Retail And Consumer Products Industry Leaders Gather To Gain Exciting Insights Into Consumer-Centric Merchandising, Sales, And Marketing

ACNielsen Marketing Executive Delivers Keynote Address, 'Profiting from Trends in the Global Consumer Marketplace'

San Carlos, CA - DemandBetter 2006, DemandTec's fourth annual customer conference -- held at the Claremont Resort & Spa, Berkeley, California, from April 24 to 26 -- drew a crowd of enthusiastic attendees from the retail and consumer products industries who came to learn, share best practices, and discuss the capabilities, processes, and information technology necessary to better understand and serve the consumer of the 21st century.

DemandTec, Inc., the leading provider of Consumer-Centric Merchandising, Sales, and Marketing software, hosted the conference, which included pre-conference activities on April 24, conference sessions on April 25, and the DemandTec Customer Advisory Board Meeting on April 26. ACNielsen and Accenture sponsored the conference as DemandTec partners. At the conference, DemandTec's partners, as well as the company's retailer and manufacturer customers, came together with DemandTec subject-matter experts and industry thought leaders for detailed presentations and lively discussions of industry challenges, best practices in merchandising, sales and marketing, and DemandTec's future product direction.

The keynote address was given on Tuesday, April 25, by Laurence Michael, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing for ACNielsen, who discussed the importance of Consumer-Centric Merchandising and Marketing for today's retailers and consumer products firms. "Reaching consumers today is a complex and multi-faceted task. The better the tools and information you have, the better your chances for success," noted Michael during his presentation. "The ACNielsen DemandTec alliance can help retailers worldwide by combining the best software, information, analysis and client service." ACNielsen, the world's leading marketing information provider, last year announced a strategic alliance with DemandTec to deliver Consumer-Centric Merchandising solutions to retailers worldwide.

Retailers shared information about how to strategically focus on key customer segments with targeted merchandising, how to drive significant gains in sales and profits, and how to align merchandising and marketing to drive long-term customer value and loyalty. Manufacturers discussed raising the ROI of trade promotion spending, managing pricing strategically to maximize brand performance, and driving improvements in sales and profitability for their own companies and those of their retail customers.

"This year's conference offered retailers and manufacturers an outstanding opportunity to learn how to enhance their understanding of consumers via DemandTec's Consumer-Centric Merchandising, Sales and Marketing software," said Dan Fishback, CEO of DemandTec. "In the future, leading companies will take maximum advantage of software applications, such as those DemandTec offers via a Software-as-a-Service delivery model, content such as that from ACNielsen, and professional services to automate and transform their ability to understand and serve the consumer. In so doing, they increase their competitive advantage in an increasingly complex and competitive marketplace."

SOURCE: DemandTec, Inc.