Prizm segments – which group American consumers based on demographics, lifestyles, shopping patterns and media preferences – will be applied to households in the Affiniti database, allowing online marketers to target customer prospects in the same way as their offline counterparts.

Justin Evans, Nielsen’s senior vice president for marketing and strategy, said: “We’re helping to increase the sophistication of online marketing by applying techniques that have been proven offline for decades.”

Prizm segments have been in use for the past 35 years. DataLogix president Eric Roza (pictured) said: “We are thrilled that Nielsen has chosen Affiniti as the first online platform for Prizm.”