Carat North America Signs 7-Year Contract With Nielsen Media Research; Also Signs for Monitor-Plus and Nielsen//NetRatings Services.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 1999--

Nielsen Media Research (NYSE: NMR) announced today the signing of a new, seven-year advertising agency contract with Carat North America. The agreement includes electronic access to the full range of national broadcast, cable and syndicated information. Separately, Carat signed up for the Nielsen//NetRatings Internet measurement service, and expanded its contract with Monitor-Plus, the competitive advertising intelligence service from Nielsen Media Research.

Carat will have access to person-by-person viewing data (also called respondent-level data) from the National People Meter sample. The agreement supports both the current and future methodologies that Nielsen Media Research will use to measure television in tomorrow's digital environment. A new electronic metering system, called the Active/Passive Meter, is being tested in 500 installed households in the Northeast U.S.

David Verklin, chief executive officer of Carat North America, stated that "a key part of Carat's mission is to create partnerships with the leading experts in the media research industry in order to apply cutting-edge research for the benefit of our clients. This new agreement with Nielsen Media Research is a demonstration of that commitment."

"The unique features of Monitor-Plus are increasingly a source of real competitive advantage for Carat and its clients," said Joanne Burke, executive vice president and managing director of Carat Insight, Carat's front-line, client-centered research unit.

The Nielsen//NetRatings service will provide Carat with unique banner tracking information, "and this will allow us to track our campaigns at a level of detail not possible before or from any other service," added Burke. "The timely nature of the information allows us to take action when it matters, as well as help us plan and manage our Internet campaigns."

"This agreement with Carat reflects our commitment to provide our agency customers with the quality data they need to make more effective decisions in an increasingly complex and competitive media environment," said Buzz Moschetto, general manager, national services for Nielsen Media Research. In the past 30 days, Nielsen Media Research has announced a series of 16 major agency and agency group signings, including MediaVest Worldwide, True North, The Omnicom Group, Young & Rubicam, Bates USA, Havas Advertising, Zenith Media Services, and Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Worldwide.

Carat is the largest independent group of media specialists in the world. It is owned by Aegis plc and is based in London. It has 77 offices in 66 cities across 30 countries, employs more than 2,900 people worldwide, including more than 500 in North America.

Nielsen Media Research (NYSE: NMR) is the leading provider of television audience measurement and related services in the United States and Canada.