Nielsen starts up another mobile measurement service

Starting in July, The Nielsen Co. will weigh in on the behavior of mobile subscribers through a new measurement service called Nielsen Wireless, which will examine how many people access the mobile Internet, mobile video and other content.
Nielsen Wireless’ first product, Mobile Vector, will rely on information gleaned from Nielsen’s National People Meter TV sample. The company said that the service is designed to identify how subscribers of different carriers consume different types of media in the home; help carriers develop more efficient advertising; give mobile content producers information on which mobile content distributor will best help them extend their brands; and help companies establish competitive positioning and differentiation.
“The value of an entertainment medium is directly proportional to how well it is measured,” said Nielsen vice president Jeff Hermann, who leads Nielsen Wireless as well as the company’s video game measurement service, Nielsen Games. “Reliable and accurate measurement of mobile consumers will enable advertisers to properly evaluate the mobile marketing opportunity.”
Nielsen said it plans to expand the effort later this year to include a survey of mobile users’ mobile content consumption.
The new division is separate from the company’s current Nielsen Mobile business, which focuses on measuring ringtone downloads and has deals with various carriers to monitor ringtones and over-the-air music downloads. Information will be shared across the two divisions, according to Nielsen spokeswoman Karen Gyimesi, but Nielsen Wireless will delve more deeply into mobile devices, the demographics of mobile users and tying the information back to traditional media.