• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, September 9, 2008

Arbitron has signed up another client for its growing out-of-home video measurement business. Arbitron Custom Research will study store traffic and consumer engagement for a network of digital displays operated by LevelVision, which had installed the screens in over 300 college bookstores nationwide. 

LevelVision hopes the Arbitron study will show a high level of engagement by its College Bookstore Network, given its target audience of young adults.

Like other place-based video networks, LevelVision has been expanding its reach substantially with new venue deals. It is also joining the general move to provide advertisers with more data documenting the reach and influence of the medium. The Out-of-Home Video Advertising Bureau is scheduled to release the details of a new metric for the medium sometime in the next few months.

Research firms are also throwing their hats into the ring, offering ratings and custom research services. Last week, the Nielsen Company and Integrated Media Measurement Inc. released their first out-of-home TV ratings; IMMI provides the technology in the form of a mobile phone to some 1,700 users where signals are transmitted back to Nielsen/IMMI.

Later this year, Nielsen/IMMI will roll out a local service in six markets--New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Denver-- with some 500 users carrying a mobile device in each market. The Nielsen/IMMI syndicated service is launching with two charter clients: sports cable network ESPN and media-buying agency Zenith Media.

Arbitron Custom was recently hired by KidCare TV--a place-based digital video network in general pediatric waiting rooms--to gauge the response of visitors and employees to the network, which delivers content about childhood-related illnesses and preventative health care.

Arbitron has also promoted its Portable People Meter, a passive electronic measurement device, as a measurement option for television viewing outside the home. In January, the company contracted with BroadSign to perform third-party proof-of-play audits for its digital signage network. To make their content measurable by PPM measurement, place-based video networks need only encode it with an inaudible tagging system.

Almost a decade ago, Arbitron proposed partnering with Nielsen to use PPM for TV measurement, but was rebuffed in 2006 when Nielsen terminated its option to join in the PPM commercial rollout. Subsequently, Nielsen signed a deal with IMMI.