Carat North America Pact Includes Nielsen//NetRatings Services

New York City-based Nielsen Media Research signed a new,
seven-year contract with Carat North America
that includes a separate deal for the Nielsen//NetRatings Internet
measurement service.

The agreement includes electronic access to the full range of national
broadcast, cable and syndicated information provided by Nielsen Media
Research. Another agreement involved Monitor-Plus, the competitive
advertising intelligence service from Nielsen Media Research. Financial terms
were not disclosed.

Carat is owned by Aegis plc and is based in London. It has 77 offices in 66
cities across 30 countries and employs more than 2,900 people worldwide,
including more than 500 in North America.

The agreement supports both current and future methodologies that Nielsen
Media Research will use to measure television in tomorrow’s digital
environment. A new electronic metering system, called the Active/Passive
Meter, is being tested in 500 installed households in the Northeast U.S.

David Verklin, chief executive officer of Carat North America, said that “a
key part of Carat’s mission is to create partnerships with the leading
experts in the media research industry in order to apply cutting-edge
research for the benefit of our clients. This new agreement with Nielsen
Media Research is a demonstration of that commitment.”

In the past 30 days, Nielsen Media Research has announced a series of 16
major agency and agency group signings, including MediaVest Worldwide, True
North, The Omnicom Group, Young & Rubicam, Bates USA, Havas Advertising,
Zenith Media Services and Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Worldwide.