Experian buys wisely - Hitwisely

April 19th, 2007 by Lloyd Gofton

Experian, described as: ‘the global information solutions company’ (what a strapline!) has today announced the acquisition of Hitwise in a £120 million deal.

Hitwise collects and aggregates information from ISPs on how over 25 million consumers use and search the internet. It reports on almost 1m websites each day in the US, UK, Australia and Asia Pacific. The company has increased its customer base by more than 40% in the last two years to 1,200 clients, including the likes of HSBC, AXA, Google, eBay, CBS News, Ask.com, Ikea, MTV and Qantas.

Experian chief executive Don Robert said the acquisition will boost the group’s knowledge of how consumers behave online, helping it capitalise on the continued switch away from traditional media to online advertising.

Does this mean Experian is the latest traditional organisation in a long line, well not that long really, to wake up and smell the online roses? Have they seen the opportunity that the web presents, and thought: ‘I’ll have a bit of that!’

Let’s hope the change in management doesn’t mean a reduction in the insightful data that Hitwise has been churning out, e.g. Heather Hopkins’ blog, which has kept us up to date with topical digital marketing data since it’s launch.

MediaGuardian has the full story.

                              

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