BUZZMETRICS & TRENDUM JOIN TO FORM GLOBAL LEADER IN ONLINE WORD-OF-MOUTH MEASUREMENT
With backing from VNU, new company to build on trusted BuzzMetrics name, while leveraging Trendum’s unmatched technologies
NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2005 – BuzzMetrics, a market leader in online word-of-mouth research, and Trendum, an innovator in Internet search and linguistic analysis technologies, today announced that Trendum has acquired BuzzMetrics to create the global standard to measure and analyze consumer buzz.
The company will do business as BuzzMetrics and have the strategic backing of VNU, owner of such renowned research brands as ACNielsen and Nielsen Media Research. VNU is a minority shareholder in the new company. The new BuzzMetrics will build on Trendum’s advanced technology, while leveraging VNU’s global sales, marketing and research capabilities.
With the rapid rise of consumer content and social media – prevalent with blogs, message boards, social networks, product feedback sites and other forms – BuzzMetrics will introduce even more sophisticated research services to help smart marketers understand and act on the consumer buzz impacting their brands. The new company’s growing client roster today includes more than 75 Fortune 1000 corporations and esteemed brands across virtually every industry, as well as partnerships with numerous agencies in advertising, marketing, media and research.
“We’re excited to bring together Trendum and BuzzMetrics, two of the world’s most innovative research firms, and to have the strategic support of VNU,” said Itzhak Fisher, Chairman of Trendum, who will assume the same role with the new BuzzMetrics. “This is a positive development that will benefit clients and advance an important, burgeoning industry.”
“With this union, the new BuzzMetrics has become an even more exciting and powerful research brand,” said Jonathan Carson, President and Chief Executive Officer, BuzzMetrics. “The company will draw upon the assets of an extraordinary triumvirate, including BuzzMetrics’ market leadership and client services, Trendum’s revolutionary media mining technologies, and VNU’s strategic backing.”
BuzzMetrics will immediately build on its existing leadership positions:
• The most comprehensive product suite, including custom and syndicated word-of-mouth research and planning services, built on pioneering technologies and industry-sanctioned methodologies.
• An advanced research-and-development lab, founded by Trendum in Israel, to continue rapid technological innovation in Internet search and linguistic analysis.
• More than 50 fulltime employees, including senior market researchers and business strategists; award-winning computer scientists and engineers; and veteran client-service and sales professionals.
• Extensive synergies and backing from VNU and its Nielsen brands, including resources in product development and research, sales and marketing, and financial and corporate development. VNU has over 38,000 employees in more than 100 countries; its total 2004 revenues were approximately EUR 3.3 billion.
New Management Team
In addition to Jonathan Carson, the senior management of BuzzMetrics includes: Rich Nelson, Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy and General Counsel (formerly President, Trendum USA); Ori Levy, President of BuzzMetrics Israel, the company’s primary research-and-development lab (Trendum co-founder, and former President, Trendum Israel); Braxton Robbason, Chief Technology Officer (formerly CTO, BuzzMetrics); and Jonathan Schler, Vice President, Research and Development.
About BuzzMetrics
BuzzMetrics, the global standard in online word-of-mouth measurement and analysis, helps more than 75 Fortune 1000 companies strategically leverage the buzz surrounding their brands. BuzzMetrics’ client list includes global leaders in virtually every industry – companies like Comcast, Hewlett-Packard, General Motors and Mazda. Its partners include the world’s largest marketing-services firms, and distinguished think tanks such as the Pew Research Center. The company is headquartered in the U.S. and operates an advanced technology research-and-development lab in Israel. BuzzMetrics receives strategic backing from VNU, owner of such renowned research brands as ACNielsen and Nielsen Media Research. For more information, visit www.BuzzMetrics.com.
Contact:
Max Kalehoff, Vice President – Marketing
646.253.1930
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