that its clients benefit from unmatched execution and interoperability with industry players. For more about DDS, visit: donovandata.com

About Canoe Ventures:
Canoe Ventures, LLC is a company founded by the nation’s leading cable operators including Bright House Networks, Cablevision Systems Corporation, Charter Communications, Inc., Comcast Corporation, Cox Communications Inc., and Time Warner Cable. The company’s mission is to make cable’s advanced television solutions easier to buy, use and measure on a national scale. Canoe is based in New York and also maintains an engineering office and lab in Colorado. canoeventures.com

NEW YORK – Simulmedia, a targeted television advertising company, announced the formation of a strategic alliance with MAGNAGLOBAL, a worldwide multimedia and strategic investment unit for Mediabrands and IPG agencies.  As part of this partnership, Brian Wieser, who has been with MAGNAGLOBAL since 2003, will join Simulmedia as Chief Marketing Officer to lead this effort.

This alliance will produce ongoing research, case studies, and recommendations regarding the efficacy of data-driven, audience-based targeting in driving greater television and advertising effectiveness and efficiency.

Mr. Wieser has closely worked with MAGNAGLOBAL President, Elizabeth Herbst-Brady, to help the company become the worldwide leader in media forecasting and negotiating. Herbst-Brady’s background in the agency and media owner worlds was well complemented by Mr. Wieser’s vast knowledge of the economics of the industry and his innovative approach to measurement and metrics. Their collaboration will continue as Wieser assumes his new role at Simulmedia.

“The foundation of our organization is built on best-in-class tools and research, client centric trading, and partnership,” says Ms Herbst-Brady. “We are, of course, very sad to see Brian go but are excited by the prospects of continuing to work with him and Simulmedia and the results that our partnership will produce for our clients.”

Mr. Wieser is often credited with transforming the traditional methodology that informs how the industry assesses itself, going beyond ad revenue calculations and instead relying on assessment of media supplier revenues. MAGNAGLOBAL has been able to capitalize on this revolution in forecasting and analysis by expanding to more than 60 overseas markets.

“Brian brings a proven track record in generating actionable insights that successfully inform marketing client and agency media strategies, as well as a deep understanding of the media industry,” says Jon Werther, President of Simulmedia, to whom Mr. Wieser will report.  “Brian has studied and understands the power of data-targeted television advertising more than anyone else in the world.”

Mr. Wieser joined MAGNAGLOBAL in 2003 from Deutsche Bank, where he was a member of their Cable and Satellite sector equity research team. He previously was employed at Lehman Brothers as part of their Communications and Media Group.

MAGNAGLOBAL (www.magnaglobal.com) is the strategic global media unit responsible for forecasts, insights, and negotiation strategy across all media channels on behalf of Mediabrands. With $29 billion in global media billings according to RECMA, MAGNAGLOBAL exercises serious clout, though it is driven by more than simply buying power. MAGNAGLOBAL’S sophisticated approach to managing data and insights delivers actionable intelligence to our affiliated planning and buying teams around the world. MAGNAGLOBAL also provides strategic advisory services and analytical tools for assessing the media industry.

Simulmedia, Inc. (www.simulmedia.com) is a New York City-based television ad targeting company. The company’s targeting platform leverages predictive technologies and anonymous viewing data from more than 15 million US households to help national advertisers and their agencies better reach their target audiences, and better measure the results. Simulmedia aggregates TV audiences through partnerships with TV system operators and national networks and reaches virtually all U.S. multichannel households.   Over the past year, the company helped national marketers and their agencies target, deliver and measure more than 45 campaigns and see results which were 25-300% better than they were able to achieve with traditional TV ad scheduling and targeting methods.

Founded and led by Internet entrepreneur Dave Morgan, Simulmedia is backed by Avalon Ventures, Union Square Ventures and Time Warner Investments.

BARCELONA, Spain – Wipro Technologies, the Global Consulting, System Integration and Outsourcing business of Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT), announced the launch of Wipro COMET, the Advanced Digital Content Monetization Solution which will enable media and telecommunications service providers to roll out new content services cost effectively and drive increased revenue streams by targeting offers to the specific wants of individual consumers. Wipro’s COMET will be an enabler for publishers, telecommunications providers, entertainment studios, music labels, and TV and cable networks alike, all of whom face challenges in monetizing content. It will provide them with better opportunities through direct interface with the end consumer, in an engaging manner.

Wipro’s COMET solution includes modules for content management, subscription management, user profiling, portal infrastructure, storefront, e-commerce, advertising management, billing and customer relationships management. It is based on industry standard technology platforms and products, conceptualizing solution themes such as real-time charging, billing and revenue share allocation.

Wipro’s COMET enables content providers to focus their strategy and make it easy for consumers to find, use, and pay for content that will be delivered to a variety of devices including smart phones, tablets, PCs and televisions. The solution will enable the successful adoption of monetization strategies, supporting flexible pricing and bundling, delivering analysis and segmentation to target appropriate and relevant content to the user at the right time, and supports experimentation and rapid roll-out of new products and features as business models evolve over time.

“The growing demand to access news, information and entertainment content from multiple devices has led to the need for an efficient delivery platform that can manage inventory, rights, metadata and assets. There is a need for such a solution to help service providers and media companies adopt monetization strategies to deliver relevant content to the right device at the right time,” said Venecia K Liu, Research Analyst, Convergence of Media and Telecom Gartner.

“We are pleased to announce the launch of Wipro’s COMET in response to our customers’ evolving demands,” said Steve Snyder, Vice President, Global Media & Telecom and Head of Media BU, Wipro Technologies. “Wipro has demonstrated leadership in the telecommunications and media domains with experience spanning over two decades. This coupled with extensive knowledge on technology platforms enables us to provide a portfolio for pricing, billing and sharing revenue for transactions of any type, thereby empowering us to provide superior business value to our customers around the world.”

Wipro’s COMET is based upon proven technologies that deliver flexibility and scalability and complements existing technology within the content value chain, including existing content delivery and e-commerce platforms, among other solutions.

Wipro showcased the COMET solution at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, 14th – 17th February 2011 in their hospitality Suite located at AV21.

About Wipro Technologies

Wipro Technologies, a division of Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT), is the first PCMM Level 5 and SEI CMM Level 5 certified global IT services organization. Wipro Technologies was recently assessed at Level 5 for CMMI V 1.2 across offshore and onsite development centers. Wipro is one of the largest product engineering and support service providers worldwide. Wipro provides comprehensive research and development services, IT solutions and services, including systems integration, information systems outsourcing, package implementation, software application management, and datacenter managed services to corporations globally.

In the Indian market, Wipro is a leader in providing IT solutions and services for the corporate segment in India, offering system integration, network integration, software solutions and IT services.

Wipro also has a profitable presence in niche market segments of consumer products and lighting. In the Asia-Pacific and Middle East markets, Wipro provides IT solutions and services for global corporations. Wipro’s ADS’ are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and its equity shares are listed in India on the Stock Exchange – Mumbai, and the National Stock Exchange.

For more information, please visit our website at www.wipro.com.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company. Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, Gartner is the valuable partner to 60,000 clients in 11,000 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Executive Programs, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 4,400 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants, and clients in 85 countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.

This report employs a competitor analysis framework to assess the major U.S. digital video (digital TV and online video) audience measurement firms. The study constructs competitor profiles to determine which digital video audience measurement firm(s) is strategically positioned to provide an industry-recognized, cross-platform digital video audience metric standard.

Increasing demand to quantify and evaluate the impact of video content as it is consumed individually and across multiple screens is driving innovation in the audience measurement field, said Heather Way, research analyst. Industry efforts to develop an integrated video measurement standard have been incredibly complex. To date, there is no scalable, single-source TV and online video audience metric system to determine if or how the two mediums complement or overlap one another from a usage and advertising perspective.

Key Topics Covered:

1.0 Report Summary
1.1 Purpose of Report
1.2 Scope of Report
1.3 Research Approach
1.3.1 Source of Data
1.3.2 Glossary of Terms

2.0 Digital Video Viewers
2.1 Digital Video Usage Trends and Behaviors

3.0 Digital Video Media Campaign Planning, Buying, and Selling Exchange
3.1 Advertising Metrics
3.2 Pricing Models
3.3 Television and Online Video Consumer Advertising Recall and Preference

4.0 Digital Video Audience Measurement: A Competitive Assessment
4.1 Digital Video Measurement Competitive Analysis
4.1.1 Primary Competitors
4.1.2 Indirect Competitors
4.1.3 Advertising Industry Trade Associations
4.2 Digital Video Audience Measurement Methodology

5.0 Conclusions
5.1 Implications
5.2 Recommendations

6.0 Resource Book
6.1 Digital Video Audience Measurement Competitor Profiles
6.1.1 Arbitron
6.1.2 Canoe Ventures
6.1.3 Compete
6.1.4 comScore
6.1.5 Concurrent
6.1.6 Datran Media
6.1.7 Dynamic Logic
6.1.8 Experian Simmons
6.1.9 GfK Mediamark Research & Intelligence, Inc (GfK MRI)
6.1.10 Google
6.1.11 Kantar Media (formerly TNS Media)
6.1.12 Nielsen Media Research
6.1.13 Omniture
6.1.14 Quantcast
6.1.15 Rentrak
6.1.16 Rovi Corporation
6.1.17 TiVo
6.1.18 TRA
6.1.19 Tubemogul
6.1.20 Visible Measures
6.1.21 Vindico (BBE)
6.2 Online Video Ad Campaign Management & Ad Server Company Profiles
6.3 Advanced TV Ad Campaign Management Company Profiles

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2b922c/crossplatform_ad

NEW YORK – The Advertiser Intelligence Reports (AIR) results are in and the Highest Rated Media brands and company are as follow…

Key:
MEDIUM (number of media brands measured)
Insight Metric—Media Brand/Company

MEDIA COMPANY (25+ media companies)
Highest Rated Media Company—Meredith Corporation

PRINT (150+ magazines and national newspapers)
Brand Strength—People Weekly
Sales Knowledge—Time
Customer Service—Better Homes and Gardens
Advertiser Satisfaction—GQ

DIGITAL (200+ websites and portals)
Brand Strength—Google
Sales Knowledge—WSJ.com
Customer Service—Yahoo! Network
Advertiser Satisfaction—ESPN.com

CABLE TELEVISION (75+ cable networks)
Brand Strength—ESPN
Sales Knowledge—Food Network
Customer Service—Food Network
Advertiser Satisfaction—ESPN

BROADCAST TELEVISION
Brand Strength—ABC
Sales Knowledge—CBS
Customer Service—CBS
Advertiser Satisfaction—NBC

MOBILE (50+ websites and portals)
Brand Strength—Facebook
Sales Knowledge—NFL.com
Customer Service—The New York Times
Advertiser Satisfaction—Microsoft

AD NETWORKS (50+ ad networks)
Brand Strength—Google Ad Network
Sales Knowledge—Advertising.com
Customer Service—Advertising.com
Advertiser Satisfaction—Microsoft Media Network

Source: Advertiser Perceptions, Inc. | Based on the Advertiser Intelligence Reports Wave 14, Fall 2010.

The highest rated media brand and company information is in no way influenced by the opinions of Advertiser Perceptions. The results reflect what advertisers think based on the Advertiser Intelligence Reports (AIR), which have been conducted semiannually by Advertiser Perceptions for more than seven years.

Ken Pearl, CEO of Advertiser Perceptions states, “Our release of the AIR Wave 14 Highest Rated Media brands will hopefully serve as an incentive for improvements across the media industry—for media brands, media companies, and advertisers alike.”

Background: Every spring and fall, Advertiser Perceptions, through AIR, surveys thousands of leading advertisers in the United States to gather their opinions and perceptions of the media brands that they are considering for advertising in the next six months. These advertiser opinions provide the basis for insight-metrics that are used to gauge media brand and company performance. Media brands that rank highest for each insight-metric and that possess a minimum required level of advertising consideration are selected as the highest rated media.

AIR Wave 14 Insight-Metric Descriptions

Brand Strength: Combination of “Ad Results/Effectiveness”, “Audience”, “Image/Environment”

Sales Knowledge: “Understands Advertiser Needs and Priorities”

Customer Service: “Responsiveness”

Advertiser Satisfaction: “Satisfaction with media brand as a vehicle for advertising”

Media Company: Combination of “Good Company with which to do Business”, “Ad Results/Effectiveness”, “Company’s Understanding of Advertiser’s Business”, “Customer Service”, and “Aggressive Rate Deals”

About Advertiser Perceptions, Inc. Advertiser Perceptions is the leader in providing the media industry with research-based advertiser insight and guidance necessary for strengthening media brands and increasing advertiser satisfaction, advertising sales, market share and competitive advantage. We specialize in determining, analyzing and communicating what advertisers think—their plans, opinions and motivations.

Our proprietary database of media decision makers is one of the largest in the world. The advertiser survey and questionnaire development process that we employ ensures optimal response. Singular focus and media industry expertise enables us to effectively analyze and accurately interpret the research that we conduct on behalf of our clients who represent many of the largest blue-chip media companies.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – YuMe, Inc (www.yume.com), the leading video advertising technology company, announced the results of two complimentary studies proving the increasing power of online video for ad campaigns. Taken together, these studies offer a compelling picture of the mainstreaming of the online video audience and how brands can effectively and easily reach more viewers.

In a study of viewers across the YuMe video ad network, Frank N. Magid Associates (www.magid.com) found that not only had use grown substantially over the last 12 months with 66% of respondents reporting increases in usage, but also that the growth would continue at a rapid pace in the coming year. In addition, YuMe’s audience perceived the quality of online video content to be on par with television and cited they could find more exclusive content online than on TV.

As brands consider how to effectively expand their reach and utilize online video, the case study conducted using Nielsen TV/Internet Data Fusion, explores what happens when brands reallocate just 5%, 10%, or 15% of traditional broadcast budgets to YuMe’s network. The results demonstrate that while marketers can reach the majority of their audience through TV, they can improve both the efficacy and efficiency of their television campaigns by adding an online video component.

“Online video is the fastest growing segment of online advertising but it’s a confusing topic for many marketers and brand managers,” said Scot McLernon, Chief Revenue Officer, YuMe. “We worked with both of these esteemed research companies to provide data that would help dispel the confusion around how to weave a cross-platform online video campaign into existing campaigns and future projects.”

A high level summary of the Magid data based on a survey of YuMe’s audience shows how viewing habits, attitudes and audience makeup are changing.

Online Video’s Explosive Growth Will Continue: More than 66% of respondents surveyed on YuMe’s network said they watch more online video now than they did 12 months ago and 48% expect they will continue to watch more in 2011.
Online Video Has Gone Mainstream: Consumers who are watching more online video compared to 12 months ago skew older, female and higher educated.
Online Video Content is on Par with TV: Viewers’ perception of the quality of video content online has improved and 50% of respondents felt they could find more exclusive content online than on TV.
Watching Online Video Is a Daily Routine: 49% of respondents said they watch online video daily, with 7 hours being the mean time spent per week.
Short-form Content Reigns Supreme Online: 70% of respondents said they watch program clips that are shorter than 5 minutes in length.
Scheduled TV Programs are Less Relevant: 60% of viewers watch online video because they can watch it whenever they want.
Online Viewers are More Engaged with Ads: Multi-tasking is more pervasive when watching television ads than when watching online video ads: 58% of respondents said they do things around the house when ads come on TV versus 26% for ads online.
Heavy Online Video Viewers Can’t Be Reached Only with TV: Heavy online video viewers are reducing their television viewing yet they are increasing their online video viewing which indicates it will be even more difficult to reach these viewers via television in the future.

“Reaching heavy users of online video is very important for marketers,” said Mike Vorhaus, President of Magid Advisors at Frank N. Magid Associates. “The YuMe network is clearly an excellent opportunity for advertisers and marketers to advertise to a broad population, including consumers who are relatively light viewers of TV.”

YuMe examined, utilizing Nielsen data, what would happen when a TV budget was partially re-allocated to online video on YuMe’s video ad network. Using an actual budget from January of 2010 for a consumer packaged goods brand, the share-shift study found that a reallocation increased audience reach without increasing cost.

Across the three main demographics targeted by the brand, (Women 18-54, Women 25-34, Men 25-34), the analysis found that as dollars were reallocated from TV to YuMe’s video advertising network, the brand increased its overall reach and gained access to viewers they would not have reached with TV alone. Key results achieved include the following:

- Total campaign reach increased with no additional spend
- Frequency greatly increased with the shift to online, rocketing the percentage of people who saw the ad 3 or more and 6 or more times in all scenarios
- Multi-platform exposure and performance increased dramatically as shift occurred
- Cost per thousand impressions (CPM) decreased significantly across all ad spend reallocation levels (5%, 10%, 15%)

For more on these studies and to download a copy of YuMe’s whitepapers “Online Video and Television Viewing Attitudes and Behaviors” and “Share-shift Analysis – TV + Online Video: The Best of Both Worlds” visit http://www.yume.com/content/insights-papers.

About YuMe

YuMe is a video advertising technology company that makes professional video profitable for publishers and effective for advertisers. Its robust ACE™ technology powers both its premium ad network and its industry-leading advertising management solutions, ACE for Publishers and ACE for Advertisers. YuMe’s premium ad network aggregates the best video content, representing hundreds of premium publishers. As a result, YuMe gives publishers and advertisers unprecedented reach, brand safety, contextual relevance, controlled syndication, and consistent delivery across all digital media platforms–Web, downloads, mobile, and IPTV. YuMe is a privately held company headquartered in Redwood City, CA and backed by Accel Partners, BV Capital, DAG Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Menlo Ventures and Intel Capital. For more information, visit www.yume.com, follow @yumevideo on twitter (www.twitter.com/yumevideo), or become a fan of YuMe on Facebook at www.facebook.com/yumevideo.

“2011 promises to be another exciting year in the evolution of the digital home,” says David Mercer, Principal Analyst. “Many of the key elements of the next generation home are now in place, such as connected devices, high speed broadband and advanced user interfaces; it’s up to key players to pull these together to create compelling experiences and drive added value.”

He continued: “The battles between content owners, technology vendors and service providers for access to consumer revenues will continue. The field is still wide open for any of these players to take a leadership position in the emerging ecosystem. And there will always be opportunities for new players like Facebook to appear from nowhere and threaten established positions.”

The report, “Digital Home Predictions for 2011: The Year of Facebook TV, CloudTunes and Wii2?” is available for complimentary download at www.strategyanalytics.com.

Analyst Blog: http://blogs.strategyanalytics.com/blogs

About Strategy Analytics

Strategy Analytics, Inc. provides timely and actionable market intelligence focused on opportunities and disruptive forces in the areas of Automotive Electronics and Entertainment, Broadband Connected Home, Mobile & Wireless Intelligent Systems and Virtual Worlds. Headquartered in Boston, MA, with offices in the UK, France, Germany, Japan, S. Korea and China, Strategy Analytics works with clients through annual multi-client services, management team workshops and custom consulting engagements. For more information, please visit http://www.strategyanalytics.com/

“Our collaboration with leaders in television and brand advertising, combined with the innovative technologies we’re pioneering, signals the beginning of a new era of highly personalized, Internet-enhanced television,” said Ron Jacoby, vice president, Yahoo! Connected TV. “Imagine an immersive, real-time TV experience that brings people even closer to the programs and brands they love by enabling them to play along while they watch their favorite shows.”

With broadcast interactivity, TV programmers will be able to create TV apps that let viewers vote for a reality-TV participant, get more information about characters, or make e-commerce purchases while watching a show. For brand advertisers, broadcast interactivity will let them connect in real time with TV viewers during commercials or other branded entertainment experiences. Examples of broadcast interactivity could include:

CBS — Viewers of “Hawaii Five-O” could view fun facts about the show and learn more about the actors, characters, and setting by using their remote controls.
ABC — Viewers of an ABC primetime show could access actor information and view photos and videos during certain scenes right from their TVs while watching the show.
Showtime — “Showtime Boxing” fans could access detailed fight information including photos and videos, test their knowledge of the boxers, and vote for the boxer they think will win the match.
HSN — Viewers watching HSN could directly purchase an item highlighted on the live show and take advantage of specials of the day, using their remote controls.
Ford — TV viewers watching a Lincoln commercial could find local dealers, customize their dream cars, view Lincoln luxury lifestyle videos, and more.
Mattel — Viewers of a Barbie® TV commercial could take Barbie polls, play Barbie dress-up games, view Barbie documentary videos, and more.
Yahoo! is working with Connected TV distribution partners including Broadcom Corporation, D-Link, Haier, MediaTek, Sony and Toshiba to enable the broadcast interactivity pilot on their devices in 2011.

TV apps on Yahoo! Connected TV

Today the Yahoo! Connected TV experience centers around a collection of more than 100 easy-to-use TV apps, providing deep content designed to complement TV viewing. TV apps run the gamut from social networking to music, games, news, weather, finance, and shopping, and provide access to more than 50,000 movies and TV shows on demand.

Traditional media and entertainment companies are developing some of the most compelling new TV apps available on Yahoo! Connected TV. These companies include CNBC, a recognized world leader in business news; Clear Channel Radio, a leading radio company; NBC, a leading television network; QVC, one of the largest multimedia retailers in the world; and mgMedia, developer of technology for multi-device, worldwide movies on demand distribution.

New media TV apps for the Yahoo! Connected TV platform include those from Mediafly, Virtual Nerd, Screen Dreams, and more.

Yahoo! at 2011 International CES

A variety of product demonstrations will take place at the Yahoo! booth, #36201, in South Hall 4, of the Las Vegas Convention Center. In addition to showcasing the broadcast interactivity pilot, Yahoo! will demonstrate the Yahoo! Connected TV Store, scheduled to launch in March 2011, and interactive scenarios showcasing products that highlight Yahoo!’s platforms and technologies, including:

Three-Screen Connected Device Interactivity — Experience interactivity amongst tablets, mobile phones, and TVs. Demos will showcase an Android phone used as a smart remote control for Yahoo! Connected TV, a tablet device used in sync with an on-air program, and the ability to “flick” videos from the tablet or phone to a big-screen TV for shared viewing.
Yahoo! Mobile, Seamless Connectivity — Play with the newest apps and mobile experiences that are bringing Yahoo!’s leading digital media, content, and communications services to mobile phones and tablet devices on a global scale. A new Flickr® app for Windows Phones and Slate tablets will be showcased, alongside other leading Yahoo! mobile experiences.
For additional information, search for “Yahoo! Connected TV” at yahoo.com.

About Yahoo!

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) is an innovative technology company that operates the largest digital media, content, and communications business in the world. Yahoo! keeps more than half a billion consumers worldwide connected to what matters to them most, and delivers powerful audience solutions to advertisers through its unique combination of Science + Art + Scale. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.com) or the company’s blog, Yodel Anecdotal (yodel.yahoo.com).

The deal, the first of its kind on a national level, will allow SMG to be the first agency network to provide its clients with the ability to address highly relevant advertising messages, including the right to be the first to identify the audiences that best fit their clients’ needs for addressability. The agency will also serve as an advisor to DIRECTV to help enhance and refine the service, a role SMG has played for many early trials.

“This is a glimpse into our industry’s future. Up until now, we’ve only been able to test the power of addressability in local markets. We proved its value beyond a shadow of doubt, but hadn’t yet conquered scale until now,” said Laura Desmond, CEO of SMG, whose clients include some of the world’s most influential marketers including Procter and Gamble, Coca-Cola, and General Motors. “As a result of this partnership with DIRECTV, we can now invest our clients’ dollars in addressable messaging at the national level. We believe this is the tipping point, an entirely new marketplace is being created and shaped that will increase marketing effectiveness.”

According to Tracey Scheppach, SVP/Innovations Director at SMGx, “At SMG, we’ve run the numbers and feel confident that the creation of a viable national addressable platform can infuse $10 billion in incremental revenue into the television marketplace as its appeal is universal and has the ability to bring a whole new class of marketers to the medium. It’s taken years of hard work to get this far, but we’ve got light at the end of the tunnel and we’re ready to put our money on the table.”

“This partnership with SMG will create a whole new revenue stream for DIRECTV and ensure that our viewers are being served up with ads that are relevant to their lifestyles,” said Bob Riordan, senior vice president, DIRECTV Advertising Sales. “It’s a win for DIRECTV, advertisers, and our viewers.”

As part of the advertising deal brokered by SMGx, the trading and innovation arm of SMG, media agency’s clients will be able to segment their ads on a national level to selected consumers based on multiple factors including geography and customer segmentations, as well as third-party sources and the marketers’ consumer databases.

The consulting segment of the SMG/DIRECTV relationship begins immediately, with the addressable ad technology set to begin testing in 2011. After testing is complete, DIRECTV will deploy household addressable advertising capability to the nearly 10 million customers expected to have DVRs, with 25 of the top-rated cable networks.

ABOUT DIRECTV

DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is the world’s most popular video service delivering state-of-the-art technology, unmatched programming, the most comprehensive sports packages available and industry leading customer service to its 27.6 million customers in the U.S. and Latin America. In the U.S., DIRECTV offers its 19.1 million customers access to over 160 HD channels and Dolby-Digital® 5.1 theater-quality sound (when available), access to exclusive sports programming such as NFL SUNDAY TICKET™, award winning technology like its DIRECTV® DVR Scheduler and higher customer satisfaction than the leading cable companies for ten years running. DIRECTV Latin America, through its subsidiaries and affiliated companies in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and other Latin American countries, leads the pay-TV category in technology, programming and service, delivering an unrivaled digital television experience to 8.5 million customers. DIRECTV sports and entertainment properties include three Regional Sports Networks (Northwest, Rocky Mountain and Pittsburgh) as well as a 65 percent interest in Game Show Network. For the most up-to-date information on DIRECTV, please call 1-800-DIRECTV or visit directv.com.

ABOUT STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP

Starcom MediaVest Group is the Human Experience Company. Our dream is to grow our clients’ business by transforming human behavior through uplifting, meaningful human experience. These brand ‘experiences’ are brought to life by distinct, strategic point-of-views — Truth and Design and Space for Ideas — created and owned by SMG’s two global agency brands: MediaVest and Starcom, respectively. Ranked one of the largest brand communications groups in the world, Starcom MediaVest Group (www.smvgroup.com) encompasses an integrated network of human experience strategists, investment specialists, content creators and digital experts. With nearly 6,000 employees in 110 offices worldwide, SMG partners with the world’s leading companies including The Coca-Cola Company, Kraft Foods, Mars, Inc., P&G, Samsung, Walmart, among others. In 2010, SMG was the #1 ranked Global Media Agency (AdAge) and “Media Agency of the Decade” by Adweek. SMG is part of Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris: FR0000130577], the world’s third largest communications group. Publicis Groupe is also ranked as the world’s second largest media counsel and buying group and is the first global network in digital and healthcare communications. Publicis Groupe launched VivaKi (www.vivaki.com) to leverage the combined scale of the autonomous operations of Digitas, Denuo, Razorfish, Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia to develop new services, tools, and next generation digital platforms. Web site: www.publicisgroupe.com.

“The advertising recovery expanded during the third quarter to include stronger participation by the long-tail of marketers beyond the Top 1000,” said Jon Swallen, SVP Research at Kantar Media. “Having fewer resources, this segment was previously cautious about raising budgets and it lagged behind the early year rebound in ad spending. Smaller advertisers are now as fully vested as their large counterparts and in that sense, the advertising recovery has reached a significant milestone.”

Measured Ad Spending By Media

Television media continued to pace the advertising recovery. Spot TV expenditures surged 27.8 percent behind the swell of political advertising and sustained demand from automotive marketers and retailers. Spanish Language TV spending rose 11.9 percent, aided by the World Cup event during June and July. Gains for Cable TV (+9.0 percent) and Network TV (+6.1 percent) were driven by sharply higher spending from the auto, financial service and consumer package goods categories.

Internet display advertising had the second largest growth rate among the media sectors, up 7.7 percent compared to the year ago period. Outdoor was close behind with a gain of 7.3 percent.

Within the Radio sector, all types achieved year-to-date growth. Spending in National Spot Radio jumped 15.9 percent and Local Radio rose 3.8 percent with each being paced by larger outlays from auto dealer and financial service advertisers. Network Radio registered a small increase of 1.7 percent.

Consumer Magazines, after a weak first quarter, rebounded solidly in subsequent months and year-to-date expenditures have risen 2.8 percent. Sunday Magazines (+8.1 percent) benefited from higher spending by pharmaceutical companies and home improvement retailers.

National Newspaper spending rose 6.8 percent, primarily from gains at the Wall Street Journal. Local Newspaper expenditures fell 4.4 percent despite stable volume of ad space sold. Local Newspaper spending has now declined for 20 consecutive quarters.

Source: Kantar Media
1. Figures tabulated from Kantar Media’s Stradegy™ application and cover all measured media, including: Network TV (6 networks); Spot TV (125 DMAs); Cable TV (71 networks); Syndication TV; Hispanic Network TV (4 networks); Consumer Magazines (226 publications);,Sunday Magazines (7 publications); Local Magazines (27 publications); Hispanic Magazines (19 publications); Business-to-Business Magazines (288 publications); Local Newspapers (147 publications); National Newspapers (3 publications); Hispanic Newspapers (48 publications); Network Radio (5 networks); National Spot Radio (205 markets); Local Radio (32 markets); Internet (1,989 sites); and Outdoor. Figures do not include public service announcements (PSA) or House ads.
2. Cable TV figures do not include Hispanic cable networks.
3. Spot TV figures do not include Hispanic local stations.
4. Spanish Language TV includes 4 Hispanic broadcast networks, 4 Hispanic cable network and 70 local Hispanic TV stations.
5. Magazine media includes Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) data and reflect print editions of publications.
6. Newspaper media figures reflect print editions of publications.
7. Internet display expenditures are based on 1,989 sites with measured activity for an equal number of months in both time periods
8. FSI data represents distribution costs only

Measured Ad Spending by Advertiser

Spending among the ten largest advertisers increased 5.9 percent to $11.91 billion in the first nine months of 2010.

Procter & Gamble maintained its number one ranking by spending $2,252.7 million, an 18.7 percent increase versus a year ago. However, its third quarter budgets were flat.

AT&T boosted expenditures 15.7 percent to $1,510.7 million. Much of the additional money was directed towards its consumer television service and this segment accounted for nearly one-tenth of the company’s ad dollars. Rival Verizon Communication cut its spending by 13.1 percent, to $1,406.8 million.

Despite a widespread surge in automotive category spending, General Motors was the lone auto advertiser in the Top Ten. GM invested $1,480.5 million, up 20.6 percent from a year ago.

Smaller increases were posted by News Corp. (+8.0 percent, to $984.8 million), General Electric (+5.4 percent, to $793.2 million) and Walt Disney (+4.0 percent to $776.9 million). Results for each of these companies were primarily shaped by their movie studio divisions.

Source: Kantar Media
1. Figures do not include FSI, House Ads or PSA activity.
2. The sum of the individual companies may differ from the Total shown due to rounding.

Across the Top 1000 advertisers, a diversified group representing three-fourths of the measured ad economy, expenditures rose 7.3 percent in the first nine months of the year. The comparable growth rate for the long-tail of small advertisers beyond the Top 1000 was just 3.3 percent. However, in the third quarter the respective figures for these two segments were very similar at 9.1 percent and 8.1 percent.

Measured Ad Spending by Category

Expenditures for the ten largest advertising categories rose 7.4 percent in the first nine months of 2010 and totaled $53.55 billion.

Automotive was the leading category in both dollar volume and growth rate as spending accelerated 23.7 percent to $9,151.5 million, reflecting the improved climate for vehicle sales. Within the category, manufacturers and dealers had comparable rates of increase.

Telecom was the second largest category with nine month expenditures growing a modest 4.7 percent to $6,369.4 million. Slowing rates of spend in the wireless segment were offset by vigorous competition and larger budgets among TV service providers.

Year-to-date spending in Financial Services increased 9.4 percent, to $5,604.6 million, although growth rates slackened in the third quarter. Results were skewed by a sustained marketing barrage from a handful of leading credit card issuers. More telling is the ongoing weakness in retail bank advertising and a recent slowdown by marketers of investment products.

Only two of the top ten categories posted spending declines. Direct Response budgets shrank by 6.2 percent, to $4,549.9 million. Pharmaceutical advertising was down 8.5 percent, to $3,160.9 million, on broad reductions across top spending brands.

Source: Kantar Media
1. Figures do not include FSI or PSA activity.
2. Miscellaneous Retail does not include these retail segments: Department Stores, Home Furnishing/Building Supply Stores.
3. The sum of the individual categories may differ from the total due to rounding.

Branded Entertainment

Kantar Media continuously monitors Branded Entertainment within network prime time and late night programming. The tracking identifies Brand Appearances and measures their duration and attributes. Given the short length of many Brand Appearances, duration is a more relevant metric than a count of occurrences for quantifying and comparing the gross amount of brand activity that viewers are potentially exposed to in the program versus the commercial breaks.

In the third quarter of 2010, an average hour of monitored prime time network programming contained nine minutes, four seconds (9:04) of in-show Brand Appearances and 14:47 of network commercial messages. The combined total of 23:51 of marketing content represents 40 percent of a prime-time hour.

Unscripted reality programming had an average of 11:10 per hour of Brand Appearances as compared to just 6:17 per hour for scripted programs such as sitcoms and dramas. Late night network talk shows had an average of 10:49 per hour. The combined load of Brand Appearances and network ad messages in these late night shows was 25:32 per hour, or 43 percent of total content time.

Source: Kantar Media
1 Figures include network advertisements, station promotions and PSAs. Local commercial time is excluded.

The top five brands ranked by total amount of Brand Appearance time were Chef Revival, Viking appliances, Bud Light beer, Yamaha music equipment and Ford.

About Kantar Media

Established in more than 50 countries, Kantar Media helps clients master the world’s multimedia momentum through analysis of print, radio, TV, internet, cinema, mobile, social media, and outdoor worldwide. Kantar Media offers a full range of media insights and audience measurement services through its global business sectors – Intelligence, Audiences, TGI and Custom. Kantar Media companies also include Compete, Cymfony and SRDS. Drawing upon the deepest expertise in the industry, Kantar Media tracks more than 3 million brands and delivers insight to more than 22,000 customers worldwide.

LOS ANGELES – Ace Metrix™, the authority in television advertising effectiveness, announced the Ace Metrix Quarterly Top 10 national ads for the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2010. Ads for new console games that encouraged consumers to get off the couch and start moving were high scorers throughout the quarter. The winning ad, called “Epic Gaming for All” for the new Sony PlayStation 3 Move, which first aired on October 1, scored an Ace Score™ of 695, compared to the Ace Score average of 538 and the technology average of 573. Also scoring high in the quarter were three debut ads for the Microsoft Kinect gaming console which also features user movement for game operation.

Overall, it was an impressive quarter for technology ads with seven out of the top ten ads from the tech category, and a full 50%, or five out of the top ten, from the game category.

“Technology, and specifically, console game ads dominated Q4,” commented Peter Daboll, chief executive of Ace Metrix. “This reflects the overall consumer interest in innovative/new technology products that we saw resonate throughout 2010. Sony and Microsoft both kicked into high gear with ads that clearly demonstrate the fun that these new movement-based game consoles deliver.”

The Sony PlayStation 3 Move ad scored well across all gender and age groups and especially appealed to males and females ages 16-20. It scored lowest with males age 36-49. The ad was successful with high “attention”, “likability” and “desire” scores.

As a 36-49 year old female said, “This ad really, really caught my attention. I didn’t know it did all that.” And, from a 21-35 year old male, “That is an awesome commercial. It is very action packed and it will definitely draw some attention.”

The complete Q4 Quarterly Top 10 for the quarter ending December 31, 2010 is as follow, and to view the ads please go here:

Q4 Top 10 Ads

* The Ace Score is powered by innovative, patent-pending algorithms and proven methodology.

The persuasion rating is based on the interactivity of six data elements, desire, relevance, likeability, attention, information and change, automatically captured and analyzed for each ad.

Watchability measures the engagement that a person has with the ad.

Ad-of-the Year Also Announced: “Wonder-full” from Samsung

Ace Metrix today also announced the top ads for 2010. Please see the companion release entitled, “Ace Metrix Announces Ad-of-the-Year, ‘Wonder-full’ for Samsung 3D TV; Remains the Highest Scoring Ad of All Time,” for more information.

About Ace Metrix

Ace Metrix is the industry authority in measuring and understanding the impact of advertising creative. Through patent-pending Ace ScoreTM measurement technology, Ace Metrix collects and measures the consumer impact of every nationally breaking TV ad in near real-time. Through its Creative Lifecycle Management TM suite of products, Ace Metrix provides actionable creative analysis, from ideation through real-time in-market performance optimization, to many of the world’s leading advertisers and agencies. Ace Metrix works with leading advertisers including Big Lots, Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp., ConAgra, Nissan North America and others. For more information please see www.acemetrix.com.

NEW YORK – TRA, Inc. and A&E Television Networks (AETN) announced that AETN’s portfolio of networks, including A&E, History, Lifetime, and Biography have licensed TRA’s patented Media TRAnalytics® software, the industry’s premier solution for improving the effectiveness of television advertising, as well as TRA’s companion pharmaceutical advertising product, TV-Health Ratings – Powered by TRA.

AETN’s networks will have the ability to clearly demonstrate to advertisers that buying programs in the right media environment enhances the persuasive power of an advertiser’s message and drives up the brand’s ROI. In doing so, programs on AETN’s networks will become more valuable to advertisers looking to find “The Right Audience™.” This will result in increased sales of the advertisers’ products and increased revenue for AETN.

TRA’s software matches second-by-second measurement of TV viewing from set-top box data with purchasing behavior. TRA’s innovative, patented single-source measurement allows networks to leverage purchase behavior to partner with advertisers interested in advertising on the best creative and programming environments for their advertisements while improving ROI on ad spending.

“TRA is pleased to partner with A&E Television Networks,” said Mark Lieberman, Chairman and CEO of TRA. “By moving beyond just ratings to valuing their media based on purchase behavior of their viewing audiences, AETN recognizes that its networks can help advertisers reach the right audience, with the right message, at the right time.”

“With its innovative combination of media measurement and purchase behavior data, TRA offers AETN a powerful platform that will enable us to help marketers successfully reach their consumers across our channels,” added Mel Berning, Executive VP Ad Sales, A&E Television Networks. “This will enable AETN to acquire a larger share of its clients’ advertising buy while attracting potential new advertisers.”

As the advertising industry’s most comprehensive resource for media planning and ROI analytics for television advertising investments, TRA’s clients include major broadcast and cable networks as well as advertisers and agencies. Now, through its DailyTRA blog (www.traglobal.com/blog), the Company is offering select insights from MediaTRAnalytics® to empower the industry to realize that advertisers can save money and networks can increase their revenues simply by finding The Right Audience™ to improve ROI.

About TRA, Inc.

TRA, Inc. (www.traglobal.com) is a media measurement and analytics software company whose products help advertisers, agencies and television networks improve advertising accountability and return on media investment. TRA’s Media TRAnalytics® is a web-based platform that matches the advertising households actually receive with the products the same households actually buy, enabling TRA’s clients to find “The Right Audience™” while providing an unmatched level of transparency, measurement, media planning/selling and improved ROI. TRA’s investors include Intel Capital, Kodiak Venture Partners, WPP and Arbitron. TRA is the recipient of the BeyeNETWORK’s 2009 ‘Vision Award’ for Business Impact in Analytics. TRA is certified under ISO 27001, the information security management system standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) designed to ensure security controls for protecting information assets. TRA was recently issued U.S Patent No. 7,729,940, entitled “Analyzing Return on Investment of Advertising Campaigns by Matching Multiple Data Sources.”

About A&E Television Networks

A&E Television Networks, LLC (AETN) is an award-winning, global media content company offering consumers a diverse communications environment ranging from television networks to websites, to home videos/DVDs to gaming and educational software. AETN is comprised of A&E Network®, Lifetime®, HISTORY™, Lifetime Movie Network, BIO™, History International™, History en Español™, Crime & Investigation Network™, Military History™, Lifetime Real Women, A&E IndieFilms®, AETN International, AETN Digital and AETN Consumer Products. AETN channels and branded programming reach more than 300 million households in over 145 countries. AETN is a joint venture of Disney-ABC Television Group, Hearst Corporation and NBC Universal.

Victoria’s Secret Achieves Highest Campaign Score Despite Lukewarm Response from Women

LOS ANGELES – Ace Metrix™, the authority in television advertising effectiveness, released its list of the top holiday-themed retail ads for the 2010 holiday season by creative effectiveness. Out of more than 85 nationally breaking holiday-themed ads since October 15th, Ace Metrix found Wal-Mart’s “Help Home Feel Closer” ad, featuring its Proctor & Gamble co-branded “Operationfamilyconnect.com” promotion, to be the most effective single ad according to consumer feedback.

And, despite a lukewarm response from women, Victoria’s Secret, which aired multiple TV ads this holiday season, garnered the highest campaign score, driven largely by high “attention” scores from men.

“Wal-Mart’s ad, which scored a 623 out of a possible 950 points—a very high score in our database, managed to cut through the clutter of holiday-themed retail ads, many of which focus on sales and events. Consumers have learned to tune these promotional types of ads out,” said Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix.

“Despite Victoria’s Secret’s polarizing effect between men and women, the ads were consistently top-scoring, a hallmark of campaign success,” Daboll said. “One high-scoring ad followed by a poor ad just doesn’t deliver a consistent impact on the consumer.”

This phenomenon is seen in Table 2 below. Both Wal-Mart and Best Buy, which had the top two ads overall, did not fare as well on the campaign level because of the gap between their high-scoring and lower-scoring ads. Victoria’s Secret and Overstock.com, on the other hand, had consistently high scoring ads.

Table 1: Ace Metrix’ 2010 Top Ten Holiday-Themed Retail Ads on TV

*Definition: Ace Score is the measure of ad creative effectiveness based on viewer reaction to national TV ads. Respondents are randomly selected and representative of U.S. TV viewing audience. The results are presented on a scale of 0-950, which represents scoring on creative attributes such as relevance, persuasion, watchability, information, attention, etc.

Table 2: Ace Metrix’ 2010 Top TV Holiday Ad Campaigns*

* Campaign scores represent the average score across ad creatives.

Wal-Mart’s Winning Ad Showcases the Power of Philanthropy

The winning Wal-Mart ad, which focused on helping people connect with Armed Forces personnel overseas, resonated across all demographic groups. It scored more than 100 points above the retail ad norm for “likeability” and “attention” and more than 90 points above the average for all ads in the Ace Metrix database of nearly 8,000 national ads.

“Philanthropic ads for major brands continue to show strong advertising value. Consumers just respond better to a message about what companies are doing for them, instead of a straight sales pitch,” Daboll commented. “The winning Wal-Mart spot performed extremely well with men and women, especially those with children. The ad resonates by promoting family, charity and empathy with those not able to be home for Christmas, all moving elements consistent with the holiday spirit.”

Actual viewer comments included:

“[The ad] shows a company that really takes the time to care about people and their needs.”
“Philanthropy should be advertised all year long, not just during the holidays.”
Victoria’s Secret’s Campaign Proves that Sex Sells this Holiday Season

Despite failing to connect with women, Victoria’s Secret’s successful holiday campaign proves that sex really does sell. Victoria’s Secret’s holiday ads polarized viewers with a 107 point spread between male and female respondents.

Comments from women included:

“My husband would enjoy it more than I would.”
“I like the ad but too racy; too much skin.”
“More porn than ad.”
“Let’s face it, Victoria has no secrets.”
Interestingly, while both campaigns were top-scoring, Victoria’s Secret and Kohls appealed to very different demographic groups. Kohl’s appealed primarily to older women, with high “information” and “relevance” scores, while Victoria’s Secret appealed to men and younger women and scored very low within those two categories but very high on “attention.”

About Ace Metrix

Ace Metrix is the industry authority in measuring and understanding the impact of advertising creative. Through patent-pending Ace ScoreTM measurement technology, Ace Metrix collects and measures the consumer impact of every nationally breaking TV ad in near real-time. Through its Creative Lifecycle Management TM suite of products, Ace Metrix provides actionable creative analysis, from ideation through real-time in-market performance optimization, to many of the world’s leading advertisers and agencies. Ace Metrix works with leading advertisers including Big Lots, Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp., ConAgra, Nissan North America and others. For more information please see www.acemetrix.com.

Notes:
Ace Metrix and Ace Score are trademarks of Ace Metrix. Other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

The Ad-of-the-Week designates the highest scoring new ad of the week by Ace Score, a patent-pending measure of advertising creative effectiveness.

“The Windows Phone 7 is a new entrant in a fast-changing and fiercely competitive market dominated by Android, Apple, and RIM. Effective creative is critical to brands attempting to establish themselves, as well as brands that are attempting to defend their positions,” commented Peter Daboll, chief executive of Ace Metrix.

The table below shows smartphone percent of subscribers compared to Ace Score average by vendor.

1 comScore Reports October 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share
2 Ace Metrix 12/17/2010
3 Microsoft subscriber % prior to Windows Phone 7 launch

Using a mix of humor, real people and an Xbox avatar that joins the real world, Microsoft has created an ad high in “Likeability”, “Attention” and “Change”, all Ace Score components, that appeals equally to men and women.

Younger respondents rated the ad higher than older respondents, Ace Score 651 vs. 608, and caught on right away that the boyfriend/avatar was associated with Xbox.

According to Daboll, “We have proven that high Ace Scores drive sales and this is evident in the mobile category. Android and iPhone Ace Scores have dominated the category for the past several months, and their share changes reflect that. It is interesting that Microsoft, being the new entrant in the category with Windows Phone 7, has launched with competitive Ace Scores.”

As respondents put it, “It made me laugh with a great dovetailing of Microsoft products” and “Since the Windows phone is a new product and has a lot of competition, it was smart to make the ad appealing.”

To view the ad, please click here: http://www.acemetrix.com/events/ad-of-the-week.

About Ace Metrix

Ace Metrix is the industry authority in measuring and understanding the impact of advertising creative. Through patent-pending Ace ScoreTM measurement technology, Ace Metrix collects and measures the consumer impact of every nationally breaking TV ad in near real-time. Through its Creative Lifecycle ManagementTM suite of products, Ace Metrix provides actionable creative analysis, from ideation through real-time in-market performance optimization, to many of the world’s leading advertisers and agencies. Ace Metrix works with leading advertisers including Big Lots, Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp., ConAgra, Nissan North America and others. For more information please see www.acemetrix.com.

CHICAGO – Akoo – a social television network enabling 285 million U.S. wireless subscribers to make on-demand content requests using their mobile devices – announced a new video ad unit called SyncAds. The new ad unit enables brand marketers to simultaneously deliver TV spots with accompanying video ads containing mobile components to active shoppers who have the ability to make immediate retail transactions. Several national advertisers have begun using SyncAds to drive retail traffic and support their year-end TV advertising campaigns on Akoo.

SyncAds leverage Akoo’s dual-HDTV configuration, whereby numerous pairs of big-screen HDTVs and a professional audio system deliver Akoo programming and advertising throughout large, highly-trafficked seating environments in the central dining areas of premium malls and universities. SyncAds allow brand marketers to deliver video ads with call-to-action messaging and mobile components on every left screen, while the brand marketer’s 30-second TV spot simultaneously plays on every adjacent right screen. This amounts to a full takeover of the audio-visual experience in each location, as well as across the nationally deployed network in 62 top U.S. markets. (See video for more information).

A national retailer is using the new video ad unit to maximize the effectiveness of its holiday TV spots and deliver mobile coupons. The retailer’s SyncAds offer shoppers a mobile coupon for their next purchase when they text a special keyword to the network. Akoo immediately delivers the mobile coupons to viewers via text, giving the retailer an ability to drive transactions.

“Simultaneously delivering TV spots with SyncAds is the most powerful way to communicate a message to Akoo’s audience of 90 million monthly consumers,” said Akoo CEO Niko Drakoulis. “These are consumers who are steps away from millions of brand transactions and who have the ability to act on the advertising. Third-party research certifies that our viewers spend an average 16 minutes per visit watching Akoo programming and advertising. SyncAds enable innovative advertisers to increase this already high level of consumer engagement and drive transactions more effectively.”

Independently conducted Advertising Effectiveness studies certify that Akoo’s interactive programming environment drives marketing effectiveness across key brand metrics such as recall, consideration, and purchase intent. Akoo delivered up to twice the brand-aided recall of traditional broadcast television for some of the world’s leading brands, third-party research has also validated.

“Using SyncAds to reach shoppers who can immediately transact is a great example of brand marketers staying ahead of the rapidly changing media marketplace,” added Billy Campbell, Akoo’s president. “The interactive nature of Akoo social television adds an entirely new dimension for marketers seeking to connect with today’s active consumer.”

About Akoo International, Inc.

Akoo International, Inc. is a Chicago-based media and technology innovator. The company’s interactive media and marketing platform has been granted patents in major global markets, including the United States. Akoo International’s platform enables 285 million U.S. wireless subscribers to make on-demand content requests and interact with the company’s media networks using their mobile devices. In 2009, the company launched Akoo Social Television, the first media network powered by its technology. Akoo delivers programming and advertising to more than 90 million consumers each month in highly-trafficked seating environments in the central food courts of the nation’s largest malls and universities across 62 top U.S. markets. For more information, visit www.akoo.com.

The TV ad sales office of Ad Systems Communications Inc. continues to grow its TV ad revenue with fortune 500 Companies. This month the company’s TV ad sales team added Lexus to its regional advertiser roster now for the fourth quarter of 2010 and are poised for 2011. The company hopes to bring them into all new and future systems as deployed. With the continued and projected expansion of new ad insertion cable TV systems being deployed nationally Lexus and other fortune 500 advertisers add an important ad revenue segment.

“Lexus like other national companies, needs new TV market advertising and we are a perfect fit for these targeted expanded new markets. The Company is bringing new advertising eyeballs to solid anchor advertisers,” stated J. Michael Heil C.E.O.

About Ad Systems Communications, Inc.

Ad Systems Communications, Inc. is a digital media and video communications services Company which provides quality advertising inventory for all the major cable TV networks such as ESPN, MTV, DISCOVERY, CNN, LIFETIME, A&E, FOX NEWS and TNT by deploying its patent pending insertion and streaming media technology into the cable, satellite and IP television markets. The company derives revenue from this inventory by selling it to advertisers to insert both long and short form video commercials into highly targeted markets.

For more information, visit: http://www.adsystemscatv.com/.

- More than Doubles the Number of Spots Outlining the Strength and Value of Local Television Advertising and Provides Stations With Tool Kits to Create Targeted Hyper-Local Promotional Messages

IRVING, Texas – Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXST) announced that based on a year of success, it is expanding its Company-wide informational and educational campaign, “101 Reasons TV Advertising Works.” The expansion more than doubles the number of spots available to its stations and provides them with full promotional tool kits to create custom, hyper-local targeted promotional messages featuring testimonials from clients describing the value they have garnered from local television advertising. The expanded on-air initiative reflects Nexstar’s commitment to developing innovative methods of highlighting the advantages and value of local television and its role as the most effective advertising medium for local businesses.

Originally launched in October 2009, Nexstar’s “101 Reasons TV Advertising Works” campaign included 39 corporate-produced, easily customizable promotional spots for the Company’s owned or managed television stations in 34 markets. Since introducing the campaign, Nexstar has generated consistent increases in new-to-television local direct billings and reported a 9.6% total increase in gross local revenues for the nine months ended June 30, 2010. In expanding the “101 Reasons TV Advertising Works” campaign, Nexstar is adding 42 spots which complement existing station on-air promotional platforms to inform and educate advertisers on local television as the most persuasive and influential medium with the highest consumer reach, and most time spent by consumers. Each of the 81 now available five-to-thirty-second spots are fully customizable so every Nexstar station can ensure that advertisers receive specific data that best showcases the strengths and value of local television advertising relative to other forms of media.

Perry A. Sook, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc., commented, “The success of our ‘101 Reasons TV Advertising Works’ campaign speaks for itself. Our stations are more effective than ever before in illustrating the benefits of local television as the advertising platform that consistently delivers the best results. Rolled out just a year ago, our forward thinking campaign clearly brings forth the compelling results and value of local television advertising. In doing so, we helped hundreds of local businesses offset the impact of the challenging economic climate by demonstrating how local television was the most effective method for companies to connect with local customers.”

According to research sourced by The Television Bureau of Advertising, television consistently reaches the most consumers with daily household viewing times across all demographics again attaining record levels at 8 hours and 21 minutes in 2009. Television advertising also continues to rank by wide margins as the most influential medium and the most persuasive medium (85.7% and 78.1%, respectively) based on surveys with adults 18+.

Mr. Sook concluded, “The initial success of this program has been impressive and our station personnel have taken an active role in expanding this initiative with 17 of the 42 new spots based on concepts submitted by our local stations. We’ve also taken the 2010 ‘101 Reasons’ campaign to the next level by providing stations with a full promotional tool kit with various wildlines complemented by the look of the main campaign. Stations can use this collateral material to create locally generated client testimonials showcasing the reasons television advertising works with their clients and we expect that these locally generated testimonials will complement the main campaign with an emphasis on hyper-localism.”

For more information about the “101 Reasons TV Advertising Works” campaign or for a complete list of all 81 vignettes, please visit www.nexstar.tv.

About Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc.

Nexstar Broadcasting Group currently owns, operates, programs or provides sales and other services to 62 television stations in 34 markets in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Texas, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, New York, Rhode Island, Utah and Florida. These stations are affiliates of NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, MyNetworkTV and The CW and reach approximately 13 million viewers or approximately 11.5% of all U.S. television households.

The ad sales offices of Ad Systems Communications Inc. continue to grow its Regional TV ad revenue. This month the company’s ad sales team added McDonalds to its regional advertiser roster now for all four quarters of 2010 and are in negotiations for 2011. The company hopes to bring them into all new and future systems as deployed. With the continued and projected expansion of new ad insertion cable TV systems being deployed nationally McDonalds and other Fortune 500 advertisers add an important ad revenue segment.

“McDonalds, like other national companies, targets a lot of regional TV advertising and we are a perfect fit for these targeted new markets. Having solid anchor advertisers also facilitates subscriber growth,” stated J. Michael Heil, C.E.O.

About Ad Systems Communications, Inc.

Ad Systems Communications, Inc. is a digital media and video communications services Company which provides quality advertising inventory for all the major cable TV networks such as ESPN, MTV, DISCOVERY, CNN, LIFETIME, A&E, FOX NEWS and TNT by deploying its patent pending insertion and streaming media technology into the cable, satellite and IP television markets. The company derives revenue from this inventory by selling it to advertisers to insert both long and short form video commercials into highly targeted markets.

For more information, visit: http://www.adsystemscatv.com/.

J. Michael Heil C.E.O stated, “All of Crystal Broadband Networks are in strategic locations for us to build upon with excellent growth opportunity for both companies. After location revue and completing the first two system installations from Crystal Broadband we have agreed to roll out systems installations for the entire group. The revenue for the company is all about sub count and the more cable TV subscribers we have watching TV Networks like ESPN or CNN always mean more revenue.”

Ad Systems Communications, Inc. is a digital media and video communications services Company which provides quality advertising inventory for all the major cable TV networks such as ESPN, MTV, DISCOVERY, CNN, LIFETIME, A&E, FOX NEWS and TNT by deploying its patent pending insertion and streaming media technology into the cable, satellite and IP television markets. The company derives revenue from this inventory by selling it to advertisers to insert both long and short form video commercials into highly targeted markets.

For more information, visit: http://www.adsystemscatv.com/.

“This market segment of mostly business travelers and high-end wage earners is a difficult-to-reach niche ad group. We have them captured so to speak, each watching TV an average of three to four hours a day. There has never been a better opportunity to generate revenue from a previously un-tapped advertising demographic,” states J. Michael Heil, CEO of Ad Systems Communications, Inc.

About Web TV-Guide

Web TV-Guide is an Internet data-retrieving server that downloads channel content and aligns data to any specific channel lineup. Web TV-Guide allows satellite, cable, and private television distribution services the ability to run streaming video or commercial content from a file format. This greatly enhances the TV audience’s viewing experience and allows Ad Systems to provide highly targeted advertising spots to national and regional advertisers.

About Ad Systems Communications, Inc.

Ad Systems Communications, Inc. is a digital media and video communications services Company which provides quality advertising inventory for all the major cable TV networks such as ESPN, MTV, DISCOVERY, CNN, LIFETIME, A&E, FOX NEWS and TNT by deploying its patent-pending insertion and streaming media technology into the cable, satellite and IP television markets. The company derives revenue from this inventory by selling it to advertisers to insert both long- and short-form video commercials into highly targeted markets.

For more information, visit: http://www.adsystemscatv.com/.