In light of data that measures the relationship between click through rates and ROI, will the online ad world move beyond its longtime fascination with the click through?

Charles Buchwalter, Senior Vice President, Research & Analytics
There has been much talk in the Internet industry around the importance of the “long tail” (niche content and service-oriented sites) and how consumers gravitate to it. The central concept is that people tend to be most engaged in content that is core to their specific interests, rather than more generalized content.
Looking at our newly expanded panel that includes more than 30,000 sites, we have found that short tail sites (those with a greater than 1 percent reach) remain the most engaging …

Voters not yet committed to either candidate were 12% more engaged by TV coverage of the GOP convention than the Democratic convention, according to an analysis released Monday by Nielsen IAG.
“Engagement” refers to the amount of attention paid to a television program by the average viewer.  Nielsen measures TV engagement by questioning a representative panel of viewers about their recall of specific telecasts’ content.
John McCain’s acceptance speech on September 4 drew the most attentive audience of uncommitted viewers, Nielsen reported.  Telecasts of Barack Obama’s and Sarah Palin’s acceptance speeches on …

Senators McCain and Obama spent about the same on Olympics TV advertising — between $5 and $6 million, Adweek reported Monday.
But McCain got much more bang for his advertising bucks, according to an analysis by Nielsen IAG.
Nielsen’s survey of 1,600 likely general election voters who watched the Beijing Games found that McCain’s Olympic ads more effectively communicated a basic message, were recalled by more viewers, and triggered a larger intent-to-vote increase among viewers than ads run by Obama’s campaign. 
On average, the two McCain ads that were surveyed — “Celebrity” and “Washington’s …

Are drug advertisements losing their zing?
According to Nielsen IAG, this year’s pharmaceutical commercials have been far less memorable for consumers than drug ads aired in 2007, Brandweek reported Friday.
Nielsen IAG ranked the most-recalled prescription drug ads in 2007 and 2008, and found that consumer recall indexes for this year’s pharma ads were significantly lower than indexes for the most memorable prescription drug commercials in 2007.
“The overall average has come down. A high bar was set, but now it’s just not as high,” Fariba Zamaniyan, Senior Vice President, healthcare, Nielsen IAG, told …

Nielsen and Digital Media Group (DMG) announced last week the results of their joint study of the effectiveness of LCD screen advertising in the Shanghai subway.  The research is the first of its kind conducted in China.
Results of an initial survey conducted during two weeks in late June show that DMG’s 4,110 multimedia displays on four Shanghai subway lines were viewed by 3,055,000 passengers.
DMG and Nielsen will track multimedia subway display viewership on a regular, long term basis in China.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the number of televisions mounted atop gas pumps have skyrocketed since their introduction in 2006. 
Programming at the pumps varies by location and TV provider, but all offer heavy rotations of 15-second ads.
The story cited a recent study by Gas Station TV and Nielsen, which found that 70% of people who watched the gas station ads remembered the products advertised, while 89% of consumers surveyed were willing to buy a product after seeing an ad on televisions attached to gas pumps.

On Monday, the Los Angeles Times ran a feature on television product placement and Nielsen’s efforts to measure this fast growing new segment of the advertising industry.  
The story focused on Nielsen’s Product Placement Service, which tracks product placement occurrences, and Nielsen IAG, which measures the effectiveness of advertising and product placements.
Alan Gould, Co-Chief Executive, Nielsen IAG, told the LA Times that Nielsen aims to provide the first comprehensive service for tracking product placement.  “If we do our jobs correctly, we will become the dominant way in which the industry measures …

Adweek reported Monday that a Marco Polo-inspired commercial for the Nissan Rogue crossover SUV was the “most liked” Spanish-language TV commercial for the first half of 2008, according to Nielsen IAG.
A commercial’s likability score reflects the percentage of TV viewers who recall the brand advertised and report liking a particular ad “a lot.”  Nielsen IAG’s panel includes almost 20,000 mostly Spanish-dominant Hispanic viewers living throughout the U.S.
Barbara Zack, managing director, chief strategic officer, Nielsen IAG told Adweek that, in general, humor “usually resonates well with viewers.”  

Taco Bell’s Fruista Freeze spot, which features a giant talking turtle, topped Nielsen IAG’s list of the 10 most-liked new TV ads featured in Advertising Age on Wednesday. 
The Ad Age list also ranked the 10 most-recalled ads for the four-week period from May 19 to June 15, 2008.  Cymbalta’s “Where does depression hurt; Who does depression hurt?” ad topped that list.
Nielsen IAG measures consumer engagement with television programs, national commercials and product placements.