Nielsen says ‘job done' as integration chief departs

US-- “The people of Nielsen have realised they don't need me to give them permission to be creative in how they develop insights and solutions for clients. The ember went on to the fire and now it's raging. So maybe I'm not needed any more…”

So said Jon Mandel in an interview with Research in November 2007 – and 14 months later, the man tasked with leading Nielsen towards a more integrated future has left the company.

Reports from the US say Mandel, the former chief of strategic solutions for WPP's Group M, is eyeing a return to the marketing and media business, after more than two years inside the world's biggest research group. He has described the departure as amicable.

Mandel joined Nielsen in November 2006 as CEO of NielsenConnect, a new division tasked with creating new products and services by fusing together the mass of consumer spending and media usage data held within the group's various business units.

Among the division's successes was a deal with Sony Pictures Television to produce metrics on the cross-platform reach of its media properties, while NBC and Hallmark also signed up for services that merged purchase data with viewing information in a bid to gauge marketing ROI.

But perhaps NielsenConnect's most ambitious project was its effort to bring to market a system for measuring the consumer reach of in-store marketing materials. That service – called Nielsen In-Store – has since been put on hold indefinitely as it was deemed to be not financially viable in the current economic climate.

Following Mandel's departure, the division is to be disbanded. In a statement, a Nielsen spokesman said: “NielsenConnect has run its course – and the hits are being transitioned into businesses. The principles upon which NielsenConnect was founded are now a part of our entire company and we're focused on them every day.”

Author: Brian Tarran