Nielsen, Facebook in strategic pact to help marketers

The Nielsen Company and Facebook have announced a multi-year, strategic alliance to help marketers better use the Internet to develop and market new products.     

The first product of the collaboration, Nielsen BrandLift, is designed to provide marketers with effectiveness measurement for Facebook advertising. It will be launched in the US with select test partners this week and roll-out to all Facebook advertisers in the coming months a release issued here said.     

The alliance combines Facebook's global consumer reach with Nielsen's market research expertise to provide better insight and information to marketers around the world, the release said.     

BrandLift uses opt-in polls on Facebook's homepage to measure consumer attitudes and purchase intent from display advertising that has appeared on the site.     

The partnership will enable Facebook to offer advertisers more information about how users are responding to ads on the largest social networking site in the world, with 300-million users.  

"Facebook is an increasingly vital link between consumers and brands and this collaboration will help us provide the missing elements to the clients seeking better understanding of how web content and online advertising affects consumer behaviour," Nielsen's online division's CEO, John Burbank, said.     

"Nielsen is the leader in measurement and is an excellent partner for us as we look to provide marketers with richer and effectiveness data," Facebook's CEO, Sheryl Sandberg, said.Facebook has been one of the fastest growing websites on the internet.