Nielsen Aims to Measure How Many People Watch TV Outside the Home

(MoneyWatch)  My usual rant about television advertising is that the metrics are too specious and the targeting too broad to really deliver the kind of ROI companies should be demanding in today's tight marketplace. I'm not the only one complaining, and Nielsen has continued to try to make their television rating more granular. Today, the company announced an all-electronic nationwide venture to measure just how many people are watching television outside the home. In other words, when you're watching the game with half an eye at the neighborhood watering hole or looking at Lou Dobbs shake his jowls at the airport, Nielsen wants to measure that.

Similar to how the company normally measures television audiences, the company is using samples of television viewers to extrapolate on overall audience size. However, for this, the company has come up with a higher-tech solution than log books of television habits. From and Ad Age article:

Nielsen is working with IMMI, a Santa Monica, Calif., concern that provides panel members with a mobile phone, asking them to carry it with them wherever they go. The phone is equipped with a technology that creates "digital signatures" of all the audio media -- TV, radio and movies -- to which it is exposed.

Nielsen has had an active year, with the notable acquisition of IAG Research this April for nearly a quarter billion dollars, and announcing suprinsingly strong earnings two weeks ago. Innovative solutions like this show why the company is doing well when many involved in media are struggling.