Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Nielsen Redefines Rules of Engagement

It's not how often that matters, it's for how long.

At least that's what Nielsen/NetRatings now believes when it comes to assessing the value of exposure to advertising. The metrics company has changed how it measures the reach of websites by now emphasizing the time people spend on a site instead of the number of page views, according to MediaPost.

Nielsen is changing with the evolution of the online experience, which now includes much more video and interactivity through technologies such as Flash and AJAX that do not require reloading pages.

I agree with the premise that the longer readers (viewers?) spend looking at a page with an ad on it, the more likely that the ad will have an impact on purchasing decisions and brand retention. However, the number of ads is also important, as video and interactive technologies to date have incorporated fewer ads than the old static web did. Also, interactive web experiences require more attention than browsing a text-heavy article, something that advertisers need to consider.

I take issue with considering instant messaging as "time spent" because IM ads have less impact than display or interactive ads. So saying AOL has much broader reach based on the ubiquity of their IM client is a stretch.

Posted By John Gartner at 10:28 AM
Permanent Link: Nielsen Redefines Rules of Engagement | Comments (0)

Post a Comment

Name:
Email:
WebSite:
Comment:
Remember Me
Subscribe