Millward Brown To Roll Out Category Forecasting Model

Millward Brown has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with French market modelling agency Interstat to use its SAPIENS(r) market mix model, which offers sales volume forecasting across both packaged goods and BtoB product categories.

Millward Brown will market Sapiens(r) under the name CategoryDynamics(tm), and will roll it out progressively around the world, starting in the USA, the UK and France.

Sapiens(r) was the first model to measure sales for an entire product category, not just a single brand, and is unusual among models in being sensitive to the measurement of long-term sales effects and not just short-term.

Bob Meyers, CEO Millward Brown says that adding Sapiens(r) to the company's portfolio will allow MB to offer marketing effectiveness analysis to clients. 'While simulated test market studies or one-shot test market approaches provide a good point-in-time snapshot, CategoryDynamics can be used on a continuous basis to respond to changing market conditions'.

Alain Pioche, founder and inventor of Sapiens at Interstat, adds: 'We are delighted to have Millward Brown as our SAPIENS(r) licensee. No research agency understands brands better than they do. We are excited about the prospect of our model being used to help their clients make smarter marketing decisions around the globe'.

Interstat's models are mainly designed for sales volume forecasting for packaged goods: either for new products before launch (using consumer surveys), or for existing products (using retail audit data). More details are available at www.interstat.fr

Contacts for CategoryDynamics are gordon.wyner@us.millwardbrown.com (USA), gordon.pincott@uk.millwardbrown.com (UK) and liz.musch@fr.millwardbrown.com (France).

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

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