Zero Hour for Apollo

Project Apollo, the US trial of Arbitron's Portable People Meter media measurement tool together with ACNielsen's Homescan technology, is now up and running with 5,000 households participating. The project is using technology to collect details of consumers' multi-media exposure and resulting shopping behaviour.

The PPM, a small, cell phone-sized device, collects participants' exposure to TV, radio and adverts, while exposure to print media is measured by through more traditional surveys. Homescan tracks packaged goods purchases, allowing cross-referencing of behaviours.

Six advertisers, along with their advertising agencies, have signed up to use data from the six-month Project Apollo pilot.

Dave Thomas, Senior VP at VNU's Nielsen Media Research, explains the potential impact of the project. 'Marketers are increasingly under pressure to demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) of investments. By providing ROI insights based on single-source data rather than modelling assumptions, Apollo establishes a new role as the bridge between the worlds of media and market research.'

According to Linda Dupree, Senior VP at Arbitron: 'When marketers know what actually gets communicated to consumers and how consumers respond in the marketplace, they will be better able to craft messages that will have an impact and make more informed decisions about their media budget and media mix.'

The companies are online at www.vnu.com and www.arbitron.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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