• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, March 13, 2007

The influential Television Advertising Committee of the Association of National Advertisers has issued a white paper calling for precise, "brand-specific" commercial ratings that answer the question: How many people had the opportunity to see my spot?

The push came as Nielsen prepares the rollout of new ratings data based on the audience of commercial minute averages in TV programs.

The initiative is the latest volley in a hotly contested debate on the role of TV commercial ratings heading into this year's upfront advertising marketplace. In a white paper distributed to members, the ANA committee makes the case that Nielsen's new average commercial minute ratings are not sufficient for many big TV advertisers as they confront new challenges to TV commercial exposure, and as they seek new ways to measure the effectiveness of their TV advertising outlays.

One of the nation's largest advertisers, Kellogg Co. Senior Director-Advertising & Media Services Andrew Jung, will make the committee's case publicly March 20 during the ANA's TV Advertising Forum in New York. The white paper, meanwhile, suggests he will take an aggressive tack that debunks Nielsen's plans.

"Recently there has been movement towards providing advertisers with ratings for 'average commercial minutes'," the paper notes, adding: "While the step towards providing an average rating for all commercials in a television program is helpful, advertisers want even more granular data. They want brand-specific commercial ratings that can answer the question, 'How many people actually had the opportunity to see my spot?'."

The paper asserts that "true brand-specific commercial ratings" will enable TV advertisers to realize other benefits, as well, including:

Serving as a copy-testing tool to identify the stronger and weaker executions within a commercial pool, enabling advertisers to pull (or fix) weaker spots and heavy up on stronger ones.

Functioning as an indicator for commercial wear out.

Providing a better understanding of impact differences related to such factors as pod position, length of creative, and national versus local placement.

Better establishing the value of in-program and in-game features and sponsorships.

Helping marketers understand how DVR usage habits impact all of the above. Most importantly, brand-specific commercial ratings could become an invaluable tool for campaign management, providing a much fuller picture of what now is a largely one-dimensional analysis. Ultimately, they could provide a foundation upon which other metrics, such as consumer engagement, could be built. This richer reservoir of data would truly help marketers make better decisions.