Help may be on the way for marketers wondering whether their advertising is working. New technology is being developed by established audience-measurement companies, as well as by a handful of
newcomers that will help advertisers gauge the connection between media exposure and consumer behavior. One such company is Integrated Media Measurement Inc., a start-up that is using specially
adapted cell phones to measure what consumers listen to and see. The firm has developed software that helps the phones take samples of nearby sounds, which are identified by comparing them against a
database. The company says the technology can track exposure to CDs, DVDs, videogames, sporting events, audio and video on portable gadgets and movies in theaters. "For the first time, you may be able
to get an answer to one of the holy-grail questions--is my promo working?" says Alan Wurtzel, president of research for General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal unit, who has been briefed on the new
system. "It's a very interesting methodology." Another company, Media Audit, is also developing similar cell phone measurement technology, while Arbitron is in the process of making a new pager-sized
media-measurement device along with its portable People Meter, which it has been testing in Houston.
advertisement
advertisement
Read the whole story at WSJ (paid subscription required) »
