Research
July 2011
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A liberal sprinkling of behavioural economics
19-Jul-2011
In the first of a new series, The Behavioural Architects’ Crawford Hollingworth looks at examples of behavioural economics in action around the world. This week: voting and salt in the US and Argentina.
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Ad and MR services firm Adperio acquired in '$30m' deal
29-Jul-2011
US— Matomy Media Group is buying interactive marketing and advertising agency Adperio, a US firm that also recruits respondents for online market research panels.
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Aegis seen as bid target once Synovate is sold
26-Jul-2011
UK— Publicis and WPP are preparing to swoop on Aegis once it sells its market research business Synovate – that’s according to market gossip reported in the Daily Mail and the Independent.
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Alterian names Eldridge's successor as CEO
13-Jul-2011
UK— Alterian, a marketing analytics software firm, has named Heath Davies as successor to company founder and former CEO David Eldridge (pictured), who stepped down in April after a profit warning.
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Analytics firm gets financial JumpStart
29-Jul-2011
US— Non-profit investment organisation JumpStart has invested $250,000 in software firm Segmint, which gathers and analyses consumer purchase data to create targeted online advertising segments.
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Anheuser- Busch sticks with SymphonyIRI for shopper, market insights
15-Jul-2011
US— Brewery Anheuser-Busch has again named SymphonyIRI as its preferred supplier for consumer and shopper insights, and to provide measurement information across the business.
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Another quarter of cuts for UK marketing budgets
14-Jul-2011
UK— Marketing budgets have been revised down for three quarters in a row, according to the latest figures from the IPA Bellwether Report.
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Arbitron acquires mobile measurement firm Zokem in $24m deal
29-Jul-2011
US— Media research firm Arbitron has acquired Finland-based mobile audience and analytics agency Zokem in a cash deal worth $11.7m, with possible extra payments worth up to $12m based on future performance.
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Are social researchers pandering to the Big Society agenda?
6-Jul-2011
The Big Society is one of the UK government’s flagship initiatives. But are researchers doing enough to challenge the government on its rhetoric? Robert Bain reports from a Social Research Association debate.
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BBC names 37 agencies on audience research roster
14-Jul-2011
UK— The BBC has named the 37 agencies on its new audience research roster, which will stand for a minimum of two years beginning in the third quarter this year.
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BBC picks ComScore for web analytics
20-Jul-2011
UK— The BBC has selected ComScore as its preferred web analytics provider following an “in-depth review”.
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BBC to survey UK mobile coverage
19-Jul-2011
UK— The BBC has kicked off a study of the availability of 3G and 2G mobile services across the country, using an app developed by network analysis firm Epitiro.
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Behavioural Architects adds Barker to launch line-up
6-Jul-2011
UK— The Behavioural Architects, the agency launched by former Futures Company leaders Crawford Hollingworth, Sian Davies and Sarah Davies, has hired Elizabeth Barker as global head of behavioural economics intelligence and networks.
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BrainJuicer says first-half revenue up 25%
13-Jul-2011
UK— BrainJuicer’s first-half revenue is “about 25%” ahead of last year’s £7.2m, according to a trading update published this morning.
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Brunswick names Riggins as partner in research practice
5-Jul-2011
UK— PR group Brunswick has added Phil Riggins, formerly of public affairs firm APCO, as a new partner in its opinion research practice.
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Cail returns to Ipsos as US chief executive
26-Jul-2011
US— Ipsos has named Jeff Cail as president and CEO of US operations, marking his return to the business after a spell with Nielsen Online.
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Calzedonia hires Experian FootFall for people counting
26-Jul-2011
ITALY— Beachwear and lingerie retailer Calzedonia Group has hired Experian FootFall to install shopper counting technology in all 2,500 of its European shops.
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Capgemini and Attensity partner in social media management
27-Jul-2011
US— Technology, outsourcing and consulting firm Capgemini Group has teamed up with text analytics agency Attensity to launch a new social media management service.
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Carat promotes strategy and consumer insight heads
21-Jul-2011
US— Aegis-owned media agency Carat USA has promoted Johan Wachs to head of strategy and Michelle Lynn to head of consumer insight.
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Cello warns of retail losses, but says first half 'good'
6-Jul-2011
UK— Cello’s research and consulting division has seen “good” like-for-like revenue growth in the first six months of the year – but 1 July brought news that a “single large retail research contract” had been lost following a tender.
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Chakrapani to lead new Leger Marketing analytics division
8-Jul-2011
CANADA— Leger Marketing has named Chuck Chakrapani, president of its Toronto office, as head of a new analytics division.
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CIMM wants a peek behind Apple's 'walled garden'
14-Jul-2011
US— Trying to get a complete picture of how consumers use media is difficult at the best of times – but doubly so when a huge chunk of eyeball time is hidden behind Apple’s walled garden.
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Cobalt Sky revenue up 20% in first half
26-Jul-2011
UK— Online research technology firm Cobalt Sky has seen its revenue rise 20% in the first half of its financial year, reaching £857,000.
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ComScore pitches Digital Analytix in Latin America
4-Jul-2011
CHILE— ComScore is pitching its Nedstat-powered web analytics package Digital Analytix to the Latin American market this month as an upgrade of its existing Certifica Metric solution.
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ComScore wins OTTO analytics task
28-Jul-2011
GERMANY— Online retailer OTTO has signed up to use ComScore’s Digital Analytix service to monitor and analyse audience behaviour on the firm’s range of fashion and lifestyle products websites.
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Cookie refusal leads to 90% drop in measured visits to ICO site
4-Jul-2011
UK— The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has seen a 90% drop in the number of tracked visits to its website since it started asking web users for explicit permission to place a cookie, as required by new European Union rules.
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Crimson Hexagon partners with Hollywood talent agency
11-Jul-2011
US— Social media monitoring firm Crimson Hexagon has signed a deal with a Hollywood talent agency to provide services in exchange for advice and consulting to help develop its business in the entertainment and media sector.
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Darpa sees social media as new theatre of information war
22-Jul-2011
US— Businesses know the importance of tracking what’s going on in social media and responding where necessary – and it looks as if the US military does too.
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Decipher moves Bonnie Sherman to SVP role
28-Jul-2011
US— Decipher has promoted Bonnie Sherman to senior vice president of custom panel development.
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Decision Resources Group acquires PharmaStrat
25-Jul-2011
US— Healthcare research and advisory firm Decision Resources Group has acquired PharmaStrat, an agency offering consulting and MR services to biopharmaceutical manufacturers.
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Diary: Disclaimers, dog food and Dominic Raab
July 2011
A roundup of things that caught our eye in and around the research industry this month.
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Dimap ups stake in polling JV with TNS Infratest
11-Jul-2011
GERMANY— Research agency Dimap has increased its stake in Infratest Dimap – the pollster that it co-owns in a joint venture with TNS Infratest – from 26% to 49%.
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Don't pay to take surveys, Esomar warns respondents
18-Jul-2011
NETHERLANDS— International research association Esomar has criticised companies that charge respondents an upfront fee for the chance to take part in research.
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DVL Smith merges with joint venture partner DGL
5-Jul-2011
UK— DVL Smith has merged with Driving Growth (DGL), its partner in the syndicated research joint venture Evolution Research.
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EBay hands reputation tracker to BritainThinks
14-Jul-2011
UK— EBay has commissioned BritainThinks to conduct quarterly reputation tracking in the UK, Germany and France to inform and evaluate its communications strategy.
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EmPower opens social media innovation centre
15-Jul-2011
US— EmPower Research has launched an innovation centre, called InnoLabs, to help drive developments in social media research.
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E-Rewards boss Chris Havemann to step down
27-Jul-2011
US— Chris Havemann is to step down from his position as president and CEO of E-Rewards, the parent company of online panel firm Research Now, to pursue other unspecified opportunities.
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E-Rewards boss putting family first
28-Jul-2011
E-Rewards president and CEO Chris Havemann announced yesterday that he was stepping down. We caught up with him to find out what prompted the decision and what Havemann has planned for the future.
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Esomar and Casro plan online sample standard
26-Jul-2011
NETHERLANDS/US— Research associations Esomar and Casro are working on a draft standard for online sample quality.
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Esomar publishes social media research guideline
19-Jul-2011
NETHERLANDS— Esomar has published guidelines on using social media for research, developed in consultation with research association Casro.
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EU data watchdogs say 'prior' consent needed for cookies
25-Jul-2011
BELGIUM— European data protection watchdogs have said “prior” consent must be given for the use of website cookies, according to a new guidance document.
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Ex-Mars marketer takes up brand director role at Added Value
12-Jul-2011
UK— Added Value has appointed former Mars marketer Kate Jones as brand director in London, with responsibility for insight, innovation and brand development.
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Ex-Omniture man Josh James lifts lid on Domo
14-Jul-2011
US— Omniture co-founder Josh James has unveiled his new venture, a software-as-a-service business intelligence firm called Domo – which has closed $33m in a Series A funding round.
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Feedback Ferret to track fan feeling at British Grand Prix
7-Jul-2011
UK— Racing fans at this weekend’s Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone are being invited to provide real-time feedback on the event via their mobiles.
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Firefish posts 20% rise in first-quarter turnover
12-Jul-2011
UK— Firefish has reported turnover up 20% in its first quarter of 2011, the February–April period, following growth of 59% last year. Turnover for 2010/2011 was £6.3m.
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Firm to use crowdsourcing for pricing research
25-Jul-2011
UK/AUSTRALIA— A new online service that uses crowdsourcing to help businesses decide their pricing policy has been launched by Jon Manning, founder of pricing consultancy Sans Prix.
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Flash cookie complaint brought against AOL
5-Jul-2011
US— AOL is the latest web firm to be sued over the use of Flash cookies to allegedly work around browser privacy settings and continue tracking web behaviour against a person’s wishes
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Former Scarborough president Bob Cohen dead at 58
18-Jul-2011
US— Bob Cohen, the former president of consumer and media research agency Scarborough Research, has died aged 58 following a battle with cancer.
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Forrester revenue climbs 13%, net income down 20%
28-Jul-2011
US— Forrester Research’s revenue increased 13.6% to $73.5m in the second quarter, but net income fell 20% to $5.5m.
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Gemius to provide web audience data to Serbian publishers
19-Jul-2011
SERBIA— Research firm Gemius is to provide online publishers and advertisers in Serbia with web audience data under a new long-term cooperation agreement signed with industry body ABC Srbija.
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German online ads promote research
7-Jul-2011
GERMANY— An industry-backed body in Germany has begun an online ad campaign to promote the value of market research.
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GfK chief rules out bidding for Synovate
1-Jul-2011
GERMANY— GfK chief executive Klaus Wübbenhorst today ruled the company out of bidding for Synovate, saying it was not the right target and did not fit with the agency’s strategy.
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Going big in India
14-Jul-2011
Kadence International announced the opening of 55 new offices in India this week to help take the strain of some major contracts won in the country. Research spoke to global chairman Simon Everard to find out more about the firm’s expansion and where Kadence has earmarked for its next move.
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Gongos promotes Alioto to new global methodology role
29-Jul-2011
US— Gongos Research has promoted Michael Francesco Alioto to the newly created position of vice president of global methodology, and moved research director Lynn Siluk to replace him.
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Ground Truth and Umber Systems merge
18-Jul-2011
US— Mobile measurement firm Ground Truth has merged with network analytics agency Umber Systems to form a new company, Mobile Intelligence Solutions.
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Hall & Partners creative chief leaves after seven months
26-Jul-2011
UK— Max Gadney, the ex-BBC designer who was hired by Hall & Partners less than a year ago as chief creative officer, has left the agency.
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Harris agrees plan to reduce office space in US and UK
8-Jul-2011
US— Harris Interactive is cutting back on the size of its leased premises in Connecticut, Oregon and the UK as interim CEO Al Angrisani gets to work on “right-sizing” the beleaguered business.
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Harris Interactive to shut down Asian operations
21-Jul-2011
US— Harris Interactive’s board of directors have approved a plan to close the firm’s operations in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai.
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Harris warns 50 jobs at risk as UK business refocuses
20-Jul-2011
UK— Fifty jobs are at risk in the UK as Harris Interactive announced plans to focus its custom research business in the country on its “core strengths” of financial services, technology, entertainment, media and telecoms.
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Health, relationships and work determine wellbeing, finds ONS
25-Jul-2011
UK— Health, relationships, work and the environment are all factors determining national wellbeing, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which today reported back on the outcome of its five-month consultation.
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Hearsay Social and Crowdtap bag venture capital funding
29-Jul-2011
US— Venture capital firms are continuing to invest big in social media research and marketing companies, with monitoring and management platform Hearsay Social and brand community builder Crowdtap the latest recipients of funds.
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IAB publishes best practice guide for online brand impact studies
13-Jul-2011
US— The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has followed-up its damning report from last year on the state of online ad effectiveness studies with a new best practice guide.
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In on the action
July 2011
Product placement is now allowed in British TV programmes. So how do we measure it? Robert Bain investigates.
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Indian firm offers 'missed call' survey service
15-Jul-2011
INDIA— A Bangalore technology startup has come up with a novel way of polling people by mobile phone at no cost to the respondent.
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India's Star TV panel joins Cint Panel Exchange
6-Jul-2011
INDIA— The 75,000-member Star Panel, owned by broadcaster Star TV, has joined the Cint Panel Exchange, which gives third parties access to online sample.
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Infogroup sells ORC to senior managers backed by private equity
6-Jul-2011
US— Senior managers of ORC International have bought the company from parent firm Infogroup, with backing and a majority investment from Chicago-based private equity firm Lake Capital Management.
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Ipsos agrees £525m takeover of Synovate
27-Jul-2011
FRANCE/UK— Ipsos has agreed a £525m takeover of Synovate, the Aegis-owned market research group.
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Ipsos appoints Melanie Ng to southeast Asia tech role
18-Jul-2011
SINGAPORE— Ipsos has appointed Melanie Ng as regional director for technology in southeast Asia.
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Ipsos hires TNS's Grant Bertoli as southeast Asia boss
11-Jul-2011
SINGAPORE— Ipsos has appointed Grant Bertoli as regional director for southeast Asia and managing director of its operation in Singapore.
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Ipsos OTX MediaCT promotes Priluck to VP role
8-Jul-2011
US— Ipsos OTX Media CT has promoted Audra Priluck to the role of vice president of business development within the media and technology team.
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Ipsos says Synovate will help meet new needs of clients
28-Jul-2011
FRANCE— Ipsos has announced its first-half results showing revenue up 5.6% to €558.2m. Organic growth was 6.3%.
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IRI founder Gerald Eskin dies aged 76
4-Jul-2011
US— Gerald Eskin, one of the founders of consumer research agency Information Resources (now SymphonyIRI), has died at the age of 76.
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Is the social survey an endangered species?
25-Jul-2011
As response rates fall, other ways of collecting data appear, and money dries up, are the days of the social survey numbered?
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Kadence opens dozens of fieldwork offices in India
11-Jul-2011
INDIA— Kadence International has opened 55 fieldwork offices in India after winning $2m-worth of new business in the country.
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Kantar and Charter expand data integration programme
13-Jul-2011
US— Kantar Media and cable TV provider Charter Communications have expanded their viewing data partnership beyond Los Angeles into Boston, Hartford, Birmingham, Stockton/Sacramento and Fort Worth.
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Kantar invests $3m in emotional researcher Affectiva
19-Jul-2011
US— WPP’s Kantar research division has made a $3m minority investment in Affectiva, which develops technology for measuring emotions.
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Kinesis debuts multi-mode MROC software
15-Jul-2011
US— Kinesis Survey Technologies has launched a new online research community platform which can be operated from both mobile and web devices.
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Knowledge Networks acquires Garcia Research Associates
6-Jul-2011
US— Knowledge Networks has acquired Garcia Research Associates (GRA), a firm that specialises in researching the Hispanic population in North America.
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Leathwood leaving FreshMinds MD role
26-Jul-2011
UK— Alistair Leathwood is leaving FreshMinds Research after nearly three years as managing director.
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Leathwood to join Colmar Brunton as joint MD
27-Jul-2011
UK/AUSTRALIA— Former FreshMinds Research managing director Alistair Leathwood is to join Colmar Brunton as joint MD of the agency’s Sydney office.
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Let's stick together
July 2011
Everyone knows what Velcro is – or do they? European marketing director Jurjen Jacobs speaks to Robert Bain about how research is helping the company behind the original hook-and-loop fastening to open up the power of its brand.
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Lightspeed promotes Kelly to operations role
5-Jul-2011
US— Frank Kelly has been promoted to senior vice president of operations at Lightspeed Research. He was previously SVP of global panels.
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Liquidation for social researcher Vision Twentyone
12-Jul-2011
UK— Vision Twentyone, a social research agency owned by Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk (pictured), has gone into voluntary creditors’ liquidation with debts of £222,000.
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Location-based analytics market 'worth $9bn in five years'
27-Jul-2011
US— The location-based analytics market is set to overcome privacy concerns and grow to reach $9bn in value by 2016, according to technology MR agency ABI Research.
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Loewy Group sells Prescient to management
19-Jul-2011
UK— Loewy Group has sold its research agency Prescient to the firm’s management, it was revealed today as Loewy announced it had been acquired by media investment group Writtle Holdings.
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LoyaltyOne takes stake in India's Direxions
21-Jul-2011
CANADA— Customer analytics and relationship marketing agency LoyaltyOne, part of the Alliance Data Systems Corporation, has taken a 26% stake in Indian CRM group Direxions Global Solutions.
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M&C Saatchi to milk insight from new data consultancy
22-Jul-2011
UK— Ad agency M&C Saatchi has invested in a new marketing data consultancy, Milk, set up by two former Ogilvy strategists Jane Hodson and Rhian Woods.
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Mafowerk launches sustainability barometer
28-Jul-2011
GERMANY— Research agency Mafowerk is to track consumers’ views of the sustainability credentials of companies and brands.
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Mag publisher partners Nielsen for ad ROI guarantee
26-Jul-2011
US— Magazine publisher Meredith is working with Nielsen on a new advertiser offer that guarantees advertising in the company’s titles will increase sales.
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Making brand trackers work harder
21-Jul-2011
Karl Miley, research director at Clear, presents some tips for honing brand equity trackers, based on the agency’s latest research into why consumers desire brands.
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Maritz adopts RelevantID digital fingerprinting tech
8-Jul-2011
US— Maritz Research has added Imperium’s RelevantID digital fingerprinting technology to its suite of data quality tools.
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Martin Lambie-Nairn becomes TNS's first creative director
4-Jul-2011
UK— TNS has hired brand design expert Martin Lambie-Nairn as its first creative director, in an effort to put creativity “at the heart of the business”.
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McCrary lands at Cint partner Federated Sample
14-Jul-2011
US— Former Cint North America MD Michael McCrary has joined research technology firm Federated Sample.
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Metro International widens scope of reader panel
20-Jul-2011
SWEDEN— Newspaper group Metro International has expanded its reader panel into a new broader online community called the Metropolitan Panel.
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Mobile Fieldwork opens for business
7-Jul-2011
UK— Former ID Factor and ORC International man Asif Mirza has launched a new firm offering mobile data collection to MR, media, marketing and PR agencies.
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Mobile platform partnership for Opinium
22-Jul-2011
UK— Opinium Research has partnered with technology firm Roundpoint to develop a new mobile research platform, Opinium Mobile.
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Mobile research – great hope or false dawn?
8-Jul-2011
The mobile phone as research tool has plenty of enthusiastic supporters – and as many detractors. Affinnova’s Jeffrey Henning listened in as the two sides squared off in a web debate this week assessing the cell’s place in the grand scheme of things.
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Mobile research: No time like the present
29-Jul-2011
Jay Pluhar of research software and services provider MarketTools says that when it comes to adopting mobile research techniques, fortune will favour the brave.
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Money matters
5-Jul-2011
Post-recession consumers are a price-conscious lot, helped by technology that allows them to check whether they are getting the best deal right up to the point of purchase. Pete Comley, chairman of Join the Dots, assesses the implications of this trend in the first of a regular new series.
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MRA welcomes amendments to Safe Data Act
22-Jul-2011
US— The Marketing Research Association (MRA) has welcomed amendments made to a data security bill that threatened to give the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wide-ranging powers over the definition of personal information.
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MRS launches online privacy consultation
21-Jul-2011
UK— The MRS’s Market Research Standards Board has opened a consultation on online data collection and privacy, with the possibility of changing its code and guidelines.
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Music analysis service looks to make some noise after $2m investment
20-Jul-2011
UK— Soundout, a tool which collects and analyses consumer feedback on new music releases, has raised $2m in equity funding to support product development.
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Nash named SSI Australia and New Zealand manager
25-Jul-2011
AUSTRALIA— Survey Sampling International has appointed Derek Nash as country manager of Australia and New Zealand.
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New ComScore tool to measure social media audiences
27-Jul-2011
US— ComScore has launched a new platform for measuring audiences exposed to brand messages in social media.
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New directors land at Brand Driver
5-Jul-2011
UK— Media, leisure and entertainment research agency Brand Driver has hired two new directors, an associate director and a senior research executive.
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Nielsen sees 10% Q2 revenue rise
28-Jul-2011
US— Nielsen has reported a 10% revenue rise in its second quarter to $1.4bn, and a 20% rise in operating income to $218m.
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Nielsen to licence Kantar's DirecTView data for local measurement
26-Jul-2011
US— Nielsen is to licence set-top box data from rival Kantar Media’s DirecTView service for use in local TV audience measurement, the companies have said.
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Nielsen's blueprint for successful products
11-Jul-2011
Nielsen believes its new approach to product development research can give products a three-in-four chance of success. We spoke to the agency’s North American product innovation chief Vicki Gardner to learn more.
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Nielsen's Campher takes Ipsos role
1-Jul-2011
SOUTH AFRICA— Ipsos South Africa has appointed Elmari Campher as head of innovation and brand research at its head office in Randburg.
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Non-verbal response techniques in the spotlight at Synovate
12-Jul-2011
UK— Synovate is pulling together methodologists from across its business to investigate the value of non-verbal response research techniques and how to apply them to custom research projects.
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Not such a big deal, but a good fit in Asia
28-Jul-2011
Bulking up in Asia is a key aim for Ipsos in its takeover of Synovate. After crunching some numbers, John Wigglesworth reckons the two companies are a good fit and that a well-handled integration should be a great opportunity for the agencies’ Asia Pacific staff.
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Nunwood reports first-half sales growth of 13%
18-Jul-2011
UK— Nunwood has reported a 13.4% like-for-like increase in sales for the first half of 2011, which was partly driven by high growth in the US, Australia and New Zealand.
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NViso teams with Gordon & McCallum to push facial expression tech
5-Jul-2011
SWITZERLAND— NViso, the company behind new software that decodes facial expressions and identify emotional response, has hired consultants Gordon & McCallum to help gain a foothold for its technology in the research market.
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Olson Zaltman Associates merge mind and body methodologies
20-Jul-2011
US— Market research consultancy Olson Zaltman Associates has developed a new methodology that merges biometrics with the firm’s in-house metaphor elicitation techniques.
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Online video ad researcher seeks £35m investment
18-Jul-2011
UK— A company specialising in the delivery and measurement of online video ads is seeking a £35m investment to fund expansion.
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ORC International renews CNN polling partnership
13-Jul-2011
US— Fresh from its recent private equity-backed management buyout, ORC International has renewed its high-profile polling partnership with news broadcaster CNN for a further five years.
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Pan-Am industry survey finds regional optimism
14-Jul-2011
MEXICO— A pan-American state of the industry survey has found a general sense of optimism for the future growth of the business, with 69% of respondents forecasting that 2011 revenues will exceed 2010’s.
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People on the move
25-Jul-2011
The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research and consumer insight industry, including news from Kantar Health, ODC Services, Ipsos ASI, Blueocean Market Intelligence, ReputationInc, Nunwood and more.
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People on the move
8-Jul-2011
The latest appointments and promotions in the global research and insight industry. This week: IFAK, GfK, Ogilvy CommonHealth, Tpoll, MarketShare, RS Consulting, The Futures Company, Lightspeed, OgilvyOne, MarketVision, B2B International, Office Remedies, Radius Global and The Pert Group.
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Populus buys SPA Future Thinking call centre
6-Jul-2011
UK— Populus Data Solutions (PDS) has acquired an 85-seat call centre from SPA Future Thinking and signed an agreement with the firm naming it preferred supplier of telephone research services.
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PPM boosts first-half profits for Arbitron
21-Jul-2011
US— Arbitron has reported an 8.4% increase in revenue and a doubling of net income for the second quarter of 2011.
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Preparing for what tomorrow may bring
1-Jul-2011
GfK is setting out to “own the future”. But with another round of consolidation looming, will its new corporate strategy be enough to safeguard its position? We put these questions and more to CEO Klaus Wübbenhorst.
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Private equity firm Doughty Hanson named as rival Synovate suitor
11-Jul-2011
UK— The private equity owner of the Vue cinema chain has been named as the company behind an approach made to Synovate-owner Aegis about a possible buyout, before Aegis entered exclusive talks with Ipsos.
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Publicis takes 51% stake in Big Fuel
19-Jul-2011
US— Publicis Group has taken a 51% stake in New York-based social media agency Big Fuel with an option to acquire the whole company from 2014.
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Quadrangle, Join the Dots and Truth scoop Aura awards
1-Jul-2011
UK— The Association of Users of Research Agencies (Aura) has handed out awards to three agencies, nominated and judged by research buyers.
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Quepasa to use Kontagent analytics on gaming sites
29-Jul-2011
US— Latin-American social network Quepasa has struck a deal with analytics agency Kontagent to analyse online gaming behaviour in order to aid future games development.
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Quester and iPinion team up for mobile offering
22-Jul-2011
US— Quester and iPinion have struck a deal to offer the latter’s smartphone and tablet-based survey platform and the former’s Socrates qualitative interviewing and text analytics tool as an integrated service.
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Rentrak signs Annalect deal, bids chairman farewell
1-Jul-2011
US— Omnicom’s digital data and analytics group Annalect has signed a contract to source TV set-top box viewing data from Rentrak’s TV Essentials service.
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Retail Eyes launches satisfaction survey for Stonegate Pubs
20-Jul-2011
UK— Stonegate Pub Company has expanded its customer experience improvement programme with Retail Eyes to include customer satisfaction surveys.
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Roy Morgan to launch Indian single-source survey
5-Jul-2011
INDIA— Roy Morgan Research is to launch a single-source survey of Indian consumer lifestyles, attitudes, purchases and media use months after its agreement with the Media Research Users Council (MRUC) to produce a similar survey was scrapped.
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Salari updates mobile ethnography app
18-Jul-2011
UK— Ethnographer Siamack Salari has launched an updated mobile app that allows brand owners to watch how their products and services are used by consumers via video, pictures, texts and audio captured through their smartphones.
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Saudi Arabia to introduce people meters for TV ratings
1-Jul-2011
SAUDI ARABIA— The Advertisers Business Group (ABG), a Gulf-based organisation of major advertisers, is planning to launch a new people meter system to measure television viewing in Saudi Arabia next year, according to a report in the local press.
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SITA UK appoints head of consumer insight
15-Jul-2011
UK— Recycling and resource management firm SITA UK has hired Owen Maybank as head of customer insight and Louise Earnshaw as customer insight manager.
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SSI and Opinionology finalise merger
7-Jul-2011
US— The merger of sample providers SSI and Opinionology under the SSI brand has been finalised, after the deal won the approval of US regulators.
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STIR renews Dutch web measurement contract
1-Jul-2011
NETHERLANDS— Dutch joint industry committee STIR has signed a letter of intent with ComScore and Intomart GfK for the design and implementation of a new internet audience measurement system.
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StrategyOne buys MROC builder PluggedIN
12-Jul-2011
US— StrategyOne, the research arm of public relations group Edelman, has acquired market research online community builder PluggedIN.
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Survey finds trust in pollsters down since 2009
1-Jul-2011
UK— The level of public trust in pollsters has fallen according to a survey conducted by Ipsos Mori on behalf of the British Medical Association.
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SymphonyIRI launches Walmart shopper insight service
25-Jul-2011
US— SymphonyIRI has announced a new panel-based shopper insight service for Walmart suppliers.
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Synovate makes senior Indian appointments
22-Jul-2011
INDIA— Synovate has appointed Ruma Sengupta as director of insights and Sachin Chaudhari as research director in India while adding Avijit Ghosh as associate director within its Motoresearch team.
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Talking heads – and hearts
7-Jul-2011
When Phil Barden and David Penn clashed briefly during the Research 2011 neuroscience session we were left wanting to hear more. So we stuck them in a room together for an hour-long discussion of brains, emotions and marketing.
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Terapeak strikes Yahoo Japan data deal
15-Jul-2011
JAPAN— Analytics firm Terapeak has formed a strategic alliance with Yahoo Japan to licence e-commerce data from the internet giant’s auction site.
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The CRC Team adds Vovici feedback technology
15-Jul-2011
US— Research and consulting firm The CRC Team has integrated Vovici’s enterprise feedback technology into its MR, consulting, client services and project management operations.
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The making of Synovate
27-Jul-2011
As Ipsos agrees to buy the market research group Synovate from its owner Aegis, Brian Tarran charts the evolution of the business.
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The power of individuals
July 2011
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This month we... browsed a virtual supermarket
5-Aug-2011
Robert Bain explores a simulated supermarket used to research products and store designs.
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TNS awarded '€60m' Flash Eurobarometer deal
25-Jul-2011
UK— The European Commission and European Parliament have hired TNS to carry out the Flash Eurobarometer surveys, a four-year contract with a potential budget of €60m.
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TNS Media awarded new three-year deal for Belgian radio measurement
11-Jul-2011
BELGIUM— A group of public and commercial TV and radio broadcasters has renewed its measurement contract with TNS Media for a further three years.
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TNS RI appoints new MD for Thailand
12-Jul-2011
THAILAND— Former Lowe & Partners executive Abhijeet Dutta Ray has been named as TNS Research International’s new managing director for Thailand.
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TRA hits back at Kantar over ad ROI patent
7-Jul-2011
US— TRA has accused WPP’s Kantar research division of stealing trade secrets and infringing a patent in the development of its RapidView service, which competes with TRA’s tool for gauging ad ROI by matching viewing and purchase data.
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Trendscope brings TravelSat tourism survey to Germany
7-Jul-2011
GERMANY— Research agency Trendscope is to provide the TravelSat Competitive Index in Germany under a partnership with Belgian tourism researcher TCI.
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Twitter buys BackTweets developer
5-Jul-2011
US— Twitter has bought the start-up social media monitoring firm BackType, just three months on from its seed funding round.
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Ups and downs – Chris Molloy
July 2011
Research practitioners share their career highs and lows. This month, Chris Molloy of Brand Potential warns of the dangers of haircuts before important meetings.
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USA Network and Sleuth promote research duo
22-Jul-2011
US— Cable broadcaster USA Network and its Sleuth channel have promoted Ted Linhart to senior vice president of research and Stacey Marmor Balaban to vice president of digital and sales research.
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Verint to acquire Vovici in $76m cash deal
20-Jul-2011
US— Speech and text analytics firm Verint is to acquire Vovici and its suite of online survey management and enterprise feedback tools.
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Verklin to leave Canoe Ventures, names interim CEO
13-Jul-2011
US— Canoe Ventures, a cable industry initiative to develop targeted interactive TV advertising, will say goodbye to chief executive David Verklin at the end of summer, to be replaced by chief operating officer Kathy Timko on an interim basis.
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VideoEgg settles Flash cookie lawsuit
28-Jul-2011
US— Ad network VideoEgg is to pay over $1m to settle a complaint that it used Flash local shared objects to circumvent consumers’ attempts to block or delete browser cookies.
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Vivat vox populi
4-Jul-2011
The fall of dictators in Egypt and Tunisia has led to a rise in the number of public opinion surveys and a new freedom to ask questions on previously taboo subjects. Chloe Shuff reports.
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Walmart to share sales data again under Nielsen deal
21-Jul-2011
US— The world’s largest retailer, Walmart, is to share its US sales data with Nielsen for the first time in 10 years.
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Wisconsin broadcaster signs up for Rentrak ratings
27-Jul-2011
US— Morgan Murphy Media, a TV and radio broadcaster in Wisconsin, has signed a multi-year contract to receive Rentrak’s TV audience measurement service, StationView Essentials.
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WPP acquires shopper agency Lunchbox
20-Jul-2011
US— WPP ad agency subsidiary JWT has acquired the assets of Los Angeles-based shopper engagement and analytics agency Lunchbox.
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WPP ad-targeting launch prompts calls for online 'bill of rights'
7-Jul-2011
UK— The launch of WPP’s new Xaxis ad-targeting business has prompted 14 MPs to sign a motion calling for an “internet bill of rights” to protect consumer privacy.
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Yahoo Maktoob Research boss Tamara Deprez to leave
11-Jul-2011
UAE — Tamara Deprez, general manager of Middle-East focused online research agency Yahoo Maktoob Research, is leaving the company at the end of the month.
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Zenith and Starcom strike new Arbitron contracts
19-Jul-2011
US— Starcom MediaVest and ZenithOptimedia have signed “multi-year” ratings and software contract renewals with Arbitron.