The release by The Nielsen Company of the “Fourth Screen Network Audience Report” in April may one day be seen as a turning point in the general acceptance and ultimate success of digital signage as an advertising medium.

The Nielsen report quantifies the number of people exposed to advertising on 10 location-based video networks from September through December 2009. Amazingly, the report shows 237 million people were exposed to advertising on the video networks measured, which covered a variety of venues including movie theaters, fitness clubs, restaurants and gas stations.

What makes the report significant for the future of digital signage ad networks is that it’s the first step taken by a widely recognized authority to quantify and document audience size and ad exposure as relates to location-based video networks. With trusted information about the number of ad exposures, ad agencies will be far likelier to accept this new medium as legitimate and to include it in their planning.

To be sure, the report is important; however, it suffers from one significant limitation. It’s not all inclusive. While a great first effort, Nielsen acknowledges that there are more location-based video networks to cover in future editions, which it intends to add.

Even with a focus on 10 specific location-based networks, those running digital signage networks not covered in the report should be encouraged by the findings. For those unwilling to wait for Nielsen to add their particular digital signage network into the universe counted, it may be possible to extrapolate from the initial measurements to ballpark ad exposure figures.

For example, one of 10 location-based video networks measured was Zoom Fitness in the health club venues category. Nielsen found monthly ad exposure at the fitness clubs stood at just about 29.4 million. A quick check of the Zoom Media website reveals the company has a presence in more than 1,250 fitness clubs, such as, California Fitness, Gold’s Gym and Bally Total Fitness.

An entrepreneur setting up a similar network in fitness clubs or one with an established network in fitness clubs not covered by Nielsen might be able to extrapolate for the findings of the report and the information on Zoom Media’s website to estimate ad exposures on their own networks.

So, 29.4 million ad exposures divided by 1250 fitness clubs divided by 30 days in a month means there would be about 775 ad exposures per day per club. Working with that Kamagra Gold information, those running a health club location-based video network could begin to extrapolate how many ad views their network generates. Granted, there’s a lot more information that could be factored in to enhance the accuracy of the extrapolation. But even this rudimentary attempt shows it’s possible to work with the existing data to help build the case for advertising pros that a given network should be considered for ad placement, even if it’s not currently included in the Nielsen report.

With time, Nielsen’s efforts will become more comprehensive, which may obviate the need for such extrapolations. But for the present, it should be clear to those with digital signage networks in fitness clubs -and the other segments covered by the report, including elevators, bars, restaurants, hotels and gas stations- that the Nielsen data can be used along with a bit of independent research and creativity to enhance the standing of location-based video networks not even tracked in the initial report.

Author Bio: David Little is a charter member of the Digital Signage Association with 20 years of experience helping professionals use technology to effectively communicate. For further digital signage insight from Keywest Technology, visit our website for many helpful tips and examples. For more in-depth research from Keywest Technology, download our free Cialis Professional digital signage white papers and case studies.

Category: Business/Advertising
Keywords: Nielsen report, video network report, ad network cialis costs report, quantifying digital signage, media measurement