Fox Audience Network (FAN), a division of News Corporation, and WPP have announced a partnership to provide marketers with more accurate and in-depth information to increase the effectiveness of their digital marketing investments.

FAN will work with units of WPP’s Kantar and WPP Digital under the terms of the new partnership. These collaborations will provide marketers with better insight across inventory aggregated by both FAN and the Media Innovation Group of WPP Digital.

WPP companies will gain access to FAN's Audience Segmentation service to enrich their insights, planning and measurement offerings. The enhanced audience segmentation services will enable WPP clients to understand and reach highly customized yet anonymous groups of consumers who share relevant interests, such as autos, games, movies or music.

In addition, FAN will gain access to deep consumer insights from Kantar, the research arm of WPP, broadening the information available in its Audience Segmentation platform.

“There is more data than most online marketers know what to do with but not enough insight or action,” said Mark Read, CEO of WPP Digital.

“We are delighted to be working with FAN to integrate Audience Insights into the various WPP platforms, extending FAN's analytics across more publishers and more channels, online and offline, than ever before.”

“In working with WPP, we gain a valuable partner as we extend our Audience Insights platform, which already covers more than 80% of online consumers in the U.S., into the most comprehensive audience analytics service in the industry,” said Adam Bain, president of Fox Audience Network.

“Together, we will create new insights for marketers about who is visiting their digital properties and how particular audience segments are responding to marketing messages.”

Specifically the partnership includes the following:

Compete, a division of Kantar Media, will integrate enhanced features from FAN’s Audience Insights platform into its Compete PRO offering, the leading online measurement and digital intelligence service (found at www.compete.com).

WPP Digital's Media Innovation Group will incorporate elements of the FAN media planning suite into ZAP, its proprietary digital advertising platform.

FAN will aggregate additional retail and other information on an anonymous basis from Kantar Media into its Audience Insights platform to provide more robust audience segments to advertisers.

Sitar Arts Center, a multi-disciplinary arts center for children and youth in Washington, DC's at-risk communities, has been nationally recognized as a 2009 Coming Up Taller award winner by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, distinguishing Sitar as one of the premier afterschool arts and humanities organizations serving youth in the country.

First Lady Michelle Obama presented Sitar with the prestigious award during a special ceremony at the White House on November 4th honoring 15 winners from across the United States, including another DC award-winner, Higher Achievement.

The Coming Up Taller award identifies and supports outstanding out-of-school and after-school arts and humanities programs for children with great potential but limited outlets for creative expression. The organizations chosen for the award offer exceptional learning experiences in the arts and humanities and have a tangible effect on the lives of young people as evidenced through improved academic scores, enhanced life skills, and positive relationships with peers and adults.

"We are honored that Sitar Arts Center's multi-disciplinary arts program has been recognized by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities," said Ed Spitzberg, Sitar's executive director.

"The 2009 Coming Up Taller Award is a testament to the community we've built and the ongoing commitment of our students, parents, volunteers, and nationally recognized artistic partners who work together to help young people in Washington, DC achieve their dreams, whatever they may be. The honor also reinforces the importance of ensuring that no child's artistic talents or ambitions are ever limited by financial factors."

The Coming Up Taller award is presented by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Sitar Arts Center was nominated for the honor by NBC Universal and recommended by Target, both supporters of Sitar Arts Center and its mission to provide the youth in our community the opportunity to explore the arts and discover their artistic talent, regardless of their ability to pay.

Approaching its tenth year of bringing arts education to youth in its inner-city community, Sitar Arts Center has seen a 40 percent increase in enrollment since 2007. Most recently, Sitar's young artists have performed at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage with Grammy-winner Prince's rhythm section, made music at the White House Jazz Studio with the Marsalis family and First Lady Michelle Obama, had their art displayed in the Capitol building, and performed for Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at the national kickoff of Lights on Afterschool. The Center's students have gone on to study the arts at prestigious institutions like Duke Ellington School for the Arts, Michigan State University, Bryn Mawr College, and Bates College.