Arbitron and VNU Sign Unilever for ‘Project Apollo’ Pilot Panel Data
Leading Consumer Products Company Signs Subscription Agreement for Access to Data From the Pilot Panel of the Arbitron/VNU Single-Source National Research Service
NEW YORK, January 4, 2006—Arbitron Inc. (NYSE:ARB) and VNU (VNUN.AS) announced today that Unilever United States – which spends approximately 600 million dollars for advertising on measured media – has signed a subscription agreement to the pilot panel of ‘Project Apollo,’ the single-source, national research service based on Arbitron’s Portable People Meter (PPMSM) system and ACNielsen’s HomeScan technology.
Unilever is one of six advertisers and who, along with their advertising agencies, are members of the Project Apollo Steering Committee, a select group of marketers who have signed or are in the process of signing agreements for the Project Apollo pilot panel data. In the aggregate, these six advertisers spend more than $6.2 billion for advertising on measured media
“Maximizing the value of our investments is critical to Unilever, and we anticipate that Project Apollo will help us better understand the complex dynamics of consumer behavior," said Noreen Simmons, director/Strategic Media Planning, Unilever U.S. "We believe a deeper understanding of how our consumers are impacted by our media and marketing activities will enable us to build more effective communication plans."
About the Project Apollo Pilot Panel
Arbitron and VNU announced in May 2005 that they would deploy a pilot panel
of more than 6,000 households as a demonstration of the ‘Project Apollo’ national
marketing research service which would collect multi-media and purchase information
from a common sample of consumers.
The pilot panel will be designed to show advertisers how ‘Project Apollo’ would enable a better understanding of the link between consumer exposure to advertising on multiple media and their shopping/purchase behavior. The pilot panel will be designed to give advertisers the ability to estimate and quantify the top line revenue growth that could be achieved using Project Apollo. The pilot will also showcase the enhanced ability of the ‘single-source’ marketing research service to measure the return on investment for marketing efforts.
The pilot panel for the national marketing research service will consist of approximately 14,500 participants in 6,250 households, providing, for the first time, multi-media exposure and purchase information from a common sample of consumers.
These individuals will be given incentives to voluntarily carry Arbitron’s Portable People Meter, a small, cell phone-sized device that collects the volunteers’ exposure to electronic media sources: broadcast television networks, cable networks, and network radio as well as audio-based commercials broadcast on these outlets and on additional media. Consumer exposure to other media such as newspapers, magazines and circulars would also be collected through additional survey instruments.
Data on consumer preference and purchases for a wide range of services and products would also be collected from panelists, via ACNielsen’s Homescan technology, which tracks packaged goods purchases and by means of additional surveys, both conventional and electronic. Data would be collected in aggregate form to provide a holistic understanding of participants’ media interactions and their resulting shopping and purchase behavior.
About Unilever
Unilever [NYSE: UL, UN], one of the world’s largest consumer products
companies, aims to add vitality to life by meeting everyday needs for nutrition,
hygiene and personal care. Each day, around the world, consumers make 150 million
decisions to purchase Unilever products. The company has a portfolio of brands
that make people feel good, look good and get more out of life.
In the United States these brands include recognized names such as: Axe, "all," Ben & Jerry's, Bertolli, Breyers, Caress, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Hellmann's, Lipton, Knorr, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Skippy, Slim•Fast, Snuggle, Suave and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies. Dedicated to serving consumers and the communities where we live, work and play, Unilever, globally, has 230,000 employees in almost 100 countries and generated annual sales of $50 billion in 2004. In the United States, Unilever employs more than 15,000 people in 74 office and manufacturing sites in 24 states and Puerto Rico – generating approximately $10 billion in sales in 2004. For more information visit www.unilever.com or www.unileverusa.com.
About VNU
VNU is a global information and media company with leading market positions
and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media measurement
and information (Nielsen Media Research), business information (Billboard,
The Hollywood Reporter, Computing, Intermediair) and directory publishing
(Golden Pages). VNU is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters
in Haarlem,
The Netherlands and New York, USA. The company employs 38,000 people. Total
revenues amounted to approximately EUR 4.0 billion in 2003. VNU is listed
on the Euronext Amsterdam (VNUN.AS) stock exchange.
For more information, please visit the VNU website at www.vnu.com.
About Arbitron
Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) is an international media and marketing research
firm serving radio broadcasters, cable companies, advertisers, advertising
agencies and outdoor advertising companies in the United States, Mexico and
Europe. Arbitron’s core businesses are measuring network and local market
radio audiences across the United States; surveying the retail, media and product
patterns of local market consumers; and providing application software used
for analyzing media audience and marketing information data. The Company has
also developed the Portable People Meter (PPM), a new technology for media
and marketing research.
Arbitron’s marketing and business units are supported by its research and technology organization, located in Columbia, Maryland. Arbitron has approximately 1,700 employees; its executive offices are located in New York City.
Through its Scarborough Research joint venture with VNU, Inc., Arbitron also provides media and marketing research services to the broadcast television, magazine, newspaper and online industries.
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PPMSM is a service mark of Arbitron Inc.
