Nielsen Buys Sport Marketing Startup vBrand

Rating measurement company Nielsen has acquired sports marketing startup vBrand, the companies announced Thursday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

vBrand automatically detects advertisers' logos in sports broadcasts, weighing factors impacting exposure such as duration, size, and image clarity.

vBrand’s service will enable Nielsen customers to “make smarter and faster decisions on sponsorship placement,” said Howard Appelbaum, president of Nielsen Entertainment. The service will be integrated into Nielsen Sports, Nielsen’s sports division, the companies said.

Global sports and entertainment sponsorship spend is projected to exceed $60 billion in 2017 alone, Nielsen said.

vBrand is a graduate of Nielsen Innovate—Nielsen’s early-stage technology incubator in Israel. In 2016 the company took part in a Tel-Aviv startup commercialization program sponsored by Coca-Cola, Turner and Mercedes-Benz called ‘The Bridge.’