Claritas Takes On-Line Delivery of Business Data to a New Level; Claritas BusinessPoint Is The First To Match and Append Business Databases in Real-Time.

Business Editors

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 2002

Claritas Inc., the premier provider of intelligent marketing information and target marketing services, announced today the introduction of Claritas BusinessPoint, a distinctive and comprehensive online data source that leverages the latest business information and customer analytical capabilities with the power of geo-demography, and is the first to match and append large business databases in real-time.

"Through its real-time functionality, Claritas BusinessPoint can match business records at the accelerated rate of over 500 records a minute," said Chris Berry, Claritas vice president of Business Information, adding that matching also provides a specific score for each record, creating confidence level categories and highlighting sample records.

However, Berry pointed out that matching is only one of the key steps in developing a marketing campaign, and that Claritas BusinessPoint facilitates all facets of a marketing cycle.

"Business-to-business marketers face the same challenges as those of consumer marketers -- heightened competition, the ongoing emergence of niches and the reduction of business resources in response to the current economic conditions. A far-reaching marketing tool like Claritas BusinessPoint is designed specifically to meet those kind of challenges," commented Berry.

Within the matching aspect, Berry said that marketers can gain insight into the fine details of their customers by matching their file to Business-Facts, Claritas' database of over 12 million businesses. By using the matching results, customers can append detailed statistics about each business on over 35 business attributes, including such variables as sales, number of employees, primary contacts, brand/franchise codes, and potential estimates.

"Then, a client can see reports describing the potential in new markets, or use their match results as a suppression file to remove customers from business lists accessed from Claritas BusinessPoint," said Berry.

As for the geographic component of Claritas BusinessPoint, Berry said it is critical for marketers to size the market and target core businesses like those fitting the profile. "Before Claritas BusinessPoint, this was a tedious and laborious effort involving loading data into geographic information systems and spreadsheets. Now, this is a simple, all-inclusive web-based driven process."

Also, Claritas BusinessPoint allows marketers to implement and deploy up-to-date targeted business lists directly from the website, ranging from a simple mailing list to a detailed prospect list, he said.

"The client has the ability to centralize certain aspects of the marketing process and drive results and data in the field, streamlining the selling process," said Berry.

About Claritas

Based in San Diego, Claritas Inc. is regarded as the premier, worldwide provider of precision marketing solutions, developed, in part, through intricate customer segmentation systems and other such marketing tools. It is a division of the VNU Marketing Information group (VNU MI), an established leader in providing a wide variety of industries with innovative precision-marketing solutions including geodemographic information and qualitative audience research. VNU MI is one of three subsidiaries of VNU Inc., which also includes ACNielsen Media International, Nielsen Media Research, Nielsen NetRatings, VNU eMedia, VNU Expositions, SRDS and SoundScan. To learn more about Claritas' products and services visit its main website at www.claritas.com.