In Foray Into TV, Google Is to Track Ad Audiences

[KevinG]

Google, which dominates the market for advertising on the Internet, seems to be hoping to do the same thing on television.

The company is set to announce a partnership today with the Nielsen Company, the voice of authority in measuring television audiences, that will give advertisers a more vivid and accurate snapshot than ever before of how many people are viewing commercials on a second-by-second basis, and who those people are.

Since May, Google has been selling ads on the 125 national satellite channels distributed by EchoStar Communications’ DISH Network. Cable networks routinely provide distributors with a few minutes each hour for local commercials; Google is responsible for a portion of EchoStar’s local time and creates an online auction market for it.

Google then analyzes the data from set-top boxes to determine exactly which ads were watched or skipped, with a second-by-second breakdown. With Nielsen’s help, Google will begin to take that information and overlay sampling-based ratings, adding a rich demographic layer to the raw numbers that EchoStar provides.

Google TV Ads is analogous to — and a complement to — the Google AdWords service that the company offers online. Both give advertisers the ability to buy, sell and deliver advertisements across many media properties (either satellite channels or Web sites) and to evaluate the reach of each ad, making adjustments as needed.

The reports from Google can pinpoint the moment when viewers most commonly changed the channel, potentially helping marketers shape the creative work on their commercials. For instance, if viewers are turning the channel after seven seconds, the agency might revisit the opening of the ad.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/24/bu...th&oref=slogin

Write this down so you remember you heard it from me first...

The day will soon come when your TV and your computer are tied into one another and you will be served ads on each based on your surfing behavior.

You may watch a TV program that gives advice to new parents and then go online and receives banner ads for a coupon to buy diapers.