His system takes into account as many as 60 different factors, Zazza said, such as whether a product appears in the foreground or background, whether a viewer is aware that a brand is on screen, and whether the show's commercials are coordinated with the product placements.
As advertisers and producers become more sophisticated at seeding products into programming, "it becomes more complicated to measure," he said.
Most advertising and media buying agencies have their own ways to measure the success of product placements, but few are willing to discuss their methodology.
That means it might take a long time for companies to adopt standards set by Nielsen -- or by anyone else, for that matter. If advertisers adopt a standard of measurement for product placement, then they would lose their ability to negotiate what they pay, said Devery Holmes, president of product placement firm NMA Entertainment & Marketing.
"Even if a reasonable methodology were developed by a creditable company like Nielsen," she said, "it is very likely that brand media buyers would not endorse it publicly." That's because a single measurement standard could lead to set pricing, which would make it hard for advertisers to negotiate rates.
Still, Nielsen is determined to establish its place in product placement measurement just as it holds sway in TV ratings. "If we do our jobs correctly, we will become the dominant way in which the industry measures product placement," Gould said. He pointed out that if advertisers are the only ones measuring brands in shows, "it would be the people creating the stuff also grading themselves."
The grind of counting all those products and brands isn't about to let up, regardless of whether Nielsen establishes itself as the big gorilla in the business. Technological advances aside, it's still a job that can be done only by humans.
"I didn't wear glasses before I started here," said Lauren Goerig, 24, a coder who works in Nielsen's Shelton facility.
On her desk, crowded with Post-it notes and cans of Red Bull, a computer was playing the CBS drama "Criminal Minds." She quickly tapped on the keyboard when a poster for the Museum of Natural History flashed on the screen. A couple of scenes later, she's clicking again when Special Agent Emily Prentiss says to her colleague, Derek Morgan, "Remember the time when we got on board and they hadn't chilled the Cristal?," catching a reference to the trendy champagne.
The job has a way of rubbing off even in her off-work hours.
"When I watch shows at home, I'll say, 'He's driving a GMC truck,' " she said. "My boyfriend just shakes his head."
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alana.semuels@latimes.com
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Subtle messages
U.S. spending on paid product placement (in millions)
* 2002: $523
* 2003: $698
* 2004: $1,008
* 2005: $1,499
* 2006: $2,167
* 2007: $2,897
Source: PQ Media Branded Entertainment Forecast 2008-12
