Jupiter Media Metrix - Media Metrix And Jupiter Communications, Media Metrix Acquires Jupiter Communications

Jupiter Media Metrix is a leading market research and consulting firm that reports on the impact of the Internet and new technologies on commerce and marketing. Jupiter Media Metrix was formed in September 2000, when Media Metrix acquired Jupiter Communications for about $350 million in stock. The company's five business units were subsequently organized around its core competencies of measurement (Media Metrix), analysis (AdRelevance), intelligence (Jupiter Research), and events (Jupiter Events), with an international division (Jupiter Media Metrix International) focused on global expansion.

Jupiter Media Metrix provides audience measurement reports for Internet usage that are based on data collected from panels. The company's panels are randomly selected personal computer users, including at-home and at-work users, who are selected by random digit-dial telephone calls and direct mail. As of late 2001 the panel consisted of 50,000 individuals in the United States and another 50,000 located outside the U.S., all of whom were under continuous measurement. Through a proprietary metering system, the activity of each panel member's computer operating system and Web browser is monitored on a second-by-second basis.

The company's audience measurement database is then used to create a wide range of reports and services designed to help companies make intelligent business decisions regarding electronic commerce and the use of Internet and related technologies. A Key Measures report covers visitors and visitor demographics, among other measures, for all reportable Web sites by category. The database also tracks national and local market reach to show how national and local Web sites are performing within each of the top 38 local markets.

Other reports include the Q-Metrix Report, first introduced in 1999, which provides data on consumer media habits, product and service usage, lifestyle characteristics, and demographics. Among the specific areas covered in Q-Metrix Reports are banking and credit card activity, Internet shopping behavior, television viewing habits, and hobbies. The company's Online Shopping Report covers more than 500 Internet sites and the AOL Shopping Channel.

Another group of reports analyzes and reports on computer ownership and usage. The HardScan, Soft-Scan, and SoftUsage Reports produced by Jupiter Media Metrix cover hardware ownership, computer peripheral ownership, branding information, installed applications, and system software, including Internet browsers and the use of software applications. The company's Linkage Reports and its U.S. Consumer PC Report analyze the relationships between computer hardware, software, media, ownership, and usage.

In addition to publishing reports, Jupiter Media Metrix provides its clients with research services to help them make business decisions about Internet commerce and consumer and business use of the Internet and related new technologies. Using a wide range of data-gathering tools, Jupiter Media Metrix provides research services and products to help client companies set business and strategic goals, identify revenue opportunities, formulate and evaluate business models, develop and analyze marketing strategies, and determine which technologies and vendors are best suited to their needs.

Through its Jupiter Events division, Jupiter Media Metrix conducts numerous conferences and expositions focused on electronic commerce and new technologies for business. These two-to-three-day events provide the company with an opportunity to showcase its latest research and measurement products for clients and potential clients.

Jupiter Media Metrix operates globally. It maintains measurement panels and produces research products and services in nearly 15 countries in North and South America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim.