Nielsen makes outdoor move

Hong Kong - Nielsen Media Research will roll out its outdoor measurement system in Singapore as of next week with Hong Kong the research company's next potential market.

Robert McCann, chairman and CEO of Nielsen Media Research International, said the company is aiming to bring some credible research to the outdoor market.

"We're signing some contracts down there next week. We think that bringing a sophisticated outdoor measurement tool to the market is long overdue," he said.

"The outdoor industry has been measured largely by a bunch of rubber hoses stretched across streets, it's all pretty much by gosh and by golly research and we felt that for big advertisers and media owners, there was a chance to grow their share of advertising budgets."

The Nielsen system uses a GPS-type device called the Nielsen Personal Outdoor Device or Npod, which draws on satellites technology to measure a panel of consumers for a period of time and track their movements 24-hours per day.

McCann said Nielsen will bring demographic segmentation to outdoor measurement in Singapore for the first time.

"We want to bring some credibility to the outdoor medium that they have not had in the past."

Similar systems have already rolled out in South Africa, Chicago, Los Angles and as of next week Singapore.

"Hong Kong is one of the markets we want to look at. Hong Kong is clearly a vibrant outdoor market. I think we could help the outdoor owners in this market here," McCann added.