Nielsen//NetRatings and Spectra, both divisions of Dutch
information giant VNU, on Thursday agreed
to merge their consumer data in an effort to help traditional marketers
better find advertising opportunities on the Internet.
The deal brings together Nielsen//NetRatings information about consumer
Internet usage with Spectra’s highly-localized data about other consumer
habits and media use.
The agreement could increase advertising on the Internet by traditional
marketers, as it will provide Spectra clients with information on Internet
use that may lead them to make purchases on Web sites.
A traditional marketer accustomed to using Spectra’s grid system would
discover that, if he wanted to reach 35- to 54-year-old suburbanites with
kids, he could do that at CBS.com.
The agreement won’t really result in any new data being generated. It’s
just aimed at making things easier for traditional marketers to integrate
what they already know about their target market, with Internet data that’s
updated monthly.
“Many brand marketers are struggling with the Internet, because they have
no objective way to identify sites that will make a meaningful difference
for specific brands,” said John Larkin, president and chief executive
officer of Spectra.
“Through this new partnership, we’re going to give them the most powerful
decision-making context possible — reports that quantify the difference in
value between sites in the same framework they use to establish and manage
the 4Ps of brand marketing.”
The merging of these databases is one of the consequences of VNU’s
acquisition of Nielsen//NetRatings late in 1999. Yesterday,
Nielsen//NetRatings agreed to work with Scarborough Research on local market
data. Scarborough is a partnership between VNU Marketing Information and The Arbitron Co..
