Nielsen Outdoor announced the results of its outdoor ratings service in Chicago. The results are the culmination of a three-year joint effort with the industry to develop a dependable, people-based audience measurement system for outdoor advertising that provides ratings data comparable to other measured media.

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The Chicago results revealed that among all demographic groups, men age 35-54 have the highest exposure to outdoor advertising, with the medium delivering particularly well against upper income, full-time-employed demos. The results also showed that the average adult is exposed to 40 outdoor advertising messages each day, which is substantially below the number of messages exposed by the electronic media. This means that outdoor advertising delivers less clutter and more opportunity for consumers, especially commuters on busy roads, to see and absorb advertising messages.

Nielsen Outdoor's data uses portable GPS devices to track the travel patterns of consumers in relation to known outdoor advertising sites.

Said Jon Mandel, Chairman/MediaCom US and Chief Global Buying Officer MediaCom Worldwide: "The introduction of GPS-based ratings is a quantum leap forward for outdoor advertising and we are delighted to be a part of this effort through the Global Outdoor Advisory Council. I find it truly refreshing that the so-called old fashioned medium of outdoor has leapfrogged other media in stepping up to the forefront of accountability provided by modern research. We believe that this will transform the outdoor advertising industry and drive incremental dollars to the medium through increased accountability. In the end, advertisers will be able to measure the value of their outdoor advertising campaigns and their success in reaching targeted consumers."

Other highlights of the results show that:

Exposure to outdoor advertising peaks during the morning commute at 8:00 a.m. and again during the evening commute at 5:00 p.m.

Men age 35-54 led all age and gender groups with an average of 54 exposures to outdoor advertising per day.

Among women, 18-34 year olds led all other female age groups with 39 exposures per day.