Experian Buys Online Intelligence Firm

Experian Marketing Solutions has bought US online consumer research company Vente for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will expand Experian's consumer insight provision, with the aim of helping clients target their marketing offers at the most receptive customers.

Vente, which was founded in 1999 in Nebraska, gathers information from consumers through permission-based online surveys. It collects demographics and descriptive variables such as hobbies, interests, ailments, and purchase intentions. Vente averages one million completed surveys a month and has a database of more than 28 million consumers. The company's information helps clients identify consumers, track brand perception and test new products, as well as providing an indication of consumer trends.

Following the acquisition, the company will be known as Vente, an Experian Company. All Vente's employees and management will be retained.

Deborah Zuccarini, Group President of Experian Marketing Solutions says the new asset 'expands our capability to provide accurate and timely consumer feedback across geographic regions and consumer groups within days or hours'.

Vente's CEO Stephanie Healy says that the integration of the two companies' consumer information and research will allow them to 'offer clients a deeper level of customer insight'.

Experian provides information, analytics, decision-making solutions and processing services to more than 50,000 clients in 60 countries. Its headquarters are in Nottingham, UK, and Costa Mesa, California. The company's web site is at www.experian.com

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