Research
March 2010
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2009 was 'pretty shocking', but still Truth posts growth of 32%
9-Mar-2010
UK— Insight consultancy Truth is preparing to move Stateside this year following growth of 32% in 2009, taking turnover to just over £5m.
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60 Second Soapbox – Greg Wixted
March 2010
Greg Wixted, director of recently launched culinary research agency The Food Nursery, thinks that Twitter is going to change the way research works.
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A small world, and getting smaller
12-Mar-2010
Anna Thomas and Tariq Mirza report on the Swedish Market Research Day 2010.
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AAPOR sounds note of caution over non-probability online panels
26-Mar-2010
US— Want to accurately estimate population values? Then try to avoid non-probability online panels – that’s the conclusion of a taskforce setup by the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR).
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Acrobat Research to cut jobs at Calais call centre
17-Mar-2010
US— Canadian data collection firm Acrobat Research is to cut an undisclosed number of jobs at its call centre in Calais, Maine.
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Africa's Scangroup and Smollan launch JV
15-Mar-2010
KENYA— WPP-owned marketing services firm Scangroup has formed a joint venture with South Africa’s Smollan Group to provide marketing services across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.
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AIMR to change name following Optimisa dispute
10-Mar-2010
UK— Newly launched agency Andrew Irving Market Research is to change its name, following a request from the parent company of Irving’s old firm, Andrew Irving Associates.
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All in good time
March 2010
Semiotician Chris Arning ponders what might happen to the MR industry when we have a web that can measure meanings and decode concepts.
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Alliance Films signs Rentrak for video on-demand measurement
26-Mar-2010
CANADA— Distribution company Alliance Films has contracted Rentrak to provide video on-demand measurement services.
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Anheuser-Busch insights and strategy VP to leave in reshuffle
4-Mar-2010
US— Brewer Anheuser-Busch’s vice president of consumer strategy, insights and innovations will leave the company at the end of March, according to reports.
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AOL's UK-based research team take voluntary redundancy
3-Mar-2010
UK— All four members of AOL’s UK-based European research team are set to leave the internet company, having accepted voluntary redundancy as part of a corporate-wide cost reduction exercise.
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Arbitron kicks off radio sports audience service
15-Mar-2010
US— The new Arbitron Sports division has launched with a report evaluating how many people listen to American football on the radio.
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Australian advertisers 'not doing enough' on measurement concerns
19-Mar-2010
AUSTRALIA— The head of Australia’s largest advertising body has said advertisers are not doing enough to tackle concerns about online audience measurement.
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B2B International sees revenue rise and industry optimism return
4-Mar-2010
UK— Specialist business-to-business research agency B2B International has reported nearly 10% rise in revenue for 2009.
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Babble viewing centre opens for business
5-Mar-2010
UK— A new viewing facility and discussion gallery has opened its doors in Solihull. The new facility, called Babble, is fitted with the same camera system as TV’s Big Brother, a triple-glazed mirror between the viewing suite and discussion gallery and “state of the art” soundproofing.
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Bader named chief strategy officer at Initiative
8-Mar-2010
US— Media agency Initiative has created a new position of global chief strategy officer and hired former MediaVest digital director Eric Bader to fill it.
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BBE spins off video ad-serving and analytics platform
2-Mar-2010
US— Online video network BBE has spun off Vindico, its video ad-serving, tracking and analytics platform, into a separate division headed by newly appointed president Matt Timothy.
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BBM Analytics and Nielsen strike data integration deal
3-Mar-2010
CANADA— BBM Analytics has struck a deal to tie radio ratings data with music airplay information from Nielsen’s Broadcast Data Systems to show how individual songs are rated on a minute-by-minute basis and how listeners react over a longer period of time.
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BrainJuicer proves resilient in the face of research recession
9-Mar-2010
UK— BrainJuicer finance chief James Geddes revealed this morning that the online research agency’s growth in 2009 was below expectations – but with revenue up 27% to £11.8m investors shouldn’t have much to complain about.
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Brand Amplitude targets Gen Y advertisers with marketing unit
23-Mar-2010
US— Research and consulting firm Brand Amplitude is putting its own advice into practice with the launch of a Millenial Marketing unit that will work with companies to hone marketing programmes to engage and reach Gen Y consumers.
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Buxton and Environics strike analytics deal
18-Mar-2010
US— Texas-based customer analytics firm Buxton has agreed a data-sharing deal with Canadian segmentation and real estate site analysis firm Environics Analytics.
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Can research save Toyota?
18-Mar-2010
Sue Barnes, joint MD of research agency Brownsauce and former European automotive director at JD Power, asks whether better research could have helped Toyota avoid the recent recall debacle, and what it can do to improve the car maker’s prospects.
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Case dismissed: Arbitron and Digimarc reach agreement over patent dispute
23-Mar-2010
US— Arbitron and Digimarc have ended their dispute over digital watermaking technology, with Digimarc agreeing to license its patents to the radio ratings firm for use in the latter’s portable people meter-based (PPM) audience measurement system.
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Cello's research business reports loss in 'demanding' 2009
16-Mar-2010
UK— Research and consulting group Cello saw revenue and profits fall last year, but says that its “solid” performance in the second half has continued into this year.
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Chile back in business despite quake disruption – Philpott
31-Mar-2010
CHILE— Research projects faced widespread disruption in Chile in the aftermath of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred on 27 February, but work is now resuming, reports Synovate CEO Robert Philpott.
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Clarins smells promise in launch of co-creation community Womanity
9-Mar-2010
FRANCE— Designer Thierry Mugler and the Clarins Fragrance Group have launched a new online co-creation community, Womanity.com.
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Client turned supplier: Vodafone's Moore joins Nunwood
25-Mar-2010
UK— Nunwood has hired a former client, ex-Vodafone insight chief Andy Moore, as strategy director with responsibility for its brand and communications centre of expertise.
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ComRes operations chief sets departure for post-election business launch
24-Mar-2010
UK— Greig Baker is to leave his position as head of operations at ComRes to form a new public affairs consultancy after the general election.
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ComScore eyes up television measurement forays, and hires former Arbitron exec
5-Mar-2010
US— Web measurement firm ComScore looks poised to make a push into the TV audience measurement business and has hired former Arbitron executive Joan Fitzgerald to lead the foray.
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ComScore spells out TV audience measurement plan
9-Mar-2010
ComScore’s expansion from web audience measurement to TV audience measurement may come as a surprise to some, but the firm says it has always been on the cards.
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Confirmit and MDRC strike Asia Pac reselling deal
19-Mar-2010
US— Research software maker Confirmit has signed an agreement for MRDC Thailand to sell its products in the Asia Pacific market.
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Conquest hopes new viral ad measure will prove InfeXious
23-Mar-2010
UK— Conquest has spent the past year investigating what makes an idea ‘contagious’ – something consumers just can’t help passing along. The result, an online tool called InfeXious, claims to know the answer.
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Court denies Nielsen's third motion to dismiss Sunbeam case
8-Mar-2010
US— Third time unlucky for Nielsen. A district court judge has refused the TV ratings firm’s latest attempt to dismiss an antitrust case brought against it by Florida broadcaster Sunbeam Television.
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Diary: Polls, Peter and Pluto
March 2010
A look back over stuff that caught our eye in the world of research this month.
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Discovery grows 10% in 2009
16-Mar-2010
UK— Discovery Research has reported revenue up 10% last year to £2.83m, and profit up 40% to £228,000.
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Doc Searls on putting data in customers' hands
31-Mar-2010
We speak to Doc Searls, co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto, about what will happen to customer relationship management when customers take control.
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Double Lives – Sarah Phillips
March 2010
Researchers reflect on their out of hours pursuits. This month Sarah Phillips, head of health at Ipsos Mori, and also a cani-cross runner.
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eDigital Research awarded Moneysupermarket task
18-Mar-2010
UK— Price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com has signed online specialist eDigital Research to gauge consumer opinion and keep track of market trends.
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E-Rewards chief steps into spotlight with $1m theatre donation
19-Mar-2010
US— The Resident Acting Company at the Dallas Theater Center is to be renamed the Diane and Hal Brierley Resident Acting Company following a $1m donation from the E-Rewards chairman and his wife.
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ESPN reveals team sheet for 2010 World Cup research project
22-Mar-2010
US— Sports broadcaster ESPN has put together a team of four research companies for an ambitious project called ESPN XP to measure media usage and the impact of advertising across all media channels amid this year’s football World Cup in South Africa.
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EU backs mobile app for policy participation with £2.4m grant
31-Mar-2010
UK— A multi-million pound grant has been awarded to Brunel Business School to lead the development of a mobile phone application designed to encourage greater participation in government policy-making.
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Ex-Dexterity KPO boss launches Indian panel firm Krea
1-Mar-2010
INDIA— The former CEO of Dexterity KPO Services has launched a new company to provide clients with online and offline panels made up entirely of Indian consumers.
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Ex-Four Seasons marketer joins analytics firm ROI Labs as CEO
23-Mar-2010
US— Web analytics consultancy ROI Labs has hired Michael Hayward, former interactive marketing director of Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, as chief executive officer.
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Ex-FreshNetworks exec launches social media consultancy
8-Mar-2010
UK— Former FreshNetworks community manager Holly Seddon has launched a digital training and consultancy called Spoke Digital with partners James Seddon and Ilana Fox, specialising in social media, community engagement and content.
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Ex-JD Power researchers rev-up new automotive research offer
4-Mar-2010
UK— Former JD Power researchers Chris Brown and Sue Barnes have launched an auto-industry focused agency called Brownsauce, with a full-service offer covering research design, customer satisfaction research, brand tracking and project management.
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Ex-Kantar and Icon execs launch brand research agency
19-Mar-2010
GERMANY— Thomas Andresen, founder of Icon Brand Navigation, and Ulrich Hertfelder, a former Kantar director, have set up a new agency, Markmetrics.
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Ex-SSI MD joins data collection firm WorldOne
19-Mar-2010
UK— Healthcare data collection agency WorldOne has appointed Kim-Fredrik Schneider as senior vice president.
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Eye-tracking firm wins EU development grant
11-Mar-2010
ESTONIA— Eye-tracking firm Real Eyes has been awarded a €467,000 European Union grant to develop software to make eye-tracking faster, cheaper and more accessible.
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Facebook teams with Omniture for ad buying and analytics
3-Mar-2010
US— Facebook has unveiled a partnership with Omniture to aid the buying of ad space on the social networking site, followed up by post-campaign analysis.
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Fewer marketers to cut use of research in 2010, MENG survey finds
2-Mar-2010
US— The latest survey of Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG) members holds positive news for the research industry – half as many respondents expect to cut their MR spend this year compared with 2009.
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Firms splash the green on cleantech researchers
1-Mar-2010
US— Big news from Solarbuzz and Cleantech, two firms focused on environmental technology markets – the former has been acquired while the latter has secured a $3.2m investment.
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Forkin leaves Harris client services role after nine months
17-Mar-2010
US— Frank Forkin has left the post of president of client services for Harris Interactive in North America after little over nine months in the role.
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Former Apple marketing manager takes Vision Critical role
30-Mar-2010
CANADA— Online research agency Vision Critical has appointed former Apple marketing manager Steven Davis to the newly created position of director of product innovation.
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Former InfoGroup CFO rejects SEC settlement
19-Mar-2010
US— InfoGroup’s former chief financial officer Stormy Dean has rejected a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, according to reports.
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Former InfoGroup chief to pay $7.4m to settle SEC charges
16-Mar-2010
US— Former InfoGroup chairman and CEO Vin Gupta has agreed to pay $7.4m to settle charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which accused him of treating the firm “like it was his personal ATM”.
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Former Yahoo execs launch data analytics agency
17-Mar-2010
US— Two former Yahoo executives have launched a data analytics firm that boats a range of services designed to help companies measure and understand consumer intent, nPario.
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FTC considers updating rules protecting children's online privacy
25-Mar-2010
US— The Federal Trade Commission is considering updating rules governing the online collection of children’s personal data in light of the growing popularity of mobile web access among young people.
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Fund launches to aid professional development
11-Mar-2010
The Swedish Market Research Day conference has launched The Lonbono Fund to aid the professional development of researchers “in poorer countries”.
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Getting the measure of viral ads
12-Mar-2010
We speak to Duncan Southgate, global innovation director at Millward Brown, about the firm’s efforts to gauge whether ads will go viral.
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Getting your point across
22-Mar-2010
If you can’t express your ideas in a way that makes other people understand and care about them, you might as well not have any ideas. Here are some of our favourite examples of researchers communicating well.
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GfK Asia and Mobile Entertainment Forum team up on industry report
29-Mar-2010
SINGAPORE— GfK Asia and trade association the Mobile Entertainment Forum have struck a partnership to provide the industry with information about the market for mobile content.
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GfK names innovation manager for custom research arm
10-Mar-2010
UK— Norbert Wirth has been appointed global innovation manager of GfK’s custom research business.
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Google and WPP announce more media research grants
16-Mar-2010
US— Google and WPP have awarded grants to 11 research projects as part of their joint programme to fund studies into online media.
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Google set to hand web users greater control over Analytics opt-out
22-Mar-2010
US— Google has set tongues wagging in the analytics industry over plans to allow web users to opt out of being tracked by its market-leading free analytics package.
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Hall & Partners Vanella Jackson elected MRS chairman
1-Mar-2010
UK— Vanella Jackson, the global chief executive of Hall & Partners, has been elected as the next chairman of the Market Research Society (MRS).
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Hewlett Packard insights manager takes up ORC technology role
4-Mar-2010
US— Former Hewlett Packard insights manager Nancy Bray has been appointed research director in the technology practice at InfoGroup-owned ORC.
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IAB plans research, measurement standards for UK's in-game ad market
25-Mar-2010
UK— Xbox and PlayStation manufacturers Microsoft and Sony are among the founding members of the Internet Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) first Game Steering Group (GSG), which has been formed with a mission to conduct research and introduce measurement standards for in-game advertising.
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ICM handed audience recruitment task for UK election debates
3-Mar-2010
UK— Research agency and opinion pollster ICM has been picked by a consortium of broadcasters to recruit studio audiences for Britain’s first televised election debates.
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IFF scoops double European Social Fund contract
9-Mar-2010
UK— IFF Research has been appointed to assess the impact of two European Social Fund programmes in Wales.
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Improved second-half performance helps Synovate meet expectations
18-Mar-2010
UK— Synovate rallied after a difficult first half of 2009 to report ‘strong second half revenue and cost performance’ for the year, according to figures released today by parent company Aegis.
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In their own words
March 2010
Derek Eccleston, research director at online agency eDigitalResearch, takes a look at how survey respondents really feel about taking part in research.
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Initiative Australia hires research manager
3-Mar-2010
AUSTRALIA— Damian Vanderwolf has been appointed to the newly created role of research manager at media agency Initiative Australia.
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InterMedia adds Power to its UK media and comms team
22-Mar-2010
UK— Gerry Power, the director of research and learning for the BBC World Service Trust – the broadcaster’s charity arm – is leaving to take up the role of managing director of InterMedia UK.
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Ipsos and Future Publishing team up for video game insight tool
30-Mar-2010
US— Magazine publisher Future US and Ipsos OTX MediaCT US have struck a partnership to create a new consumer research tool focusing on video games.
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Ipsos names COO for the Middle East
16-Mar-2010
JORDAN— Mustapha Tabba has been promoted to the new role of chief operating officer of Ipsos Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
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IRI rebrands to reflect alignment with parent company Symphony
24-Mar-2010
US— Information Resources has rebranded as SymphonyIRI Group in a move that plays up its ties to parent company Symphony Technology Group.
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Judge rejects OTX call for Screen Engine restraining order
26-Mar-2010
US— Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant has rejected OTX’s request for a temporary restraining order against former executive Kevin Goetz and his new company Screen Engine.
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Juicy hire – Innocent's former head of insight joins TORA
4-Mar-2010
UK— Fruit smoothie firm Innocent’s former head of customer insights Jan Worsley has joined FMCG research specialist The Oxford Research Agency (TORA) as an associate director.
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Kantar Health appoints country manager for Korea
16-Mar-2010
KOREA— Junghwa Lee has been appointed general manager of Kantar Health in Korea.
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'Less worse' turns to 'stability' – WPP reports 2009 results
5-Mar-2010
UK— WPP’s consumer insight revenue was down 9.5% on a like-for-like basis in 2009, the company said today. The results show a steady improvement in performance towards the tail end of what the marketing services group described as a “brutal” year.
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LinkedIn shutters b2b survey sample service
26-Mar-2010
US— LinkedIn has canned its b2b survey sample offering after a year and six months, citing a need to “refocus research efforts” to help increase its largest revenue lines faster.
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Lou Harris crafts first political poll in 20 years
29-Mar-2010
US— Veteran pollster Lou Harris has returned to the fray to craft a series of surveys on the current political climate for the company that bears his name, Harris Interactive.
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Market Force snaps up cinema checker Ted Costas
17-Mar-2010
US— Customer intelligence agency Market Force Information has acquired the Ted Costas Group, which specialises in cinema mystery shopping and film print checking.
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MarketTools adds trio of TrueSample customers
3-Mar-2010
US— Panel suppliers McMillion Research, uSamp and Western Wats have signed up to use MarketTool’s TrueSample panel cleaning software.
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MARSC.net 1.1 reviewed
March 2010
Tim Macer reviews a web-based panel and sample management tool that aims to attract on power and price.
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Mattinson, Cooke depart Chime leaving Beale as acting research CEO
4-Mar-2010
UK— All change for Chime’s research and engagement division – joint chairs Deborah Mattinson and Viki Cooke have departed the group to launch a new venture, leaving Crispin Beale to run the show as acting chief executive.
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McCann Manchester acquires Blue Banana Agency
15-Mar-2010
UK— Marketing communications agency McCann Manchester has acquired qualitative market researcher the Blue Banana Agency for an undisclosed amount.
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MDLinx and DXY strike China healthcare panel deal
2-Mar-2010
US— Healthcare panel firm MDLinx has struck a deal with Chinese portal DXY that will give it exclusive access to the latter’s panel of 350,000 China-based physicians.
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MediaBadger set for expansion with London office
10-Mar-2010
UK— Internet and social media anlyst MediaBadger has opened a London office to coordinate the firm’s UK and European projects.
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Mediamark partners with MBI for proposed 2011 launch of US Touchpoints
1-Mar-2010
US— 2011 has been earmarked as a potential launch date for the US version of the UK’s Touchpoints multimedia survey and planning database.
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Mediamark probes digital magazine consumption with in-home survey
30-Mar-2010
US— Mediamark Research & Intelligence is embarking on a project that explores how consumers read digital magazine, and whether changes need to be made to its Survey of the American Consumer to reflect new reading habits.
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Millward Brown innovations chief to lead neuroscience division
23-Mar-2010
UK— Millward Brown has tasked its head of innovations Graham Page with setting up a neuroscience division with the goal of supplementing its existing advertising research offer with techniques that aim to uncover the inner workings of the human mind.
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Millward Brown puts avatars on trial in survey of Oscar nominees
5-Mar-2010
US— The words ‘Avatar’ and ‘Oscar’ have gone hand in hand in the run-up to this weekend’s Academy Awards, so it seems fitting that Millward Brown employed avatars as virtual interviewers for an online survey asking who will win Best Picture.
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Millward Brown to open Vietnamese office
10-Mar-2010
VIETNAM— Millward Brown is to open a new office in Vietnam in the second half of this year.
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Millward Brown unveils viral ad potential metric
11-Mar-2010
UK— Millward Brown has developed a metric to help marketers predict the viral potential of video adverts.
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Mind over media? The neuroscience behind effective media planning
17-Mar-2010
Royal Mail’s business development manager Mike West outlines the results of a recent neuromarketing study which sheds some light on how the medium can be just as important as the message for marketers looking to generate an emotional connection with consumers.
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Mobile marketing and analytics firm Adenyo scoops $27m funding
5-Mar-2010
US— Mobile marketing software firm Adenyo has secured $26.9m in private equity funding which it says it will use to accelerate international growth.
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Mobile research – are we engaged?
9-Mar-2010
It almost felt rude not to be tweeting on your phone at Globalpark’s second annual mobile research conference today. But when will mobile really take off as a research medium?
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MS Research International founder Seth Micah Bonnie dead at 65
2-Mar-2010
GHANA— Seth Micah Bonnie, the founding managing director of Marketing and Social Research International Ghana, has died aged 65.
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MTV Networks to 'laser-target' consumers through Media TRAnalytics
24-Mar-2010
US— MTV Networks has signed up to use advertising ROI agency TRA’s analytics service to help marketers target audiences that purchase their products.
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Munro Group pools resources for analytics division
22-Mar-2010
UK— Research group Munro Global has launched a new division, Munro Analytics, offering forecasting, cluster analysis, geographic and geo-demographic analysis, text mining and other services.
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Mystery shopper Grass Roots merges teams
24-Mar-2010
UK— Customer satisfaction and mystery shopping agency Grass Roots has merged its learning and measurement teams and added a new commercial relations director.
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NeuroFocus appoints new advisory board members
2-Mar-2010
US— Neuromarketing agency NeuroFocus has added two new members to its advisory board – Barry Herstein and Dr Adam Gazzaley.
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New Chime research chief puts faith in clientside expertise
16-Mar-2010
UK— The new chief executive of Chime’s research division, Crispin Beale, tells Research how he plans to revive the fortunes of the group following ‘very disappointing’ results for 2009.
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New executive director joins Web Analytics Association
9-Mar-2010
US— The Web Analytics Association has appointed Mike Levin as its new executive director.
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New head of healthcare at Harris Interactive
12-Mar-2010
UK— Suhas Khanderia has been appointed head of healthcare research in the UK at Harris Interactive.
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New publishers, media agencies sign up for Mediamark print ad ratings
17-Mar-2010
US— Mediamark reports that the client base for its fledgling print ad currency AdMeasure continues to grow, with eight new companies added to the roster this year.
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Nielsen acquires Germany's USP Market Intelligence
18-Mar-2010
GERMANY— Nielsen has bought research and consulting firm USP Market Intelligence, which specialises in research for the convenience store sector and the tobacco market.
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Nielsen and eXelate strike data partnership
17-Mar-2010
US— Online data targeting marketplace eXelate has struck a deal with Nielsen that will see data from three of the latter’s offline household segmentation systems added to its offering.
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Nielsen and Openwave launch mobile 'insight engine'
24-Mar-2010
US— Nielsen has agreed a data-sharing deal with mobile analytics software firm Openwave Systems to launch an “insight engine” for mobile network operators.
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Nielsen calls time on local 'live only' TV ratings stream
31-Mar-2010
US— Nielsen is pushing ahead with its plan to ditch ‘live only’ ratings in local markets in favour of a measure of live viewing plus same day programme playback on DVRs, despite opposition from some quarters.
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Nielsen denies Sunbeam allegations and renews call for dismissal
26-Mar-2010
US— Nielsen has filed an official response to the anti-trust lawsuit brought against it by Miami broadcaster Sunbeam Television, denying all allegations and calling again for the court to dismiss the case.
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Nielsen Mobile exec joins start-up rival Motally as CEO
22-Mar-2010
US— Mobile analytics firm Motally has landed former Nielsen Mobile executive John Forese as CEO, replacing founder Arte Merritt who moves to the role of president.
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'No uniformity and no standards' in STB viewing data
11-Mar-2010
US— Set-top box (STB) data for TV audience measurement still lacks uniformity and standards, according to a study from Nielsen’s client think tank.
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Nobel Prize winner joins NeuroFocus advisory board
19-Mar-2010
US— Neuromarketing agency NeuroFocus has appointed Nobel Prize laureate Eric Kandel to its advisory board.
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Obama's healthcare law brings good news for survey researchers
24-Mar-2010
US— Opinions may be split over the healthcare law signed by President Barack Obama this week, but for survey researchers the passage of the bill marked a significant victory.
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Omniture adds two new analytics customers
2-Mar-2010
UK— Omniture is celebrating a double contract win after CareerBuilder.com and Forbes.com signed up to use its online analytics software.
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Omniture delivers 'record' revenue for Adobe in first quarter
24-Mar-2010
US— Adobe has reported $87.7m in first quarter revenue for web analytics business Omniture, which the design software firm acquired in a $1.8bn deal in October last year.
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Online sampling 'increasingly viable' in China, study suggests
3-Mar-2010
CHINA— A study comparing results of online and CATI surveys in China has concluded that online is an ‘increasingly viable’ sampling method despite the country’s relatively low internet penetration rate.
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Opinium and Daily Express strike poll partnership
10-Mar-2010
UK— Opinium Research is to conduct voting intention polls for the Daily Express newspaper in the run up to the 2010 general election.
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ORC owner InfoGroup agrees $635m private equity takeover
8-Mar-2010
US— InfoGroup, the database marketing firm and owner of research agency Opinion Research Corporation, has entered into an agreement to be bought by private equity house CCMP Capital in a $635m deal.
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OTX embarks on legal action against former executives
25-Mar-2010
US— Movie researcher OTX has launched legal proceedings against Kevin Goetz, the former president of its worldwide motion picture research group, claiming that he used company data and tried to poach key staff when he set up his own business earlier this year.
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OTX promotes Bruzzese to head of Motion Picture Group
1-Mar-2010
US— OTX has promoted Vincent Bruzzese to lead its Motion Picture Group in the US following the departure of president Kevin Goetz.
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People on the move
22-Mar-2010
The latest appointments and promotions from the global market research industry. This week: Essential Research, RDSI, Harris Interactive, GfK NOP, Lightspeed Research, ABI Research, Sewells, Netquest, Qforma, Hall & Partners and more.
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People on the move
31-Mar-2010
The latest appointments and promotions in the global research and consumer insight industry. This week: Ipsos Marketing, Kadence International, Naked Communications, Lenovo, Nugg.ad, Added Value, InsightExpress, PluggedIN, Ask Research, QRS, Sentient Decision Science and SiriusDecisions.
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People on the move
11-Mar-2010
The latest appointments and promotions from the global market research and consumer insight industry. This week: Mediaedge:cia, Fonterra Brands and Nunwood
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People on the move
4-Mar-2010
The latest appointments and promotions from the global market research and consumer insight industry. This week: QA Research, ORC, Globalpark, ViziSense, MRops, Market Probe and more.
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Planet Retail hires Pepsico exec for North American expansion
12-Mar-2010
US— Retail analyst firm Planet Retail has hired former Pepsico customer development director Brian Wisniewski to lead its growth in North America.
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Populus forms behaviour change team
19-Mar-2010
UK— Research and polling agency Populus has set up a team focusing on behaviour change, to be headed by Alison Broom.
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Private equity firm pumps $35m into 1010data
11-Mar-2010
US— Data analytics firm 1010data has secured a $35m minority investment from Norwest Venture Partners.
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Private equity firms finalise IMS Health acquisition
3-Mar-2010
US— Investment groups TPG Capital and the CPP Investment Board have completed their $5bn takeover of healthcare researcher IMS Health.
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Private equity house linked with InfoGroup bid
1-Mar-2010
US— Database marketing firm InfoGroup, the owner of research agency Opinion Research Corporation, could be the target of a bid from a New York-based private equity house, according to press reports.
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Quantcast to offer country-specific online audience data
11-Mar-2010
US— Web measurement firm Quantcast has announced the launch of a localised audience data service for every country.
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QVC shops around for text analytics and buys Clarabridge software
8-Mar-2010
US— Home shopping network QVC has used text analytics software from Clarabridge to scour its customer communications channels for trends and insights.
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Reed merges Mardev and DM2-DecisionMaker businesses
4-Mar-2010
US— Reed Business Information has merged its direct marketing and data management businesses, Mardev and DM2-DecisionMaker, to form a new company providing marketing, data and analysis services to b2b marketers.
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Rentrak snares MTV Networks for TV ratings service
15-Mar-2010
US— MTV Networks has become the first major cable company to sign up to Rentrak’s TV Essentials audience measurement service.
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Research Panel Asia launches in South Korea
25-Mar-2010
SOUTH KOREA— Research Panel Asia’s South Korean subsidiary has started recruitment activty for a new online panel service in the country.
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Rosslyn Research and Viewpoint relocate post-acquisition
5-Mar-2010
UK— Sister companies Rosslyn Research and Viewpoint Field Services are set to move into shared offices in April following their sale to Rivington Street Holdings.
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Royal Mail could face penalties over rigged research
15-Mar-2010
UK— Royal Mail has been told by the postal regulator that it could face penalties for failing to realise that managers were fiddling research into service quality.
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Royal Mail taps eBay data for direct marketing targeting tool
4-Mar-2010
UK— The Royal Mail has teamed up with eBay data analysis firm Advanced Ecommerce Research Systems (AERS) to launch a new service to help direct marketers target the households likeliest to buy their products.
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SheSpeaks launches women's online communities
12-Mar-2010
US— Online community builder SheSpeaks is offering to connect brands with targeted communities of 2,000 or more women for qual and quant studies.
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Simpson Carpenter names ex-TNS RI division head as TMT leader
2-Mar-2010
UK— Simpson Carpenter has appointed Mike Stevens, a former divisional head within TNS Research International, as its new director of telecommunications research.
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Skopos still sees research potential of LinkedIn user base
29-Mar-2010
UK— LinkedIn may have called time on its b2b survey sample service, but some researchers aren’t yet ready to give up on the research potential of the business networking site.
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Sky re-appoints SPA for customer satisfaction tracking task
12-Mar-2010
UK— Broadcaster and internet provider Sky has re-appointed SPA to run its customer satisfaction tracking survey.
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Sony and CBS flesh out 3D research plans
3-Mar-2010
US— Sony and CBS have shed more light on their joint effort to showcase, test and develop 3D video content.
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Spedding and Chopra set out to unearth pharma research 'gems'
2-Mar-2010
UK— Two former Synovate senior executives have launched a new firm to invest in and support the development of businesses in the healthcare market research space.
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Stats Authority calls for cut to ministers' early access to official figures
18-Mar-2010
UK— Government ministers will see their pre-release access to official statistics cut from 24 hours to just three hours if the watchdog body the Statistics Authority has its way.
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Strategic Vision releases first public poll since AAPOR rap
18-Mar-2010
US— Opinion polling firm Strategic Vision has issued the results of its first statewide poll in six months since falling foul of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR).
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Sunrise signs up for Nielsen radio ratings
11-Mar-2010
US— New York-based radio station owner Sunrise Broadcasting has become the latest company to sign up to Nielsen’s radio ratings service.
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Sunshine Act shines light on need for creativity in survey incentives, says Raghavan
31-Mar-2010
US— Researchers may have dodged a bullet with the passing of the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, but one pharma sector specialist worries that survey payments to doctors will become an issue again if the industry doesn’t pursue smarter approaches to incentives.
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Synovate appoints MD for UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iran
1-Mar-2010
UAE— Synovate has appointed Clayton Buckley as its new managing director for the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
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Synovate chief marks China, France and Germany as top shopping destinations
30-Mar-2010
UK— Aegis has earmarked £190m for acquisitions, some of which will be spent by its market research agency Synovate. Top of the shopping list, according to CEO Robert Philpott, are purchases in China, Latin America and Africa – and France and Germany.
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The answer is simplicity itself
March 2010
In the rush to innovate, prove a return on investment and mine fresh seams of insight, the research business has, arguably, been a little less enthusiastic in its attempts to attract, engage and retain respondents.
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The future of privacy
11-Mar-2010
We speak to privacy expert Raymond Wacks about personal data in the digital age.
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The Leading Edge restructures Sydney management
25-Mar-2010
AUSTRALIA— The Leading Edge has restructured its Sydney operation with the appointment of two joint managing partners.
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The Online Circle launches social media monitoring tool
11-Mar-2010
AUSTRALIA— Internet marketing agency The Online Circle has launched a new online tracking tool to monitor conversations across blogs, social media networks and forums.
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The perfect response
March 2010
How can the research business keep its respondents engaged? Robert Bain considers whether a more social and interactive approach to the research process is called for.
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The proof is in the pudding
March 2010
Razor Research’s Chloë Fowler reports on the creation of a customer community for Gü Chocolate Puds.
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The visual art of data
2-Mar-2010
David McCandless is the man behind informationisbeautiful.net. His eye-catching infographics have been used by the Guardian, the BBC and numerous other outlets. We spoke to him about why he believes that presenting data visually is the way forward, and why he hates pie charts.
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Think twice
15-Mar-2010
Simon Vangelder, MD of TwoMinds Research, asks why market research hasn’t done more to embrace learnings from neuroscience and psychology.
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Tick-box surveys 'fail to capture UK diversity'
15-Mar-2010
UK— Survey research is failing to reflect the true nature of diversity in Britain by forcing people into ‘tick-box’ categories, a new study claims.
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TNS expands Africa footprint in partnership with Nigeria-based RMS
25-Mar-2010
AFRICA— TNS has signed an affiliate agreement with Nigeria-based Research and Marketing Services (RMS), a market and social research business with offices in a number of mosty West African countries.
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TNS fields marketing effectiveness measure for Indian cricket events
15-Mar-2010
INDIA— TNS has launched the Consumer Response to Investment in Cricket (CRIC) study.
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Toluna reports record revenue in 'remarkable' 2009
29-Mar-2010
UK — Toluna chief executive Frederic-Charles Petit has hailed a “remarkable” year for the company after it reported a 128% increase in revenue for 2009.
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'Too early' to comment on potential sell-offs, says InfoGroup CEO
9-Mar-2010
US— InfoGroup CEO Bill Fairfield has said it is too soon to tell whether potential new owner CCMP Capital will sell off any of the database marketing firm’s business units, such as Opinion Research Corporation.
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TRA signs GroupM as Media TRAnalytics client
9-Mar-2010
US— TRA has secured WPP-owned media agency network GroupM as a client for its Media TRAnalytics tool, which merges second-by-second TV viewing data with shopper purchase data in a bid to help marketers plan, buy and evaluate the effectiveness of their advertising.
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Twitter management and analytics platform sold to ExactTarget
3-Mar-2010
US— CoTweet, the developer of a Twitter account management and analytics platform, has been bought by email and interactive marketing firm ExactTarget.
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UAE gets green light for people meter TV measurement
16-Mar-2010
UAE— Ministers have given the National Media Council the go-ahead to launch a people meter-based TV audience measurement service in the United Arab Emirates.
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UK government ups silent call penalties to £2m
30-Mar-2010
UK— Fines of up to £2m could soon be levied on companies who make silent calls to homeowners, following a review of the penalty arrangements for the persistent misuse of electronic communications networks.
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UKOM names former GCap researcher as new general manager
18-Mar-2010
UK— James Smythe has been appointed general manager of the UK Online Measurement Company, the body responsible for producing the country’s industry-backed online audience measurement system.
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US Postal Service unveils new customer experience measurement
30-Mar-2010
US— The US Postal Service (USPS) has overhauled its customer experience measurement system to allow more detailed assessment of its four main touchpoints: receiving mail, sending mail, visiting the post office and contacting the Postal Service.
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uSamp launches panel management tool
19-Mar-2010
US— Sample supplier uSamp has unveiled a web-based panel management platform designed to make online research simpler.
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'Very disappointing' research performance mars Chime results
10-Mar-2010
UK— Chime Communications’ “best results ever” have been marred by the performance of the group’s research division, which includes agencies Opinion Leader, Brand Democracy, and Facts International.
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Virgin Atlantic picks Intersperience for passenger survey
22-Jul-2011
UK— Virgin Atlantic has hired consumer research agency Intersperience to carry out a 10-week study exploring whether cultural differences affect passengers’ perceptions of their journeys.
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Voxco names new MD for German subsidiary
12-Mar-2010
GERMANY— Canadian survey software firm Voxco has appointed Juergen Hessdoerfer as managing director of its German subsidiary, Voxco.
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Wapor raises alarm over changes to Peru polling laws
26-Mar-2010
US— Polling advocacy group Wapor is warning of a threat to the freedom to conduct election surveys in Peru, where a proposed law would give politicians and their aides the right to observe interviewers in action.
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Webcam qual work to double in 2010, says Gongos Research
29-Mar-2010
US— Bulletin boards and chat threads have largely defined online qual to date – but what of webcam-based interviews and focus groups? One company, Gongos Research is forecasting use of the technology to double this year.
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WebSideStory founder returns with new business Anametrix
9-Mar-2010
US— A team of former WebSideStory executives – including founder Blaise Barrelet – have gone to market with a new business anaytics platform that aggregates online, offline and external databases for insight purposes.
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WPP agencies Maxus and BPG Media team up in Middle East
22-Mar-2010
DUBAI— Maxus, a marketing and media services agency within WPP’s GroupM group, has formed a strategic alliance with local firm BPG Media to establish a presence in the Middle East and North Africa.
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YouGov Siraj and Analyseize strike partnership
10-Mar-2010
JORDAN— YouGov Siraj has signed an agreement with Jordanian market research agency Analyseize to work together to provide research services in Jordan.
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YouGov's Psychonomics buys remaining stake in ServiceRating
17-Mar-2010
GERMANY— YouGov’s German subsidiary Psychonomics has completed its acquisition of ServiceRating, an agency which analyses and rates service companies.
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Zenith Media signs up for Rentrak's TV Essentials
18-Mar-2010
US— Media planning agency Zenith Media has become the latest firm to buy in to Rentrak’s TV Essentials audience measurement service.