Discover How to Innovate to Win in New Economy at IRI’s CPG Summit 2010

IRI Summit Helps Retailers and Manufacturers Re-Imagine the Way to do Business and Innovate for Growth

CHICAGO – How can retailers and manufacturers not only survive but grow in today’s new economy? Innovation is the key. Because IRI believes that true innovation is the single most important thing a company can do to compete in the new marketplace, it is taking the highly successful “Insight to Impact” program even further at IRI Summit 2010 by adding a third “I” to the equation with innovation. Summit’s “I3” program will help retailers and manufacturers move from insight to impact, so that they can find and take advantage of opportunities in these unprecedented times. The world-class conference, being held March 22-24, 2010 at the J.W. Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in Texas, will focus on leveraging insights on consumers’ motivations, wants and needs and using them to innovate for growth.

IRI, the leading global provider of consumer, shopper, and retail market intelligence and insights for the consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail and healthcare industries, designed the IRI Summit 2010 conference to help retailers and manufacturers innovate to win through best practices in shopper understanding, pricing and promotion, loyalty programs, advanced analytics and merchandising technologies. To deliver these compelling perspectives, IRI has assembled a virtual “who’s who” list of distinguished keynote speakers, including:

Jim Collins — Author of Good to Great, Built to Last and How the Mighty Fall
Ted Koppel — Senior News Analyst for National Public Radio and Contributing Analyst for BBC World News America
Pamela G. Bailey — President and CEO, Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA)
Gina Boswell — President, Global Brands, Alberto Culver
Grant LaMontagne — Senior Vice President, Chief Customer Officer, The Clorox Company
Angus McIver — Group Marketing and Communications Director, Morrisons Supermarkets
Leslie Sarasin — President and CEO, Food Marketing Institute (FMI)
Philippe Schaillee — Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, Sara Lee North America
Linda A. Suydam — President, Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA)
Jason Alexander — Award-Winning Actor from TV’s Seinfeld and Summit 2010 Awards Banquet Entertainer
Thom Blischok — President, Shopper Marketing and Innovation, IRI
John Freeland — President and CEO, IRI
Dr. Romesh Wadhwani — Chairman, IRI, and Founder and Managing Partner, Symphony Technology Group
These thought leaders will provide insights that will help Summit participants:

Innovate ways to use valuable insights to drive profitability and growth in the current economy
Learn how to understand and predict shopper behavior across channels and geographies
Discover best practices for profitable pricing and promotion strategies
Leverage shopper marketing to impact the bottom line
Use best practices in sales, merchandising and category management
Uncover the newest innovations and solutions from IRI and its valued business partners
Enjoy world-class networking opportunities between buyers and sellers
“As we begin to have a glimmer of hope about more prosperous times, CPG retailers and manufacturers need to ask themselves if they are positioned for what comes next,” says IRI President and Chief Executive Officer John Freeland. “We’ve all learned during the past year that the business climate is anything but constant, so we must create new strategies through creativity and innovation to effectively take advantage of emerging opportunities resulting from change to reach higher levels of growth and performance. And, that’s exactly what IRI Summit 2010 is all about. We’ll help you focus on the future by thoroughly understanding ever-changing shoppers, so that you can innovate accordingly to drive profitability in a new economy.”

IRI Summit 2010 will also feature a wide range of best practice breakout sessions that address today’s most critical business issues. These sessions, led by the industry’s leading domain experts, will feature such topics as shopper understanding in a new economy, forward looking planning and forecasting and price and promotion strategies. In addition, Summit attendees can take advantage the Innovation Showcase featuring the latest innovations in consumer and shopper insights, brand building, market data and retailer merchandising.

For more information about IRI Summit 2010 and to register, visit www.cpgsummit.com.

About Information Resources, Inc.

IRI is the world’s leading provider of consumer, shopper, and retail market intelligence and insights supporting 95 percent of the FORTUNE Global 500 consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail and healthcare companies. Only IRI offers the unique combination of integrated market information, automated and predictive analytics, innovative enabling technologies, and domain expertise. With IRI, leading retailers and manufacturers are able to quickly discover breakthrough insights driving smarter decisions and actions across the enterprise for breakthrough results. Companies around the world depend on IRI for improved productivity, stronger brands, and dramatic revenue growth. For more information, visit http://us.infores.com.