• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, March 22, 2007

With branded entertainment booming--and playing a visible role in networks' upfront presentations--Nielsen has launched a new tool allowing marketers to conduct faster evaluation of a product placement and then make needed changes.

Known as Place*Values, Nielsen says the Web-based software provides "performance indicators on brand recognition, attitude toward a brand and purchase interest." The system would help marketers that are testing multiple product placements in various programs to gauge what works, based on a series of metrics.

For example, a marketer could use the insights to discontinue the verbal mention of a brand in a reality series--or decide to insert a product in a more niche show, where it may have greater relevance to the audience.

Place*Values metrics are derived, in part, from Nielsen's Product Placement Valuation Study. Some 10,000-plus people were included in an initiative that used 50 broadcast and cable programs and products placements and ads from 200 brands. Citing positive feedback for the effort, Annie Touliatos, Nielsen's director of product development and marketing, added: "We're pleased to build on this foundation with a tool that allows our clients to evaluate, in detail, the performance of their product placements both past and future."

Networks that have signed on include CBS and Fox and cable outlets A&E and Discovery, along with agencies Magna Global and OMD and marketer Sprint.