NielsenIQ connected partner program launched; encouraging historic industry integration

New York, NY, October 20, 2016 —Today, Nielsen announced that it will open its consumer packaged goods (CPG) data and insights to third-party analytic companies on a historic and broad scale, with the launch of the Nielsen Connected Partner Program.

The move enables connected partner companies and Nielsen clients to find each other and collaborate in an open ecosystem, freeing them from common barriers to connecting applications and data sets at scale.

Several companies, including Applied Predictive Technology (APT), a Mastercard company, are already signed up as connected partners and using the Nielsen data in collaborative analytics initiatives.

“The proliferation of data, accelerated pace of business and rapid advancement of digital technologies has created a global environment where success is dependent on connections,” said Chris Morley, President of Nielsen, U.S. Buy.

Tied to a deeper global technology investment for client growth, the Nielsen connected partner program is a managed network of companies who serve CPG manufacturer and retail clients using data shared under a set of data release rules. Nielsen’s CPG data is the most robust retail and shopper information available in the world.

Early connected partners of the program come from a diverse roster of businesses who serve mutual clients within the CPG and retail industries. APT, a Mastercard company, rapidly measures cause-and-effect relationships between business initiatives and outcomes through their cloud-based analytics software.Pathformance, isan authority on digital shopper marketing and consumer activation. Prevedere, a leader in business performance forecasting, tracks and manages thousands of global sources on economic, environmental and consumer behavior data, to determine leading indicators for company revenues, profits, and individual products.

“Nielsen’s connected partner program enables our clients and connected partners to easily and effectively connect by harnessing the data necessary to net mutually beneficial results. We have the most robust sales and reference data in the world powering this program. It is the DNA of this program,” Morley said.

The program will ultimately allow connected partners and clients to bridge their insights through a mutual data source. A single set-up process eliminates common challenges and industry barriers for efficient data collaboration.

“Our mutual clients are excited about how Nielsen’s Connected Partner Program is already making it easy – both commercially and technically – to use Nielsen’s market tracking data and insights in the APT Test & Learn® software, to test and optimize new business concepts,” said Kevin Keane, SVP Alliances, APT, a Mastercard company.

After Nielsen client consent is granted, approved connected partners can access subscribed data sets to perform work on behalf of the client. With Nielsen data as the common language, the Nielsen connected partner program helps reduce the time required to identify and connect with the right third party. It shifts the current work model from data management and data alignment to systematic, data-driven decision making.

Nielsen is actively bringing in companies that deliver data sources, data services, data analytics and data activation to the network of connected partners. For program participants, the ecosystem has a uniform coding system, based on Nielsen’s reference data, allowing the output of one connected partner’s analysis to be easily used as the input to another.

“This gives us the unique ability within the marketplace to leverage our data in an open, controlled way to connected partners who participate in our network. Together, this will give clients the tools they need to address the demands of the industry, discover enterprise-level areas to strengthen performance and amplify their investment across connected partners in the network,” Morley said.

An active list of Nielsen’s connected partner program members includes APT, Chuze, Destini, Eversight, MediaFly, Pathformance, PivotStream, Prevedere, ShopAdvisor and TABS Analytics. From this list of early connected partners, feedback has already been positive:

• “As a Nielsen connected partner, we look forward to bringing mutual clients solutions that we believe will radically personalize the grocery value equation for consumers and CPG manufacturers. Through Chuze, CPG manufacturers will be able to present individualized, responsive offers to competitor brand users through a mobile experience, enhanced by shared list-making and in-store item location. With Nielsen data enriching our insights, we can help consumers save hassle, time and money and CPG manufacturers break the coupon cycle to retain share.” -Michael Borom, Chairman, Chuze LLC
• “Manufacturers and retailers have had no shortage of data in recent years, but few opportunities to really put that data to work to address the challenge of trade promotion effectiveness. This is a unique opportunity to further improve Eversight’s insights with more historical context up front and to jointly deliver new solutions with Nielsen, based on data sets that have never existed before.” – Jamie Rapperport, CEO of Eversight
• “Mediafly is proud to be a part of the Nielsen connected program. Together we will bring valuable insights from Nielsen data to the front line, enabling sales teams to create evolved selling experiences, better customer relationships and increase sales. The Nielsen connected partner program allows us to integrate the data seamlessly, at the moment of truth, during a sales presentation in front of a customer.” -Tony Kavadas, EVP Global Alliances, Mediafly
• “Through Pathformance and Nielsen’s connected partner program, our shared clients will achieve maximum ROI and sales lifts for post campaign reporting. Pre, during and post campaign intelligence and the precise campaign locations can now be easily revealed by combining real time data at SKU level, at store level and inventory availability.” – Elizabeth Johnson, CEO of Pathformance Digital Marketing
• “The Nielsen connected partner program is absolutely transformational for CPG companies. By enabling the introduction of connected partners like Pivotstream, it will open the door for much needed services like: on-demand, interactive category intelligence reporting and insightful data integrations like shipments, forecasts, trade and depletions data. Our platform, pre-populated with Nielsen data assets, let’s mutual clients, regardless of size, technical ability or affordably, immediately leverage Nielsen measurement data.” – Jeff Elderton, CEO of Pivotstream
• “We’re thrilled to be part of the Nielsen connected partner program not only to help our mutual clients make better data-driven decisions, but also to deliver our unmatched business performance forecasting capabilities more quickly and easily to enterprise organizations.” – Rich Wagner, CEO of Prevedere
• “The Nielsen connected partner program enables ShopAdvisor to provide our customers with access to the wealth of data that Nielsen has to offer. When we’re powering drive-to-store campaigns using sales data to perform sales uplift studies and foot traffic analysis, having Nielsen on our side both adds value to our service and benefits to our shared customers.” -Jeff Papows, CEO of ShopAdvisor
• “TABS Analytics is extremely excited to be a part of the Nielsen connected partner program.  In providing solutions to their information needs, companies often piecemeal together services from different vendors. Nielsen’s leadership in forming the connected partner program will help facilitate these efforts. The intellectual capital across the Connected Partner members will certainly lead to the development of new and innovative solutions that will provide our mutual clients with a competitive advantage.” -Bill Laros, EVP and Partner at TABS Analytics

For additional information, or if you are interested in becoming a Nielsen connected partner program member, please go to http://sites.nielsen.com/connectedpartner/

Genevieve Aronson: genevieve.aronson@nielseniq.com; 646-654-5742

About Nielsen

Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a global measurement and data analytics company that provides the most complete and trusted view available of consumers and markets worldwide. Nielsen is divided into two business units. Nielsen Global Media, the arbiter of truth for media markets, provides media and advertising industries with unbiased and reliable metrics that create a shared understanding of the industry required for markets to function. Nielsen Global Connect provides consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers with accurate, actionable information and insights and a complete picture of the complex and changing marketplace that companies need to innovate and grow.

Our approach marries proprietary Nielsen data with other data sources to help clients around the world understand what’s happening now, what’s happening next, and how to best act on this knowledge.

An S&P 500 company, Nielsen has operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90% of the world’s population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

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