Research
Feb 2011
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A day in the life of Brian
22-Feb-2011
Welcome to a day in the life of Brian Tarran, Research’s news editor. Brian spent the day wearing a FishEye camera around his neck, which is used by research agency Firefish to conduct ‘lifelogging’ as part of its studies.
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A private affair
21-Feb-2011
Online fieldwork firm Toluna is being taken private like its rival Research Now before it. Both were good deals for the buyers, bagging them high-growth businesses – and with time away from the public gaze, managers have the opportunity to invest and innovate for the future.
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AdLabs to mine Yahoo's 'vast data repository'
4-Feb-2011
US— Yahoo is making a commitment to “advance the science of digital advertising” with AdLabs, a new group that aims to build on the work done by its Yahoo Labs team over the past five years.
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AMI division boasts growth of 98% in third quarter says Rentrak
9-Feb-2011
US— Rentrak’s revenue and profit continued to shift in the direction of its Advanced Media and Information (AMI) division in the third quarter fiscal 2011, the company said yesterday, reporting growth of 98% in sales of its media research and data services.
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Apply with care
Feb 2011
Nine out of ten researchers agree that inflated survey-based claims in TV and magazine ads are infuriating. Adam Curtis, associate director of Outlook Research, searches for a solution.
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Arbitron agrees extended contract with CEO William Kerr
15-Feb-2011
US— Arbitron has extended chief executive William Kerr’s contract by a year, with chairman Philip Guarascio praising his leadership through a series of “extraordinary” events since taking over in January 2010. His new deal will expire in 2013.
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Arbitron and ComScore run three-screen pilots for CIMM
11-Feb-2011
US— Arbitron and ComScore have been commissioned by the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) to run separate “proof of concept” studies measuring consumption of programming and advertising across TV, PCs and mobile phones.
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Arbitron posts increase in full year and Q4 profits
16-Feb-2011
US— Arbitron has reported an increase in both revenue and profit for the fourth quarter of 2010 and the year as a whole.
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Audience research and targeting firm Mindset acquired by Meebo
8-Feb-2011
US— Mindset Media, which produces psychographic profiles of website audiences for ad targeting purposes, has been acquired by Meebo, a developer of social networking tools.
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B2B International reports sales up 12% to £3.8m
28-Feb-2011
UK— B2B International has kept up its 12-year run of growth with a double-digit increase in revenue in 2010.
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Banking taskforce appoints BDRC Continental for SME study
24-Feb-2011
UK— A taskforce set up by the British Bankers Association has hired BDRC Continental to run a survey of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) exploring their financing arrangements and banking relationships.
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Behavioural Insight Team yet to win converts, finds NAO
21-Feb-2011
UK— A unit set up within government to apply behavioural economics to policy-making is struggling to win converts internally, according to a National Audit Office (NAO) report.
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Bojole co-founder relocates to lead first UK office
9-Feb-2011
UK— Moscow-based research firm Bojole has set up an office in London to act as a base for providing international fieldwork coverage for its clients looking to expand their business outside Russia.
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Bring on the secret shoppers
9-Feb-2011
Mary Portas’s Secret Shopper is a lesson in the value of good customer satisfaction research, says Jamie Thorpe, head of commercial relations at Grass Roots.
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Burger King's European insights manager departs
9-Feb-2011
UK— George Davidson, Burger King’s consumer insights manager for North West Europe, has left the fast food firm less than two years into the role. It is not known whether he has another job to go to.
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Burger King's man in Madrid set for EMEA insights role
22-Feb-2011
SPAIN— Burger King is poised to name Iker Vazquez Baños as head of customer insight for the EMEA region, following a major shake-up of its UK marketing and insights teams.
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CACI to hold memorial service for Moscow blast victim
18-Feb-2011
UK— Market analysis firm CACI is to hold a memorial service to remember the life of Gordon Cousland, a consultant at the company who was killed in the Domodedovo Airport bombing in Moscow last month.
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Case study: It's all in the eyes
Feb 2011
Anders Tegenkvist, deputy managing director of Ipsos Sweden, on how eye-tracking helped Carlsberg understand how pub customers pick their drinks.
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Casro's CIRQ certifies first US panel company as ISO-compliant
9-Feb-2011
US— The Council of American Survey Research Organisations (Casro) has certified its first company for adherence to ISO 26362, which sets minimum international quality standards for online and offline access panels.
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CMI wins Family Dollar Stores satisfaction work
16-Feb-2011
US— Family Dollar Stores has contracted full-service market research agency CMI to carry out a chain-wide customer satisfaction tracking programme.
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Community buy-in
8-Feb-2011
Yesterday’s big news was Omnicom’s purchase of online community firm Communispace. Here, Forrester analyst Tamara Barber looks at what lessons the acquisition has for the MR industry and what it means for the future of Communispace.
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Comparethemarket.com signs up for Speed-Trap analytics
25-Feb-2011
UK— Car insurance comparison website Comparethemarket.com has signed up to use Speed-Trap’s web analytics service, delivered through partner firm IS Solutions.
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ComRes appoints European insight manager
24-Feb-2011
UK— Pollster ComRes has appointed Monika Matyastikova to the new role of European insight manager to head up the firm’s “growing portfolio” of European Union-related work.
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ComScore sees record revenue, but no profits in 2010
18-Feb-2011
US— ComScore has posted record revenue for the fourth quarter of 2010, but costs linked to severances and acquisitions meant that the firm made a loss during the period.
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Convio to acquire analytics agency StrategicOne
1-Feb-2011
US— Convio, which provides fundraising services to non-profit organisations, has agreed to acquire analytics, predictive modelling and database marketing agency StrategicOne in a deal worth at least $5m.
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Cooper confirmed as PM's director of political strategy
21-Feb-2011
UK— Andrew Cooper is to take a leave of absence from his role at polling firm Populus to become Prime Minister David Cameron’s director of political strategy, it was confirmed this morning.
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CRE hires BIA/Kelsey for video experience research
23-Feb-2011
US— Nielsen’s client think tank the Council for Research Excellence (CRE) has hired media researcher BIA/Kelsey to conduct a review of available research on user experience of video formats.
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CRE issues RFP for hybrid audience measurement
11-Feb-2011
US— The Council for Research Excellence (CRE), a Nielsen-funded body whose members include major media owners, advertisers and agencies, has issued a request for proposals for an agency to carry out a survey into hybrid digital audience measurement techniques.
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Creston reports 'notable' new business for ICM
3-Feb-2011
UK— Insight and communications group Creston has reported 6% like-for-like revenue growth in the nine month period to 31 December. Its research agency ICM had seen a “notable increase in commissions” over the period, Creston said.
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Demoscope selects MARSC for panel and sample management
18-Feb-2011
UK— Switzerland-based full service agency Demoscope has signed up to use research software firm MARSC’s panel management and sampling system.
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Diary: Talent shows, tastings and ties
Feb 2011
A round-up of things that caught our eye in and around the research industry this month.
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Digital mag platform Zinio taps Webtrends for analytics
14-Feb-2011
US— Digital magazine distributor Zinio has signed up to use the Webtrends mobile analytics package to track usage of its Unity platform on iPhone, iPad and Android devices.
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Dixons Retail insight man to tackle brand research at Nokia
10-Feb-2011
UK— Humayun Rashid, group insight manager for customer experience at Dixons Retail is leaving the firm next week to join mobile phone maker Nokia as senior manager of brand research.
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'Do not track' bill heading for the House this week – report
9-Feb-2011
US— A bill that paves the way for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to implement a ‘do not track’ programme for people wishing to opt out of behaviourally targeted advertising could be introduced this week.
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Doctors.net names former Emap group MD to non-exec role
28-Feb-2011
UK— Claudia Arney has been appointed non-executive director at Doctors.net.uk, the online network of medical professionals and owner of healthcare researcher MedeConnect Healthcare Insight.
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EasyInsites sees 16-fold increase in annual revenue
24-Feb-2011
UK— Custom panel builder EasyInsites has reported a 16-fold increase in revenue for 2010 with sales of £557,700, versus £33,600 a year ago. Profit for the period was £46,000.
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Effective Measure replaces Nielsen on DMMA web contract
22-Feb-2011
SOUTH AFRICA— The Digital Media and Marketing Association (DMMA) has appointed Effective Measure as its new provider of internet audience measurement services, ending an eight-year relationship with Nielsen.
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Emnos enters US with Dunnhumby man at the helm
16-Feb-2011
US— Retail data analysis firm Emnos has opened an office in Chicago to serve customers in North America, with Dunnhumby’s Adam Holyk picked to lead it.
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EmSense hires, plans new bio-sensory research tools
8-Feb-2011
US— Neuromarketing agency EmSense has bolstered its ranks with the addition of four new senior hires – and announced plans for a new range of services to be released later this year.
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Esomar unveils draft social media guidelines
23-Feb-2011
NETHERLANDS— Esomar is inviting public comments on a set of draft guidelines for social media research.
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Ethnography: Caught between myths
25-Feb-2011
Qual researchers in the commercial sphere often feel they can only do ‘ethnography light’. Kantar Media’s Isabella Simpson urges them to have more confidence, and challenges some of the myths surrounding the ethnographic approach.
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EU warns of privacy threats from new kinds of cookies
23-Feb-2011
EUROPE— The European Union’s online security agency has warned of the threats to online privacy from the next generation of cookies.
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Ex-Arbitron executive Pierre Bouvard lands at TRA
28-Feb-2011
US— Former Arbitron executive Pierre Bouvard has joined advertising ROI measurement agency TRA, where he will oversee sales and customer relationships with networks and stations.
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Ex-Hall & Partners directors look to behavioural economics for new business
15-Feb-2011
UK— A trio of former Hall & Partners directors have launched a research agency specialising in the use of behavioural economics, called Monkey See.
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Ex-O2 insight man takes up Harris qual role
14-Feb-2011
UK— Harris Interactive has appointed Steve Reiman as head of qualitative research, responsible for overseeing the development of new qual-related products and services.
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Experian Simmons moves to web-based platform
2-Feb-2011
US— Experian has introduced a new web-based platform for its consumer research service Experian Simmons.
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Flash cookie respawning 'on the wane', say Carnegie Mellon researchers
3-Feb-2011
US— Use of Flash technology to respawn deleted html cookies may be on the wane, according to a study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University.
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FoI request finds £9m in research cuts across four government departments
28-Feb-2011
UK— Four government departments cut almost £9m of research and statistical data collection spend in the months following the general election last May, a Freedom of Information request has found.
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ForeSee Results wins British Airways deal
18-Feb-2011
UK— British Airways has hired ForeSee Results to measure satisfaction levels of visitors to its website.
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Former IBM and Yahoo execs given MarketShare regional roles
24-Feb-2011
US— Marketing analytics agency MarketShare has appointed two new senior executives to bolster its presence in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and Japan.
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Forrester's Colony hails 'solid' 2010 performance
11-Feb-2011
US— Forrester Research CEO George Colony said this week that the firm turned in a “solid” performance during the fourth quarter of 2010 and the year as a whole.
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G4S picks ETS to design employee engagement study
7-Feb-2011
UK— Security giant G4S has commissioned human resources consultancy and software provider ETS to develop its global employee engagement survey.
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Gartner posts double-digit revenue increase for Q4 and full-year
8-Feb-2011
US— IT industry analyst Gartner has reported a 17% rise in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2010, and a 13% increase for the year as a whole.
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GfK appoints Basu and Salles to regional director roles
15-Feb-2011
GERMANY— GfK Custom Research has named Debi Basu as director of Asia Pacific and Middle East operations, while Jean-Christophe Salles takes on responsibility for Latin America.
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GfK beats growth expectations for 2010
2-Feb-2011
GERMANY— GfK expects to report revenue growth of around 11% for 2010, beating expectations.
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GfK boss Klaus Wübbenhorst to step down next year
23-Feb-2011
GERMANY— Klaus Wübbenhorst, who has served as CEO of research giant GfK since 1998, is stepping down next summer “for personal reasons”, the company has announced.
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GfK hails 'excellent' 2010 as sales pass €1.3bn
25-Feb-2011
GERMANY— GfK is celebrating an “excellent” 2010 after sales increased 11.1% to €1.29bn, while adjusted operating income climbed 25.7% to €185m.
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GfK Healthcare adds three new senior researchers
22-Feb-2011
GERMANY/US— GfK Healthcare has added a trio of new senior research leaders to head practice areas in Germany and North America.
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GfK Ukraine nets TAM contract extension
4-Feb-2011
UKRAINE— The Television Industry Committee (TIC) in Ukraine has extended GfK’s contract to carry out TV audience measurement in the country by another two years.
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Havas Digital turns to Experian Hitwise for online insights
4-Feb-2011
US— Havas Digital has signed up to use Experian Hitwise’s online competitive and consumer insights services as part of its offering to clients.
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Hear me out: Let's give away more research for free
Feb 2011
Ever had an idea that you know is genius, but everybody else thinks is crazy? Here is your chance to share it with the world of research. This month, Chloe Fowler of Razor Research argues for more freebies.
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Hopes raised for ad-specific ratings as Nielsen adopts Ad-ID
11-Feb-2011
US— Hopes have been raised that ratings for individual TV commercials, rather than commercial breaks, could soon be a reality after Nielsen agreed to adopt the Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) Ad-ID system.
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HP buys Vertica analytics platform
14-Feb-2011
US— Hewlett-Packard (HP) has bought Vertica, the developer of a real-time analytics platform used by the likes of media monitoring firm VMS, online video measurement agency Visible Measures and health care data supplier SDI.
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HPI hires Q founder for Mobilocity task
16-Feb-2011
UK— Q Research co-founder Liam Corcoran has joined HPI to launch a mobile research division called Mobilocity, utilising SMS, the mobile web, apps, location-based tracking and interactive voice response.
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Idio acquires social media tech firm Thrudigital
2-Feb-2011
UK— Idio, the maker of a content analytics platform for publishers, has acquired social media firm Thrudigital, which makes websites and social network tools for brands and media owners.
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iPinion ports survey app to Android platform
18-Feb-2011
US— Mobile survey software developer iPinion has launched an Android OS version of its smartphone app after introducing a version of the research tool for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch users last year.
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Ipsos and Gemius collaborate on MENA web measurement
15-Feb-2011
UAE— Ipsos and Gemius are rolling out website audience measurement panels in seventeen Middle East and North African countries, using a combination of site-centric and user-centric methods.
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Ipsos finalises AP senior team with Pall taking top job in India
14-Feb-2011
INDIA— Sonia Pall, a former Nielsen executive, has been appointed chief executive of Ipsos in India – the final senior appointment in the company’s recent Asia Pacific management reshuffle.
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Ipsos passes the billion euro mark in 2010
23-Feb-2011
FRANCE— Ipsos has reported organic growth of 8.3% in 2010, with revenues totalling €1.14bn.
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Jicreg appoints newspaper man Donaldson to CEO role
10-Feb-2011
UK— The Joint Industry Committee for Regional Media Research (Jicreg) has appointed Keith Donaldson as its new chief executive, a role he will take up in August. He replaces Roger Holland who has spent 20 years with the organisation.
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Jonkheid killer sentenced to life in jail
16-Feb-2011
SOUTH AFRICA— The killer of consumer researcher Klaas Jonkheid was today jailed for life in Cape Town High Court. Elton Smith, 23, was also given 15 years for aggravated robbery and three years for possession of an unlicensed gun to run concurrently with his murder sentence.
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Kadence adds FocusVision technology to Singapore office
7-Feb-2011
SINGAPORE— Kadence International has added FocusVision’s focus group video technology to its facility in Singapore, and been awarded partner status with the technology provider as a result.
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Kevin Thompson joins Ipsos in social media role
2-Feb-2011
US— Ipsos OTX MediaCT has moved Kevin Thompson to the new role of senior vice president of social media.
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Kinesis develops barcode scanning app for MR projects
11-Feb-2011
US— A new barcode scanner app from Kinesis Survey Technologies allows research respondents to record their purchases using their smart phones.
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Krishna Kabra to lead BrainJuicer in Canada
1-Feb-2011
CANADA— BrainJuicer has appointed Krishna Kabra as senior vice president to oversee its Canadian business, replacing Bill Ratcliffe.
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Lab42 unveils social network sampling service
22-Feb-2011
US— A new name has emerged in the field of social media sampling, Chicago-based Lab42, a start-up that conducts surveys on samples of Facebook and MySpace users.
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Major charities back development of new online panel
10-Feb-2011
UK— Major charities Barnardo’s, Cancer Research UK and WWF are partnering with Clear Stream Research on the development of an online panel which has pledged to raise at least £90,000 a year for the organisations.
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Market Dynamics founder's new consultancy promises 'more for less'
17-Feb-2011
UK— Former Marketing Dynamics boss Jon Francis has set up a new agency that aims to get clients “20% more on marketing spend for 20% less investment”.
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Market Probe signs up research partners in developing markets
10-Feb-2011
US— Market Probe has established strategic partnerships with companies in Mexico, Poland, Russia and Argentia as part of a push to introduce its customer advocacy research services in developing markets.
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MarketShare to acquire performance measurement agency MarketingNPV
10-Feb-2011
US— Marketing analytics agency MarketShare has struck a deal to acquire MarketingNPV, a firm specialising in measuring marketing performance.
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MarketTools adds features to TrueSample quality tool
7-Feb-2011
US— MarketTools has released a new version of its TrueSample panel quality tool, which provides more information to help panel owners understand the behaviour of their respondents.
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MD Corston set to leave co-creation firm Sense Worldwide
4-Feb-2011
UK— Sense Worldwide managing director Nick Corston is set to leave the co-creation agency in April, just shy of three years in the role.
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Media Monitors takes majority stake in social media researcher Brandtology
17-Feb-2011
SINGAPORE— Australian media researcher Media Monitors has acquired a majority stake in Singapore-based social media tracking firm Brandtology.
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Media research veteran Roger Gane to retire in March
18-Feb-2011
UK— Roger Gane, a 40-year veteran of the media research industry and currently a director of RSMB Television Research, is to retire at the end of March.
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Millward Brown appoints Svendsen as global brand director
21-Feb-2011
US— Millward Brown has appointed John Svendsen as senior vice president and global brand director within its Global Media Practice.
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Millward Brown names Larry Schack chief client strategist
15-Feb-2011
US— Millward Brown North America has hired Larry Schack as chief client strategist, tasked with helping the firm’s business leaders develop key accounts and strengthen the company’s position with customers.
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M-Lab founder Williams joins BDRC Continental as research director
9-Feb-2011
UK— Graham Williams, a co-founder of media research firm M-Lab, has left to join BDRC Continental in the role of research director.
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Mobile research platform Thumbspeak sold to Cint
8-Feb-2011
US— Thumbspeak, the nascent app-based mobile research platform founded by former Greenfield Online and Vovici CEO Dean Wiltse has been acquired by research software and services provider Cint.
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MRIA disputes 'crisis of confidence' in polling industry
28-Feb-2011
CANADA— The Marketing Research & Intelligence Association (MRIA) has taken out a full-page ad in the political weekly The Hill Times to tackle recent criticism of opinions polls as unreliable, inaccurate and far too prolific.
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MTV Networks names Fahey Rush chief research officer
16-Feb-2011
US— MTV Networks has promoted Colleen Fahey Rush to the newly created position of executive vice president and chief research officer.
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Mumsnet members tapped to answer Innocent questions
4-Feb-2011
UK— Smoothie makers Innocent are recruiting and launching an insight panel through a partnership with the influential parenting website Mumsnet.
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Neil Davy joins Hall & Partners in global client development role
1-Feb-2011
UK— Hall & Partners has appointed Neil Davy to the new role of global client partner, to oversee the agency’s international client development.
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Nielsen acquires retail tracker MEMRB – but details sketchy
11-Feb-2011
CYPRUS— Nielsen has acquired the bulk of retail sales tracking firm MEMRB for a reported fee of €60m – but both companies are refusing to discuss details of the transaction.
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Nine new faces at MMR Research Worldwide
3-Feb-2011
UK— MMR Research Worldwide has drafted in nine new executives since the start of the year, including former TNS research director Ian Horritt.
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NPD and Fusion Marketing expand research alliance
7-Feb-2011
US— The NPD Group and Fusion Marketing have expanded their strategic research alliance to provide clients with information about the produce industry.
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Omnicom buys community builder Communispace
7-Feb-2011
US— Omnicom’s Diversified Agency Services (DAS) division has acquired online community builder Communispace for an undisclosed amount – making it the firm’s second MR-related purchase in the space of a week.
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Omnicom buys The Modellers to meet analytics demands
4-Feb-2011
US— The Modellers, a marketing research agency specialising in predictive modelling and advanced analytics, has been sold to Omnicom’s Diversified Agency Services (DAS) division.
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ONS consults on plan to scrap household survey
23-Feb-2011
UK— The Office for National Statistics has launched a consultation on proposals to scrap the General Lifestyle Survey after this year.
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Opinionology launches Real Customers panel service
28-Feb-2011
US— Fieldwork agency Opinionology, formerly Western Wats, has launched a service that allows clients to conduct online surveys with their own customers.
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Order! Order!
Feb 2011
Voters and politicians don’t enjoy the healthiest of relationships. Jonathan Knott takes a look at the role that pollsters, and the journalists who report their findings, have played in that relationship. Can opinion research help bring about a new politics?
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PAC buys Berlecon Research
2-Feb-2011
GERMANY— French tech researcher Pierre Audoin Consultants (PAC) has acquired Berlin-based Berlecon Research.
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Paul Edwards joins Hall & Partners as European CEO
17-Feb-2011
UK— Hall & Partners has appointed TNS-RI chairman Paul Edwards as its European CEO.
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People on the move
25-Feb-2011
The latest appointments and promotions in the market research and consumer insight industry. This week: McCallum Layton, Enprecis, TNS, Leapfrog, Sentient Decision Science, Karmasphere, Brand Driver, Ipsos, MarketVision, Common Sense Advisory, Rentrak, Crimson Hexagon, CMI and Cint.
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People on the move
2-Feb-2011
The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research and consumer insight industry. This week: Millward Brown, Lowe’s, Nissan, SPA Future Thinking and more.
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People on the move
10-Feb-2011
The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research and consumer insight industry. This week: MRSI, The Research Agency, Principles Research, The Interactive Advertising Bureau, Research Now, Decode, Kinesis, Arbitron, AOR, Langer, Vovici and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner.
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Peruvian election board reverses personal data rule
17-Feb-2011
PERU— The National Elections Board (JNE) has reversed new regulations that required pollsters to pass on respondents’ personal information.
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Peruvian pollsters protest over threat to respondent anonymity
16-Feb-2011
PERU— Pollsters are at loggerheads with Peru’s National Elections Board (JNE) over a rule that would require them to pass on personal information about survey participants, including their names, ID numbers and contact details.
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Photon reports AUS$32m loss in second half of 2010
17-Feb-2011
AUSTRALIA— Marketing services group Photon has reported a decline in revenue and a AUS$32m (£19.8m) loss for the second half of 2010.
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Plenty to report
Feb 2011
Metro’s research director Katharine King on how audience insight has helped the free newspaper carve out its place in a tough market.
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Populus founder tipped to become PM's strategy director
16-Feb-2011
UK— Populus founder Andrew Cooper is being tipped to become Prime Minister David Cameron’s director of strategy. Newspaper reports say Cooper is one of two new faces set to join the senior team at Downing Street.
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Portable potential
Feb 2011
We live in the age of the mobile device. But has research kept up? Robert Bain looks at the market for mobile research, and considers its future potential.
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Pulse Group adds client development manager
28-Feb-2011
SINGAPORE— Digital research agency Pulse Group has appointed Naveen Bab as client development manager.
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Pulse Group launches apps for Facebook and LinkedIn recruitment
21-Feb-2011
SINGAPORE— Digital research agency Pulse Group has launched new applications for leading social media sites Facebook and LinkedIn as a way to recruit new members for its Planet Pulse panel.
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Relaunch for ECGlobal's US Hispanics panel
14-Feb-2011
US— ECGlobalPanel has relaunched its research panel of US Hispanics after a two-and-a-half year hiatus, during which time it focused on the development of its Latin American panel.
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Rentrak hails 'industry first' data deal with Donovan
24-Feb-2011
US— Media measurement firm Rentrak has struck a deal with Donovan Data Systems to incorporate television viewing data collected from set-top boxes into the latter’s ad planning, buying and posting systems.
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Rentrak hires LogicLab's Wilson to work with national TV clients
7-Feb-2011
US— LogicLab president Chris Wilson has left the marketing analytics business to join media research firm Rentrak in the role of president of national linear television.
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Researcher, research thyself
8-Feb-2011
Client demands on research agencies are often portrayed anecdotally as unreasonable, unrealistic or excessive. So Relish Research asked ten insight managers to explain what it is they’re looking for in a supplier. ‘Good, solid research’ was a popular response.
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Rightrack launches DIY survey tool
1-Feb-2011
INDIA— Research technology firm Rightrack has launched a DIY survey tool, EasyResearchPro.
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Robert Winston on public engagement with science
28-Feb-2011
“We have something of a crisis on our hands in understanding how the research that we do as scientists… is actually relevant to the population in general.”
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Rothenberg returns to IAB following Time departure
23-Feb-2011
US— Randall Rothenberg has returned to his role as president and CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) just over a month after he left the organisation to join magazine publisher Time Inc.
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Salvoni lands at Satmetrix after Harris split
15-Feb-2011
US— Harris International’s former international president Robert Salvoni has joined customer loyalty agency Satmetrix as its international managing director.
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SAS buys marketing resource management firm Assetlink
24-Feb-2011
US— Business analytics firm SAS has bought Assetlink, the developer of marketing resource management software which SAS plans to incorporate into its customer intelligence offerings.
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Sedulo Group unveils qualitative research offering
3-Feb-2011
US— Sedulo Group, a competitive and market intelligence agency working in the pharmaceutical space, has launched a new qualitative market research service called Clarity.
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Sermo scoops $3.5m to expand physician community
22-Feb-2011
US— Online physician community Sermo has been awarded $3.5m in growth capital funding from private equity house MMV Financial.
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Simulmedia and Magnaglobal combine for targeted TV ads
17-Feb-2011
US— TV ad targeting firm Simulmedia has formed a strategic alliance with Mediabrands’ insight and forecasting agency Magnaglobal. The two companies will produce ongoing research, case studies and recommendations focusing on audience-based targeting.
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Sinclair Broadcast Group expands Rentrak deal
2-Feb-2011
US— Sinclair Broadcast Group has agreed a new expanded agreement to receive audience figures through Rentrak’s StationView Essentials service.
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Six European agencies form international network
1-Feb-2011
EUROPE— Six research agencies in Europe have joined forces to form a network, RedRay International Research Partners.
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SPA Future Thinking awarded Comic Relief contract
25-Feb-2011
UK— Comic Relief has hired SPA Future Thinking to track engagement and recall of the charity’s advertising campaign in the build-up to Red Nose Day 2011.
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Spend money. Deliver better
24-Feb-2011
Walmart’s investment in a new global customer insight team stands to significantly boost its understanding of consumers and hand it greater leverage in dealings with suppliers, making sure the right products are on the shelves at the right time and at the right price.
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Starcom MediaVest Group expands Rentrak deal
4-Feb-2011
US— Brand communications agency Starcom MediaVest Group has signed an expanded contract to receive both local and national TV audience figures from Rentrak.
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Synovate adds new leaders to Greater China operation
24-Feb-2011
CHINA— Synovate has made changes to its senior leadership team in Greater China with a new appointment and two promotions.
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The Readership Works appoints Mal Dale to new GM role
4-Feb-2011
AUSTRALIA— Print industry body The Readership Works has appointed Mal Dale to the new position of general manager, where he will be responsible for developing, launching and managing Australia’s new readership metric.
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TLC promotes Staro to senior vice president of research
11-Feb-2011
US— Laura Staro has been promoted to senior vice president of research at TLC, a cable TV channel owned by Discovery Networks which airs a range of reality and information-based programming.
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TNS hires Isaac as global marketing director
1-Feb-2011
UK— TNS has hired former Microsoft marketing man Tim Isaac to fill the newly created role of global marketing director.
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Toluna shareholder makes £161m takeover bid
14-Feb-2011
FRANCE— Toluna looks set to be taken private by an investment group led by minority shareholder Verlinvest in a deal that values the online panel company at around £161m.
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Top Box and Harris Interactive strike forecasting alliance
17-Feb-2011
US— Harris Interactive and forecasting and analytics agency Top Box have formed a strategic alliance to offer clients a forecasting service for new products.
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Truth names leader for Asian expansion
21-Feb-2011
UK— Truth has appointed Claire Parham to lead its expansion into Asia, which commences this May with the opening of a new office in Singapore.
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TV ratings body OzTam names independent chairman
23-Feb-2011
AUSTRALIA — Michael Anderson has been appointed to the new role of independent chairman of TV ratings body OzTam, in response to competition concerns raised by one of the organisation’s owners.
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Tynt Multimedia debuts online publishing tool
3-Feb-2011
US— Tynt Multimedia, a firm specialising in services for online publishers, has developed a new set of tools to help website owners see how their audiences are engaging with content.
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UM and Initiative sign up for Interpret's new media survey
3-Feb-2011
US— Mediabrands agencies UM and Initiative have subscribed to a quarterly syndicated survey of digital media usage, carried out by research agency Interpret.
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Ups and downs – Damian Eade
Feb 2011
Ditch the crazy deadlines and splash on the Old Spice, says Damian Eade, research director at Insight Research Group.
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ValueAct to reduce stake in Gartner with stock offering
15-Feb-2011
US— Gartner shareholder ValueAct Capital is to sell off around half of its shares in the company, reducing its stake from 17.5% to 8.7%.
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ViziSense owner Komli Media reshuffles top management
10-Feb-2011
INDIA— Digital media network and audience measurement firm Komli Media has made changes to its leadership and opened a new engineering centre in Bangalore.
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Voxco appoints UK MD to lead new London office
2-Feb-2011
UK— Canadian survey software firm Voxco has opened an office in London and appointed Richard Owen as its UK managing director.
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Walmart promotes Davis to global insights role
15-Feb-2011
US— Retail giant Walmart has appointed Cindy Davis as vice president of global consumer insights, moving her across from its Sam’s Club discount online shopping site.
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Web consortium to investigate tracking protection standard
25-Feb-2011
GLOBAL— The Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) is to kick-off a debate around the creation of a universal standard and mechanism to allow web users to stop companies tracking their online behaviour.
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Wellbeing questions to feature in Integrated Household Survey
25-Feb-2011
UK— A new batch of questions asking people to rate their own wellbeing will be included in the Integrated Household Survey (IHS) from April, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has decided.
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'When it comes to the NHS everyone has a story to tell'
21-Feb-2011
Louise Tamblin has spent two decades working in healthcare MR and is the new head of research at healthcare specialist Strata Research following a spell as group director at Kantar Health. In our latest Spotlight, she looks at how healthcare research differs from its more commercial counterpart and whether the sector will be affected by the new age of austerity.
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Wittenbraker moves to new role at GfK US
2-Feb-2011
US— GfK’s North American custom research business has moved John Wittenbraker to the newly created role of managing director of corporate innovation and hired James Conrad as managing director of its brand and communications practice.
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WorldOne promotes Campion to North American president
1-Feb-2011
US— Online healthcare data collection agency WorldOne has promoted Matt Campion to president of its North American operation.
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YouGov and Adform partner to test online banner ads
8-Feb-2011
DENMARK— YouGov and digital marketing agency Adform have teamed up to offer a service that provides qualitative feedback on online advertising campaigns.