FOSTER CITY, Calif. and New York, July 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nielsen
Company and Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) today announced
an initiative to develop a measurement system for game network advertising
that will help make game software a more competitive advertising platform.
Under the arrangement, SCEA will share with Nielsen game network
traffic and other data from its PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) systems and
PLAYSTATION(R)Network, including PlayStation Home. Nielsen will then
analyze and benchmark the data to create new measurements for calculating
the reach, frequency and effectiveness of game network advertising for the
benefit of the entire industry. Usage data provided by SCEA to Nielsen will
include enabled first- and third-party software titles accessed through
PS3s and PLAYSTATION Network. The initial rollout will begin in the North
American market.
Developed and managed by Nielsen, an independent research organization
with more than 75 years of experience in audience measurement, this
innovative, fully-transparent and highly-accurate measurement system is
intended to mitigate the risk to the advertiser and lead to the growth of
the industry.
Highlights of the arrangement between Nielsen and SCEA include:
-- Nielsen will combine the SCEA census data with its own game usage data
currently collected from more than 12,000 U.S. television households in
its National People Meter panel to generate a more integrated view of
usage and advertising performance.
-- Advertisers and agencies will be able to calculate CPMs across PS3s and
PLAYSTATION Network with greater detail and accuracy.
-- This fall, Nielsen will begin monthly reporting on, and ranking of,
audience statistics and user activity from across PLAYSTATION Network
as part of its syndicated GamePlay Metrics measurement product, which
is scheduled to launch in July 2007.
-- Nielsen is also working with SCEA to identify server data and determine
media data formats that will greatly enhance SCEA's capabilities to
deliver the right ad to the right person at the right time across
PLAYSTATION Network.
The initial results of this joint effort are expected to be released
later this year.
"SCEA and Nielsen intend to introduce a new kind of discipline and
rigor to the measurement of game advertising that will create enormous
value for advertisers, game publishers and game players alike," said Phil
Rosenberg, senior vice president, SCEA. "Working closely with Nielsen,
which has a global footprint that is well-aligned with our own, we look
forward to clearly demonstrating the effectiveness and reach of both
dynamic and static ad placement within games."
"SCEA's contribution of its game census data, combined with Nielsen's
data sets, represents a milestone in our efforts to bring greater
legitimacy and accuracy to game advertising measurement," said Jeff
Herrmann, vice president of Nielsen Games. "By marrying SCEA's server-side
data traffic with our standard ratings metrics, we will be able to provide
advertisers with a much more robust picture of the impact of their game
network advertising and of those consumers who are actually playing games,
all while preserving consumer privacy."
Today, Nielsen collects information on the general usage of game
systems, connected and otherwise, through its National People Meter sample
of more than 12,000 U.S. television households. At launch in July, Nielsen
GamePlay Metrics will provide, for the first time, metered game usage and
demographic information by game title, genre and platform that provides new
insights into the popularity and usage of games among U.S. consumers --
data that can better inform the buying and selling of in- and around-game
advertising.
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with
leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information
(ACNielsen), media information including mobile media (Nielsen Media
Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter,
Adweek), trade shows and online information. The privately held company is
active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the
Netherlands and New York, USA. For more information, please visit,
www.nielsen.com.
About Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. continues to redefine the
entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation(R) and PS one(R) game console,
the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, the PSP(R)
(PlayStation(R)Portable) system, the ground-breaking PLAYSTATION(R)3
(PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system and its online and network services
the PLAYSTATION(R)Network and PLAYSTATION(R)Store.
Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer
Entertainment America Inc. markets the PlayStation family of products and
develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PS one game
console, the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and the PSP system
for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif. Sony Computer
Entertainment America Inc. serves as headquarters for all North American
operations and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment.
"PLAYSTATION", "PlayStation", "PS one" and "PSP" are registered
trademarks and "PS3" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
SOURCE The Nielsen Company
