Experian launches Mosaic in Germany

News release

Contact:
James Russell
PR Director
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james.russell@uk.experian.com Email

Experian Mosaic launched in Germany

Nottingham, 25 November 2009 - Experian^®, the global information services company, has launched a German version of Experian Mosaic, its market-leading consumer classification. Experian Mosaic uses the company’s extensive data and analytics capabilities to classify Germany’s 68 million adult population into ten major lifestyle groups and, within these, a further 41 separate types.

Experian Mosaic classifies over a billion consumers worldwide and is used in 30 countries covering the USA, Europe and Asia Pacific. Thousands of commercial and not-for-profit organisations use Experian Mosaic to gain insight into local consumer markets, behaviours and lifestyles. In the commercial sector the classification is used by companies to identify, analyse and communicate effectively with target audiences.  Marketers in Germany can use the consumer classification to gain new insights into target groups’ preferences, from their consumption habits, through to their attitudes to technology and purchases. Armed with this valuable household level insight, companies can greatly enhance the success of their prospect and customer marketing campaigns.

The Experian Mosaic classification has been built using a range of compliant public and proprietary data sources[1] to encompass a more detailed understanding of Germany’s ageing population, recent changes in household composition, the growth in ethnic diversity and the impact of the Internet on society.

The groups and types included in the new Experian Mosaic classification reflect some of the most significant changes that have occurred in German society over the last ten years, including:

• 20 years after the Berlin wall came down, German society is still characterised by an East-West divide. This is due to there still being little work available in the Eastern parts of Germany and also that companies are moving from East to West as they struggle to find qualified staff.
• Germany’s ageing society – birthrates have plummeted from one million a year in the 1990s to 700,000 a year today, an issue that could significantly impact the German economy in the future.
  
  

The ten main lifestyle groups that Experian Mosaic describes are:

• Alpha Establishment – the wealthiest group in German society, enjoying high social status living in the country’s most affluent areas.
• Wohlständler im Grüngürtel (suburban achievers) – middle or old aged couples leading prosperous and well established lifestyles.
• Facetten der Stadtmenschen (facets of city people) – students, with a high levels of ethnic diversity, and middle aged couples in mid-level management jobs with leading urban lifestyles.
• Arbeit und Vielfalt (working class diversity) – ‘townsfolk’ working in blue collar  occupations; typically living in tenement blocks and with sufficient purchasing power for their every day lives. This group includes a considerable number of first and second generation immigrants with larger families.
• Strukturwandel in der Kleinstadt (focus small town) – one of Germany’s most disadvantaged groups - living either on welfare or barely above the subsistence level.
• Älterwerden in Deutschland (getting old in Germany) – people in small family homes outside major cities living off solid retirement savings.
• Komfortabel in der Kleinstadt (well-established in the small town) – close to retirement or retired people having led successful professional lives and one of the new pillars of German society.
• Die jungen Familien (young families) – people with younger children, having just bought their first home.
• Etabliertes Kleinstadtglück (established small town happiness) – the majority of Germans living in small towns or communities in average paid jobs.
• Landbevölkerung mit Herausforderungen (rural population on the edge) – people living in remote, under developed rural areas where job prospects are low.

Michael Lausenmeyer, Operations Director Germany for Experian, commented: “Experian Mosaic has become the classification of choice and is used by thousands of leading organisations around the world. Using Experian’s global data and analytics capabilities we have further enhanced our marketing services portfolio in Germany with the addition of Experian Mosaic.

“The success of Experian Mosaic is founded on its unmatched accuracy, richness and detailed level of insight, underpinned by 25 years experience in developing classification systems. The result is an exceptional, vivid and accurate picture of consumers, their households and neighbourhoods in contemporary German society.”

About Mosaic
Mosaic is also a global consumer classification tool and is available in 30 major countries. It classifies a billion consumers worldwide, covering a third of the surface area of the Earth and is available in all of the world’s most prosperous economies including China, North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Mosaic is used in the commercial sector to map, analyse and target potential and existing markets for any products and services. It is used by retailers and property developers as a key tool for site location, evaluation, sales optimisation, benchmarking and measurement. 

About Experian
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 65 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft.

Combining its unique information tools and deep understanding of individuals, markets and economies, Experian partners with organisations around the world to establish and strengthen customer relationships and provide their businesses with competitive advantage.

For consumers, Experian delivers critical information that enables them to make financial and purchasing decisions with greater control and confidence. Clients include organisations from financial services, retail and catalogue, telecommunications, utilities, media, insurance, automotive, leisure, e-commerce, manufacturing, property and government sectors.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index.  Experian has corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and has operational headquarters in Costa Mesa, California and Nottingham, UK.  The Group employs approximately 15,000 people in 40 countries worldwide, supporting clients in over 65 countries around the world. Total Group revenue for the year ended 31 March 2009 was $3.9bn.

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com.