Unilever Signs for Project Apollo

Arbitron and VNU have added the key name of Unilever United States to the list of subscribers to their 'Project Apollo' pilot panel, which was considered in the balance by some commentators but should now be back on track. The panel is a single-source, national research service based on the Arbitron PPM and ACNielsen's HomeScan.

The pilot was immediately backed by P&G, joined later by SC Johnson, but other advertisers have been holding back, perhaps influenced by the high price tag. Unilever US, which spends approximately $600m for advertising on measured media, is one of six advertisers on the Project's steering committee. Noreen Simmons, Director / Strategic Media Planning at the consumer products giant, commented '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.'

The pilot panel will use data from more than14,500 participants in 6,250 households as a demonstration of the planned national service, which was announced in May 2005 and will use data collected on Arbitron's Portable People Meter, panelists in ACNielsen's Homescan sample and additional surveys looking at media exposure.

The aim is to provide a new level of 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.

Unilever United States employs more than 15,000 people, generating approximately $10 billion in sales in 2004. It is online at www.unileverusa.com. Globally, the staff count is 230,00.

VNU's web site is at www.vnu.com and Arbitron's at www.arbitron.com.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

• ACNielsen US
• All news