YANGON, Myanmar–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE:NLSN), a leading global provider of
information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, and Myanmar
Marketing Research & Development Co., Ltd (MMRD), the pioneer of
research services in Myanmar with over 20 years of experience in the
market, today announced a new joint venture collaboration, effective 1
March 2014.
The joint venture entity, Nielsen MMRD, will see the two organizations
combine their collective solutions to help companies which are
established in Myanmar or have plans to enter the market to understand
the unique market and consumer dynamics.
“With a population of over 56 million and the second largest land mass
in ASEAN, Myanmar represents one of the last remaining untapped
frontiers for our clients,” said Suresh Ramalingam, Nielsen’s Managing
Director of Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar Cluster. “We are excited to
begin this collaboration with MMRD, a highly-respected and
well-established market research firm in Myanmar, and we look forward to
working closely with the MMRD team to help our combined client base gain
the deepest insight into Myanmar’s marketplace and consumers.”
“We are honoured to partner with Nielsen and view the joint venture
arrangement as a pivotal opportunity to realise our vision to deliver
wider international exposure to our clients while broadening the depth
of our services,” said U Moe Kyaw, Senior Advisor, Nielsen MMRD. “We’ve
seen a substantial increase in demand for insights on Myanmar, evidenced
by the 88.5 percent net growth in market research reported by ESOMAR,
and we are now much better-positioned to help our clients here and
abroad to understand our unique marketplace.”
A LOOK AT CONSUMER AND MEDIA TRENDS IN MYANMAR
Population:
-
According to Nielsen MMRD more than 56 million people currently live
in Myanmar, with close to half of the population (47%) aged less than
24 years old.
Media usage:
-
Television is the most heavily used media with around half of the
population (50.7%) tuning in on a weekly basis, followed by radio
(43.4% weekly penetration), journals (29.8%), newspapers (12.0%),
magazines (7.6%) and cinema (2.7%). -
Internet usage remains low throughout the country with just four
percent of consumers in Myanmar having access to the internet and
usage averaging 3.5 hours per week. Usage in metropolitan areas
outweighs urban and rural areas, with average metropolitan internet
usage at 16.4 percent compared to 7.8 percent and 0.7 percent in urban
and rural areas respectively.
Advertising trends:
-
The number of foreign brands advertising in Myanmar increased
significantly in recent years off the back of an influx of foreign
brands into the country, the launch of 24-hour television stations and
the introduction of private newspapers. Local brands have followed
suit, increasing their advertising spend in order to compete with new
market entrants. In 2013 advertising investment by foreign brands in
Myanmar was US$87.5 million, up from US$28.6 million in 2010. Over the
same period local brands’ investment in advertising grew from US$28.4
million in 2010 to US$64.4 million in 2013. -
Between 2001 and 2013 overall advertising spend increased 13 times,
from US$11.7 million to US$152 million, with the majority of growth
experienced between 2010 and 2013, from US$57 million to US$152
million. -
The top five categories for advertising investment in 2013 across all
media were toothbrushes and toothpaste, followed by coffee mix,
shampoos and conditioners, facial-skin care products and mobile phone
units and accessories. The top five brands included Colgate, Ovaltine,
Signal, HTC and Sunsilk.
Key category trends:
-
Coffee mixes and carbonated soft drinks feature among the largest and
fastest growing categories in Myanmar. Between 2009 and 2013 the
coffee mixes category grew by 104 percent to US$249 million (MMK245
billion) while carbonated soft drinks grew by 126 percent to US$161
million (MMK158 billion) during the same period.
“Recent political reforms coupled with a large, young population and
healthy economic outlook make Myanmar a highly attractive market,”
observes U Moe Kyaw. “The market is shifting rapidly, however, with
burgeoning media usage and evolving purchasing behaviour. Staying
abreast of changing consumer habits will be a critical success factor
for local and multinational companies alike in the years ahead.”
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS DISCLAIMER
This news release includes information that could constitute
forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements
may be identified by words such as ‘will’, ‘expect’, ‘should’, ‘could’,
‘shall’ and similar expressions. These statements are subject to risks
and uncertainties, and actual results and events could differ materially
from what presently is expected. Factors leading thereto may include
without limitations general economic conditions, conditions in the
markets Nielsen is engaged in, behavior of customers, suppliers and
competitors, technological developments, as well as legal and regulatory
rules affecting Nielsen’s business and specific risk factors discussed
in other releases and public filings made by the Company (including the
Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission). This
list of factors is not intended to be exhaustive. Such forward-looking
statements only speak as of the date of this press release, and we
assume no obligation to update any written or oral forward-looking
statement made by us or on our behalf as a result of new information,
future events, or other factors.
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 and mobile measurement. 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.
About MMRD
MMRD was established in 1992 and was Myanmar’s first market research
agency. It has 250 research professionals in 13 regional offices
throughout the country, and has conducted over 400,000 door to door
interviews and 3,000 qualitative research studies.
