The
Nielsen Corporation
, self-referentially known as
The Nielsen Company
, and formerly known as
ACNielsen
or
AC Nielsen
, is a global
marketing research
firm, with worldwide headquarters in
New York City
,
United States
.
[2]
Regional headquarters for
North America
are located in
Chicago
.
As of May 2010, it is part of
Nielsen Holdings
.
This company was founded in 1923 in
Chicago
by
Arthur C. Nielsen Sr.
in order to give marketers reliable and objective information on the impact of
marketing
and sales programs. ACNielsen began expanding internationally in 1939, and operates in more than 100 countries.
One of Nielsen's best known creations is the
Nielsen ratings
, an
audience measurement
system that measures television, radio and newspaper audiences in their respective
media markets
. In 1950, they acquired the
C. E. Hooper
company and began attaching recording devices to a statistical sample of about 1200 consumer television sets in the United States.
[3]
These devices used photographic film in mail-in cartridges to record the channels viewed by the consumer and thus determine audience size. Later, Nielsen developed electronic methods of data collection and transmission. In 1996, they split off this part of its operations into a separate company called
Nielsen Media Research
(NMR), which operated as an independent company until it was acquired by Dutch conglomerate
VNU
in 1999. The company was headquartered in
Stamford, Connecticut
before the acquisition by VNU.
Another market research tool was the
Homescan
program where sample members track and report all grocery and retail purchases, allowing purchasing patterns to be related to household demographics. Homescan covers several countries including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 2004, ACNielsen chose the
CipherLab
CPT-8001 as its data collection terminal for the Homescan program throughout
Asia
.
[4]
In
Germany
, ACNielsen gained reputation for their introduction of the Nielsen areas (or
Nielsengebiete
in German), each of which includes one or more German federal states sharing a similar economic structure, culture, and consumer behavior. Marketing strategies in Germany depend considerably on the Nielsengebiete, to the extent that some trademarks or marketing campaigns have only been introduced in some of the Nielsengebiete. In many newspapers and magazines disseminated nationwide, advertisements may be placed for just one or some Nielsengebiete; the circulation figures of print media are often stated according to Nielsengebiete as well.
[
citation needed
]
Mergers and acquisitions
edit
In 2001, ACNielsen itself was acquired by
VNU
, as part of VNU's Marketing Information group, and came under the same corporate umbrella as NMR, the company it spawned. Nielsen Media Research is based in
New York City
, while ACNielsen headquarters remain in Schaumburg, Illinois.
ACNielsen is also sister company to
Nielsen//NetRatings
, which measures Internet and
digital media
audiences, and
Nielsen BuzzMetrics
, which measures Consumer-Generated Media.
In 2005, ACNielsen initiated their MVP (Media Voice Panel) program. Panel members carry an electronic monitor that detects the digital station and program identification codes hidden within the TV and radio broadcasts they are exposed to. At night, members place the monitor in a cradle that sends the collected data through the home's electrical wiring to a relay device that transmits it by phone, making it one of the first practical uses of electrical wiring as a
home network
. With an approximately one week notice to members, the MVP program ended on March 17, 2008.
In 2007, the owner VNU changed its name to "The
Nielsen Company
".
Arthur Charles Nielsen Jr.
(born April 8, 1919)
[5]
the man who acquired the company from his father, died at the age of 92 on October 3, 2011.
[5]
Nielsen spun off its data and analytics branch
Global Consumer Business
as
NielsenIQ
in January 2021.
[6]
- ^
"Revenue for KKR & Co"
.
companiesmarketcap.com
. Retrieved
September 22,
2023
.
- ^
"Contact Us"
.
Nielsen
.
Archived
from the original on December 8, 2021.
- ^
"Milestones, Jun. 16, 1980"
. June 16, 1980. Archived from
the original
on March 24, 2007 ? via Time.
- ^
"CPT-8001 Preferred Terminal For AC Nielsen (Asia Pacific)"
IT Reseller Online, October 28, 2004
- ^
a
b
"A.C. Nielsen Jr., Who Built Ratings Firm, Dies at 92"
.
New York Times
. October 4, 2011
. Retrieved
July 23,
2020
.
- ^
"Nielsen Global Consumer Business Rebranding as NielsenIQ"
.
Consumer Goods Technology
. Retrieved
July 18,
2021
.