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GfK MRI, Nielsen Make Investments
In Research Firm Media Behavior Institute
Media Behavior Institute to Launch Syndicated USA TouchPoints© Consumer Study
New York, NY, August 16, 2011 - GfK MRI and
Nielsen have made equity
investments in Media Behavior Institute, supporting the imminent launch of USA
TouchPoints©, a cross-media research service that promises to improve the
efficiency of marketing communications by delivering unparalleled
day-in-the-life consumer insights. GfK MRI and Nielsen each
acquired 25% of Media Behavior Institute. This is the first time that both
GfK MRI and Nielsen have invested in the same company. Kathi
Love, President & CEO of GfK MRI, and Matt O'Grady, EVP Media Audience
Measurement for Nielsen, will join the board of Media Behavior Institute along
with Jim Spaeth, Media Behavior Institute CEO, and Alice K. Sylvester, Media
Behavior Institute COO. "These investments from some of the
biggest players in the international research business are ringing endorsements
of the strategy we've pursued since conceiving Media Behavior Institute,"
said Spaeth. "No one understands our industry's need for innovative
cross-platform measurement better than GfK MRI and Nielsen. We couldn't be
more pleased that they've seen fit to take this step." As
part of the USA TouchPoints program, Media Behavior Institute will equip 2,000
U.S. consumers with smartphones containing a special app to record media use
every half hour throughout the day, along with information such as who they're
with, what they're doing, where they are and the moods and emotions they're
experiencing while consuming media. By capturing this data in such breadth
and granularity, and in near real time, USA TouchPoints helps advertisers and
agencies identify the contextual factors that impact consumers' receptivity to
their messages. Uniquely, USA TouchPoints can be used to target
purchasers of specific product categories and brands since respondents are drawn
from a sample of consumers who have recently participated in GfK MRI's annual
Survey of the American Consumer. The Survey of the American Consumer
collects information on consumers' use of more than 6,500 brands across 550
categories. "USA TouchPoints is the most creative sandbox
the media and account planning worlds have had to play with in years. It
provides an incredibly granular look at daily life. Now, creative messages
can be fine-tuned to relevant, precise situations and integrated marketing
communications plans can be designed to reach consumers in the right place at
the right time and when they're in the right frame of mind," said
Sylvester. "We've supported USA TouchPoints since 2009 when
our companies conducted an early pilot test of the smartphone diaries,"
said GfK MRI's Love. "Based on the results of that test and the
potential that USA TouchPoints has to make a significant contribution to
understanding consumers' cross-media habits, it makes sense for GfK MRI to
deepen its commitment to the initiative." "In today's
dynamic media environment, providing our clients an ever-greater level of
understanding of how consumers watch, buy and connect anytime, anywhere and
across a multitude of devices is more important than ever," said Nielsen's
O'Grady. "USA TouchPoints
represents a significant advancement in
cross-platform research and a fitting complement to Nielsen's far-reaching
cross-platform metrics." The investments follow a successful
proof-of-concept study of USA TouchPoints that was funded and supported by the
Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM). CIMM is a group of the
country's biggest advertisers, agencies and media owners committed to supporting
advances in media measurement techniques. Said Jane Clarke,
managing director for CIMM: "We are extremely pleased at the prospect that
Media Behavior Institute will now have enhanced means to take USA TouchPoints©
from its proof-of-concept phase in the United States to the next level, which
includes broader and large-scale implementation. CIMM was established to
help foster development and innovation in media measurement, so it's always
gratifying when an endeavor we have helped nurture is embraced by the
industry."
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About MBI
Established in 2008, Media Behavior Institute, LLC. was formed
to address the industry's need for enhanced multimedia measurement. MBI's
mission is to bring new and actionable insights about the context of daily life
to the U.S. market. For further information on Media Behavior Institute,
visit our Web site: www.mediabehavior.com.
Press Contact: Mike Bloxham, Executive Director,
Marketing, Media Behavior Institute, 765-717-4550, mike@mediabehavior.com.
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