Nielsen makes a move into Myanmar

Research firms Nielsen Holdings and Myanmar Marketing Research & Development (MMRD), have announced a joint venture into Myanmar.The joint venture entity, Nielsen MMRD, will see the two organisations combine their collective solutions to help companies which are established in Myanmar or have plans to enter the market to understand the market and consumer dynamics.With a population of over 56 million and the second largest land mass in ASEAN, the country represents one of the last remaining untapped frontiers for clients,  said Suresh Ramalingam, Nielsen’s managing director of Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar cluster.U Moe Kyaw, senior advisor, Nielsen MMRD added that the market has “seen a substantial increase in demand for insights on Myanmar, evidenced by the 88.5% net growth in market research reported by ESOMAR”.“We are now much better‐positioned to help our clients here and abroad to understand our unique marketplace,” Kyaw said.According to Nielsen data, the number of foreign brands advertising in Myanmar increased significantly in recent years. This is off the back of an influx of foreign brands into the country, the launch of 24‐hour television stations and the introduction of private newspapers. Local brands have followed suit, increasing their advertising spend in order to compete with new market entrants.In 2013, advertising investment by foreign brands in Myanmar was US$87.5 million, up from US$28.6 million in 2010. Over the same period, local brands’ investment in advertising grew from US$28.4 million in 2010 to US$64.4 million in 2013.Between 2001 and 2013 overall advertising spend increased 13 times, from US$11.7 million to US$152 million, with the majority of growth experienced between 2010 and 2013, from US$57 million to US$152 million.