Acxiom

Infobox_Company
company_name = Acxiom Corporation
company_
company_type = Public nasdaq|ACXM
foundation = Conway, Arkansas (1969)
location = Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
key_people = John A. Meyer, CEO and President
markets = Financial Services and Brokerage
Retail and Consumer Package Goods
Travel and Entertainment; Media; Telecom
Insurance; Healthcare; High Tech
Manufacturing and Distribution; Automotive; Government
Europe
Asia-Pac
products = PersonicX
AbiliTec
InfoBase
CII - Customer Information Infrastructure (Grid Computing)
revenue = profit$1.38 billion USD (2006)
num_employees = 6,765 (2006)
homepage = [http://www.acxiom.com/ www.acxiom.com]

Acxiom is a global interactive marketing services company that uses consumer data, analytics, information technology, data integration, and consulting solutions to help companies conduct effective and profitable direct marketing programs. [ [http://www.acxiom.com Acxiom.com] ]

It has been described as "one of the biggest companies you've never heard of." [ cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/etc/script.html|title=FRONTLINE's The Persuaders|publisher=Corporation for Public Broadcasting|date=November 9, 2004|accessdate=2007-08-01|quote=But where did all this information come from? How did political parties and advocacy groups know whom to reach with what message? The answer to that question begins here. The Acxiom Corporation of Little Rock, Arkansas, is one of the biggest companies you've never heard of.] In addition to collecting detailed information about people, the company helps marketers anticipate the future needs of consumers, according to the documentary "The Persuaders." As the world's largest processor of consumer data, [ [http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2004/02/23/362182/index.htm Never Heard Of Acxiom? Chances Are It's Heard Of You. How a little-known Little Rock company-the world's largest processor of consumer data-found itself at the center of a very big national security debate. - February 23, 2004 ] ] Acxiom has identified 70 types of consumers with its segmentation product, PersonicX.

Acxiom has traditionally been known for helping many of the world's largest financial services companies conduct direct marketing campaigns, but now more than 75 percent of its revenue is derived from non-financial services clients. Through organic growth and acquisitions, the company has also expanded its portfolio to enable campaigns that reach consumers through multiple channels, including the Web, email, mobile, and point of sale. [ Investor presentation by Acxiom senior management, June 17, 2008, New York ]

The corporation has been listed several times by "Computerworld" [ [http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9024401&pageNumber=75 100 Best Places to Work in IT - Company Profile Information ] ] and "Fortune" [ [http://www.greatplacetowork.com/best/list-bestusa-1998.htm Great Place to Work Institute ] ] [ [http://www.greatplacetowork.com/best/list-bestusa-1999.htm Great Place to Work Institute ] ] [ [http://www.greatplacetowork.com/best/list-bestusa-2001.htm Great Place to Work Institute ] ] [ [http://www.greatplacetowork.com/best/list-bestusa-2002.htm Great Place to Work Institute ] ] [ [http://www.greatplacetowork.com/best/list-bestusa-2003.htm Great Place to Work Institute ] ] as one of the 100 best companies to work for in the United States.

[] =History=

Founded as Demographics in 1969 by Charles D. Ward in Conway, Arkansas, and later headed by Charles D. Morgan, Acxiom is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. [ [http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Acxiom-Corporation-Company-History.html "Acxiom"] at fundinguniverse.com]

The company has additional U.S. offices in Chicago, Illinois; New York, New York; San Mateo, California; and Nashville, Tennessee. International offices are located in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Spain, Australia, and China. Services are also available to companies in scores of other countries. [ [http://www.acxiom.com Acxiom.com] ]

In early 2004, Acxiom acquired Claritas, a major European data provider. [cite pressrelease|url=http://www.acxiom.com/default.aspx?ID=2386|publisher=Acxiom Corporation|title=Acxiom Completes the Acquisition of Claritas Europe|date=January 6, 2004|accessdate=2007-08-07]

In 2005, Acxiom acquired Digital Impact and integrated its digital and online services into its business.

In early 2006, EMC Corporation acquired Acxiom’s information grid software in a $30 million deal. [cite pressrelease|url=http://www.acxiom.com/default.aspx?ID=2895|title=EMC and Acxiom Partner to Accelerate Development and Deployment of Grid-Based Information Infrastructure|date=January 5, 2006|accessdate=2007-08-07|publisher=Acxiom Corporation|quote=EMC Acquires Information Grid Software from Acxiom]

On May 16, 2007, Acxiom agreed to be bought by leading investment firms Silver Lake Partners and ValueAct Capital in an all-cash deal valued at $3 billion, including the assumption of about $756 million of debt. [cite pressrelease|url=http://www.acxiom.com/default.aspx?ID=3130|title=Acxiom Agrees to Be Acquired by Silver Lake and ValueAct Capital for $3.0 Billion|date=May 16, 2007|accessdate=2007-08-01|publisher=Acxiom Corporation] However on October 1, 2007, a press release announced that the takeover agreement was to be terminated and Charles Morgan was to retire as Acxiom’s Company Leader upon the selection of a successor.

On January 17, 2008, Acxiom named John Meyer (from Alcatel-Lucent) as new CEO and President, effective February 4, 2008. [cite pressrelease|url=http://www.acxiom.com/default.aspx?ID=3198|publisher=Acxiom Corporation|title=Acxiom Names John Meyer as New CEO and President|date=January 17, 2008|accessdate=2008-01-17]

On July 11, 2008, Acxiom acquired ChoicePoint's database marketing solutions division, ChoicePoint Precision Marketing, adding seven clients from industries including banking, insurance, and media. [ [http://www.dmnews.com/Acxiom-acquires-ChoicePoints-database-marketing-solutions-division/article/112350/ Acxiom acquires ChoicePoint's database marketing solutions division ] ]

On October 9, 2008, Acxiom Corporation (Nasdaq: ACXM), the global leader in interactive marketing services, announced it has entered into a long-term exclusive contract with XSellNet™ [http://www.xsellnet.com] to deliver and manage the distribution of real-time customer data and analytics to the retail auto dealer industry throughout the United States. The collaboration is co-branded as X12 powered by Acxiom™.

This alliance will leverage Acxiom’s InfoBase-X™, the largest, most accurate, comprehensive and multi-sourced data collection of U.S. consumer information in one source, and XSellNet’s proprietary predicative analytics to create a comprehensive and ground-breaking business intelligence tool for automotive dealerships.

“We are excited to work with XSellNet to help automobile dealers sell more vehicles,” said Tim Longnecker, Acxiom Automotive executive. “The state of our economy and increased competition have made it more difficult for auto dealers to differentiate themselves. The X12 powered by Acxiom solution will provide these dealers with the comprehensive data and powerful applications they need to be highly successful.”

For the first time, dealerships can now apply the power of Acxiom’s business intelligence capabilities to their own DMS (Dealership Management System). X12 powered by Acxiom gives dealerships the power to create a customized profile of their DMS, based on previous customer habits. This allows for predictive scoring of customers and prospects buying behavior catered to the dealers’ demographics. X12 powered by Acxiom is the next generation of XSellNet’s PromoScore™ and XSellNet Adwords™ product offerings.

XSellNet Adwords™ uses the latest auto manufacturer data and integrates the data with keywords on major search engines such as Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search, and MSN adCenter. The service then matches the search keywords to current auto manufacturer cash rebates, dealer promotions, financing offers and incentives and lists the participating dealership as the retailer having these promotions. PromoScore™ delivers this same promotional data directly to participating dealerships’ websites, allowing dealerships to deliver current promotions in real-time to their prospective buyers.

“X12 powered by Acxiom’s predictive analytics allows dealers to focus their efforts on the opportunities with the highest propensity to buy,” said Ed Broyhill, president of XSellNet. “Our goal is to help auto dealers sell more cars for less money.”

About XSellNet XSellNet is the premier provider of integrated sales performance products. XSellNet leverages strategic business alliances to offer superior intelligence for dealers to optimally manage their sales, service and parts profit centers. XSellNet is a privately held firm headquartered in Clemmons, NC and serves clients across the continental United States and abroad. XSellNet is a division of Broyhill Technologies. For more information please visit www.xsellnet.com

Controversy

In 2003, the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a complaint before the Federal Trade Commission against Acxiom and JetBlue Airways, alleging the companies provided consumer information to Torch Concepts, a company hired by the United States Army "to determine how information from public and private records might be analyzed to help defend military bases from attack by terrorists and other adversaries." [ [http://www.epic.org/privacy/airtravel/jetblue/ftccomplaint.html EPIC Complaint Against JetBlue Airways and Acxiom Corp. to the Federal Trade Commission ] ]

According to the complaint, Acxiom's activities constituted unfair and deceptive trade practices, as "Acxiom has publicly represented its belief that individuals should have notice about how information about them is used and have choices about that dissemination, and has stated that it does not permit clients to make non-public information available to individuals," and Acxiom proceeded to sell information to Torch Concepts without obtaining consent, an ability to opt-out, or furnishing notice to the affected consumers.

The FTC took no action against Acxiom, which had responded that it had followed its privacy principles and was not deceptive in its business practices. "Torch Concepts was acting under contract to the Department of Defense in their efforts to research ways to improve military base security," a company spokesman said. "Our policy clearly states that we 'provide information products which include financial information, Social Security number and other related information where permitted by law,' and that this information is 'provided to government agencies for the purposes of verifying information, employment screening and assisting law enforcement.'" [ [http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-09-23-acxiom-jetblue_x.htm Associated Press, "Acxiom denies invading airline passengers' privacy"] ]

In 2005 Acxiom was a nominee for the Big Brother Awards for "Worst Corporate Invader for a tradition of data brokering". [ [http://www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd%5B347%5D=x-347-187899 PI Announces U.S. Big Brother Awards winners for 2005 ] ]

ecurity Breaches

In 2003, over 1.6 billion customer records were stolen during the transmission of information to and from Acxiom's clients; the information included names, addresses, and email addresses. Acxiom's "firewall" was not breached, and no databases were accessed by the hackers. [ Acxiom FY2004 10-K filing ] Prosecutors described the 2006 case against the hacker accused of stealing the data as the "largest ever invasion and theft of personal data" ever tried. [ [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/02/23/acxiom_spam_hack_sentencing/ Acxiom database hacker jailed for 8 years | The Register ] ] The stolen data only came to light during an investigation of a separate data theft incident. [ [http://www.securityfocus.com/news/7697 Chats led to Acxiom hacker bust ] ]

Based on their investigation, prosecutors said there was no risk of identity theft or harm to individuals based on the breaches. They also praised Acxiom for being aggressive in pursuing the hackers and cooperating with authorities. "The positive outcome of this investigation is testament to the strong partnerships we have established with our counterparts at the headquarters and field offices of various organizations, from the FBI and Department of Justice to the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Attorneys' Office in Little Rock," said K.C. Crowley, Special Agent in Charge of Secret Service's Little Rock Field Office. "Furthermore, I commend Acxiom Corporation for their cooperation and responsible approach to the situation. Acxiom's quick response in contacting federal investigators after determining there had been a network intrusion should serve as a model for others in similar circumstances." [ [http://www.ustreas.gov/usss/press/pub1604.pdf U.S. Secret Service news release, July 21, 2004] ] The two primary hackers were sentenced to lengthy prison terms.

References

* [http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/12/12513.html Acxiom Corporation Company Profile] , Yahoo!Finance. Retrieved 2006-06-16.

External links

* [http://www.acxiom.com/ Acxiom Corporation website] .
* [http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060601/20060601005390.html?.v=1 Acxiom Digital Named a Top 50 Interactive Agency By "Advertising Age Magazine",] "Business Wire", 2006-06-01. Retrieved 2006-06-16.
* [http://www.thestreet.com/_tscrss/stocks/general/10286421.html Acxiom Profits Leap] , "The Street.com", 2006-05-18. Retrieved 2006-06-16.