Carat North America Pact Includes Nielsen//NetRatings Services

New York City-based Nielsen Media Research signed a new, seven-year contract with Carat North America that includes a separate deal for the Nielsen//NetRatings Internet measurement service.

The agreement includes electronic access to the full range of national broadcast, cable and syndicated information provided by Nielsen Media Research. Another agreement involved Monitor-Plus, the competitive advertising intelligence service from Nielsen Media Research. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Carat is owned by Aegis plc and is based in London. It has 77 offices in 66 cities across 30 countries and employs more than 2,900 people worldwide, including more than 500 in North America.

The agreement supports both current and future methodologies that Nielsen Media Research will use to measure television in tomorrow’s digital environment. A new electronic metering system, called the Active/Passive Meter, is being tested in 500 installed households in the Northeast U.S.

David Verklin, chief executive officer of Carat North America, said that “a key part of Carat’s mission is to create partnerships with the leading experts in the media research industry in order to apply cutting-edge research for the benefit of our clients. This new agreement with Nielsen Media Research is a demonstration of that commitment.”

In the past 30 days, Nielsen Media Research has announced a series of 16 major agency and agency group signings, including MediaVest Worldwide, True North, The Omnicom Group, Young & Rubicam, Bates USA, Havas Advertising, Zenith Media Services and Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Worldwide.