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Nielsen Completes Repucom Buy
Nielsen has completed the acquisition of sports measurement and intelligence provider Repucom, whose sponsorship data will be combined with the new parent's buyer intent and purchase data to provide clients with deeper understanding of the sports industry.
 Rumours of the acquisition were first reported on DRNO more than a month ago. Repucom's sports sponsorship evaluation offer includes the measurement of brand activity at events and the performance of rival brands across the sponsorship inventory. The firm's logo recognition and media monitoring technologies measure more than 5.3m hours of content and 1.1m interviews per year, and it serves 1,700 of the world's rights holders, brands, agencies and broadcasters. Nielsen says the buy will make it 'the premier provider of analytics and insights within the growing sports industry', and notes that global spend on sports sponsorships has nearly doubled since 2010, from $35bn to $60bn.
Nielsen clients will now get access to Repucom methodologies including QI Media Value, which measures the quality of brand exposure, factoring in size, duration, location and the number of concurrent brands seen.
Howard Appelbaum, President of Nielsen Entertainment, says the acquisition creates 'tremendous momentum' for Nielsen, adding: 'This combination of data and measurement capabilities strengthens our clients' position in the market, increases campaign effectiveness and connects their brands with passionate sports fans'.
According to Paul Smith, founder of Repucom, the deal 'represents the validation of Repucom's business model and is an important turning point for the entire sports marketing economy'. Smith says Nielsen is making 'a significant investment in its global sports offering, as this acquisition marks an expansion into China, Mexico and Russia'.
Nielsen partnered with Repucom seven years ago, to analyze content and measure viewers' exposure to sponsored media during televised sporting events; with the service replacing Nielsen's former Scorecard offering.
Founded in 2004 in Sydney, Australia, Repucom now has offices in eighteen countries and employs 1400 associates. Web sites are at www.repucom.net and www.nielsen.com .
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