Naviant to Move into Europe with VNU Joint Venture

The product registration marketer hopes to tap the European market by partnering with a Dutch powerhouse.

European publisher and media company VNU Thursday announced that its Claritas unit and U.S.-based database marketer Naviant Marketing Solutions will spin off a European joint venture.

Newtown Square, Pennsylvania-based Naviant manages companies’ online software and hardware product registrations. In return, it builds a database of consumer profiles, lifestyle information, demographics and addresses for sale to marketers. Currently, the company has about 24 million names and addresses in its database. The company also handles on- and offline direct marketing for Internet clients, and recently began an initiative to license its collection and marketing technology to advertising agencies.

Claritas, headquartered in Haarlem, The Netherlands, is one of Europe’s leading database marketing, direct marketing and list rental companies. Similarly to Naviant, the company collects consumer data through product registration questionnaires and lifestyle surveys. Claritas has offices in nine European countries.

“Europe represents the largest major economic market in the world and the number of Internet users is growing rapidly … making Naviant Europe a crucial step forward in our strategic business plan,” said Naviant chief executive officer Charles Stryker.

“We will essentially be replicating Naviant Marketing Solutions’ U.S. operating model and utilizing our registration customers, technology, and products for the European business. Being the dominant provider of demographics in Europe, Claritas provides the infrastructure, lifestyle database, local market knowledge, and fulfillment delivery services to make Naviant Europe a success,” he added.

Naviant Europe will be based in London and will establish subsidiaries in France and Germany. Each partner will own half of the company, which is expected to begin operations later this year.

Once completed, Naviant Europe will possess one of Europe’s largest online marketing databases. Currently, the combined companies have about 800,000 European names and profiles in the database; by 2005, the companies expect Naviant Europe to have about 20 million.

“Our two companies dominate the segments of the market that are required to rapidly complete the development and implementation of a database of Internet-enabled households in Europe and deliver the products to the market,” said VNU chairman Peter Tordoir.

“By marrying online data obtained through product registrations with offline demographics, we will offer our clients unparalleled direct and Web-based target marketing.”

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Whitepapers

US Mobile Streaming Behavior
Whitepaper | Mobile

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

5y

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

Streaming has become a staple of US media-viewing habits. Streaming video, however, still comes with a variety of pesky frustrations that viewers are ...

View resource
Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups
Whitepaper | Analyzing Customer Data

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups

5y

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics f...

Data is the lifeblood of so many companies today. You need more of it, all of which at higher quality, and all the meanwhile being compliant with data...

View resource
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people
Whitepaper | Digital Marketing

Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its peopl...

2y

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. It provides expert insight on how companies can ret...

View resource
Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy
Report | Digital Transformation

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy

1m

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Exp...

Customers decide fast, influenced by only 2.5 touchpoints – globally! Make sure your brand shines in those critical moments. Read More...

View resource