Vibrant Market for New Consultancy

Three former execs of Nielsen Entertainment have formed an MR and advertising consultancy, Interpret LLC. The firm will help clients plan, test and measure content on new media platforms such as the Internet and the booming in-game advertising space, further boosted by developments today.

In the second half of March, Nielsen Entertainment filed a lawsuit against the three, Michael Dowling, Grant Johnson and Jason Kramer, claiming they had misappropriated its trade secrets, and confirmed that they had been fired from their positions. Dowling ran Nielsen Interactive Entertainment, for which Johnson worked as a VP, while Kramer was Executive VP and General Manager at Nielsen NRG. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter magazine on 20 March, Dowling absolutely denied any wrongdoing.

The new firm's services will include helping studios and networks optimize their cross-platform content and promotional strategies, advising technology providers on improving the consumer experience, and helping advertisers place and measure campaigns across both traditional and new media platforms. The latter include video games, with in-game advertising poised to explode according to analysts, and interest boosted today by the appointment of PlayStation pioneer Chris Deering and Omnicom Vice Chairman Bruce Nelson to the board of in-game advertising solutions leader IGA Worldwide, Inc.

In a recent interview with GameDaily (http://biz.Gamedaily.com ), Dowling said the goal in setting up Interpret was 'to fill a void in this marketplace by building a company that follows consumers' leads in breaking down content silos, and to help media, content and technology companies realize the true value of their brands.'

Comparing the new start-up with established providers like Nielsen, Dowling described it as 'methodology-agnostic... We are not tied to antiquated 'tried-and-true' methodologies.' He also said the work environment was 'more like an ad agency/branding consultancy than a typical research firm'.

IGA, recently voted by ad industry leaders as the 'Breakout Company of the Year 2006', received a $12 million investment from three backers in February this year. Together with the seniority and high profile of today's new arrivals this reflects the massive potential envisaged for in-game ads. Deering is a former President of Sony Entertainment Europe and is recognised as one of the pioneers of the videogame industry, masterminding the launch of PlayStation 1 and 2 as well as PSP. Nelson is a former Vice Chairman at Young and Rubicam Inc. and Executive VP of McCann Erickson Worldwide.

Interpret is online at www.interpretllc.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.