NEW YORK, N.Y., and ST. PETERSBURG, FL. - December 14, 2009 – The Nielsen Company, the world’s largest provider of media and consumer information and analytics, and Catalina Marketing Corporation, the global leader in consumer-driven print communications, today announced they have formed Nielsen Catalina Ventures to create the next generation of precision media solutions and return on investment (ROI) measurement tools to allow consumer packaged goods (CPG) and media companies to more effectively link the marketing exposures consumers see with what products they actually buy.
The 50-50% joint venture will integrate information from Nielsen’s industry-leading TV, Internet and household purchase panels, with purchase data from more than 50 million shoppers from a cross-section of retailers in Catalina Marketing’s network.
By directly and anonymously linking consumers’ television and online usage with in-store purchase behavior, Nielsen Catalina Ventures will enable CPG marketers and media companies to understand how well media campaigns are driving actual consumer buying behavior. This unprecedented level of insight will help marketers shape their marketing and media campaigns for a greater return on investment. The JV will build on the success of Nielsen’s leading Internet ad effectiveness business – and create the industry’s first TV ROI measurement service using data from Nielsen’s National People Meter panel.
“As consumers become more sophisticated and media platforms continue to fragment, advertisers must be able to build more precise and measurable media plans,” said David Calhoun, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Nielsen Company. “The only way to get there is with faster, deeper information. Nielsen and Catalina’s combined capabilities provide comprehensive, scalable solutions for clients to better shape their marketing investments and measure their campaign ROI with far greater precision, speed and agility. We are pleased to partner with Catalina Marketing in this first step toward a holistic measure of ROI that will redefine accountability in the CPG space.”
“Understanding and adapting communications to more accurately reach a brand’s most relevant customers takes a level of granular analysis that doesn’t exist today,” said Dick Buell, Catalina Marketing’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “This new company offers a depth of insight that allows for more intelligent marketing campaign development, management and measurement. We look forward to the advancements promised by our partnership with Nielsen, and the blending of each organization’s expertise.”
“The ability to understand how advertising influences how consumers shop and what brands they buy continues to be an important question for our company. We look forward to working with The Nielsen Company and Catalina Marketing in this innovative new venture,” said John P. Bilbrey, President, Hershey North America.
“Now more than ever we need new approaches to link Nielsen’s benchmark view of what consumers watch on television with how they spend their time online, and then understand how that attention to advertising translates into real shopping motivations," said Laura Klauberg, Vice President, Global Media, Unilever. "This collaboration is another important step forward in bringing these insights directly to marketing and media executives across our industry."
Nielsen Catalina Ventures will launch its first precision media solutions in the first half of 2010. Nielsen’s existing television and online precision media businesses, which currently use Nielsen’s Homescan purchase panel to match media consumption with purchase behavior, will be integrated with Catalina Marketing’s shopper data. This will allow analyses for many more brand campaigns than is currently possible. And for the first time ever, the television offering will be based on data from Nielsen’s National People Meter panel, the industry currency, to create solutions for measuring the sales impact of TV advertising campaigns.
“The joint venture’s mission is to provide solutions that integrate all major media. This will empower marketers and their agencies to better plan, manage and execute more accurate and effective media buys based on consumer behavior,” said Mike Nazzaro, Chief Executive Officer, Nielsen Catalina Ventures. “We believe that marketers who use this approach will realize a significant improvement in marketing effectiveness and efficiency relative to current performance.”
The joint venture will be a separate legal entity based in Cincinnati, Ohio, with both Nielsen and Catalina Marketing contributing data, talent and other resources. Nazzaro, who was selected by Nielsen and Catalina Marketing to run the JV, is a former Nielsen executive, P&G executive and entrepreneur.
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications. The privately held company is active in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit www.nielsen.com.
About Catalina Marketing Corporation
Catalina Marketing owns and operates one of the largest print media vehicles in the world -- Pointer Media Network. Pointer Media enables brand managers, marketers, advertisers, media agencies and retailers to leverage the network’s sophisticated database of 250 million weekly shopping transactions with direct-to-consumer communication opportunities. Media distribution channels include 23,000 mass, drug and grocery locations, as well as 17,000 pharmacies facilitating engagement with 125 million patients. Catalina Marketing is based in St. Petersburg, Florida with operations throughout the United States, Japan and Europe. For more information, please visit www.catalinamarketing.com.
