ACNielsen Signs Reckitt Benckiser to Category Business Planner Contract; Company Cites Added Efficiencies of Category Management Tool.

Business Editors

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 5, 2002

ACNielsen U.S., an operating unit of ACNielsen, a VNU company, today announced that Reckitt Benckiser has become a client of its new category management intelligence system, Category Business Planner (CBP). Reckitt Benckiser is a leading manufacturer of consumer packaged goods products such as French's mustard, Lysol disinfectant spray, Easy-Off oven cleaner, Wizard air fresheners, and Electrasol automatic dishwasher detergents.

Ed Field, team leader, Customer Development, Reckitt Benckiser, said, "Category Business Planner gives us the ability to get insights outside our traditional categories and provides a sales picture of the whole store. It also provides a common information platform between our organization and each of the retailers we work with, which maximizes our collaborative sales efforts."

Category Business Planner enables manufacturers to view category and product sales information on a retailer-by-retailer basis, with the information organized according to each retailer's custom definitions of product categories. The only such information tool available in the consumer packaged goods industry, CBP automatically turns information into an analysis that appears onscreen and provides key category performance indicators in the form of "news headlines." Users simply click on a headline for more details.

"We are very pleased that Reckitt Benckiser has decided to join the rapidly growing family of manufacturer clients who are utilizing Category Business Planner," said Steve Carroll, ACNielsen senior vice president of Manufacturer Client Service. "We are confident that CBP will enable Reckitt Benckiser to gain a competitive advantage by working more efficiently with its retail partners and, ultimately, drive sales."

Reckitt Benckiser joins 14 other manufacturers who have signed on for Category Business Planner, including Nestle USA, and 15 retailers, including Meijer, SUPERVALU, Walgreens, Hannaford Bros., CVS, Eckerd, Longs Drug Stores, Winn-Dixie, Ahold USA, and H-E-B.

ACNielsen, a VNU company, is the world's leading marketing information company. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the company provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns.

Note to Editors: Look for this press release and other ACNielsen news on the Internet at http://acnielsen.com/news. More information about Category Business Planner can be found at www.acnielsen.com/cbp.