• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, July 17, 2007

A new study from Nielsen Media Research has given another boost to place-based video networks, which have proliferated in recent years and are tackling the issue of measurement.

Commissioned by AdSpace, a video display network that operates digital displays in malls, the study found that 47% of all mall visitors had seen content on the AdSpace network, and 34% could recall specific ads that had been displayed. This data was collected through "intercept" interviews by Nielsen, with 610 shoppers at six malls with AdSpace displays, across 18 dayparts.

On average, shoppers watched one of AdSpace's Smart Screen displays 3.3 times per visit, for a total of almost two minutes (114 seconds) viewing time. Each ad is about 10 to 15 seconds long, which translates into roughly three spots per viewing and a total of almost 10 spots viewed during each visit.

Teenage mall shoppers watched the display more often, with 57% of teens 12-17 watching the displays. Those who watched viewed the displays an average of 5.5 times a visit, with a total viewing time of 132 seconds.

AdSpace Mall Network runs a video program at its network of malls called "Today's Top 10," based on mall managers' selections of the best deals at each mall. The network runs a 12-second video spot for each featured product, and 150 retailers contribute content.

According to the In-Store Marketing Institute, in-store media garnered a total $18.6 billion of spending in 2005. Competition to measure the emerging fields of in-store media and place-based video is heating up. In late February, TNS acquired Sorensen Associates to bolster its in-store media-measurement capabilities. TNS is positioning itself as a major competitor to Nielsen In-Store--a newly formed division of NielsenConnect, recently launched to give clients a holistic, global view of different types of media effectiveness.

At the same time, major media agencies are setting up their own in-store services. For example, Mediaedge:cia acquired Retail Media Link and relaunched it as MEC Retail in March 2006.