TAB Launches New “Eyes On” Ratings

The Traffic Audit Bureau is fine-tuning the way it measures ratings for out-of-home advertising. The new “Eyes On” measurement will add information from mailed surveys about destinations and interviews with drivers who keep weeklong travel logs to driver and pedestrian traffic counts.

The data will be analyzed to provide a “visibility adjustment” for each billboard, which will let advertisers know not only how many cars drove by the billboard, but how many people noticed the ad and remembered it. Outdoor companies will no longer be able to get away with billboard signs with compromised visibility, whether too far from the side of the road or half-covered by overgrown trees. Furthermore, unlike any other medium, the quality of outdoor creative will have an impact on the measurement, as it will affect the number of people who notice and remember the message.

This new system will also provide demographic information, such as gender, age, race and income level. It will answer the question of “how many,” as well as ”who,” “what,” “how often” and “where.”
This richness of quantification will allow advertisers to more precisely understand their audience and make better decisions about billboard locations.


--Tessa G.

Wheelie cool

The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute’s Traffic Safety Division has an important but challenging mission: to reduce death, injury, property damage and the economic costs associated with traffic crashes on Indiana highways.

Perhaps most difficult is making authority and safety seem cool. But ICJI’s new campaign, starting today on TV, radio and billboards, has an authority figure of a different variety: 2006 Moto GP champ Nicky Hayden.

Nicky’s a great spokesperson. He’s got the street credit to talk to a thrill-seeking crowd. As a motorcycle racing pro, he appeals to the nontraditional outsider. And he’s a winner, so he represents something to aspire to.

Nicky also has charisma. Watch how he delivers the last line of this TV spot. “Save a life and be aware: motorcycles are everywhere” could easily devolve into a sing-song rhyme. But Nicky says it like a friendly reminder from one cool guy to another. You wouldn’t want to cut this guy off in traffic, right?

--Julianne W.