Nielsen and IRI to Pool Panelists

In the US, Nielsen and retail analytics agency Information Resources Inc (IRI) have formed a new firm which will recruit, maintain and process data from a common set of households to support the Nielsen Homescan and IRI Consumer Network panels.

Currently, the two firms operate separate panels in which households provide purchase data used to analyze volume and share trends based on what is happening in the home: who is buying, where, how often, the level of brand and retailer loyalty, and the impact of shopper promotions.

The new pool of households will be owned by the joint venture company, but the techniques for projecting, analyzing and delivering insights will remain proprietary to each company.

Owned 50-50 by the firms, the venture will be established using the existing Nielsen household sample and data acquisition infrastructure, and will begin operation during the first quarter of 2010.

Under the agreement, Nielsen will receive 100% of the targeted 100,000-plus households and IRI will have access to 86%, with the right to acquire up to 100% after two years.

The firm will be governed by a Board, equally represented by IRI and Nielsen, and an independent CEO will be recruited from outside both companies.

In addition, IRI's RxPulse Patient Panel will be replaced by a new Rx panel recruited by the joint venture, and Nielsen will have access to the Rx household data and will continue to be the sole provider of its Hispanic specialty panel.

'Now more than ever, Nielsen will be able to quickly and aggressively build unique and actionable consumer and shopper insights for our clients,' stated Nielsen Consumer North America President and CEO John Lewis.

'This joint venture is yet another step in achieving our focus on delivering superior consumer and shopper insights to our clients,' added IRI President and CEO John Freeland.

The two firms will continue to sell and service consumer panel data for their respective clients, under their respective brand names - Nielsen Homescan and IRI Consumer Network - from the common data source.

Web sites: www.nielsen.com and www.infores.com .