TV Ads 'a Waste of Money' for the Back-in-Black Gap†

40% Jump in Profits Indicates Merchandising Initiatives Are Paying Off

Advertising Age, May 26, 2008 — By shunning TV, Gap looks to turn itself around. The brand once known for its peppy, elaborate commercials has struggled in recent years to attract consumers in an increasingly competitive retail environment. But now that it's shelved TV advertising — the brand has been off the airwaves for several quarters — and is focusing on merchandising initiatives, Gap seems to be on the right financial track.

Google CEO Foresees Advertising, Technology Cozying Up

Marketing Daily, April 30, 2008 — Look for the advertising and the technology industries to grow cozier in a move similar to one experienced by the financial industry during the 1970s. That's when a set of scientists and mathematicians developed new metrics, and suddenly a generation of employees focused on analytics joined financial firms to maximize efficiencies and profits, Google chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt told attendees at the 90th annual American Association of Advertising Agencies Leadership Conference on Tuesday in Laguna Niguel, Calif.

Another Piece That Aims to Solve ROI Puzzle†

MediaVest Partners With TRA to Connect Dots Between TV Ads and Shopping Habits

Advertising Age, April 23, 2008 — Publicis Groupe's MediaVest is partnering with a market-research company to answer advertising's million-dollar question: Do TV ads make consumers go out and buy products?

TRA, a media market research company, has developed a new technology that matches the advertising households receive with the products those households actually buy.

The partnership comes as the precise measurability of online advertising is putting TV under increasing pressure to show marketers a return on their investment, and as marketers are demanding more metrics to justify spending on TV.

Nielsen to Buy IAG Research for $225 Million†

Adds Qualitative Measurement to Quantitative Expertise

Advertising Age, April 7, 2008 — If Nielsen can't measure its way to continued dominance of an ever-shifting advertising world, perhaps it can buy its way into it. The media-measurement company today said it had agreed to purchase IAG Research, a company that measures viewer response to ads, TV shows and product placements, for $225 million.

TV Learning Importance of Targeting†

Wall Street Journal, April 4, 2008 — The advertising industry has long had a hunch that consumers are more apt to watch a television commercial if they actually are in the market for the product or service being pitched. Now, they have some evidence.

A 16-month study by cable company Comcast and Starcom MediaVest, a media firm owned by Publicis Groupe, found that households that had ads targeted to them were about a third less likely to change the channel than those that were shown traditional ads.

Is the Ad a Success? The Brain Waves Tell All

New York Times, March 31, 2008 — NEVER mind brainstorms. These days, Madison Avenue is all about brain waves.

That may be overstated, but it is no exaggeration that agencies and advertisers are growing more interested in neuroscience in their never-ending efforts to improve effectiveness.

The ardor of the ad business to adopt the technical tools of biometrics — measuring brain waves, galvanic skin response, eye movements, pulse rates and the like — is increasing as consumer spending, the engine of the American economy, slows.