Former Nielsen Exec Joins Mediassociates

In the US, media company Mediassociates has hired former Nielsen exec Jim Santa Barbara as Head of Analytics.

Mediassociates guides brands in planning communication campaigns with a focus on predicting, measuring and optimizing business outcomes. Santa Barbara (pictured) joins from predictive modeling specialist LatentView Analytics, where he served as Director, CPG Delivery. Prior to this he worked for Johnson & Johnson as AD, Global Analytics, and was an SVP at Market Fusion Analytics, which develops client growth strategies based on the analysis and modeling of behavioral data. Earlier, he spent nearly a decade at Nielsen, originally joining marketing-mix modeling specialist The Modeling Group (TMG) prior to Nielsen's takeover of the company in 2006.

Commenting on the appointment, CEO Jeff Larson said: 'Analytics is the missing agility for many small agencies, and it's the key to delivering big results for leading and challenger brands alike. Jim has driven analytics development for several of the world's most complex marketers, providing frameworks to see their opportunities more clearly and seize them more reliably. He's the ideal person to lead our efforts here'.

Web site: www.mediassociates.com .