News

Nielsen study shows Adspace DOOH viewership up 47% in past two years

November 17, 2009

A new study from Nielsen Media Research shows that 65 percent of mall traffic views Smart Screens in the Adspace Digital Mall Network, up from 47 percent as seen in the same study in April 2007. Overall impressions increased 30 percent versus the 2007 results. This is the second audience study Nielsen has conducted for Adspace.

Adspace attributes the increase in viewership to a number of improvements made over the last two years. More engaging editorial content was rolled out in response to extensive consumer research.

In addition to the "Today's Top Ten program", which highlights the best deals in the mall that day, the network has added "Essentials," a collection of seasonal items, and newly launched "Trend Alert," which showcases the must-have trends of the season.

"The content has always been a key differentiator for Adspace," said Bill Ketcham, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Adspace Networks. "We have conducted a significant amount of research to understand the mall shoppers, and give them programming that captures their attention."

Adspace has also increased the caliber of its advertisers, including strong participation from Hollywood studios, consumer packaged goods brands and telecommunications companies. Additionally, all content and most advertising is now shown in high-definition. 

"The viewer only sees 25 percent of the color spectrum with standard-definition content," said Keith Kelsen, author of the upcoming book "Unleashing the Power of Digital Signage – Content Strategies for the 5th Screen." "High definition delivers 75 percent of the color spectrum, and the higher resolution makes the screen appear to be a natural ‘window' to the world, enhancing its memorability."

Further, the Nielsen study shows commercial awareness increasing dramatically among total mall visitors. Ads from Sony Pictures, Claritin, Olay and Estée Lauder were tested, and the average awareness score increased 44 percent versus 2007.

"This landmark study will provide additional comfort to those brand marketers who are aggressively moving dollars from traditional television to our network," said Dominick Porco, chairman and CEO of Adspace Networks. "Our continued progress in delivering higher levels of viewing and commercial awareness makes our value proposition even more compelling versus television." 

The new study also brings to light compelling improvements in CPMs. With impressions increasing 30 percent, the network's cost per thousand viewers declined from $4.89 to $3.76 against people ages 12 and older, based on the current rate card.

The study also measured the audience metrics recommended by the Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau (OVAB), a forum created for interested advertisers, agencies, place-based video networks and their suppliers. OVAB defines an impression as a person in a screen's viewing zone that notices the screen and is in the zone for a length of time equal to the loop length (i.e., in a position to see every commercial in the loop). According to Nielsen, Adspace generates 4.9 impressions per viewer and 3.2 impressions per average mall visitor, representing a 49-percent increase versus the 2007 Nielsen study.   Methodology

On-site exit interviews were conducted in six cities with malls that are representative of the Adspace Digital Mall Network footprint. Each mall was visited during three different dayparts and resulted in 703 interviews conducted among persons ages 12 and older, who were selected at random. The field work was conducted in September 2009.