Experian Automotive today announced that it will offer National Motor Vehicle Title Information Systems (NMVTIS) Reports to California auto dealers, enabling them to stay in compliance with new government regulations. “As of July 1, 2012, all California dealers are required to provide a NMVTIS report prior to selling a used vehicle,” said Scott Waldron, president of Experian Automotive. Being an authorized NMVTIS seller reinforces our commitment to our dealer customers, enabling them to get an AutoCheck Vehicle History report and a NMVTIS report through their current AutoCheck access point. NMVTIS reports provide basic vehicle information in accordance with California state law. When paired with an AutoCheck® vehicle history report, used vehicle dealers and shoppers can feel confident that they are getting the right information to better understand, compare and select the right vehicle. Used car and truck dealers can access NMVTIS reports through Experian Automotive’s AutoCheck. To learn more about the NMVTIS reports from Experian Automotive, visit www.Experian.com/NMVTIS. For more information on Experian Automotive’s other products and services, visit www.ExperianAutomotive.com. Photo: Shutterstock

Experian Marketing Services’ Hitwise® announced today that Google accounted for 65.02 percent of all U.S. searches conducted in the four weeks ending June 2, 2012. The combined Bing-powered search comprised 28.12 percent of searches for the month, with Yahoo! Search and Bing receiving 14.95 percent and 13.17 percent, respectively. The remaining 65 search engines in the Hitwise Search Engine Analysis report accounted for 6.86 percent of U.S. searches. Shorter search queries increase 1 percent in May 2012 Shorter search queries — one to four words — increased 1 percent from April 2012 to May 2012. One-word searches comprised the majority of searches, too, amounting to 29.93 percent of all queries. One-word search queries have increased 19 percent from May 2011 to May 2012.  Longer search queries — those averaging five to eight words or more — decreased 4 percent from April 2012 to May 2012. “As automated search features have rolled out across the major search engines, we can expect to see one-word searches continue to increase as they have over the past year,” said Simon Bradstock, general manager of Experian Hitwise. “The long tail is not going away, rather just becoming more intensified within the shorter queries, and in turn marketers need to focus more on how consumers start their searches.” Learn more about search engine trends.

Last year, Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) introduced the Medical Debt Resolution Act (H.R. 2086), which would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require the Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) to remove paid or settled medical debt from a consumers’ credit file. The bill would require information related to a single fully paid or settled medical debt of $2,500 or less that had been characterized as delinquent, charged off, or in collection for credit reporting purposes, which, from the date of payment or settlement, antedates the report by more than 45 calendar days. As a general rule, expunging predictive information is not in the best interest of consumers or credit granters — both of which benefit when credit reports and scores are as accurate and predictive as possible. If any type of debt information proven to be predictive is expunged, consumers risk exposure to improper credit products as they may appear to be more financially equipped to handle new debt. It’s important to note that medical debts are never taken into consideration by the credit scoring company VantageScore if the debt reporting is known to be from a medical facility. The challenge, however, is knowing when a debt is medical related. For example, when a medical debt is outsourced to a third-party collection agency it is difficult to know the true origin of the debt. Collection accounts of lower than $250, or ones that have been settled, have less impact on a consumer’s VantageScore. The legislation also does not address medical bills paid with a credit card and there is risk that the current language could be interpreted to require that a credit card balance containing paid medical debt be expunged from a credit file. This is a growing issue as patients pay about $45 billion in medical costs with a credit card, according to a 2007 report by Mckinsey & Company. Share your thoughts … Congress Looks at Removing Paid or Settled Medical Debt from Credit Reports ex.pn/LTrVKn — Experian News (@ExperianNews) June 28, 2012 Photo: Shutterstock

 Experian Automotive today announced that there were 17.3 million more light-duty vehicles seven years and older on the road in the United States than there were three years ago. According to its Q1 2012 Vehicles in Operation (VIO) market analysis, Experian Automotive also found that there were more than 245 million vehicles on U.S. roads, and that the age of vehicles increased when compared to Q1 2011, up 1.9 percent to an average age of 11 years. “An increase of later-model vehicles on the road is a positive sign for the industry because it creates growth opportunities in the important aftermarket sector,” said Jeffrey Anderson, director of consulting and analytics for Experian Automotive. “With lower scrappage rates, historically large sales of older-model vehicles and an increase in incentives for maintaining vehicle ownership, aftermarket part manufacturers and retailers will see an influx of shoppers looking to extend the life of their vehicle.” Additional data from the report showed Ford as the most prevalent make on the road in Q1, followed by Chevrolet, Toyota and Honda for both Canada and the United States. At the model level, the U.S. analysis showed that the Ford F-150 had the largest volume on the road, followed by the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Chevrolet Silverado.           Other findings from the analysis showed that light trucks in the United States continue to grow and maintain a higher percentage of the total VIO than passenger cars. Light trucks made up 50.8 percent of the total U.S. VIO in Q1 2012, compared with 49.2 percent of passenger cars. Full-sized pickups make up the greatest percentage of VIO, at 14.6 percent overall, with General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and Toyota making up the greatest majority (98.7 percent) of those vehicles. Additional Q1 2012 findings for the United States include: Hybrid/Electric vehicles represent 0.9 percent of VIO in the United States 78.5 percent of all light-duty vehicles in the United States are 15 years old or newer The top five vehicle segments in the United States make up 50.1 percent of the VIO market Findings from the Canadian Q1 2012 VIO analysis include: More than 22 million vehicles were registered, up from 21.5 million in Q1 2011 The average age of all light-duty vehicles was 9.6 years The largest volume models were Honda Civic, Ford F-150, Toyota Corolla and Dodge Grand Caravan Passenger cars made up the greatest majority of VIO at 53.2 percent, and light trucks only encompassed 46.8 percent Small-economy cars were favored over full-sized pickups, with small cars encompassing 17 percent of the total VIO Hybrid/Electric vehicles represented only 0.4 percent of VIO 85.3 percent of all light-duty vehicles are 15 years old or newer The top five vehicle segments (small economy car, full-sized pickup, lower midrange car, standard midrange car and minivan) made up 60 percent of the Canadian market Click here to tweet this post.   Photo: Shutterstock

                    Experian Marketing Services’ CheetahMail® developed a new Pinterest email functionality late last year that has produced significantly higher both open and click rates for emails with the functionality, while also enabling retailers’ products to go viral. Several retailers, including Ballard Designs, have seen significant increases in click-to-open rates, Pinterest followers and pinboard activity by incorporating the capability into their email campaigns. Specifically, the Pinterest feature allows brands to incorporate “Pin It” functionality within their promotional emails, so that consumers can link products they like to specific pinboards. Email recipients are able to easily share the products featured within the body of the email with friends and followers simply by clicking on the “Pin It” icon — the power of which is word-of-mouth product awareness. The feature is easy to implement, and the CheetahMail team provides the strategy and guidance on how to integrate Pinterest into campaigns, as well as the kinds of campaigns that are best suited to leverage the channel. “We recognized the viral value of Pinterest early and recommended the ‘Pin It’ functionality to clients to help with customer engagement,” said Yara Lutz, vice president of Client Services at Experian CheetahMail. “The emails with the ‘Pin-It’ functionality have consistently delivered increased click-to-open rates and helped our clients, such as Ballard Designs, expand their presence on this valuable social networking site.” Ballard Designs “Spring Favorites Campaign” With the help of its Experian CheetahMail account team, Ballard Designs launched a Customer Spring Favorites promotional email to consumers. The email included six individual products with “Pin It” icons and delivered excellent results. Specifically, Ballard Designs saw: A 2.8 percent increase in click-to-open rates More than 15 percent increase in Pinterest followers within the first week of deployment A 33 percent increase in pinboard activity “Knowing our brand well, Experian CheetahMail proactively reached out to help us strategize and execute the new ‘Pin It’ in email functionality,” said James Pope, director of public relations and social media for Ballard Designs. “It was very easy, and we are extremely pleased with the results of our first ‘Pin It’ campaign, which enabled six products to be ‘pinned’ separately from within the email, increasing click-to-open rates, Pinterest followers and pinboard activity. The functionality has now become an integral part of our ongoing email campaigns.” Pinterest campaigns create higher open and click rates Looking at brands currently sending ‘Pin Us’ campaigns, Experian CheetahMail found that ‘Pin Us’ mailings are generating higher open and click rates when compared to other mailings from the same brands among Experian CheetahMail clients. Pinterest mailings overall are generating 11 percent higher open rates and 25 percent higher click rates than other email campaigns between January 2012 and March 2012. For more information about how Ballard Designs used the Pinterest feature to its advantage, please read the full Ballard Designs case study and view the Social Media’s Hot Trends Webinar.

Theyyyy’re baaack! They once graced American televisions singing witty lyrics about their personal credit woes while waiting tables in pirate costumes, living out of the in-laws’ basement and getting snubbed by women because of their lackluster car. Now, after a two-year hiatus, The Original Band is back by popular demand. Freecreditscore.comTM today unveils a new creative campaign featuring the likable trio in new roles: beneficiaries of success due to credit education. The Original Band’s first run generated a huge groundswell of fan support, and the story continues that like many artists, they needed to recharge their creative batteries. Now flush with success, they decided it was time to listen to their fans and get back to doing what they do best: rockin’ the microphone. “Our company has consistently received requests to bring back The Original Band,” said Ken Chaplin, senior vice president of marketing for freecreditscore.com. “There is an incredible fan base, and it’s apparent that they struck a chord with America. We’ve seen it play out in pop culture as online spoofs, as well as on popular television shows such as Saturday Night Live and Glee.” Music has always been important to the brand’s success. Members of The American Secrets, voted the winning band in the 2010 freecreditscore.com Band Search, have been its most recent musical ambassadors. The power of freecreditscore.com’s commercials has continued to capture the attention of consumers while educating them about credit. Consumers love the infectious music and memorable lyrics, and the three new commercials scheduled for the coming months promise to deliver catchy tunes and a great musical experience. “This is a great example of a client that listened to what customers were saying; there’s still a lot of love out there for these guys,” said Steve Sage, creative director for The Martin Agency. “It’s an iconic campaign and we look forward to this next chapter with our old friends. If you look closely, there are several reminders of the past to be found in these commercials. Stay tuned." In addition to the commercials, fans can follow the band on our social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as on the fan-inspired http://www.freecreditscoreband.com Website, where information, behind-the-scenes videos and images will be housed. Check them out:

Experian Marketing Services, a leading provider of data, analytics and marketing technologies, today announced an expanded relationship with Adrea Rubin Marketing, Inc., the life and health insurance marketing leader. This relationship makes Adrea Rubin Marketing a preferred provider of Experian Marketing Services’ ChoiceScore to the life and health insurance vertical. ChoiceScore helps marketers identify and more effectively market to underbanked consumers. Using the most comprehensive array of noncredit data available from Experian, including consumer demographic, behavioral and geo-demographic information, ChoiceScore’s custom models offer users the ability to select specific consumers based on potential risk. “Experian Marketing Services is a long-time, trusted partner. Their richness of data is excellent, and they have valuable predictive tools that help marketers in the insurance vertical be successful,” said Adrea Rubin, chief executive officer, Adrea Rubin Marketing. “Expanding our relationship with Experian will help us better serve the life and health insurance industry to reach underserved consumers with new products and services.” Adrea Rubin Marketing has worked with more than 30 different insurance carriers selling life, health, and property and casualty products. These carriers market via direct mail, outbound telemarketing, and digital and alternate media channels. Adrea Rubin Marketing’s experience enables insurance carriers to reach the most profitable segments of the Choicescore database as well as their own policyholder file. The firm’s ability to optimize the data as it applies to each individual carrier engagement is unparalleled. “Adrea Rubin’s presence in the insurance industry makes this expanded relationship a natural fit,” said Rick Erwin, president of Data and Analytics, Experian Marketing Services. “This next step will increase the availability of a leading marketing product designed to help marketers reach consumers who may not otherwise be reachable.” Learn more about Experian Marketing Services. Photo: Shutterstock

Did you know that there are 64 million people in the United States that have little or no traditional credit history? These people are typically referred to as underbanked or underserved consumers, and Experian just announced a new Extended View Score that can help these consumers gain access to credit products and services, which can lead them down the path of building a fuller credit history. Extended View is also beneficial for lenders as it can help them expand their lending universe. Steve Wagner, president of Experian Consumer Information Services, who also spoke today at CFSI’s 7th Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum, said: Many of the estimated 64 million consumers with limited to no credit history that are unscoreable by traditional credit scores are creditworthy. Extended View can redefine how businesses evaluate this underserved population and empower more consumers with cost-effective credit and financial opportunities. See our news release for more information on Extended View Score. Photo: Shutterstock

Earlier this spring, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced a proposed amendment to the Assessments, Dividends, Assessment Base and Large Bank Pricing (LBP) rule that it put forward in February 2011. The revised rule attempts to address lender concerns that they would be unable to comply with the new rule’s provisions, particularly the added requirement of reporting subprime and leveraged consumer loans. Under the new proposal, subprime consumer loans would be renamed "higher-risk consumer loans and securities,” and would be defined as: All consumer loans where, as of origination, or, if the loan has been refinanced, as of refinance, the probability of default within two years was greater than 20 percent, excluding those consumer loans that meet the definition of a nontraditional mortgage loan; and Securitizations that are more than 50 percent collateralized by consumer loans meeting the criteria in (a), except those classified as trading book. The FDIC is reviewing comments on the changes and has extended the compliance date for the new reporting requirements until October 1, 2012.