Today's top stories
2009 was 'dismal' for top 25 with revenue down 3.1%, says Honomichl
US— The research industry’s top 25 agencies saw their 15-year run of growth come to an end last year, with total revenues for the group down 3.1% to $17.4bn.
Casro forms social media research task force
US— The Council of American Survey Research Organisations (Casro) has formed a social media research task force to get to grips with the ethical and methodological issues surrounding the use of social networks and blogs for gaining consumer insight.
Progressive Digital Media buys beverage researcher Canadean
UK— Progressive Digital Media (PDM) has acquired Canadean, a market research business specialising in the beverage industry, for £9m in cash and the issue of 6.9m new PDM shares.
Alterian inks $11m deal to buy social media analytics firm Intrepid
UK— Alterian, a marketing software and services firm, has acquired market research and social media analytics consultancy Intrepid in a cash and shares deal worth up to $11.5m.
Truth invests in creative partnership with Socio Design
UK— Strategic insight consultancy Truth has acquired a stake in creative agency Socio Design, and the two companies plan to integrate their offers over the next 12 months.
Online analytics firm Nedstat sold to ComScore in €29m deal
US— ComScore has acquired Dutch online analytics firm Nedstat in a deal worth €29.2m ($36.7m), boosting its European presence and potentially adding census-level data from thousands of sites to its Unified Digital Measurement (UDM) platform.
Harte-Hanks acquires data specialist Information Arts
US— Direct and targeted marketing agency Harte-Hanks has acquired UK-based database marketing and analytics firm Information Arts.
News analysis
Will Thumbspeak become a hotspot for wireless access to consumers?
Dean Wiltse is looking to play mobile matchmaker between companies and consumers with his new company Thumbspeak. We take the service for a test drive.
Nielsen's Benezra reflects on a Life360 in South Africa
The final whistle of the 2010 World Cup has blown, but for researchers there is still work to do. Like data analysis. Research spoke to Nielsen’s Karen Benezra about the highs and lows of the firm’s South African campaign.
General Election 2010: Did the opinion polls flatter to deceive?
In the run-up to the UK general election few people would have predicted a Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition goverment – and fewer still that the Lib Dems would actually lose seats despite their popularity in the polls. Martin Boon and John Curtice examine the ‘systematic bias’ that led pollsters to overestimate the party’s support.
NPD in the Dream Factory
We speak to Ipsos OTX’s Vincent Bruzzese about his work in Hollywood testing movies before they reach the big screen, and why consumer research doesn’t necessarily mean more ‘cookie-cutter fare’ in the multiplex.
From the magazine
The new normal
Robert Bain considers how the financial crisis influenced consumer behaviour, and the challenges this presents for research.
Comment
Thirsty planet
Part two of our series on consumer trends shaping the world sees Panoramix Global’s Vickie Abrahamson getting to grips with an impending global water shortage. With water poverty on the rise, companies can’t afford to be seen as wasteful and must take steps to minimise their usage and make a virtue of it, she says.
Opinion
Pay-for-performance: coming soon to a market research agency near you?
The pay-for-performance model is gaining traction in the ad agency world. Increasingly, agencies are being asked to share in the success – or failure – of the campaigns they create. Research Rockstar’s Kathryn Korostoff wonders: will clients soon expect the same of their research agencies?
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researchlive: Truth invests in creative partnership with Socio Design http://bit.ly/bgIo3T #marketresearch #mrx
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researchlive: Thanks also to @Mimu21 @philtysoe @MorrisTed @ree_na @haris_rahmanto @RezinaChowdhury @debmattinson @amandaattwoodh
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researchlive: Thank you for the RTs @berniemalinoff @bikespoke @jamesturner247 @MRS_MX @aliciakan @NWCObservatory @conversition @willbottinick @xiao_niao
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researchlive: @berniemalinoff Honomichl says SMEs may have had 'an even sharper drop' in revenue #MRX
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researchlive: RT @MargaretRoller: Dilbert's take on anonymity in research (from great colleague J. Caplan) - http://bit.ly/ddeBo0
Comment
Online surveys don't have to turn respondents off
Deborah Sleep of Engage Research says online surveys are still turning respondents off, and reports on a study into how they can be made more appealing and more effective.