The latest from OTC Perspectives

Nielsen, Catalina Form Joint Venture to Measure Media Spend

Nielsen and Catalina announced this week a 50-50 partnership to combine Nielsen's TV ratings and Catalina's purchase data into Nielsen Catalina Ventures.  The new joint-venture, expected to begin selling data in mid-2010, is also expected to "increase efficiency of the package-goods industry's $20 billion in media outlays by at least %10," according to Ad Age.com.

The new company, Nielsen Catalina Ventures, will be led by Mike Nazzaro, formerly CEO of Intelliseek.   Nazzaro said in a statement that he believes this new venture will allow marketers to "realize a significant improvement in marketing effectiveness and efficiency relative to current performance."

Nielsen CEO David Calhoun believes this new partnership "will redefine accountability in the CPG space."  As consumers become more sophisticated and media platforms continue to fragment, advertisers must be able to build more precise and measurable media plans. The only way to get there is with faster, deeper information," said Calhoun in a recent statement. "Nielsen and Catalina’s combined capabilities provide comprehensive, scalable solutions for clients to better shape their marketing investments and measure their campaign ROI with far greater precision, speed and agility."