ACXM Acxiom Holdngs (delisted)

IRI Household Panel Combines with Acxiom Personicx(R) and InfoBase(R) to Drive Successful Marketing Strategies for CPG Retailers, Manufacturers Information Resources, Inc., the world's leading provider of enterprise market information solutions and services for the consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail and healthcare industries, and Acxiom Corporation today introduced a unique consumer insight solution suite that gives CPG manufacturers and retailers an unprecedented ability to target specific types of consumers that have a high likelihood to want and buy selected product categories. This provides far more command over direct-to-consumer marketing, data management and marketing effectiveness measurement. The announcement is part of IRI's ongoing initiatives aimed at providing a deeper, more complete understanding of life stages, brand preferences and the behaviors of today's consumers and shoppers combined with the ability to act on that information to ultimately win at the retail shelf. The result is a far higher return on investment (ROI) associated with marketing strategy, media planning, and direct marketing activity for today's CPG industry. The new suite combines the IRI Consumer Network(TM) Household Panel information with Acxiom's InfoBase data and Personicx consumer segmentation solution. Personicx uses the latest advances in consumer segmentation and data integration techniques to assign each of the 110 million U.S. households from InfoBase to specific clusters based on life stage and attitudes. This segmentation draws on multiple sources of information for each household, resulting in far better targeting effectiveness than outdated systems based solely on geodemographics at aggregated census block groups. The suite provides a series of unique consumer portraits. These reports include in-depth descriptions of key clusters in terms of life stage, lifestyle, product purchase behavior, opinions and attitudes, interests and hobbies, media usage habits and more. The new insights allow retailers and manufacturers to: -- accurately pinpoint and target households that have the highest likelihood of becoming buyers -- refine brand positioning to create messages that truly resonate with consumer targets -- identify untapped markets and consumers -- classify consumer segment purchasing by category and brand -- select the best media vehicle to reach the target consumer Nearly a dozen CPG retailers and manufacturers are already using this approach to increase their marketing productivity, including Food Lion, LLC, which has more than 1,200 stores in 11 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states. "Personicx has been an instrumental part of understanding our customers and prospective shoppers, which is resulting in valuable enhancements to our overall in-store experience," said Charles Davis, director of business strategy and analytics, Food Lion, LLC. "Advanced customer segmentation represents a significant source of competitive advantage and profit growth in a highly complex and fragmented marketplace," said IRI President of Global Services, Sunil (Sunny) Garga. "Working with Acxiom, IRI is positioned to help its clients maximize their marketing efforts. The solution provides a completely unique, efficient and cost-effective way for retailers and manufacturers to immediately begin integrating consumer segmentation insights into existing marketing activities to deliver increased ROI." "This is another great example of how Acxiom and IRI are partnering together to bring products to market specifically designed to meet the needs of CPG manufacturers and retailers," said Acxiom Company Operations Leader Lee Hodges. The IRI Consumer Network Household Panel is comprised of 70,000 U.S. ScanKeys, growing to 110,000 by 2007, who scan their bar-coded purchases. InfoBase contains continuously updated addresses and demographics for more than 110 million U.S. households. About Acxiom Corporation Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ:ACXM) integrates data, services and technology to create and deliver customer and information management solutions for many of the largest, most respected companies in the world. The core components of Acxiom's innovative solutions are Customer Data Integration (CDI) technology, data, database services, IT outsourcing, consulting and analytics, and privacy leadership. Founded in 1969, Acxiom is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, with locations throughout the United States and Europe, and in Australia and China. For more information, visit www.acxiom.com. About Information Resources, Inc. Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) is the world's leading provider of enterprise market information solutions and services, empowering its clients to grow their business profitably in a complex marketplace. Driving the transformation of the consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail, and healthcare industries, only IRI provides a unique combination of real-time market content, advanced analytics, enterprise performance management software, and professional services. The company's portfolio of services, solutions, and technology enable leading retailers and their suppliers around the globe to see what they are missing, act faster with greater confidence and win at the shelf. Ninety-five percent of the FORTUNE Global 500 in CPG and retail leverage IRI to power their business. For more information, visit www.infores.com. Acxiom, Personicx and InfoBase are registered trademarks of Acxiom Corporation.