December 22 , 2009

Measure effectiveness of your online campaigns
with new comScore service
See how online ads drive sales of consumer packaged goods

comScore today announced a new solution, in conjunction with Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), that measures the effectiveness of online advertising campaigns in building sales of CPG brands in supermarkets, drug stores, mass merchants, convenience stores and other retail channels that are important to the CPG industry.

The solution uses IRI's Consumer NetworkTM household purchase panel to measure retail sales in all channels along with comScore's ability to understand which panelists were exposed to online advertising. The solution will be integrated into comScore's AdEffxTM suite of products that provides media planners with all the tools they need to maximize the ROI from their online ad campaigns, ranging from data for improved planning through to tools for smarter buying and finally the channel-wide measurement of campaign ROI that are the focus of this new service.

"This solution presents CPG advertisers with a comprehensive understanding of their brand sales gains that resulted from online ad exposures, whether those sales occur in supermarkets, drug stores, or other channels where their brands are purchased," said Alistair Sutcliffe, comScore vice president. "The combination of IRI's multi-channel purchase panel data with comScore's industry-leading online data offers the critical components needed to accurately tie consumers' purchase behavior back to their exposure to online media."

"IRI's history is rooted in the introduction of innovative services that deliver breakthrough value to the CPG industry, and once again we see that happening here," said Robert (Bob) I. Tomei, President of Consumer and Shopper Insights, IRI. "Today's marketers must be more efficient and effective with their online campaigns while at the same time, be in a position to evaluate how online behavior drives offline sales. The powerful combination of comScore, the leader in Internet measurement, and IRI provides a comprehensive suite of media planning, buying and analysis services which will help provide the insights that the CPG industry needs as it explores the many and varied uses of online marketing."

Cindy Neumann, Director Consumer Insights Advanced Analytics at ConAgra Foods commented: "Our brands are always seeking new ways to build a complete picture of consumer response to digital marketing initiatives. This new offering provides the ability to measure cross channel sales ROI. This ability compliments the comScore Ad Effx Suite which includes survey-based brand lift studies and post-buy campaign delivery reports."

Yaakov Kimelfeld, VP Analytics at MediaVest said: "We admire comScore's unwavering drive to connect the dots and provide advertisers and agencies with a comprehensive measurement solution, capturing the entire hierarchy of advertising effects: exposure, attitude change, behavioral change, online and offline conversions. Using the IRI panel enriches digital campaign analytics with a previously unavailable set of powerful data, and we are looking forward to gaining the full advantage of it for our clients."

"These tools will improve our ability to develop customer insights, deploy relevant media and create the digital experiences that drive our CPG clients' businesses. We're excited to deploy this data to add value to our clients," said Andy Fisher, VP Analytics and National Lead, Razorfish.

Russ Fradin, CEO of Adify, added: "This is an important new capability from comScore and IRI because it measures the offline sales ROI from any online ad campaign run on any Internet property. It's a great fit for an ad network seeking to prove its value to a CPG advertiser."

Barry Krause, CEO of Suite Partners, Inc. and former Publicis NY CEO and JWT Chicago President commented: "When IRI came along it gave CPG leaders the power of true behavioral measurement of marketing ROI. When comScore came along it broke open the mystery of the new digital world allowing marketers to observe real online behavior. Still, the critical chasm in ROI intelligence between the online and offline worlds has limited confidence in online ad investment. Until now, that is. Bridging comScore and IRI could be the game-changer the marketing industry has been waiting for. And that could unleash a total reallocation of the marketing mix.