Las Vegas -- IAG Research got a nice big endorsement early at the 4A's media conference -- actually before the convention -- when Alan Wurtzel, the president of research and media development of NBC,
said the network would be open to guaranteeing not just ratings but engagement data for many TV marketers for the upfront market set to go this spring. Toyota made a ratings and engagement
guarantee deal last upfront with NBC, and Wurtzel says its success would mean striking other deals with other marketers for this year’s upfront. How many will come to the engagement party?
Wurtzel didn’t say; and IAG couldn’t speculate. David Marans, executive vp of IAG Research, says it’s all about managing network inventory in a new way. You have a three-rated show with an
engagement score of 60 versus a three rated show with an engagement score of 80. That math is easy for TV advertisers, he says. In addition, he says the data seems to be more stable than network
ratings -- even though the Internet panel changes regularly. xx
