Nielsen to Collect Data on Product Placements

Earlier this week, I wrote about the movement towards product placements in American television. Some people have predicted that the 30 second spot will be dead as a practice in 5-10 years. There does seem to be more and more signs that product placements are here to stay–though it is not clear how they can possibly replace the revenue generated by current advertising practices nor is it clear how many placements make sense within a single program.

Nielsen Media Research, the established name within the industry for tracking audience behavoir, has announced it will now be collecting data for its clients on when and where placements for their products occur and whether they are active (showing the product in use) or passive (showing the product in the background of a shot). So far, it will not be separating out data on how many viewers were exposed to that placement, though one can make a reasonable guess on the basis of the ratings for the show where it occured.