Nielsen Areas – Still Relevant for Media Planning?
AC Nielsen divides Germany into seven approximately equally sized groups of federal states. In most cases, several federal states are grouped together based on similar market potential (primarily purchasing power and consumer behavior). The Nielsen area divisions are particularly relevant for sales, marketing, and advertising.
Breakdown of Nielsen Areas in Detail:
- Nielsen Area I: Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Bremen, Lower Saxony
- Nielsen Area II: North Rhine-Westphalia
- Nielsen Area III a: Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland
- Nielsen Area III b: Baden-Württemberg
- Nielsen Area IV: Bavaria
- Nielsen Area V: Berlin
- Nielsen Area VI: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt
- Nielsen Area VII: Thuringia, Saxony
This breakdown mainly serves to provide an overview of markets and highlight differences in consumer behavior. In this context, questions such as:
- “Where is the most beer consumed?”
- “Where is the most milk consumed?”
These insights allow companies to launch new products or conduct advertising campaigns.
Media Planning in Subregions
For planning regional campaigns (regional marketing), the division into Nielsen Areas is too broad, as these are not homogeneous geographic structures. However, with limited advertising budgets, Nielsen placements can be a sensible option. For example, popular magazines often offer partial placements by Nielsen areas for ad placement. Nielsen regions are also often used for regional test marketing.
Finding the Right Nielsen Area Using Market-Media Analysis
By utilizing market media analyses, such as b4p (Best for Planning), the media planner can identify which submarkets or Nielsen areas the target group is disproportionately represented in (Index > 100).For instance, it can be identified that Baden-Württemberg (Nielsen Area III b) has above-average purchasing power. In this case, the planner would certainly not place a high-priced product in East Germany (Nielsen Areas VI + VII), as purchasing power there is lower. Media planners typically break down the geographical coverage of Germany into smaller units and plan from national to “hyperlocal” depending on the budget, product, and objectives.
Geographic Structures as a Basis for the Media Planner:
- 83.2 million inhabitants in Germany (as of 2021)
- 7 Nielsen Areas
- 16 Federal States
- 19 Government Districts
- 401 Districts
- 10,789 Municipalities
And within the municipalities, further subdivided into neighborhoods, streets, and so-called microcells (consisting of at least 6 households)
Your Contact Person for the Appropriate Nielsen Areas
Trebbau also uses market-media analyses as part of media planning to identify the best areas (e.g., Nielsen Areas) for relevant target groups. We are happy to offer you our expertise and provide professional media planning. Contact our media specialist Heike Oeckinghaus (oeckinghaus@trebbau.com, Tel.: 0221/37646 – 391). She will be happy to advise you on the options.