SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, today announced the launch of its innovation hub in Singapore. NielsenLAB, the first-of-its-kind innovation hub in Asia, will develop and leverage cutting-edge technologies and methodologies in neuroscience, shopper technology and measurement science to fuel consumer and market insights for companies working to reach consumers in Asia.

NielsenLAB, aligned with the Singapore Economic Development Board’s focus on consumer insights, has already started working with companies, including a media broadcaster (applying neuroscience to understand viewer interest and engagement) and a global consumer packaged goods company (setting up an in-store environment to understand shopper behavior).

A team of Nielsen experts in the fields of neuroscience, shopper technology and measurement science will be based in Singapore to help develop local talent for the company and the overall industries Nielsen serves. NielsenLAB will also engage experts across industries, academia and government to raise the bar on innovation in the areas of consumer and market insights. NielsenLAB currently comprises the following centers of excellence:

• NeuroLAB leverages innovative neuroscience applications¹ to measure consumer attention and engagement through brainwave and other indicators. The goal is to provide actionable insights to increase the effectiveness of clients’ investments such as advertising, branding and product packaging.
• ShopperLAB leverages virtual, mobile and eye-tracking technologies to yield critical insights into in-store “hot” buying zones, what shoppers do, see and feel in-store, etc. The goal is to enable clients to optimize in-store sales.
• MSciLAB will continue to innovate in the areas of market measurement and consumer information, leveraging Nielsen’s measurement science expertise to boost coverage of retail outlets in developing markets, particularly in Indonesia, India, China and Africa to help companies understand retail trends.

“Singapore is committed to further developing our consumer insights capabilities to help more companies understand Asia through Singapore,” said Quek Swee Kuan, Assistant Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board. “With Nielsen’s global track record in innovation, we are delighted that Nielsen has chosen Singapore for the first NielsenLAB outside the USA. The NielsenLAB is a significant addition to the strong base of innovation activities in Singapore, and underpins our value as the ideal location to develop new technologies and methodologies to understand Asian consumers.”

Recently, the company launched Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings, the only Internet measurement system accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC) that provides GRPs for online advertising campaigns, enabling for the first time consistent cross-platform reach and frequency metrics. Nielsen also launched the Consumer & Media View service in Asia in 2011, an innovation which provides media planners and advertisers with an integrated tool to accurately target audiences across multiple media platforms including online, radio, television and out-of-home.

“NielsenLAB underscores our continuing commitment to deliver innovative solutions to help companies identify and capture new opportunities to meet the burgeoning consumer demand in Asia,” said Cheong-Tai Leung, Nielsen’s President of Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa. “Together, the purchasing power of Asian consumers has never been more compelling but needs vary across markets. By innovating ‘in Asia for Asia’, we are looking to provide companies with even more differentiated strategies to uncover and deliver to consumers’ unique needs - from first-time consumers to those in the middle- and upper- classes and the increasingly more affluent consumers.”

Leung added, “The world-class talent pool and infrastructure in Singapore enables ideal conditions for NielsenLAB. We are excited to have a common vision with Singapore – to conquer new frontiers in providing market and consumer insights into Asian consumers.”

About Nielsen

Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related properties. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

¹ From NeuroFocus, a part of Nielsen and a market leader in neuromarketing insights