Research
March 2011
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MPG Media Contacts splits strategy division
21-Mar-2011
UK— Havas-owned media agency MPG Media Contacts has split its strategy division into two separate teams to focus on communication and commercial strategy.
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451 Group snaps up ChangeWave Research
28-Mar-2011
US— Tech industry analyst The 451 Group has bought ChangeWave Research from its parent company InvestorPlace Media.
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4As, BlackArrow and TV industry launch VOD research
16-Mar-2011
US— The American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As), TV advertising technology firm BlackArrow and a host of media industry stakeholders have joined together to research the impact of advertising within free video-on-demand (VOD) programming.
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A picture is worth 1,000 words for Synovate
1-Apr-2011
UK— Synovate has launched a new online survey technique that allows respondents to answer in pictures instead of words.
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ABC unites print and digital media audits
23-Mar-2011
UK— The Audit Bureau of Circulations, which provides industry-agreed audience data to publishers, has united its print and digital services, ABC and ABCe, under the ABC brand.
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Ad trade bodies look to silence online metrics 'cacophony' with currency plans
1-Mar-2011
US— Advertising trade groups yesterday committed to developing a currency for the measurement of digital media, calling time on the “cacophony of competing and contradictory” systems currently in use.
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Adobe unveils social analytics tool
10-Mar-2011
US— Adobe has added a social media measurement tool to its Online Marketing Suite.
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Aegis reports 'strong recovery' at Synovate
17-Mar-2011
UK— Aegis has reported a strong recovery in performance at its research agency Synovate in 2010, with gross revenue up 9.8% year on year to £572.6m. Organic growth was 5.9%.
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Analytics and marketing trio merge to form Cardinal Path
15-Mar-2011
US— Web analytics and data-driven marketing agencies PublicInsite, VKI Studios and WebShare have merged to create a new company, Cardinal Path.
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Anand given new Firefly Millward Brown strategy post
14-Mar-2011
UK— Firefly Millward Brown, the qual arm of the ad research specialist, has appointed Audrey Anand to the newly created position of senior strategy and creative director for its UK business.
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Andrew Freeman on rejoicing in the changing consumer
23-Mar-2011
Across more and more categories, consumers can make choices on a whim, at low or no cost. Consumers don’t change each time they move into a new age-group, but minute by minute. So how can brands best understand, differentiate, and position themselves to answer each consumer’s needs, as often as possible?
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Arbitron moves Surratt into top finance role
3-Mar-2011
US— Arbitron has appointed Richard Surratt as chief financial officer – a move that was planned following his appointment as executive vice president of finance in early February.
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ARF reveals results from neuromarketing review and plans expert network
22-Mar-2011
US— Neuroscience is best used alongside traditional research methods, and with the advice of experts, the ARF said today as it unveiled findings from its review of neuromarketing techniques.
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Around the world in 60 minutes
21-Mar-2011
Swarm to our workshop to listen to live discussion and contributions from experts building crowdsourcing research businesses round the world. Themes will include stakeholder polling and predictive futures, as well as the use of agents polling their peer groups in Asia where consensus is so important. You always get a great crowd at the MRS conference - just thought we’d achieve a world first by inviting a global crowd of crowders to join in.
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B2B International launches Brussels office
18-Mar-2011
BELGIUM— B2B International has opened a new sales office in Brussels and added new staff to its operations in the UK, US and China.
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BackType nets $1m funding for social media monitoring
16-Mar-2011
US— Social media monitoring firm BackType has been awarded $1m in seed funding by a group of private equity investors.
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Barb nears completion of virtual meter trials
8-Mar-2011
UK— The Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (Barb) is nearing completion of its field test of a virtual meter that tracks TV watched through desktop and laptop PCs.
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Beaufort Research picks up Visit Wales contract again
21-Mar-2011
UK— Visit Wales, the tourism arm of the Welsh Assembly Government, has reappointed Beaufort Research to carry out the 2011 Wales Visitor Survey.
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Big bad wolf? Or fairy godmother?
March 2011
Free or cheap online tools mean just about anyone can run a survey these days – and millions of people are. SurveyMonkey’s Philip Garland says it’s time research agencies tapped into the power of DIY.
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Bosch signs up for Globalpark social media research tool
23-Mar-2011
GERMANY— Electronics manufacturer Bosch is using Globalpark’s Social Insight Connect tool to engage with their fans on Facebook.
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BrainJuicer banks £141,000 from DigiViduals
24-Mar-2011
UK— DigiViduals, BrainJuicer’s new online research robots, have generated plenty of interest when they’ve been showcased at industry events – but they’ve also generated a decent amount of revenue for the company during their trial period.
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Brian Tarran is the new editor of Research
31-Mar-2011
UK— Brian Tarran has been named as the new editor of Research magazine and Research-Live. He replaces Marc Brenner, who leaves the title following a promotion to editorial and creative director at the MRS with responsibility for printed, online and event content across the whole organisation.
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BritainThinks to gauge 'symbols of growth'
29-Mar-2011
UK— Accounting giant PwC has contracted public opinion consultancy BritainThinks to take part in a research project examining what people think is important in the work and financial aspects of their lives.
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Calhoun 'fired up' for future as Nielsen reports 6% rise in annual revenue
1-Mar-2011
US— A “fired up” David Calhoun today hailed the beginning of a new chapter for Nielsen following the successful completion of its initial public offering (IPO) and a 6% rise in annual revenue.
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Canadian Press to monitor political buzz in election run-up
29-Mar-2011
CANADA— The Canadian Press is launching a five-week project to measure online discussions about federal politics in the run up to the country’s upcoming election.
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Canoe to integrate iTV data with Donovan media buying system
7-Mar-2011
US— Canoe Ventures has agreed a deal with Donovan Data Systems to integrate response data from its interactive TV advertising platform with Donovan’s media buying software.
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Cello buys MedErgy to build up health services business
15-Mar-2011
UK— Research and consulting group Cello is looking to build up its profitable healthcare services business with the acquisition of US communications specialist MedErgy HealthGroup.
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'Check out' new business recommendation app from Bizzy
9-Mar-2011
US— Retailers and restaurateurs might want to check out a new smartphone app from Bizzy which asks users to ‘check out’ from every place they visit and register their feelings about the business.
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Chime's own Dragons' Den to review investment opportunities
17-Mar-2011
UK— Marketing communications group Chime has set up its own internal ‘Dragons’ Den’ with the aim of backing new businesses in the areas of PR, advertising, marketing services and research.
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Chime's research division back in the black
9-Mar-2011
UK— The research division at Chime Communications is back in the black after what group chairman Lord Bell called a “brilliant year” under new CEO Crispin Beale (pictured).
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Cint partners for app data and location analytics
21-Mar-2011
US— Cint is partnering with two firms in the mobile space, one for consumer location analytics and one for app usage data, fresh off its recent acquisition of mobile survey platform Thumbspeak.
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Citizenship Survey axed to save £4m despite opposition
21-Mar-2011
UK— The Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG) is pressing ahead with cancellation of the Citizenship Survey in spite of opposition to the plans from other government departments, voluntary organisations and academics.
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CivicScience lands $1.2m funding for polling tool
25-Mar-2011
US— CivicScience, which provides a polling tool for websites and sells reports based on results, has raised $1.2m in funding from investors including the NPD Group and pollster Anzalone Liszt Research.
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COI chief executive Mark Lund steps down
7-Mar-2011
UK— Mark Lund is stepping down from his role as chief executive of the government’s marketing and communications body, the Central Office of Information (COI), at the end of May.
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ComScore launches Digital Analytix after Nedstat buy
14-Mar-2011
US— ComScore today rolled out the first offering born from its acquisition of Nedstat last year – a new web analytics package called Digital Analytix.
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ComScore sues back over Nielsen patent claims
24-Mar-2011
US— ComScore has filed a claim for patent infringement against Nielsen, mere days after being sued on similar grounds by its online measurement rival.
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Confirmit 16 launches with new features for non-expert users
16-Mar-2011
NORWAY— Confirmit has launched version 16 of its feedback management and market research platform, Confirmit Horizons, with an optional simplified user interface for non-expert users who wish to create surveys on the platform.
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Consumer insight revenue up 4% to £2.4bn in 2010, says WPP
4-Mar-2011
UK— WPP’s consumer insight business saw revenue increase 4.4% to £2.43bn in 2010, or 3.9% on a like-for-like basis according to figures published this morning.
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Credit where it's due
10-Mar-2011
Research doesn’t have an image problem – it has a ‘lack of image’ problem, says Relish Research’s Monique Drummond. For the industry’s sake, clients and agencies need to do more to promote the contribution research makes to the creation of successful ads, products and strategies.
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Crowd DNA heads down The Rabbit Hole
30-Mar-2011
UK/US— London-based research and strategy agency Crowd DNA has struck a deal with US research consultancy The Rabbit Hole that will see the two firms market each others’ services to clients.
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Cubit launches social media monitoring tool in Asia Pac
30-Mar-2011
AUSTRALIA/US— Media analyst Cubit is to introduce Moreover Technologies’ social media monitoring platform to the Asia Pacific region.
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Data.gov future uncertain amid US budget stalemate
1-Apr-2011
US— Data.gov, the federal government’s open data initiative, could be taken offline in the next several months along with six other websites set up to promote transparency, according to a report by Federal News Radio.
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Delvinia makes social media connections with Environics
22-Mar-2011
CANADA— Delvinia has linked its social media survey AskingCanadians to the PrizmC2 segmentation system run by Environics Analytics in a bid to help marketers target consumers according to their social media habits.
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Diary: Talking shop, eating slop and Brown on top
March 2011
A round-up of things that caught our eye in and around the research industry this month.
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Do researchers understand visual design?
22-Mar-2011
Are researchers mastering the art of presenting their findings visually? Designer Andrew Doyle and researcher Andrew Tharme go head to head.
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Easing the burden
10-Mar-2011
Multi-source sampling and routing is gaining acceptance but the technology has not been there to support it, says Federated Sample’s Patrick Comer. Enter Fulcrum, his solution to the industry’s growing project management nightmare.
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EBay in $2.4bn deal for marketing services group GSI Commerce
29-Mar-2011
US— Online auction house eBay has agreed a $2.4bn deal to acquire marketing services and ecommerce group GSI Commerce.
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Edentify opens its doors in Auckland
18-Mar-2011
NEW ZEALAND— Australian online research Edentify has opened an office in Auckland to be closer to its existing clients in New Zealand.
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Engaging the business to action and commercialise insight
21-Mar-2011
The true value of insight is unlocked when multiple teams throughout the business know what to expect, and can translate insights into decisions for improvement. Business cases, targets and opportunity sizing are becoming standard language that must be driven by insight teams to improve the customer experience.
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English Heritage picks BritainThinks for volunteering research
15-Mar-2011
UK— BritainThinks, the consultancy set up by Opinion Leader co-founders Viki Cooke and Deborah Mattinson, has been appointed by English Heritage to run a study on volunteering.
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Enough talk. Where's the payback?
21-Mar-2011
Behavioural economics has been the hot topic of the last couple of years. The government now talks about nudge policy. Business talks about behaviour change. It’s now time to ask if anyone is really doing anything with it and if it’s making a difference. Has the advertising breakthrough happened? If not, will it ever happen? This session draws together experts and practitioners from research, planning, business and policy to answer this question.
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Entertainment by design
29-Mar-2011
Gamification is an enticing prospect for researchers. Adding gameplay elements to surveys promises to boost respondent engagement and enjoyment levels. But designing games isn’t easy. Disney Interactive design director Alex Cullum explains.
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Escaping the commoditisation trap
14-Mar-2012
Chris Dowsett is researching the value of research to business. It’s early days for the project, but already he sees an uphill battle for the industry to avoid becoming a commodity provider.
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Evolution Marketing Research names COO
11-Mar-2011
US— Healthcare agency Evolution Marketing Research has appointed Daniel Slawe to the newly created position of chief operating officer.
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Ex-Futures Company leaders apologise for 'overstepping the mark' in setting up new agency
15-Mar-2011
UK— The former chairman, CEO and MD of trends consultancy The Futures Company have issued an unreserved apology to their old employer for attempting to solicit company employees while trying to set up a new agency. The trio said: “We realise that we overstepped the mark.”
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Ex-Hall & Partners innovation chief goes mobile with new venture
1-Mar-2011
UK— A new research business using mobile apps to catch people ‘in the moment’ has been set up by Hall & Partners’ former head of innovation Richard Owen.
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Face and O2 create social media monitoring platform
11-Mar-2011
UK— Co-creation agency Face has developed a customised social media monitoring service for the mobile and broadband provider O2.
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Face and Reckitt Benckiser on co-creating new products
9-Mar-2011
Esther Garland of Face and Marilena D’Amone of Reckitt Benckiser on how co-creation can be applied to developing new products in BRIC markets.
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Facebook ramps up 'Like' and comment box analytics
9-Mar-2011
US— Facebook has ramped up the analytics capabilities available through its Insights for Websites tool, adding real-time data to show the number of interactions users have with ‘Like’ button and comment boxes, which serve as social plugins for articles across the web.
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Fact versus fiction
21-Mar-2011
We live in a world of accelerating change. A world of convergence, divergence and changing alignments. Brands may shape the development of change but the tipping point remains with the consumer. We must look beyond the craze. The Hula Hoop was a fad; the transistor radio changed our lives.
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Firefly Millward Brown moves Bourgery to global qual role
1-Mar-2011
UK— Firefly Millward Brown has appointed Meridith Bourgery to the newly created position of global qualitative account director, where she will develop and execute brand strategy initiatives for the firm’s largest European clients.
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Food giant launches chefs panel for industry feedback
15-Mar-2011
UK— Premier Foods Foodservice has launched an online panel of chefs to share their opinions on catering industry matters.
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Forbes.com uses Affectiva software to gauge ad reaction
4-Mar-2011
US— Business information publisher Forbes.com is running an experiment to test and refine web-based face recognition technology developed by Affectiva.
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Fox Business Network becomes Nielsen client
25-Mar-2011
US— Financial news channel Fox Business Network (FBN) has signed up to become a Nielsen Media Research client, adding its viewing figures to the ratings firm’s reports.
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FTC settles with Chitika over 'deceptive' opt-out policy
16-Mar-2011
US— The Federal Trade commission (FTC) has reached a settlement with online advertising agency Chitika that ends the firm’s allegedly deceptive practice of tracking consumers’ online activities, even after they had opted out of online tracking.
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Futures Company hires former Orange man Harris
2-Mar-2011
UK— Trends consultancy The Futures Company has appointed Patrick Harris, formerly of mobile operator Orange, as a director.
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Gemius to provide Israeli online currency
24-Mar-2011
ISRAEL— Online research agency Gemius, along with marketer Erez Bahat and the Market Watch Institute, has been awarded a four-year contract to provide an online media currency in Israel.
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George Pappachen on privacy and market research
24-Mar-2011
Kantar’s chief privacy officer George Pappachen on the privacy challenges facing the research industry.
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German agency rapped for blurring research and marketing
8-Mar-2011
GERMANY— The German market research watchdog has issued an official reprimand to Leipzig-based Omniphon for failing to draw a clear enough distinction between its research and marketing activities.
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GfK Media's Nick North on winning consumers' love
22-Mar-2011
Nick North, chief marketing officer at GfK Media, on how consumers’ love of content can drive desire for products, and encourage brand loyalty.
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GfK MRI and Starch launch magazine ad ROI metric
28-Mar-2011
CANADA — GfK MRI and Starch Research Services have teamed up to launch a new service that provides ROI metrics for ads printed in Canadian consumer magazines.
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GfK NOP names Jenkins as head of FMCG research
7-Mar-2011
UK— GfK NOP has hired former Harris Interactive consumer lead Peter Jenkins as head of FMCG research in its consumer products and retail division.
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GfK wins Portuguese TV ratings contract
24-Mar-2011
PORTUGAL— GfK has won the contract to supply TV ratings in Portugal, and is building a new panel using electronic people meters for the task.
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Gibbons adds to Work load with Arena role
17-Mar-2011
UK— Arena Media has hired Work Research co-founder Justin Gibbons to serve part-time as head of behavioural economics.
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Government urged to scrap COI and establish new Communication Centre
18-Mar-2011
UK— The Central Office of Information should be scrapped and replaced with a new Government Communication Centre (GCC) responsible for developing communications strategy, audience insights and evaluating campaigns, according to a review.
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Graham Page on neuroscience and market research
18-Mar-2011
“Neuroscience is strategically vital to what we do.”
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GRIT finds commodity fears, hopes for change
14-Mar-2012
US— Market research is on its way to becoming a commodity, according to 58% of agency researchers who took part in the latest wave of the Greenbook Research Industry Trends (GRIT) study.
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Groupe Aeroplan analytics arm and Coles strike partnership
29-Mar-2011
CANADA— LMG Insight & Communication (I&C), the insight and analytics arm of loyalty management firm Groupe Aeroplan, has forged a strategic partnership with Australian supermarket chain Coles.
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GutCheck wins $1m advertising prize at DEMO conference
2-Mar-2011
US— GutCheck, a DIY online qualitative research service, has won the $1m People’s Choice Award at the DEMO conference for emerging technologies and new product innovations.
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Hallmark channels sign up for Rentrak audience measurement
7-Mar-2011
US— Crown Media Holdings have signed up to receive TV ratings figures for The Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel through Rentrak’s TV Essentials service, which collects set-top box data from all 210 US television markets.
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Harper and Carroll promoted to global roles at Synovate
31-Mar-2011
US/UK— Synovate has promoted two regional bosses to global leadership roles for its brand and communications and customer experience practices.
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Hearst Magazines hires research director from rival
1-Mar-2011
US— Hearst Magazines has appointed Fotoulla Euripidou, formerly of rival publisher Rodale, as vice president and director of consumer research.
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How data is transforming digital marketing
24-Mar-2011
As digital technology permeates our lives, we’re all producing more and more data each day. Philip Sheldrake looks at how this data – and technologies that can extract its meaning – will change how digital marketing is done.
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How tapping unspoken responses sparks better decisions
21-Mar-2011
Methods derived from cognitive science seem here to stay - but how and when are they best used? How do we combine them with existing tools? This session showcases practical examples, and the panel will debate how to tap people’s unspoken responses in ways that make a real difference to decision-making.
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How will behavioural economics change research?
March 2011
Behavioural economics shines a light on the factors that influence our actions. Jules Berry considers what researchers can learn from it.
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Huntsworth buys Atomic PR, data analytics tool
24-Mar-2011
UK— PR and healthcare communications group Huntsworth has acquired Atomic PR, and its bespoke web data analytics application ComContext, for an initial cash price of $13.3m (£8.3m).
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IAB and MMA launch new mobile web ad guidelines
2-Mar-2011
US— The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and the Media Rating Council have published a set of standardised metrics for measuring web adverts viewed on mobiles.
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ICM appoints Emily Hunt as research director
9-Mar-2011
UK— Emily Hunt has been appointed research director at ICM Research where she will focus on helping clients across EMEA, the Americas and Asia understand digital and technology trends.
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ICM names former COI consultant Tom Wormald research director
28-Mar-2011
UK— Former COI engagement consultant Tom Wormald has been appointed research director at ICM, where he will focus on building the firm’s community and panel based activities.
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ICM names long-serving execs to management board
22-Mar-2011
UK— ICM has promoted five long-serving researchers to a newly created management board that will work alongside the main board of directors to develop and deliver on company strategy.
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ImpactRX launches panel of respiratory specialists
11-Mar-2011
US— Physician panel provider ImpactRX is now offering a sample of pulmonologists – doctors specialising in respiratory illnesses.
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IMRB International launches Indian 3G survey
24-Mar-2011
INDIA— Kantar-owned IMRB International has launched a new syndicated study examining 3G mobile services in India.
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Indicia takes stake in social media strategist Make It Rain
7-Mar-2011
UK— Marketing services and customer intelligence group Indicia has taken an undisclosed stake in social media strategy agency Make It Rain.
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Integer opens in Sydney, Singapore and Mumbai – adds Paris too
8-Mar-2011
SINGAPORE— Shopper marketing and insight agency Integer Group is looking to bolster its presence in Asia Pacific with the opening of new offices in Sydney, Singapore and Mumbai and the appointment of a regional managing director, Dan Paris.
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Ipsos to add Innerscope biometrics to ad testing offer
17-Mar-2011
US— Ipsos is to integrate biometric research capabilities into some of its best-known ad research products through a partnership with Innerscope Research.
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Japanese panel companies resume sending survey invites
15-Mar-2011
JAPAN— The Japanese market research industry resumed sending out survey invites to online panellists earlier today, having agreed to put them on hold following the earthquake and tsunami on Friday.
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Jeffrey Hunter on the client/agency relationship
25-Mar-2011
Jeffrey Hunter of General Mills on the trend for ‘proprietary partnerships’ between client companies and small agencies.
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Kantar Media launches RapidView profiling service
8-Mar-2011
US— Kantar Media has launched RapidView, a new media planning tool that analyses TV audience profiles based on their shopping behaviour, brand loyalty and product usage.
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Kantar Media to integrate Experian data with DirecTView service
17-Jun-2011
US— Kantar Media is working with Experian Marketing Services to integrate its demographic data with the latter’s database of anonymous TV audience viewing behaviour.
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Kate Hamilton and Susan Martle on strategic NLP
25-Mar-2011
At Research 2011, Kate Hamilton of Gravity Planning & Research and Susan Martle of Smartle discuss how to use NLP strategically in research.
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Kinesis Survey reviewed
March 2011
Tim Macer considers a high-end platform for web, mobile and mixed-mode online surveys. Will it tick all the right boxes?
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Linkedin sued over privacy leak allegations
31-Mar-2011
US— Business networking site Linkedin is being sued for allegedly violating user privacy by disclosing unique user IDs in the referrer headers it sends to third party ad networks and web measurement firms.
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London Broadcasting Company signs up for Rentrak ratings
14-Mar-2011
US— Texas-based London Broadcasting Company has signed up to use Rentrak’s StationView Essentials audience measurement service in two new local markets.
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London mayor criticised for handling of crime stats
17-Mar-2011
UK— Mayor of London Boris Johnson has been criticised by the UK Statistics Authority for “poor practice” in allowing selected figures showing falling crime on London’s transport network to be released early.
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Male's TheInfoPro sold to tech industry analyst The 451 Group
3-Mar-2011
US— Technology industry analyst The 451 Group has acquired the assets of TheInfoPro, a survey research and advisory firm focused on the IT market.
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'Many people have a slightly out of date view of Asian research culture'
18-Mar-2011
Claire Parham is relocating from the UK to lead insight consultancy Truth’s new Singapore operation. But before packing her bags, she agreed to spend some time in our Spotlight.
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Market Force acquires feedback specialist Tell Us About Us
28-Mar-2011
US— Customer intelligence firm Market Force International has acquired Canadian customer experience measurement agency Tell Us About Us (TUAU).
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MarketShare and TRA strike reselling agreement
8-Mar-2011
US— Media measurement firm TRA and marketing analytics agency MarketShare have agreed a deal that will see each company market the other’s products to clients.
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MarketVision names former P&G man as research director
21-Mar-2011
US— Former Procter & Gamble consumer insight specialist Brad Weiss has been appointed research director at full-service agency MarketVision.
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Matthew Tibbles given CBS Interactive insight role
18-Mar-2011
AUSTRALIA— Website publisher CBS Interactive Australia has appointed former News Digital Media insight chief Matthew Tibbles as its new research and insights manager.
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Max Gadney on where research meets design
4-Mar-2011
Max Gadney recently became chief creative officer at brand and communications researcher Hall & Partners. We speak to him about the importance of design in communicating research, and the fashion for data visualisations.
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MEC appoints digital analytics director
14-Mar-2012
US— Media agency MEC has hired Sharona Sankar-King as senior partner and director of digital analytics.
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Mediabrands appoints Asia Pac research manager
31-Mar-2011
SINGAPORE— Interpublic’s media specialist Mediabrands has appointed Ashley Nin as research and tools manager for Asia Pacific.
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Meltwater buys social CRM software developer JitterJam
22-Mar-2011
NORWAY— Social media and news monitoring firm The Meltwater Group has acquired JitterJam, a New Hampshire-based developer of social CRM software in a $6m deal.
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Millward Brown moves Southgate into digital brand role
9-Mar-2011
UK— Millward Brown has named Duncan Southgate to the new position of global brand director for digital, the third of five worldwide brand directorships the firm is introducing.
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Millward Brown's Daren Poole becomes Link brand director
31-Mar-2011
US— Millward Brown has appointed Daren Poole, previously chief client officer in Australia, as global brand director for its Link ad testing tool.
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MobileSquared unveils mobile internet database
25-Mar-2011
UK— Specialist research agency MobileSquared has launched a database that provides data and forecasts on consumer usage habits relating to the mobile internet.
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MROCs promise an end to 'death by PowerPoint', says Harris's Reiman
3-Mar-2011
Online communities herald ‘a new paradigm of delivery’ in market research, says former 02 insight manager Steve Reiman, now head of qualitative at Harris Interactive UK.
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MRUC cancels work with Roy Morgan on consumer survey – report
2-Mar-2011
INDIA— The Media Research Users Council (MRUC) has terminated its agreement with Roy Morgan Research to establish a single-source survey of Indian consumers, according to reports.
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MRUK MD Jim Law flies solo with new consultancy
7-Mar-2011
UK— MRUK managing director Jim Law has set himself up as an independent consultant following his departure from the public sector research agency last week.
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MRUK to carry out visitor research for MLA Council
24-Mar-2011
UK— Cello Group’s public sector research agency MRUK has been awarded a contract by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council to carry out a programme of visitor research across England.
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Neil Wholey on promoting the value of public sector research
24-Mar-2011
Public sector research has plenty of critics and not enough advocates, says Westminster City Council’s head of research and customer insight Neil Wholey.
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Nerdtopia! A nerd culture workshop for researchers
21-Mar-2011
The nerds won the culture wars. Consumers coming of digital age are doing so against an online cultural backdrop which has been built from the tropes and customs of role-playing games, fandoms, and bulletin boards. If you don’t understand this culture, you won’t understand your future consumers. This bizarre, enlightening and practical workshop is a crash course in the real roots of modern culture, from cosplay to 4chan, avatars to lolcats.
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NetBase unveils new social media monitoring platform
14-Mar-2012
US— Social media monitoring firm NetBase has launched a new platform to gather insight into customer opinions, emotions and behaviours.
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New NeuroFocus headset gets closer to the Mynd
21-Mar-2011
US— Neuromarketing agency NeuroFocus has launched a new wireless headset to measure respondents’ brainwave activity in more natural settings, both in and out of home.
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Nielsen sues ComScore over online measurement patents
23-Mar-2011
US— Nielsen is suing online audience measurement rival ComScore for alleged infringement of five patents relating to the collection and reporting of data on computer and web usage.
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No time for shyness at Harris under new UK bosses
30-Mar-2011
In January Harris Interactive announced a shake-up of its UK operation following four years of poor results. The firm’s French leadership team have now been tasked with restoring growth in the UK. We spoke to Nathalie Perrio-Combeaux and Patrick Van Bloeme about their plans to turn things around.
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Omnicom launches Sparks & Honey brand shop
15-Mar-2012
US— Omnicom has launched a branding agency in New York called Sparks & Honey that sets out to tap cultural insights for marketing success.
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Omnicom strikes deals with web publishers to target ads
10-Mar-2011
US— Marketing services group Omnicom has signed deals with AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft to get access to audience data for ad targeting.
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Online research start-up Motista bags $4.5m venture funding
23-Mar-2011
US— Online research start-up Motista has secured $4.5m funding from El Dorado Ventures in its first financing round. Motista runs online intercept surveys designed to “reveal the deeper motivations that connect consumers to brands”.
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Opinion Matters named PRCA partner
14-Mar-2011
UK— The Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) has appointed Opinion Matters as its official research partner.
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Opinionaided gets $1m in venture capital backing
2-Mar-2011
US— Mobile app-based feedback platform Opinionaided has scored $1m in funding from venture capital groups General Catalyst, SoftBank and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, as well as angel investors.
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ORC International launches social media analysis service
15-Mar-2011
US— ORC International has launched a social media analysis service through a partnership with technology firm Infegy.
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Order from chaos
March 2011
Companies used to have too little data. now, if anything, they have too much. Can market researchers be the ones to corral all that information, or must they sit and watch while their influence declines? Tim Phillips investigates.
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Other Lines of Enquiry launches TV division
17-Jun-2011
UK— Media research agency Other Lines of Enquiry has launched a new division that targets media clients working within the television sector, called Otherlines.tv.
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Panel provider halts survey invites in aftermath of Japanese quake
14-Mar-2011
JAPAN— Online sample supplier Research Panel Asia has put survey invites on hold in Japan following the earthquake and subsequent tsunami which devastated north-eastern parts of the country on Friday.
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People on the move
11-Mar-2011
The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research industry, including news from RSM, Lucintel, Echo, MRUC, KL Communications and more.
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People on the move
4-Mar-2011
The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research and consumer insight industry. This week featuring JcDecaux, Research Now, E-Tabs, CMI, Cox Communications, CCH and WorldOne.
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People on the move
25-Mar-2011
The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research and consumer insight industry. This week: ImpactRx, The Marx Group, GfK Austria, MediaCom, Vodafone Ghana, The Futures Company, Cogent Research, Research Now, The Providence Journal, HawkPartners, Ask Insight, Morris Hargreaves McIntyre, Insight Research Group, ABI Research, Zoom Media, TNS and Kadence.
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Pete Cape on connecting with the new consumer
23-Mar-2011
SSI’s global knowledge director Pete Cape on looking “beyond the craze” in a world of accelerating consumer change.
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Pew hires ex-State Department official as first international survey director
8-Mar-2011
US— Pew Research Center, the self-styled ‘fact tank’ that carries out polling and research on political and social trends, has hired its first director of international survey research, James Bell, a former State Department official.
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Phil Barden on learning to love neuroscience
25-Mar-2011
Phil Barden of Decode Marketing on how he learned to stop worrying and love neuroscience.
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Philippines publishers partner with Effective Measure
1-Mar-2011
PHILIPPINES— A group of seven online publishers have agreed to adopt a standardised web audience measurement system, with Effective Measure picked to be their research supplier.
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Phoenix Healthcare appoints European managing director
3-Mar-2011
UK— Research agency Phoenix Healthcare, a division of Phoenix Marketing International, has appointed Andrew Scott to the newly created position of managing director for Europe.
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Picture perfect
March 2011
Robert Bain takes a look at information design in research.
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Populus nets new Premier League deal
3-Mar-2011
UK— Populus has been awarded the contract to continue carrying out research among football fans on behalf of the Premier League.
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PPM gets accredited in 11 markets - but 34 are turned down
31-Mar-2011
US— Arbitron said today it has secured accreditation from the Media Rating Council (MRC) for its portable people meter-based (PPM) radio audience measurement services in 11 additional markets, but 34 remain unaccredited.
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Publisher threatens Nielsen over 'flawed' figures
2-Mar-2011
MALAYSIA— Newspaper publisher Sun Media Corporation (SMC) has threatened legal proceedings against Nielsen, accusing it of operating a “flawed and erroneous” reader measurement system.
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Qriously launches with in-app mobile survey tool
7-Mar-2011
UK— Technology start-up Qriously has launched with a new in-app survey delivery platform that presents questions to smartphone owners in place of ads.
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Quality is in the mind of the beholder
21-Mar-2011
‘What does ‘Quality’ mean in market research today? All steps in the research process can impact upon the quality of the final ‘product’, and often compromises have to be made due primarily to time considerations and available budget. If there are quality issues, who is primarily to blame - the client or the agency? So many potential questions, but do we have the answers? We have assembled a panel of experienced researchers to answer your questions on this theme’.
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Rachel Lawes on rebranding Charmin
23-Mar-2011
SCA bought the European rights to Charmin from P&G. The sale came with conditions: within three years, everything that made the brand recognisable had to be changed, including the name and bear mascot. In the UK, SCA rebranded Charmin with the help of semiotics and, against all predictions, sales increased.
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Radian6 acquires UK's 6Consulting
14-Mar-2011
UK— Radian6, a Canadian developer of social media monitoring software, has acquired its UK reseller 6Consulting for an undisclosed amount.
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Reagan pollster Richard Wirthlin dies aged 80
17-Mar-2011
US— Richard Wirthlin, strategist and pollster to former US President Ronald Reagan, died yesterday of natural causes at his home in Salt Lake City, the day after his 80th birthday.
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Rentrak adds time-shifted stats to StationView Essentials
1-Mar-2011
US— Rentrak has added time-shifted ratings data from digital video recorders (DVRs) to its StationView Essentials TV audience measurement service.
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Rentrak boss Livek ups stake in company
21-Mar-2011
US— Rentrak CEO Blll Livek has spent more than a quarter of a million dollars on shares in the television audience measurement company.
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Research 2011 – in pictures
4-Apr-2011
A few highlights from the Research 2011 annual conference – relive the best bits or see what you missed
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Research Now adds to UK, Asia leadership
23-Mar-2011
UK— Panel provider Research Now has appointed Martin Filz as managing director for the UK and senior vice president of new proposition development. The firm has also named James Burge as managing director for the Asia Pacific region.
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Research Now hires Corinne Villalba in client development role
11-Mar-2011
FRANCE— Research Now has appointed Corinne Villalba as client development director, based at the company’s Paris office.
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Research Now's Ouiza Rebahi joins Cint to head Paris office
30-Mar-2011
FRANCE— Research software and services firm Cint has hired Ouiza Rebahi as managing director of its French office.
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Researching children: are we getting it right?
21-Mar-2011
Unethical corporate behaviour is judged harshly. Unethical behaviour towards children is beyond the pale. So it’s important that the market research industry inspires confidence and trust.This session will stimulate debate over how we can ensure that we treat children and young people involved in research fairly and respectfully. And we ask what it feels like to be a ‘researched child’.
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Robert Raymond joins GfK Automotive in consulting role
3-Mar-2011
US— GfK has appointed Robert Raymond to lead the ad hoc research team at GfK Automotive as vice president of consulting.
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ROI Research named as Recyclebank insight agency
18-Mar-2011
US— Recyclebank, an organisation that offers deals to consumers who take part in green activities, has appointed ROI Research as its consumer insight agency.
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Salesforce buys social media tracker Radian6 for $326m
30-Mar-2011
US/CANADA— Canada’s Radian6, which produces social media monitoring tools, has been acquired by CRM business Salesforce for $326m in cash and shares.
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Skopos hires former Carphone Warehouse insight manager
15-Mar-2011
UK— Former Carphone Warehouse insight manager Kevin Macdonald has been appointed director of digital, media and leisure research at Skopos.
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SMG to run Pets at Home feedback programme
30-Mar-2011
UK— Shopper researcher SMG is to run a two-year customer feedback programme for pet supplies retailer Pets at Home.
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Specific Media hires ex-News International insight manager
14-Mar-2011
UK— Digital ad network Specific Media has hired former News International insight manager Chris Worrell as its first European research manager.
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SSI promotes DeAngelis to lead new healthcare division
15-Mar-2011
US— Panel provider Survey Sampling International has promoted Chris DeAngelis to lead its new heathcare offering, SSI Health.
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Statistics Authority chair Sir Michael Scholar to retire
1-Mar-2011
UK— The UK Statistics Authority is looking for a new chair to replace Sir Michael Scholar, who is planning to retire this year after three years.
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Stats Authority warns Health Department over Lifestyle Survey funds
29-Mar-2011
UK— The head of the Statistics Authority has written to Health Secretary Andrew Lansley in protest at a lack of consultation over a decision to withdraw funding from the General Lifestyle Survey.
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Stratburg to offer SinoTech social media research tool in India
10-Mar-2011
INDIA— Chinese social media researcher SinoTech is to offer its tools in India through a partnership with Bangalore-based Stratburg Market Research and Consulting.
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StrategyOne promotes Moran to US president
17-Mar-2011
US— StrategyOne, a communications research and consulting firm owned by PR group Edelman, has named Robert Moran as president of its US business.
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Stuck in the middle with... who?
24-Mar-2011
Politicians are desperate to appeal to the ‘squeezed middle’. But a new survey by BritainThinks shows that nearly three quarters of people in the UK now claim to be middle class. Should researchers pay more attention to this than to the traditional socio-economic grades? Deborah Mattinson and David Ashton take a look.
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SurveyGizmo adds panel capabilities through Cint deal
7-Mar-2011
SWEDEN— DIY online research tool SurveyGizmo, developed by Widgix, has struck a deal to integrate with Cint’s Direct Sample service – giving users direct access to respondent sources.
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Synovate adds key account director in the UK
23-Mar-2011
UK— Synovate has appointed Tradian Almasanu as key account director within its consumer packaged goods research team.
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Synovate names MD for new entertainment arm
28-Mar-2011
US— Synovate has appointed Howard Ballon as managing director of its new media and entertainment research division.
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Tech veteran Nugent named Mzinga CEO
1-Mar-2011
US— Alan Nugent has been appointed chief executive officer of online social software and analytics provider Mzinga.
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Techneos adds barcode scanner and video to Android app
7-Mar-2011
CANADA— Mobile survey software firm Techneos has upgraded its Survey On Demand Application (SODA) to allow Android smartphone and tablet users to scan barcodes and use video in market research projects.
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Testing times
March 2011
In his experience in the world of advertising, Jacob Wright has found research can be as much a hindrance as a help. Where is it going wrong and how can it be fixed?
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Thames Water taps Community Research for panels
29-Mar-2011
UK— Thames Water has hired Community Research to run its employee and customer panels.
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The 2011 census – have we learned the right lessons?
17-Mar-2011
Last year’s US census set a great example of how research can be used to make sure hard-to-reach groups are properly counted. But Rachel Antony-Roberts of Westminster City Council says the Office for National Statistics has missed opportunities to achieve the same in the UK.
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The Demand Institute names exec director and CRO
14-Mar-2012
US— Pope Ward has been named as executive director of The Demand Institute, the non-profit entity formed by Nielsen and The Conference Board to show how consumer demand is evolving round the world. The organisation has also hired Louise Keely (pictured) as chief research officer.
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The Leading Edge appoints client director
18-Mar-2011
AUSTRALIA— Andrew Therkelsen has been appointed client director at insight and strategy consultancy The Leading Edge.
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The long view on short-term thinking
21-Mar-2011
Nicola Millard, Customer Experience Futurologist at BT, will be interviewed live on stage about how research can increase its value to users by looking beyond the short-term and offering medium-term insights into increasingly unpredictable markets.
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The right place, the right time
March 2011
There are many potential advantages to taking your qual research online. Joanna Chrzanowska looks at how do you decide when it’s the right approach and when it’s best to stick with offline methods.
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The Sound Research opens diversity unit
16-Mar-2011
US— Youth market research agency The Sound has launched a new diversity unit at its offices in New York, and has appointed Vanessa Anderson as research director to lead it.
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The tense relationship between research and creativity
24-Mar-2011
Hilary Woods of Ogilvy Advertising on why ad research is “at its weakest” in the creative development process.
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The true face of quality
March 2011
Panels can’t be blamed for all the quality issues in online research. Jeffrey Henning explains why researchers must learn to recognise and address the numerous factors that can make or break survey quality.
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There's no accounting for taste
2-Mar-2011
The London 2012 Olympics logo has attracted plenty of criticism; Iran’s claim that it is imbued with a ‘racist spirit’ merely the latest. No design can ever please everyone, says Philip Graves, so why bother pouring money into researching it?
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ThinkBox hires new research and planning director
28-Mar-2011
UK— Commercial TV marketing body Thinkbox has appointed Neil Mortensen as its new research and planning director. He replaces David Brennan who is set to leave the organisation in July to pursue other opportunities.
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This month we... captured our life on film
March 2011
Firefish’s FishEye camera won the Research Best Innovation Award last year, so Brian Tarran decided to put it ot the test. Three days wearing it round his neck, taking a picture every seven seconds. Welcome to the real life of Brian.
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Ticketmaster launches analytics venture
16-Mar-2011
US— Ticketmaster has launched a new venture, LiveAnalytics, which will mine the sports and concert ticket vendor’s database to provide insight for the company’s 11,000 clients.
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Tim Harford: Solving impossible problems
22-Mar-2011
The author of The Undercover Economist and The Logic of Life discusses the limits of expertise in his keynote talk at Research 2011.
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TNS forms partnership with Chinese business school
10-Mar-2011
CHINA— TNS has announced a partnership with the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), based in Shanghai.
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TNS hires Ivan Browne to lead retail and shopper arm
29-Mar-2011
UK— TNS has appointed former GfK NOP man Ivan Browne to fill the new role of head of its retail and shopper division.
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Toluna revenue up 50% – but pro forma US sales down 6%
8-Mar-2011
UK— Toluna has reported 2010 revenue up nearly 50% to £73.6m, boosted by the acquisition of Greenfield Online – but growth was just 2% on a pro forma basis, with US sales down 6%.
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Toluna shareholders agree to private equity takeover
31-Mar-2011
UK–– Toluna shareholders have approved the £161m sale of the online research company to an investment group led by minority shareholder Verlinvest and supported by CEO Frédéric-Charles Petit.
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Travelclick acquires hotel intelligence agency Rubicon
25-Mar-2011
US— Hotel ecommerce technology provider Travelclick has acquired Rubicon, an agency specialising in competitive market intelligence for the hospitality industry.
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UK government commits £28m to UK birth cohort study
3-Mar-2011
UK— The UK government’s Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) has committed to donating £28.5m to the country’s largest-ever study of babies and young children.
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Univision Comms joins CIMM
14-Mar-2012
US— Spanish-language broadcaster Univision has become the 22nd company to join the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM), joining rival TV networks, advertisers and media agencies.
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Ups and downs – Michalis Michael
March 2011
DigitalMR founder Michalis Michael on why we should share more, and his ambition to become a global citizen.
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Valuable opinions
4-Mar-2011
Dan Kurani is sitting on a potential goldmine. While research agencies struggle to convince people to take part in surveys, resorting to offers of points, prize draws and charity donations as incentives, Kurani has built a mobile phone app whose sole purpose is to facilitate the exchange of opinions, consumer to consumer, where taking part is its own reward.
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Verve hires two ex-Vision Critical directors
10-Mar-2011
UK— Online communities business Verve has hired two former directors of online researcher Vision Critical. Andrew Reid joins as managing director and Steevan Glover becomes director of commercial development.
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Visualisation expert David McCandless teams up with Kantar
23-Mar-2011
UK— David McCandless, the data designer behind Information is Beautiful, has teamed up with research group Kantar to launch an award programme for data visualisations, and provide creative support.
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Vital Findings emerges from stealth mode
4-Mar-2011
US— Former Nielsen researcher Jason Kramer has established a new research agency in Los Angeles, called Vital Findings, which has been developing in stealth mode for the past year.
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Wang returns to Yankee Group as chief research officer
9-Mar-2011
US— Gigi Wang has been appointed chief research officer at Yankee Group. She previously worked for the IT research and analysis agency as director of data communications research between 1987 and 1990.
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Web analytics partnerships still on the cards, says ComScore EVP
15-Mar-2011
US— ComScore’s purchase of Nedstat and the launch of its new Digital Analytix service does not spell the end of the company’s partnerships with rival web analytics firms, according to executive vice president Wolf Allisat.
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Web audience startup Sociocast raises $1.75m
10-Mar-2011
US— Sociocast, the maker of a website audience analytics tool, has raised $1.75m in a stock offering.
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Webtrends adds Windows 7 compatability to mobile app analytics
4-Mar-2011
US— Online analytics agency Webtrends has launched a version of its mobile application analytics technology for the Windows 7 operating system.
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Why so much segmentation is rubbish
2-Mar-2011
Despite all the research that goes into targeting new products, most still fail. Malcolm McDonald looks at why market segmentation is still so often done wrongly, and offers some pointers on how to get it right.
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Wieland to head new business and finance division at TNS Infratest
9-Mar-2011
GERMANY— Robert Wieland, managing director of TNS Infratest, has taken charge of the agency’s newly formed business and finance research division.
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Will Hutton on fairness
25-Mar-2011
In a keynote interview at Research 2011, Will Hutton, author of Them and Us, discusses how public opinion views the issue of fairness.
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Yahoo and Nielsen team up for online brand study in Asia
10-Mar-2011
SINGAPORE— Yahoo and Nielsen have teamed up on a new study to gauge the effectiveness of online brand advertising in Asia.
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Zogby International rebranded as Ibope embarks on US expansion
11-Mar-2011
US— Pollster Zogby International has been rebranded Ibope Zogby International as the firm’s Brazilian majority owner expands into North America.
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Zokem expands through Danish partnership
8-Mar-2011
DENMARK— Finnish mobile analytics firm Zokem has formed a strategic partnership with Danish agency Wilke to research the country’s smartphone market.
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Zoomerang picked for SXSW app survey task
10-Mar-2011
US— MarketTools’ Zoomerang software has been picked by organisers of the South by Southwest (SXSW) music, film and technology festival to gather feedback from attendees.