Letter from the Council
From Our Council:
The recent Advertising Research Foundation Audience Measurement 8.0 conference was a great event for the Council for Research Excellence (CRE). The ARF provided us a platform for no fewer than three important presentations – on our "Talking Social TV" study, exploring the impact of social media on TV viewing; on our white paper on "The Current State of Marketing Mix Models"; and on our "TV Untethered" study of the relationship of mobile-device usage and TV consumption. There was a gratifying reception for all three. You'll read more about what we reported at ARF in the Latest News update in this edition of the CRE Newsletter.
An academic review of the data from our "Talking Social TV" study was completed recently and the CRE will announce findings from this review at a June 25 luncheon in New York. We invite you to sign up for the luncheon presentation via the "Events" section on the CRE homepage. More detail about the luncheon can be found in our Latest News update.
Also in this edition of the Newsletter, we'll update you on the latest developments from our Digital and Local Measurement committees. And we're happy to welcome our newest members, representing Kimberly-Clark, Tribune Co. and Twitter.
If you or your colleagues have not already done so, please sign up to learn more about the CRE's many activities via any of our regular webinars. Join our LinkedIn group and follow us on Twitter. Also, if you would like to receive future editions of this newsletter, and are not already a subscriber, we invite you to sign up. You can do all these from the CRE homepage.
I also invite anyone working for a Nielsen client organization to volunteer to work on one of our committees. You may contact committee chairs directly or e-mail us at info@researchexcellence.com.
Ceril Shagrin
Executive Vice President, Audience Measurement Innovation and Analytics
Univision Communications, Inc.
Chair, Council for Research Excellence
• Beth Rockwood, Senior Vice President, Market Resources, Discovery Communications, and chair of the CRE's Social Media Committee, along with CRE facilitator Richard Zackon, presented the findings of the CRE's comprehensive "Talking Social TV" study into how social media interaction impacts television viewing. Findings encompassed a quantitative mobile diary survey, conducted by the Keller Fay Group; social media analytics by NM Incite and Bluefin Labs; and ethnographies by Nielsen Life360. The announcement of the findings and the ARF presentation are on the CRE website.
The next phase of the "Talking Social TV" study was an academic review conducted by a team of researchers from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester, and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The CRE will announce findings from this academic review at a June 25 luncheon, beginning at noon, at the Time & Life Building, 1271 6th Avenue, 8th floor, New York. Readers are invited to sign up for the luncheon presentation via the "Events" section on the CRE homepage, or to email any inquiries to us at info@researchexcellence.com.
• David Poltrack, Chief Research Officer of CBS Corporation and chair of the CRE's ROI Committee, accompanied by Jim Spaeth and Alice Sylvester of Sequent Partners, presented findings of a white paper on The Current State of Marketing Mix Models, reflecting some 50 in-person interviews including leading modeling firms, prominent academics, agencies, and modeling clients at major advertisers recruited with the support of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). The CRE's objectives in what is an ongoing effort include the development of an in-depth understanding of principal ROI methods used; defining best practices; and recommending priority areas for industry improvement. The announcement of the findings and the ARF presentation are on the CRE website.
• Laura Cowan, Research Director, LIN Media and co-chair of the CRE's Media Consumption & Engagement (MC&E;) Committee – along with research partner Chris Neal of Chadwick Martin Bailey, presented findings of the CRE's "TV Untethered" study of the relationship of mobile-device usage and TV consumption. The CRE gained insight to how concurrent video media usage affects TV viewing; whether mobile viewing is additive to, or a substitute for, traditional television viewing; and how users access television program content on their devices. The announcement of the findings and the "TV Untethered" ARF presentation and accompanying white paper are on the CRE website.
The CRE's Local Measurement Committee , chaired by Billy McDowell, Vice President of Research at Raycom Media, Inc., has scheduled its report on local measurement for completion in the third quarter.
The Committee will consider changes in Effective Sample Size and ratings trends over time, and will seek to address questions of interest to both buyers and sellers of these data.
BIA/Kelsey is assisting in an in-depth review of Nielsen diary-measurement data. The analysis will encompass two sets of data Nielsen has provided -- on 10-year trends of relative errors in diary markets, and posted advertising schedules.
An update will be provided in a subsequent newsletter.
The CRE's Digital Committee, chaired by Bryon Schafer, Director, Research & Sales Strategy at Hulu, has issued a request for proposal for an ethnographic study to understand the impacts of internet technology and video platform proliferation on video viewing practices from a cultural perspective.
The study will examine how people talk and think about – and value and, ultimately, use – these technologies in relation to their current television/video viewing practices and attitudes; it will also examine relationships with other technologies such as the DVR.
An update will be provided in a subsequent CRE newsletter.
The CRE welcomes its newest members:
- Cheryl Brink, Vice President, Digital Research & Analytics, Scripps Networks Interactive
- Laura Cowan, Research Director, LIN Media
- Tanya Giles, Executive Vice President, Strategic Insights and Research, Viacom Entertainment Group
- Jed Meyer, U.S. Research Director, Annalect, a unit of Omnicom Media Group
- Bryon Schafer, Director of Research and Sales Strategy, Hulu LLC
- Stacey Schulman, Senior Vice President and Chief Research Officer, Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB)
The CRE encourages audience research executives to apply for
membership – to share views and ideas with fellow research leaders
and to become part of our effort to advance the quality and practice
of audience research. We also invite researchers interested in
our work who simply would like to join one of our Committees. In
either case, please drop us a note at info@researchexcellence.com.
More than 370 research professionals and others throughout the media and advertising industries are regularly sharing news and viewpoints on the Council for Research Excellence LinkedIn Group.
Join us on Twitter as well – @CREtalk – where we provide news, views and updates on the CRE and all things audience research.
• Our next "Meet the CRE" webinar will be in August; we hope you can join us. If you are not already receiving our webinar alerts, you can sign up at the CRE homepage.
Please join us for our next “Meet the CRE” webinar, on Tuesday, November 13, 2012, at 2pm ET. If you are not already signed up for our webinar alerts, you can sign up at CRE homepage.
We Want to Hear From You
The CRE seeks to expand the discussion to any and all topics of interest to you. We invite you to submit your suggestions to info@researchexcellence.com
Similarly, please e-mail us if you'd like to get involved with a CRE research committee
Note to Readers
We hope you enjoyed this edition of the CRE Newsletter. You have received this edition because you have already subscribed. If you think a colleague may be interested in receiving future editions of this newsletter, we encourage you to invite them to sign up at the CRE homepage.
Thank you for your interest!
About the Council for Research Excellence
The Council for Research Excellence (CRE) is an independent research group created (in 2005) and funded by Nielsen. CRE is dedicated to advancing the knowledge and practice of audience measurement methodology and comprises senior-level industry researchers representing advertisers, agencies, broadcast networks, cable, syndicators, local stations, and industry associations.
CRE members represent advertising agencies, media-buying firms, media companies, advertisers and industry organizations including ABC, AMC Networks, CBS, Comcast, Cox, Discovery, Disney, GroupM, Horizon Media, Hulu LLC, Kimberly-Clark, LIN Media, Magna Global, the Media Rating Council, Media Storm, the National Association of Broadcasters, NBC Universal, News Corporation, Nielsen, Nomura Securities, Omnicom, Raycom Media, Scripps Networks Interactive, Starcom MediaVest, the Syndicated Network Television Association, TargetCast tcm, the Television Bureau of Advertising, Time Warner, Tribune Co., Twitter, Univision and Viacom.
For more information about the Council for Research Excellence, please visit: http://www.researchexcellence.com/