NEW YORK IAG Research, a company that gauges TV ad effectiveness through daily online surveys, said it has reached an agreement with MindShare for In Program Performance, IAG's syndicated product placement service.
WPP Group's MindShare will use the service, which measures viewers' recall and perceptions of all product placement, sponsorships and branded entertainment in prime time, to optimize media buying strategies across reality, sitcoms, dramas and sports programming.
Since it launched its In Program Performance service in Oct. 2003, IAG has signed several advertisers to the service, such as American Express and General Motors, but Mindshare is the research company's first media agency client.
"We looked at several products and found the IAG product superior for the relevant and actionable data they collect for virtually every night of the year. We found their offering very compelling," said David Marans, senior partner and director of consumer insights for MindShare, whose clients include American Express, Sears, Ford and Dominos Pizza.
Agencies are increasingly looking to research services to help determine the value of product placement in programming for their clients.
In September, ZenithOptimedia Group was the first major agency to sign a multi-year agreement with Nielsen Media Research for PlaceViews, the research company's new quantitative product placement service.