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Nielsen Steering Committee Begins to Take Shape

Apr 4, 2005  •  Post A Comment

The client members of a Nielsen Media Research steering committee designed to give clients a larger role in improving Nielsen’s service are expected to be in place and ready to meet by late May.

Nielsen has hired media research consultant Richard Zackon to grapple with the steering committee structure, the members’ roles and the process of choosing committee projects. Nielsen is investing some $2.5 million in the steering committee and its projects.

Nielsen President and CEO Susan Whiting sketched out in a communiqué to clients last month what Mr. Zackon, a former research director with the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau and Court TV, has been assigned to do.

Earlier this year Ms. Whiting promised regular updates on significant initiatives that Nielsen announced in February. On other initiatives:

  • The steering committee of the advertiser advisory council will consist of six “very senior executives representing major advertising categories,” Ms. Whiting wrote in her communiqué. Some clients already have volunteered and other potential members will be sought out in the next few weeks. The council will meet twice a year and consult with Nielsen on “broad trends in advertiser-related research.”

  • A new high-speed processor will be added in April to further speed up the response time for clients who crunch data with Nielsen’s Galaxy Navigator system. “Navigator’s response time was greatly improved in February,” Ms. Whiting wrote.

  • Results of a study on 30-second data will be provided to clients in April to help Nielsen and clients decide how to proceed with plans to study what are called “subminute” ratings, or data given in increments of less than a minute.

    In other news, Nielsen announced that the Arizona Diamondbacks have signed a new one-year agreement for Nielsen Sports’ Sponsorship Scorecard, which provides ratings to both teams and advertisers.