Indiantelevision.com Team

(25 September 2006 2:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Tivo, which innovates in the arena of advertising solutions and television services for digtal video recorders (DVR) in the US and and Information Resources (IRI), have launched the IRI TiVo Consumer Insights Suite.

It is comprised of two new services, providing advertisers and brand marketers with the ability to fully understand the impact digital video recorder (DVR) technology has on consumer viewing patterns and subsequent product sales, as well as the ability to quantify the effectiveness of specific advertising campaigns and brand recognition programmes in Tivo DVR households.

The two parties are expanding their existing relationship. Utilising second-by-second analysis and tracking it to actual consumer purchasing decisions, the expanded relationship provides first-of- its-kind viewer and consumer insights from a new national DVR research panel combined with new media and message testing capabilities to fully understand and better leverage the evolving impact of DVRs.

Tivo CEO Tom Rogers says, "Tivo continues to take innovative steps to help advertisers analyse and measure the effectiveness of their campaigns by combining unrivalled, second- by-second viewer data with verified consumer purchase decisions."

The IRI Tivo Consumer Pulse solution provides advertisers with new TV viewer and consumers sales insights on the effect of DVR time-shifting behaviour on sales through an opt-in panel of viewing participants throughout the US. The new solution identifies sales impact for individual products and brands, delivers new insights on
consumers being impacted, and provides new information on the viewing behaviours that actually drive the impact.

Using an opt-in panel of Tivo homes, generic DVR homes and non-DVR homes, IRI measures brand purchases to deliver a new understanding of brand performance in DVR households and the impact of DVRs on product launches, brand extensions, and established brands. Tivo then measures second-by-second commercial viewership in the homes with Tivo service, making it possible for brand purchase results to be traced and compared to the actual viewership of commercials.

Through the IRI behavior scan DVR solution, brand marketers, advertisers, advertising agencies, media networks and cable operators will be able to test specific advertising creative while simultaneously tracking the purchasing behaviour of Tivo households and compare that with generic DVR and non-DVR households within the same market.

Advertisers will benefit from the highly-controlled, split-test environment, enabling them to execute different advertising plans based on what is most actionable and relevant to their target audience. Advertisers and media buyers will also be able to experiment with media, mix, and creative strategies to prepare for a world of DVR ubiquity before it becomes a reality.

IRI president and CEO Scott W. Klein says, "DVR penetration continues to grow throughout the US and advertisers need to be equipped with the most informative insights and solutions available to maximise effectiveness and ROI of marketing communications."

IRI president of Business and Consumer Insights Sunil Garga says, "In this innovative media landscape, advertisers must be equally innovative in understanding consumers' media habits to effectively reach their target market. Using the unique combination of IRI Tivo Consumer Pulse information and behavior scan testing capabilities with second-by-second Tivo data, advertisers are now empowered with capabilities to fully leverage DVR technology and connect with their desired consumers in the correct way."

Tivo and IRI first partnered in 2004 when IRI supplied Tivo DVRs to a subset of its behavior scan household panelists, providing a consortium of select major CPG companies critical data on the impact of their advertising programmes.

All of the panelists who choose to participate in the program have expressly agreed to "opt-in" to allow Tivo to track their exact viewing behaviour in order to form the basis for comparison.