• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, October 25, 2010

The Sundance Channel, which does not take traditional ads, said it has worked with Nielsen to develop a new metric that goes beyond exposure and into engagement to help give advertisers a sense of the effectiveness of their branded entertainment campaigns. Tabbed the "Measurement Innovation Metric" (MIM), and commissioned by the network, it involves an online sample to gauge effectiveness of branded content, which can then be compared to traditional advertising on other networks.

Each campaign has an MIM score given to it. Sundance said that score allows for insight into "audience loyalty and engagement as well as receptivity to advertising."

Nielsen will come up with a MIM score by surveying 3,000 people online; calculations take into account audience response as well as reach and frequency.

"Rather than measuring viewership alone, MIM uses a mix of quantitative and qualitative data to gauge the overall effectiveness of a campaign," stated Daniel Marcu, vice president, research, IFC & Sundance Channel. "While 'ROI' and 'engagement' have been buzzwords in the last few years, we're excited to be the first to introduce an actual metric that proves both."