My son Theo works as an analyst for The Nielsen Company in New York. When he was visiting us over the Christmas holidays, I asked what he was working on. He replied “I’m babysitting an iPhone.” While this response seems a little odd, I took it in stride. After all, this is the kid who babysat:
- his first grade class’s turtle over Spring Break. Mercifully, Turtle survived, despite The Cat’s diabolical attempts on its life.
- his girlfriend’s Tamagotchi pet. The relationship ended shortly after the pet “died.”
- a computerized doll for sex education class. Ensuring I will NEVER have grandchildren. AND
- his college roommate’s drum set. Which needed to be banged upon frequently to keep it “in tune.” (?)
So babysitting an iPhone seemed…well…normal.
Theo recently sent me a message with a link to this article in AdAge Digital that shed some light on the topic. According to the article, Apple funded a Nielsen study to test the effectiveness of its iAds featuring Campbell’s Soup. (Apparently, the purpose of babysitting an iPhone was to check the iAds on device internally before distributing the iAds to the test market.)
The Nielsen study showed that consumers who viewed an iAd for Campbell’s Soup :
- remembered the BRAND five times more often than TV ad respondents.
- remembered the MESSAGING three times more often than TV ad respondents.
- said they intended to purchase Campbell’s soup four times more than the TV ad respondents.
While the iAds outperformed television ads, Campbell’s does not plan on transferring dollars away from TV and into iAds. Jennifer Gordon, Campbell’s Director of Global Advertising, notes the study was done to validate mobile advertising. On the other hand, Apple is looking for data that would persuade existing marketers to invest in iAds…for a minimum entry fee of $1 million.
It will be interesting to see how this develops…
