Wednesday, 16 May 2012

Research
August 2011

  • $10m investment for community software firm Get Satisfaction

    8-Aug-2011

    US— Community software firm Get Satisfaction has raised $10m in a second round of financing, bringing total funding to date to $21m.

  • ActiveGroup founder Nelems returns as CEO

    16-Aug-2011

    US— Online qual technology provider ActiveGroup has re-hired its founder David Nelems, who left the firm when it was sold in 2007, as its new chief executive officer.

  • Ad spend growth expectations lowered

    19-Aug-2011

    UK— Industry expectations of growth in advertising spending for this year have fallen to 4.4%, according to ad research body Warc.

  • Adobe's Tarkoff named Lithium CEO

    23-Aug-2011

    US— Online community builder Lithium has appointed Rob Tarkoff as chief executive officer, replacing co-founder Lyle Fong who becomes chief strategist.

  • Aegis shareholders back Synovate sale

    16-Aug-2011

    UK— Aegis shareholders today voted in favour of selling the market research agency Synovate to rival research group Ipsos.

  • Aegis to bring Aevolve insight to Asia Pacific

    8-Aug-2011

    THAILAND— Aegis Media is rolling out its dedicated insight and evaluation unit Aevolve in Asia Pacific, with a former Nielsen media research executive at the helm.

  • Affinnova sales up 44%, sees Europe take off

    12-Aug-2011

    US— Affinnova, a developer of concept optimisation technology, has reported annual sales up 44% for the year ending June 2011.

  • Affinnova secures patent for preference prediction

    19-Aug-2011

    US— Affinnova has secured a sixth patent, for a system “for predicting personal preferences”. The system was invented by Kevin Karty of Affinnova’s innovation team.

  • Altus out, Ellis in as CEO at ImpactRx

    23-Aug-2011

    US— ImpactRX has a new CEO, Gregory Ellis, taking over from Richard Altus (pictured) who leaves the firm four months after it was bought by the parent company of retail researcher SymphonyIRI.

  • An ethical dilemma

    10-Aug-2011

    Researchers shouldn’t be quick to abandon long-held principles like respondent anonymity and informed consent even though it might be commercially tempting to do so, argues Brian Tarran.

  • Angry Birds creator signs up for Medio analytics

    22-Aug-2011

    US/FINLAND— Rovio Entertainment, the creator of Angry Birds, has signed up to use Medio Systems’ range of mobile analytics tools to enhance fan engagement across its range of games.

  • Apple clears Pureprofile app for iPhones

    31-Aug-2011

    US— Online survey company Pureprofile has received Apple approval for its iPhone app that allows members to take surveys and manage their profiles through their smartphone.

  • ARF hires Campbell Soup man as ad effectiveness EVP

    19-Aug-2011

    US— Former Campbell Soup insights VP Robert Woodard has been appointed executive vice president of advertising effectiveness at the Advertising Research Foundation.

  • Aston Martin taps Beehive for customer satisfaction programme

    18-Aug-2011

    UK— Aston Martin, the iconic car brand, has commissioned Beehive to work with it on developing and implementing a research framework for its global customer satisfaction and insight programme.

  • Audience measurement revenue rises at Rentrak

    5-Aug-2011

    US— Rentrak’s consolidated revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 fell thanks to a decline in its home entertainment services division, but the firm’s media information business posted a 13% increase in sales.

  • Authentic Response adds TrueSample panel cleaning

    26-Aug-2011

    US— Online data collection firm Authentic Response has signed up to use MarketTools’ TrueSample online panel cleaning technology to remove fake, duplicate and unengaged respondents from its samples.

  • B2B International develops 'perceived value' metric

    22-Aug-2011

    US— B2B International has developed a new metric called the Net Value Score (NVS) that assesses a brand’s perceived value in the marketplace.

  • Behind the sofa

    4-Aug-2011

    Simon Lidington thinks researchers have forgotten the art of conversation. Turns out all you need is a sofa, a video camera and some cool interactive transcript technology to get people talking.

  • BuzzLogic names chief financial officer

    31-Aug-2011

    US— R. Brian Gibson has been appointed chief financial officer at BuzzLogic, an online media firm that uses social media monitoring technology to place targeted adverts.

  • Carat, Omnicom and ESPN back Keller Fay's UK WOM study

    22-Aug-2011

    UK— Keller Fay Group has launched its TalkTrack word-of-mouth research programme in the UK on a continuous basis, with Carat, Omnicom Media Group and ESPN signed up as clients.

  • Casro publishes draft social media guidelines

    10-Aug-2011

    US— The Council of American Survey Research Organisations (Casro) has published a draft set of guidelines for social media research and is seeking industry comment.

  • Channel 4 hunts new head of audience research

    24-Aug-2011

    UK— Channel 4 is looking to appoint a new head of audience research and insight as the broadcaster implements its “viewer engagement strategy”.

  • Chico's to track fashion brand mentions on social media

    9-Aug-2011

    US— Fashion group Chico’s FAS has tapped SAS for social media analytics to help it monitor and understand what people are saying about its Chico’s, White House Black Market and Soma brands online.

  • Chime's research division sees first-half revenue rise

    23-Aug-2011

    UK— The research division of Chime Communications saw increases in revenue and operating income for the six-month period ending 30 June, but the firm warned it is still operating in a “difficult” marketplace.

  • Communications firm Open Health launches MR consultancy

    1-Aug-2011

    UK— Chime-owned healthcare communications agency Open Health has launched a new market research and brand consulting practice, Open Plan.

  • Community safety

    1-Aug-2011

    Sally O’Rourke says she doesn’t work in research, but she is the European MD for Communispace. She tells us why life without a closed customer community can be ‘dangerous’.

  • ComScore sued over 'secret' tracker software downloads

    25-Aug-2011

    US— ComScore has been sued by two web users who accuse the firm of using “deceitful tactics” to disseminate its web audience measurement software.

  • ComScore to acquire ad verification firm AdXpose, posts Q2 loss

    4-Aug-2011

    US— ComScore has agreed to acquire digital advertising verification and optimisation firm AdXpose in a mostly stock-based deal worth $22m.

  • Confirmit hires customer experience director

    18-Aug-2011

    UK— Customer feedback and market research software firm Confirmit has hired Claire Sporton as director of customer experience management.

  • Co-operative Group appoints insight director

    30-Aug-2011

    UK— The Co-operative Group has appointed Neil Carden in the new role of director of insight and planning.

  • CoreLogic looking at sale, strategic alternatives

    30-Aug-2011

    US— Analytics and outsourcing firm CoreLogic has hired financial advisors to explore options to improve shareholder value, including a possible sale.

  • Crowd DNA launches campaign measurement service

    17-Aug-2011

    UK— Research and strategy agency Crowd DNA has launched a new multi-sector campaign measurement tool called Impact DNA.

  • DC's pharmacy board scraps MR payment disclosure rule

    5-Aug-2011

    US— The District of Columbia’s Board of Pharmacy, a regulatory body, has revised rules that required drugs companies to report incentives paid to doctors to take part in market research projects.

  • Dipsticks founders make way for new MD

    2-Aug-2011

    UK— The co-founders of Dipsticks Research, John and Fiona Raglan, are to step back from the business and play a smaller role, and have promoted Ivor Knox to managing director.

  • Direct mail marketers offered monthly eye-tracking omnibus

    15-Aug-2011

    UK— Royal Mail is working with research agency Eyetracker to run a monthly eye-tracking omnibus for direct mail marketers.

  • 'Do not track' measures pose risk to research, warns Esomar

    17-Aug-2011

    NETHERLANDS— Industry association Esomar has warned that research could face unintended consequences from measures to introduce ‘do not track’ lists for online tracking if it doesn’t protect itself.

  • Echo to measure media perceptions of EU

    12-Aug-2011

    EUROPE— Media and reputation analysis firm Echo Research has been named as the lead contractor to the European Commission for analysing perceptions of the EU in traditional and social media.

  • Ecommerce startup implements IBM analytics tools

    11-Aug-2011

    UK— Technovated, a London-based ecommerce software start-up, is using IBM’s business analytics software to analyse online consumer sentiment and shopping trends.

  • Economic fears to flatten 2011 ad spend growth, Warc predicts

    4-Aug-2011

    UK— Real-terms growth in advertising spend is set to be flat this year as a result of “growing uncertainty about the global economy”, according to ad research body Warc.

  • Editor's note

    26-Aug-2011

    It’s a Bank Holiday in the UK on Monday, so no updates until Tuesday. See you all on the 30th.

  • Election pollsters missing in Mexico – report

    2-Aug-2011

    MEXICO— Police are looking for six polling company workers who went missing over the weekend in the Mexican state of Michoacán, according to the Associated Press.

  • Empower to acquire Market Intelligence Group

    5-Aug-2011

    US— Empower MediaMarketing has agreed a deal to acquire analytics firm Market Intelligence Group (MIG).

  • Engage Research hires behavioural economics leader

    31-Aug-2011

    UK— Former Harris Interactive consultant Colin Deller has joined Engage Research to lead the firm’s new product development and behavioural economics proposition.

  • EU data group says behavioural ad guidelines fall short

    30-Aug-2011

    BRUSSELS— European data protection watchdogs have declared ad industry codes on online behavioural targeting to be insufficient to meet the requirement that web users give “informed consent” before being tracked.

  • Evolution Marketing Research adds Cloud to team

    18-Aug-2011

    US— Healthcare insight and intelligence agency Evolution Marketing Research has hired former GlaxoSmithKline director Blaine Cloud as a senior director.

  • Ex-Dubit execs launch ResearchBods panel business

    15-Aug-2011

    UK— Two former executives of youth communications and research agency Dubit have set up a new online panel business called ResearchBods.

  • Exelate offers ad targeting 'verified by ComScore'

    16-Aug-2011

    US— Exelate, which provides targeting data to online advertisers, is now offering data segments ‘verified by ComScore’.

  • Experience is everything

    August 2011

    The top performers in Nunwood’s US customer experience rankings have one thing in common – deep understanding of their customers, says David Conway.

  • Fieldwork providers Rosslyn and Viewpoint merge

    10-Aug-2011

    UK— Sister fieldwork providers Viewpoint Field and Rosslyn Research have merged to become Viewpoint Field & Studios.

  • Final sentence handed down in child lighter safety test fraud

    3-Aug-2011

    US— The last of four people charged in connection with faked lighter safety tests has been sentenced in federal court.

  • First quarter sees improvement at Creston's insight division

    1-Aug-2011

    UK— The first three months of the financial year saw an improvement for Creston’s insight division, whose revenue has declined over the past few years, the group said in a statement today.

  • Football, rugby and golf wins for IFM Sports Marketing Surveys

    24-Aug-2011

    UK— In a hat trick of contract wins, IFM Sports Marketing Surveys (SMS) has been named the official research agency for the Rugby World Cup, the Football Association of Wales (FAW) and the Solheim Cup.

  • FreshMinds chief names new research leader

    15-Aug-2011

    UK— FreshMinds Research has appointed Annette Müller as managing director, replacing Alistair Leathwood who is moving to Australia as joint MD of Colmar Brunton’s Sydney office.

  • FTC urged to take tough line on 'super cookie' use

    26-Aug-2011

    US— Consumer rights groups want the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take a tough line on companies that attempt to get round people’s online privacy choices using ‘super cookies’ that are hard to find or delete.

  • Gartner reports 16% rise in Q2 revenue

    2-Aug-2011

    US— Gartner’s second quarter revenue increased 16% to $365.5m, with net income up 60% to $32.2m, the IT industry analysis firm said today.

  • Gemius, Mediaresearch picked for IAB Slovakia web research

    9-Aug-2011

    SLOVAKIA— IAB Slovakia has appointed Gemius in partnership with Mediaresearch Slovakia to be the country’s official online audience measurement provider.

  • German privacy watchdog unlikes Facebook

    22-Aug-2011

    GERMANY — A regional data protection watchdog in Germany has told website owners to immediately shut down their Facebook pages and remove ‘Like’ buttons from their sites, because the way the social network tracks and profiles users breaches data protection law.

  • German research body accuses mobile game firm of sugging

    9-Aug-2011

    GERMANY— Internet users in Germany are being warned to steer clear of a mobile game subscription service masquerading as a survey.

  • GfK buys 25% of Media Behaviour Institute

    15-Aug-2011

    GERMANY— GfK has acquired a 25% stake in Media Behaviour Institute (MBI), the firm responsible for bringing the UK-developed multi-media measurement survey Touchpoints to the US market.

  • Grass Roots hires research director from NS&I

    3-Aug-2011

    UK— Mystery shopping and customer satisfaction agency Grass Roots has hired Sarah Wood as research director to oversee various programmes for key clients.

  • Greenberg Quinlan Rosner promotes quartet

    17-Aug-2011

    US— Pollster Greenberg Quinlan Rosner has promoted Andrew Baumann (pictured), Melissa Egelsky and Drew Lieberman to vice presidents and given Adam Slater the role of director of research operations.

  • Gross revenue up 8.4% in first half, says Synovate

    25-Aug-2011

    UK— Synovate “performed well” in the first half of 2011 with gross revenue up 8.4% to £269.7m, parent company Aegis said today. Operating profit rose 14.9% to £5.4m.

  • H,T,P Concept announces new management structure

    16-Aug-2011

    GERMANY— Research and fieldwork firm H,T,P Concept has unveiled a new organisational structure.

  • Hall & Partners forges South African partnership

    25-Aug-2011

    SOUTH AFRICA— Hall & Partners has struck a licensing agreement with South African marketing consultancy Yellowwood that will see the firm’s Engager tool made available throughout Africa.

  • Harris names interim tech, ops and panel head

    30-Aug-2011

    US— Former TNS and Opinion Research man Todd Myers has been appointed interim head of technology, operations and panel at Harris Interactive, according to a regulatory filing.

  • Harris ops director launches new fieldwork agency

    22-Aug-2011

    UK— Harris Interactive’s former director of research operations Dave Laybourne has launched a new fieldwork agency after acquiring his old employer’s Stockport-based call centre in an asset transfer.

  • Harris tech chief Richard Scionti joins Prophet as CIO

    8-Aug-2011

    US— Harris Interactive’s chief technology officer Richard Scionti has left the firm and become chief information officer at strategic brand and marketing consultancy Prophet.

  • Hear me out: Researchers must learn from The Wire

    August 2011

    Luke Perry of Jigsaw Research argues that researchers need to spend some quality time with a box set of the US crime drama.

  • Honomichl sees 'healthy turnaround' for global top 25

    16-Aug-2011

    GLOBAL— The top 25 market research agencies – the “backbone” of the industry – saw a “very healthy turnaround” in fortunes last year, with revenues up 4.9% to $18.8bn, according to Jack Honomichl.

  • Improve your focus

    August 2011

    The mood on the high street might be grim but retailers can still succeed. James Verrinder looks at how they can sharpen up their understanding of customers and respond quickly to their needs.

  • Indian police arrest officials of 'pay to take surveys' firm

    1-Aug-2011

    INDIA— The chief operating officer of Speak Asia – a company that charges panellists a fee to take surveys with the promise of making big money from their opinions – has been arrested along with several colleagues, according to reports.

  • Initiative names new worldwide head of research

    2-Aug-2011

    UK— Liz Parker has been appointed worldwide head of research at media communications agency Initiative. She was previously insight manager at Associated Newspapers.

  • Innovid scoops funding for video analytics push

    31-Aug-2011

    US— Video technology firm Innovid has secured $9.5m in a round of funding led by Sequoia Capital with contributions from existing investors Genesis Partners and T-Venture.

  • In-store monitoring firm BVI gets $8m investment

    11-Aug-2011

    US— In-store monitoring firm BVI Networks has closed an $8m round of financing to support sales efforts and further development of its analytics technology.

  • Interim Harris CFO Narowski gets retention bonus

    26-Aug-2011

    US— Harris Interactive is to pay a $60,000 retention bonus to interim chief financial officer Eric Narowski.

  • iPerceptions reports 9% sales lift in second quarter

    12-Aug-2011

    CANADA— iPerceptions, a maker of tools for measuring online customer satisfaction and experience, has seen a 9% year-on-year rise in second quarter revenue.

  • Ipsos adds social media monitoring capabilities to Observer

    10-Aug-2011

    US— Ipsos Observer, the survey management, data delivery and data collection arm of Ipsos in the US, has added social media monitoring to its toolkit.

  • Ipsos must protect Synovate’s ‘golden nuggets’

    2-Aug-2011

    Adrian Chedore, Synovate’s founding CEO, delivers his verdict on the planned sale of the company to Ipsos. An exclusive interview by Robert Bain.

  • Ipsos OTX MediaCT appoints VP of syndicated services

    30-Aug-2011

    US— Former GfK man Mark McLaren has been appointed vice president of syndicated services at Ipsos OTX Media CT.

  • Ipsos/Synovate deal clears US anti-trust authorities

    30-Aug-2011

    US— Ipsos’s acquisition of Synovate has the go-ahead from US anti-trust authorities, with the Federal Trade Commission granting early clearance of the deal yesterday.

  • Itracks launches new feedback and social media tools

    26-Aug-2011

    CANADA— Itracks, an online qualitative software provider, has developed an advertising and logo design feedback tool called Reality Check and added a social media research offering.

  • Kantar denies ‘stealing’ TRA secrets during merger talks

    3-Aug-2011

    US— WPP’s research division Kantar has denied that it stole trade secrets from ad ROI researcher TRA while the two businesses were in talks about the possibility of a buyout.

  • Kantar Media Compete names Scott Centurino COO

    4-Aug-2011

    US— Scott Centurino has been appointed chief operating officer at digital intelligence firm Kantar Media Compete where he will be responsible for expanding the firm’s global footprint and digital measurement offerings.

  • Kantar Media Intelligence names North American president

    22-Aug-2011

    US— George Carens has been appointed president of Kantar Media Intelligence North America, replacing Mark Nesbitt who has left the company.

  • Kantar renews MR support deal with WNS

    2-Aug-2011

    UK/INDIA— Kantar has renewed its contract with business and knowledge process outsourcing firm WNS after working with the company for the last five years.

  • Kissmetrics chief says tracking lawsuits are 'meritless'

    5-Aug-2011

    US— Web analytics firm Kissmetrics is facing two lawsuits over its tracking practices – but founder Hiten Shah has hit back, calling the actions “meritless”.

  • Kissmetrics drops ETags after privacy researchers' report

    2-Aug-2011

    US— Kissmetrics, which bills itself as a “person-based analytics platform”, has revised its web tracking methods after privacy researchers drew attention to its use of ETag technology – a hard-to-evade form of tracking.

  • Lightspeed launches Greek and Polish panels

    23-Aug-2011

    UK— Lightspeed Research has launched online panels in Greece and Poland, with 5,000 and 12,000 members respectively.

  • Luth Research partners with Exmovere for emotion detection

    18-Aug-2011

    US— Luth Research has announced an agreement with biomedical engineering firm Exmovere to incorporate questions designed to gauge emotion into its surveys.

  • M3 USA buys Doctors.net.uk

    23-Aug-2011

    US/UK— M3 USA, the owner of medical market research agency MDLinx, has acquired Doctors.net.uk, the online network of medical professionals and owner of research business MedeConnect Healthcare Insight.

  • Making the most of a hot zone

    15-Aug-2011

    Crawford Hollingworth shows how technology and behavioural economics are working hand in hand to catch people ‘in the moment’ and get them to act on impulse.

  • Matthias Hartmann to replace Wübbenhorst as GfK CEO

    1-Aug-2011

    GERMANY— Matthias Hartmann, global head of strategy and industries at IBM Business Services, is to replace Klaus Wübbenhorst as CEO of research agency GfK by the end of this year.

  • Meltwater merges IceRocket with social media intelligence tool

    4-Aug-2011

    NORWAY— Media monitoring software company The Meltwater Group has bought social media search engine provider IceRocket.

  • Meteorite owns a piece of Your Future

    19-Aug-2011

    UK— Direct and digital marketing agency Meteorite has acquired a majority stake in strategic brand consultancy Your Future, and the two firms have launched a new planning and consultancy company, The Growth Group.

  • Millward Brown, Cymfony to integrate social media and brand tracking

    11-Aug-2011

    US— WPP-owned agencies Millward Brown and Kantar Media Cymfony are working together to offer clients a mix of online media monitoring and brand and communications research.

  • Missing Mexican pollsters released by mystery captors

    4-Aug-2011

    MEXICO— Nine pollsters who had gone missing while carrying out surveys for an upcoming gubernatorial election in the the state of Michoacan have been freed by “unidentified captors”.

  • MMA names global executive team

    24-Aug-2011

    US— Synovate-owned Marketing Management Analytics has named a new global executive team.

  • MMA to launch Global Centre of Excellence

    18-Aug-2011

    INDIA— Marketing Management Analytics is launching a Global Centre of Excellence in Bangalore responsible for developing expertise and capabilities in advanced predictive and optimisation techniques.

  • More pollsters reported missing in Mexico

    3-Aug-2011

    MEXICO— Three more fieldworkers have gone missing while polling on the gubernatorial elections in the state of Michoacan, following reports of six disappearances over the weekend.

  • Mum’s the word

    August 2011

    Carrie Longton, co-founder of Mumsnet, speaks to Robert Bain about how the business is driven by its community, and how brands are tapping into it for insight and engagement.

  • Nielsen buys Marketing Analytics, focused on measuring sales impact

    9-Aug-2011

    US— Nielsen has acquired Marketing Analytics, based in Illinois, a company that works with consumer goods firms to measure the impact marketing has on product sales.

  • Nielsen online GRPs to launch with Facebook as partner

    4-Aug-2011

    US— Nielsen is poised to launch online campaign ratings – a gross ratings point (GRP)-equivalent system for web advertising – on 15 August, with Facebook announced as one of its data partners.

  • Nielsen testing for cable TV viewed on iPads

    19-Aug-2011

    US— Nielsen has teamed up with Time Warner Cable and Cablevision Systems to test the measurement of live television content watched on iPads.

  • Nielsen's O'Grady and GfK's Love join MBI board after investment

    25-Aug-2011

    US— GfK MRI president and CEO Kathi Love and Nielsen’s EVP of media audience measurement Matt O’Grady have taken seats on the board at the Media Behaviour Institute (MBI) after their respective firms each acquired a 25% stake in the company.

  • 'Not a researcher': De Maagt leaves InSites Consulting

    24-Aug-2011

    BELGIUM— Polle de Maagt has left his role as marketing consultant at MR agency InSites Consulting to work as an independent digital and social media consultant.

  • NPD Group teams up with Eedar for videogame research

    10-Aug-2011

    US— The NPD Group is collaborating with videogame researcher Eedar to provide market tracking services for the gaming industry.

  • O'Brien returns to lead Ipsos Understanding UnLtd

    23-Aug-2011

    US— Marilyn O’Brien has rejoined Ipsos Understanding UnLtd as chair and CEO of the qualitative research division after spending the last year in a group wide global strategic advisory and client management role.

  • Opinionaided Q&A app gets $4.3m from venture capital firms

    12-Aug-2011

    US— Mobile Q&A app Opinionaided has completed its series A round of funding, securing $4.3m from venture capital firms and angel investors to continue development of the platform.

  • People on the move

    3-Aug-2011

    The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research and consumer insight industry, with news from MMR, Synovate, The NPD Group, BritainThinks and more.

  • People on the move

    26-Aug-2011

    The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research and consumer insight industry. This week: CMI, RS Consulting, DunnhumbyUSA, Zing Insights, Fairfax Media, Knotice, MMR Research, 1HQ and AMS.

  • People on the move

    12-Aug-2011

    The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research and consumer insight industry. This week: Forrester, Kudos Research, GfK, Cross-Tab, KBM Group, Kantar Video, Nunwood, Rentrak, Double Helix, ComScore and more.

  • Phoenix Healthcare adds group director to UK office

    17-Aug-2011

    UK— Healthcare researcher Phoenix Healthcare, part of Phoenix Marketing International, has hired Delphine Duchateau as group director at its Richmond office.

  • Poynter takes up UK leadership role at Vision Critical

    9-Aug-2011

    UK— Vision Critical, maker of community panel software, has appointed Ray Poynter as executive vice president and managing director of the company’s London office.

  • Pureprofile to add iPhone app, Facebook integration

    25-Aug-2011

    US— Pureprofile, which runs websites where people can sign up to take part in surveys, is days away from launching an iPhone app that will allow its members to answer questions and build their profiles on the move.

  • Questioning the nature of research

    31-Aug-2011

    Research is undeniably important, says Rory Sutherland, but it needs to be “significantly improved” in light of what neuromarketing and behavioural economics teaches us.

  • Razorfish analytics man Schinn joins Accordant Media

    10-Aug-2011

    US— Media buying and optimisation firm Accordant Media has hired ex-Razorfish analytics executive Craig Schinn as head of analytics.

  • Rentrak scoops first European VOD deal

    1-Aug-2011

    US— TV audience researcher Rentrak has won a “long-term multi-platform” deal to measure the on-demand services of Spanish satellite broadcaster Digital+, through its OnDemand Essentials service.

  • Research Panel Asia taps Data100 China panel

    26-Aug-2011

    CHINA— Research Panel Asia (RPA), a Tokyo-based company, has struck an alliances with Beijing’s Data100 Market Research to draw on the latter’s panel for international and domestic work.

  • Research Rockstar launches survey assessment service

    24-Aug-2011

    US— Research Rockstar has launched an online assessment tool that it says will help survey designers create better questionnaires when using DIY research services.

  • ResponseTek and Synovate form customer experience partnership

    26-Aug-2011

    US— Synovate has struck a deal with customer experience technology firm ResponseTek to combine its insight services with the latter’s feedback management and analysis platform.

  • River running smoothly with £1m sales increase

    17-Aug-2011

    UK— River Research has posted an increase in sales of almost £1m for the last financial year ending 31 May.

  • Rob Holston to head Symphony Analytics

    31-Aug-2011

    US— Retail researcher SymphonyIRI has named former Coca-Cola director Rob Holston to lead its analytics division as executive vice president.

  • Ross McLean to lead mobile research efforts at Egg Strategy

    10-Aug-2011

    US— Marketing research consultancy Egg Strategy has appointed Ross McLean to lead its Over The Shoulder division, which conducts mobile research using an iPhone app.

  • S4C builds research panel with aid of Beaufort

    9-Aug-2011

    UK— Welsh broadcaster S4C is recruiting a panel of 100 people to share their views on the channel’s programmes and services.

  • Sands Research and Brain Intelligence in neuro partnership

    1-Aug-2011

    US/CHINA— Neuromarketing agency Sands Research has struck a deal with Chinese counterpart Brain Intelligence Neuro-Consultancy (BI) to offer their services to clients around the world.

  • Sean Creamer becomes Arbitron COO

    11-Aug-2011

    US— Sean Creamer, formerly chief financial officer and head of US media services at radio ratings provider Arbitron, has moved to the newly created role of chief operating officer.

  • Shopper researcher PRS in South American partnership

    30-Aug-2011

    US— Packaging and shopper researcher Perception Research Services (PRS) has announced a strategic partnership with Latin American research agency Provokers.

  • Showtime Networks reshuffles research responsibilities

    5-Aug-2011

    US— Cable TV broadcaster Showtime Networks has reshuffled its research, programme planning and scheduling team following the departure of Len Fogge, executive vice president of creative, marketing, research and digital media.

  • Simpson Carpenter makes four hires

    25-Aug-2011

    UK— Simpson Carpenter has announced a quartet of new starters: Ryan Howard, Kate Parsons, Daniel Curl and Ewan Bleiman.

  • Slow down! You move too fast

    3-Aug-2011

    Attempts to curb speeding on the roads usually involve a mix of scary messages and the threat of fines or driving bans. But behavioural economics is starting to be applied to this social issue in creative ways, says Crawford Hollingworth.

  • Snap Surveys adds Cint sample service

    11-Aug-2011

    UK— Snap Surveys is integrating Cint’s Direct Sample service into its survey software, giving clients automated access to six million panellists.

  • Social media management firm Buddy Media gets $54m

    15-Aug-2011

    US— Social media management platform Buddy Media has raised $54m in a series D round of funding, coming largely from a group of existing investors.

  • Specific Media adds eye-tracking for advertisers

    17-Aug-2011

    UK— Digital ad network Specific Media has launched an eye-tracking service to pre-test the effectiveness of online creative, working in partnership with technology provider EyeTrackShop.

  • Startup promises Facebook Insights 'on steroids'

    8-Aug-2011

    US— PageLever, a new analytics tool for Facebook fan page administrators has launched with backing from startup investor Y Combinator.

  • Survey software firm QuestBack acquires Globalpark

    2-Aug-2011

    NORWAY— Survey and feedback management software maker QuestBack has acquired German research software firm Globalpark.

  • Synovate combines analytics units SMA and MMA

    4-Aug-2011

    US— Synovate Management Analytics, which was launched last year to help clients integrate research with data from other sources, is being combined with sister company Marketing Management Analytics.

  • Synovate innovation director Jan Hofmeyr to rejoin TNS

    25-Aug-2011

    SOUTH AFRICA— Synovate’s innovation director Jan Hofmeyr is leaving to join TNS with a brief to apply behaviour change thinking across the company’s brand, stakeholder, social and political work.

  • Tangent merges insight agency with creative stablemate

    18-Aug-2011

    UK— Tangent Communications has merged its customer insight agency Snowball with digital creative agency Tangent One to create a new entity, Tangent Snowball.

  • Tech industry publisher Ziff Davis acquires Focus Research

    24-Aug-2011

    US— Ziff Davis, on online media company that provides information about the technology sector, has acquired Focus Research, an online agency that serves IT vendors.

  • The campaign for fruitful error

    25-Aug-2011

    Businesses must legitimise and encourage failure in a way that generates genuine innovation and eliminates the fear of the unknown, says Anthony Tasgal. After all, “to err is human”.

  • The mobile hype ends here

    8-Aug-2011

    Everyone’s got a mobile phone, right? Doesn’t mean they want to take surveys on them. Reg Baker tempers some of the hype surrounding the use of cellphones in market research.

  • The quest for talent

    30-Aug-2011

    Kadence International’s Indonesian office went to unusual lengths to source talent from neighbouring India. Managing director Vivek Thomas explains the difficulties faced in recruiting for research roles in emerging economies.

  • Time to rewrite the rules of research?

    23-Aug-2011

    In their efforts to protect research from regulatory straitjackets and public opprobrium, are research associations leading the industry up a dead end?

  • Time wasters need not apply

    11-Aug-2011

    With free time at a premium, consumers are driven by a desire to avoid ‘dead’ time. Too much choice is too time-consuming, they’ll pay extra to claw back a few minutes and woe betide any company that slows them down. Pete Comley assess the ‘My Time’ trend.

  • Tpoll launches online focus group service

    31-Aug-2011

    UK— Tpoll has expanded its qualitative offering with the launch of an online focus group tool, Tqual Live.

  • TRA secures TV ad targeting patent

    17-Aug-2011

    US— Advertising ROI researcher TRA has secured a patent for using purchase behaviour to target TV ads.

  • TRA taps Kroger data for ROI analytics platform

    23-Aug-2011

    US— TRA is bulking up the data assets underpinning its Media TRAnalytics platform through a partnership with DunnhumbyUSA, which collects and analyses loyalty card data for the retailer Kroger.

  • UK Bill of Rights consultation to look at privacy protection

    5-Aug-2011

    UK— The government has launched a consultation to ask the public whether the UK needs a bill of rights, which could include new rights of privacy.

  • Ups and downs – Giles Lury

    August 2011

    We speak to research professionals about the highs and lows of their careers. This month Giles Lury, director of branding at the Value Engineers, tells us why he wants brands to be consumer-fed, not consumer-led.

  • Verint completes Vovici acquisition

    5-Aug-2011

    US— Speech and text analytics firm Verint has completed the acquisition of online survey management and enterprise feedback tools provider Vovici.

  • Watch this space

    19-Aug-2011

    The way people watch video clips online is changing. Patrick Hourihan explains how Yahoo is helping advertisers get a handle on this fast-moving area.

  • Webtrends buys real-time analytics provider Reinvigorate

    8-Aug-2011

    US— Webtrends has added real-time web analytics to its portfolio with the purchase of Reinvigorate from Media Temple Ventures.

  • What is love, anyway?

    18-Aug-2011

    Ian Addie, Nunwood’s innovation director explores the thorny issue of emotional engagement through the medium of Orangina.

  • WPP reports insight revenue up 1.3%

    24-Aug-2011

    UK— WPP’s consumer insight division has posted a 1.3% increase in revenue for the first half of 2011, with performance impacted by slower growth in the US, UK and Japan in the second quarter.

  • Yahoo taps Facebook for 'six degrees' experiment

    16-Aug-2011

    US— Yahoo and Facebook are setting out to test the hypothesis that anyone in the world is connected to anyone else in just six steps.

  • YouGov shuffles US management, names Struse president

    11-Aug-2011

    US— YouGov has shuffled its senior management in the US market, moving CEO Doug Rivers to the role of group chief innovations officer while promoting Doss Struse (pictured) to president.

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