After the Switch

How C3 ratings continue to change the business

By Steve McClellan

March 25, Adweek

NEW YORK In June of last year, less than a month after Nielsen Media Research unveiled its new commercial ratings system known as C3, NBC's Tonight Show With Jay Leno aired a live 45-second commercial for Garmin's Nuvi car navigational system. It featured Leno sidekick John Melendez expounding on a serious male malady he termed "direction disorder," which often causes men to become "lost, confused and not knowing where to turn."

The timing was no accident: It was the first live spot the late-night program had aired in 14 years. And it was directly tied to the client's desire to try a different technique to keep viewers tuned to its marketing message in the rapidly expanding DVR world, just as the industry was switching to a measurement system that not only measures audiences for commercials but also tabulates playback viewing of the spots.

"Probably most people had no idea they were being pitched a commercial," said Steve Lovell, media sponsorship marketing manager at Garmin and the architect of the spot. "It looked like a skit." He said that post-telecast research showed that effectiveness and awareness levels for the live spot were significantly higher than for many of the company's traditional 30-second spots. The company is planning another live spot on the Tonight Show in the second quarter of this year.

The live Garmin spot illustrates the sharp focus that has been placed this season on viewing patterns of ads, driven largely by the switch to commercial ratings. The adoption of C3 marks the first time in the 60-plus year history of the television medium that the official yardstick for buying and selling airtime has focused on viewing of the spots and not the shows.

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image: Sharp focus has been placed this season on viewing patterns of ads, driven largely by the switch to commercial ratings (Adweek)