AC Nielson Report

How to Read it

AC Nielson Report
Jack Honomichl Top 50 MR firms. 48% Revenue outside US. Largest VNU, a Dutch based publisher- AC Nielson and Nielson Media Research. Operations in 80 countries Travyn Rhall MD , AC Nielson came up with Yahoo/ AC Nielson Internet confidence Index A quarterly study to measure confidence levels in Internet products and services.

Report Reading
Strong correlation between higher confidence and higher consumer spending. Greater trust about the security of personal information online. Yahoo And AC Nielson- A MR marriage withy Technology. Consumers with faster internet access are most confident in e-commerce transactions and have the highest intent to shop and spend in the next quarter.

How do they go about it

The internet confidence index measures consumers attitudes related to potential motivators and barriers to e-commerce. AC Nielson conducts research for Index through computer aided telephone interviewing through random digit dialing and utilizes the services of 1000 adults , who may or not be using the Internet.

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Clients are offered measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. AC Nielson is known for its research, propriety products, analytical tools, and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities, and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns.

Nielson Television Index

Nielson is also known for National Television Index (NTI). The sample is 5000 households. NTI provides an estimation of national television audiences measuring ratings and share. Ratings refer to the percentage of households that have at least one television set tuned to a program for at least 6 of every 15 minutes a program is aired.

Media Panel Data Sources

Share constitutes the percentage of households that have tuned to one specific program at one specific time. Data is collected on television, cable and have video viewing habits through an electronic device called the people meter, connected to a television set. The people monitor continuously monitors and records when a television set is turned on, what channels are being viewed, how much time is spent on each channel, & whos watching. The data is communicated to the central computer by telephone.

 NTI data helps media planners in determining audience volume, demographics and viewing habits. This information is then used to calculate MEDIA efficiency measured as cost per thousand (CPM) that is , how much it costs to reach 1000 viewers. CPM measures a programs ability to deliver the largest target audience at the lowest cost.

 While most data are collected by people meter, Nielson maintains diary panels of 211 local markets measuring the same media habits. AC Nielson Media Research can capture commercial Zapping behavior among the members of its NTI consumer panel groups. Audiometers at home used by AC Nielson ca not be done without the subjects knowledge. Whenever subjects are aware they are being watched, the process is undisguised observation.

The Technology Advancement

The people meter is a microwave based, computerized TV rating system that replaces the old passive meters and handwritten diary system with state-of-the-art electronic measuring. Using AC Nielsons TV household panel members, when a TV is turned on, a simple Question mark symbol appears on the screen to remind the viewers to indicate who is watching the program. Using a handheld electronic device similar to TV remote control, the viewers record who is watching. Another device attached to the TV automatically sends pre- specified information ( e.g. viewers age, program tuned in to, time of program) to AC Nielsons computers. The data is used by them to generate overnight ratings for shows as well as demographic profiles.