A Better Way To Track Media Viewers

Hopefully, measuring video ad exposure and impressions will be a little more reliable now because Nielsen, the long-time leader in TV and radio ad measurement, is now offering ratings across the way consumers currently view media. They are now able, after some waiting time and red-tape, to show how your ads perform on linear TV (standard live Television commercial breaks), connected TV or CTV (ads played while streaming on connected TV), computer and mobile.

Their most recent offering is called Nielsen One Ads. The system measures media consumption by real people-and is validated. So, hopefully for you and your brands, a lot less guessing on what ads are getting the most attention and are working for you.

Let’s look at this year’s Super Bowl and how it was watched. Standard linear TV, which has been measured by Nielsen for years and that advertisers hold ratings accountability for, had a 61% viewership. Out-of-home (meaning they watched it at a party or bar) was 22%, Smart TV (or CTV connected TV) was used by 8% and Internet-connected devices (or CTV) had a viewership of 7%. Standard TV viewing decreased by 13% from the year before, and Smart TV and Internet-connected devices increased by more than 50%. Out-of-home was flat from the year prior.

So, it seems this measurement system by Nielsen will help advertisers get a better picture of how things look. So how much does all this cost? Well, subscriptions reach into the thousands. For now, you can always ask your media sales rep if they have access to the Nielsen One Ads rating system.