Nielsen inks multi-million dollar deal with EDB

Nielsen is making an initial investment of SGD14 million over the next five years for an innovation centre in collaboration with the Singapore Economic Development Board.The Singapore-based innovation hub, called Asia Innovation Centre, will drive innovation in research and measurement techniques for companies in Asia.The Asia Innovation Centre will leverage Nielsen’s regional client relationships to identify new opportunities for innovation, with a particular focus on digital innovation, and then work with regional start-ups, suppliers, and academia to develop and test new solutions for the market.Working in collaboration with the Singapore Economic Development Board, Nielsen will model the Asia Innovation Centre off its highly successful US-based Innovation Lab, a collaboration with Stanford Graduate School of Business.The centre will have 30 employees with expertise in areas such as research, insights and data science, together with dedicated points of contact at participating universities in Asia, as well as Singapore-based start-ups and business associations.A number of innovation projects have been identified as key priorities for Nielsen and its collaborators, including:A new platform for reporting on cross-platform audience measurement and advertising effectiveness which is modelled off Nielsen’s cross-platform solution, Online Campaign Ratings, and designed to provide greater transparency into the effectiveness of leveraging cross-platform strategies for media content delivery and advertising.A card measurement platform tailored for the financial services sector in Asia Pacific to promote greater market efficiencies and increased consumer engagement and loyalty.An e-commerce retail sales measurement platform to capture and report on the volume and value on online sales transactions; andA retail distribution modelling service which leverages geo-satellite technology to assist with product distribution and route-to-market strategies.“Southeast Asia is a key growth engine in the coming years for many of our clients here in Asia and around the world, and with rapidly evolving digital behaviour across the region, there is growing demand for insights into the lifestyles, habits and purchasing behaviours of Asian consumers,” Cheong Tai Leung, president of Nielsen’s Southeast Asia, North Asia and Pacific operations, said.“The Asia Innovation Centre reinforces Singapore’s attractiveness as a pan-Asian consumer insights hub, where companies gain access to various methodologies and technologies that deepen their market understanding to drive regional innovation strategies.” Kevin Lai, executive director of Consumer Businesses at EDB added.“Global companies like Nielsen can tap into the region’s sophisticated demand base and Singapore’s infrastructure, to spearhead new technological products, solutions and services, strengthening Singapore’s position as the digital innovation capital of Asia,” Lai said.