BDI · CDI Market Analysis
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Ready to analyze
Connect to Snowflake, configure your study and hit Run Analysis.
1
Click Snowflake Connect and enter your credentials
2
Select a BDI Brand (the brand you're analyzing)
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Select a CDI Category (the competitive set)
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Hit Run Analysis to generate maps, quadrant and table
Generated SQL Query

📊 Study Insights
SQL Query Editor
Edit the query then click Run — results will update in the dashboard
💡 You can add WHERE clauses, change date ranges, or add extra filters. The query must return the same columns: GEO, SALES, PANEL_SIZE, BDI_Index, CDI_Panel_Size, CDI_Sales, CDI_Index, TOTAL_POPULATION
Platform Guide
Syndicated Audience Index · BDI/CDI Methodology
What is this platform?
This is an Audience Index Intelligence tool that helps brand and media teams understand where specific retail or restaurant audiences are concentrated across the US, and where competitor or category audiences are stronger.

The Audiences tab uses pre-loaded data from 200,000 consumer households (Sep 2025 – Feb 2026). No database connection required — results are instant.

The BDI/CDI tab connects live to Snowflake to run custom brand/category analysis on the full transaction dataset.
How to use — Audiences tab
1
Quick Studies — click any preset study to load a pre-built analysis instantly (Costco, McDonald's, Starbucks, Walmart and more).
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Segment A (BDI) — the retailer or restaurant chain you're analyzing. Single selection. Search or browse by category (Grocery, Club, QSR, etc.).
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Segment B (CDI) — the comparison set. You can select multiple segments (e.g., all burger QSR chains) for a category-level CDI. Each chip you add is included in the comparison.
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Geography — switch between By State (50 states) or By DMA (210 Nielsen media markets). DMA is more useful for local media planning.
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Apply Selection — results populate instantly. Click Insights in the header for a natural-language summary of findings.
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Export Excel — downloads a formatted workbook with the index data, charts, and the full list of segments used in the study.
Key Terminology
BDI Brand Development Index
Measures how well a brand is performing in a specific market relative to the rest of the country, normalized by population. BDI = (Brand sales % in market ÷ Population % in market) × 100 A BDI of 120 means the brand sells 20% more per capita in that market vs. national. A BDI of 80 means 20% below national average. 100 = exactly at national average.
CDI Category Development Index
Same formula as BDI but applied to the entire category (all competing brands/retailers). Tells you how strong consumer demand for the category is in each market. CDI = (Category sales % in market ÷ Population % in market) × 100 A high CDI means consumers in that area buy a lot of this type of product — but not necessarily your brand. That's the opportunity gap.
DMA — Designated Market Area
A geographic region defined by Nielsen (now NielsenIQ) based on which TV broadcast market the area belongs to. There are 210 DMAs in the US. The 62 major DMAs in this platform collectively cover ~85% of the US population. DMAs are the standard unit for local media planning and buying.
Panel Size
The number of loyalty program or receipt-scanning households in a given market used as the denominator in the index calculation. A larger panel = more statistically reliable results. Markets with very small panels (<500) should be interpreted with caution.
Index Score Interpretation
100 = exactly at national average
≥ 120 = significantly over-indexed (strong market)
≤ 80 = significantly under-indexed (weak market)
80–120 = near-average (neutral)
Quadrant Strategy Matrix
↗ Over-Developed
High BDI · High CDI
Brand and category both strong. Defend share. Efficient maintenance spend.
↖ Niche Strength
High BDI · Low CDI
Brand over-performs despite weak category. Monitor — vulnerable if category declines.
↘ Opportunity ★
Low BDI · High CDI
Category demand exists but brand isn't capturing it. Highest ROI for incremental investment.
↙ Deprioritize
Low BDI · Low CDI
Weak market overall. Redirect budget to Opportunity markets.
💡 The diagonal line (BDI = CDI) is the equilibrium. Markets below the diagonal are where the brand has the most to gain from increased investment.
Data Fields Explained
State / DMA
Geographic unit of analysis. State = 50 US states + DC. DMA = Nielsen media market.
BDI Sales
Total brand sales (in dollars) captured in this market during the selected period.
Panel Size (BDI)
Number of brand households in this market. Used as the population proxy for BDI calculation.
BDI Index
Brand sales per household vs. national average × 100. Core metric for brand health.
Panel Size (CDI)
Number of category households. Should represent total market, not just one retailer.
CDI Sales
Total category sales across all competitors in this market.
CDI Index
Category demand per household vs. national average × 100. Tells you how active the category is locally.
Classification
Over-Developed / Neutral / Opportunity, based on the BDI÷CDI ratio vs. your configured thresholds.
Recommended Field Improvements
Based on industry BDI/CDI practice, these fields would add analytical depth:
+ High Value
Opportunity Gap (CDI − BDI) — a single number ranking markets by growth potential. The higher the gap, the more the category outpaces the brand.

Brand Share of Category (BDI Sales ÷ CDI Sales × 100) — what % of category dollars go to the brand in each market. Directly actionable.

YoY BDI Trend — comparing this year's BDI to prior year shows whether each market is growing or declining before you allocate spend.
~ Consider
Population / % of US Population — adds market size context. A large Opportunity DMA should be prioritized over a tiny one.

Sales Per Household — normalizes by household count for fair cross-market comparison beyond the index.

Purchase Frequency — how often households in each market buy. Frequency × basket size drives total sales.
− Revisit
CDI using same retailer as BDI — a CDI where the denominator is the same retailer as your BDI brand measures your own category share, not competitive category demand. For a true CDI, the denominator should be all competitive retailers in the category. Consider switching CDI mode to "Product Category" for the most accurate results.
BDI vs CDI — Quadrant Analysis
Over-Developed
Neutral
Opportunity