Nielsen continues spending spree as it confirms acquisition of VisualDNA
Nielsen has confirmed that it has bought audience data business VisualDNA for an undisclosed sum to further its marketing cloud efforts, The Drum can reveal.
UK-based VisualDNA was founded in 2006
The acquisition comes just a day after it was reported that Nielsen had paid $560m for media metadata business Gracenote.
VisualDNA is an audience data business that supplies data to brands, agencies and publishers. The data is based off the results of a psychographic personality test that’s been taken by over 40 million people.
A spokesperson for Nielsen, said: “I can confirm that Nielsen has completed an acquisition of VisualDNA, a leading audience personality data provider and marketing technology company.”
He said the business wouldn’t comment on the price of the deal but that it was made to bolster the Nielsen Marketing Cloud rollout:
“For Nielsen, the acquisition brings together the UK’s two leading data players into a powerful new union. Additionally, the VisualDNA analytics solution, consumer survey capabilities and data footprint will enhance Nielsen Marketing Cloud rollout in Europe,” he added.
The Drum also attempted to contact VisualDNA for comment on its integration into the Nielsen-fold but it was unable to respond by time of publication. The company is headquartered in London, UK, was founded in 2006 and in that time has raised over $28m in funding, according to its Crunchbase profile.
It further reads: "VisualDNA is a consumer insights and analytics company that profiles people using engaging visual personality quizzes. The personality profiling company helps clients to get insight into various areas of their lives, and its patented technology creates detailed and accurate personality profiles."
Both of its recent purchases build on the launch of Nielsen Marketing Cloud earlier this year, with the company (renown as the default TV audience measurement company) claiming it can help marketers personalize their ad campaigns through the integration of consumer and media data, as well as the purchase of Exelate.
A press release marking the launch quotes Mark Zagorski, executive vice president, Nielsen Marketing Cloud, as saying: “Never before has data played a more important role in driving marketing efficiency, but the complexity of centrally managing and employing this data has grown as well.
"The Nielsen Marketing Cloud is the only solution to provide highly accurate and scalable data for marketers to plan and activate campaigns across platforms and devices - and analyze their impact through one integrated easy-to-use system."
Additional reporting by Charlotte McEleny, Asia editor.