Sacre Bleu! French Lifestyle for the Brits

THE LAUNCH BY Paris-based Consodata of its lifestyle data and household marketing program into the U.K. looks set to shake up the already burgeoning British data market.

According to Consodata president/CEO Marc Henon, “We have three core competencies [data acquisition, data management and data services] which are very global concepts.”

Already the market leader in France for the provision of lifestyle data despite only starting up in 1995, the company has expanded into Spain and Italy. Its plans include launches in Germany and the Netherlands in early 1999. Consodata currently holds lifestyle data on 3.5 million French households and expects this to grow to 5.7 million by 2001. In the U.K. it will add 1 million records every year.

The company has two proprietary offers that look set to give it a lead over its British rivals. “We own our own targetable medium-Consoclub -which has been very successful in France,” explains Henon. Alone among lifestyle data operators, it mails respondents a magazine on a quarterly basis which includes offers and promotions from sponsoring companies relating directly to the interests indicated by the individual.

In the U.K., neither of its lifestyle data rivals-Claritas and ICD (now owned by Experian)-have used any kind of loop back to the marketplace.

In addition, Consodata runs its Home Marketing Service for clients, which exploits lifestyle variables to maximize the turnover within product categories. Danone and Philips are already major clients in France, while the Consumer Needs Consortium has signed on in the U.K. This depth is what makes Consodata such a strong challenger in the U.K.

In France, simple list rental of lifestyle data comprises only 35% of turnover, with added value services making up the majority of its revenue. Turnover has already grown to 11 million Lira from 6 million Lira in 1997, and is predicted to reach 23 million Lira by 1999. In the same period, the French market will move from representing 80% of income to 55%, reflecting the company’s international ambitions.

According to Bryan Cassady, managing director of Consodata U.K., “our proprietary system has been named by Oracle as the world’s fastest data warehouse.” With backing from French media buying group Carat and media owner Hachette, Consodata evidently has the muscle to back up its vision.