ThinkTV and Nelson-Field Set Up Smart Lab

In Australia, television industry research firm ThinkTV has partnered with media academic Professor Karen Nelson-Field, to set up a laboratory which will conduct research into the performance of TV advertising.

Established in May by Nine, Seven, TEN and Multi Channel Network/Foxtel, ThinkTV's aim is to help the advertising and marketing community understand how audiences engage with TV, while demonstrating how advertising in broadcast-quality content environments impacts ROI. To launch the new purpose-built ThinkTV Smart Lab, the firm has partnered with Media Intelligence Co (MIC), a joint venture between Nelson-Field (pictured) and artificial intelligence company Jemsoft, which builds media measurement technologies and real-time media research solutions.

The lab is funded by ThinkTV, but the firm says it will remain independent. It will be led by CEO Nelson-Field, who is Professor of Media Innovation at the University of Adelaide and already CEO of MIC. At launch, the lab embarks on a two-year research program to provide advertisers and media agencies with evidence on how multiplatform TV advertising delivers business results, using artificial intelligence technologies 'to remove human error and bias'. The lab will be overseen by a committee that will include ThinkTV representatives and broader industry partners.

The launch follows ThinkTV's announcement that it has commissioned a $1m research project called Payback Australia, to prove the value and return on investment of television for advertisers. ThinkTV CEO Kim Portrate comments: 'There has never been a more important time for the media industry to take the measurement and effectiveness of video advertising seriously and our partnership with MIC shows just how serious Australia's TV industry is about it. The lab's findings will play an important role in evaluating TV's credentials for advertisers who are under more pressure than ever to spend their dollars efficiently and effectively'.

Web site: www.thinktv.com.au .