News15 March 2012

Omnicom launches Sparks & Honey brand shop

US— Omnicom has launched a branding agency in New York called Sparks & Honey that sets out to tap cultural insights for marketing success.

News14 March 2012

The Demand Institute names exec director and CRO

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.

News14 March 2012

MEC appoints digital analytics director

US— Media agency MEC has hired Sharona Sankar-King as senior partner and director of digital analytics.

News14 March 2012

GRIT finds commodity fears, hopes for change

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.

News14 March 2012

Univision Comms joins CIMM

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.

Opinion14 March 2012

Escaping the commoditisation trap

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.

News14 March 2012

NetBase unveils new social media monitoring platform

US— Social media monitoring firm NetBase has launched a new platform to gather insight into customer opinions, emotions and behaviours.

News17 June 2011

Other Lines of Enquiry launches TV division

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.

News17 June 2011

Kantar Media to integrate Experian data with DirecTView service

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.

Feature4 April 2011

Research 2011 – in pictures

A few highlights from the Research 2011 annual conference – relive the best bits or see what you missed

News1 April 2011

A picture is worth 1,000 words for Synovate

UK— Synovate has launched a new online survey technique that allows respondents to answer in pictures instead of words.

News1 April 2011

Data.gov future uncertain amid US budget stalemate

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.

News31 March 2011

Mediabrands appoints Asia Pac research manager

SINGAPORE— Interpublic’s media specialist Mediabrands has appointed Ashley Nin as research and tools manager for Asia Pacific.

News31 March 2011

Millward Brown's Daren Poole becomes Link brand director

US— Millward Brown has appointed Daren Poole, previously chief client officer in Australia, as global brand director for its Link ad testing tool.

News31 March 2011

PPM gets accredited in 11 markets - but 34 are turned down

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.

News31 March 2011

Harper and Carroll promoted to global roles at Synovate

US/UK— Synovate has promoted two regional bosses to global leadership roles for its brand and communications and customer experience practices.

News31 March 2011

Brian Tarran is the new editor of Research

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.

News31 March 2011

Linkedin sued over privacy leak allegations

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.

News31 March 2011

Toluna shareholders agree to private equity takeover

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.

News30 March 2011

Cubit launches social media monitoring tool in Asia Pac

AUSTRALIA/US— Media analyst Cubit is to introduce Moreover Technologies’ social media monitoring platform to the Asia Pacific region.

Feature30 March 2011

No time for shyness at Harris under new UK bosses

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.

News30 March 2011

Research Now's Ouiza Rebahi joins Cint to head Paris office

FRANCE— Research software and services firm Cint has hired Ouiza Rebahi as managing director of its French office.

News30 March 2011

SMG to run Pets at Home feedback programme

UK— Shopper researcher SMG is to run a two-year customer feedback programme for pet supplies retailer Pets at Home.

News30 March 2011

Crowd DNA heads down The Rabbit Hole

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.

News30 March 2011

Salesforce buys social media tracker Radian6 for $326m

US/CANADA— Canada’s Radian6, which produces social media monitoring tools, has been acquired by CRM business Salesforce for $326m in cash and shares.

News29 March 2011

TNS hires Ivan Browne to lead retail and shopper arm

UK— TNS has appointed former GfK NOP man Ivan Browne to fill the new role of head of its retail and shopper division.

News29 March 2011

Canadian Press to monitor political buzz in election run-up

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.

News29 March 2011

Stats Authority warns Health Department over Lifestyle Survey funds

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.

News29 March 2011

Groupe Aeroplan analytics arm and Coles strike partnership

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.

News29 March 2011

EBay in $2.4bn deal for marketing services group GSI Commerce

US— Online auction house eBay has agreed a $2.4bn deal to acquire marketing services and ecommerce group GSI Commerce.

News29 March 2011

Thames Water taps Community Research for panels

UK— Thames Water has hired Community Research to run its employee and customer panels.

Feature29 March 2011

Entertainment by design

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.

News29 March 2011

BritainThinks to gauge 'symbols of growth'

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.

News28 March 2011

451 Group snaps up ChangeWave Research

US— Tech industry analyst The 451 Group has bought ChangeWave Research from its parent company InvestorPlace Media.

News28 March 2011

Synovate names MD for new entertainment arm

US— Synovate has appointed Howard Ballon as managing director of its new media and entertainment research division.

News28 March 2011

ICM names former COI consultant Tom Wormald research director

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.

News28 March 2011

ThinkBox hires new research and planning director

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.

News28 March 2011

GfK MRI and Starch launch magazine ad ROI metric

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.

News28 March 2011

Market Force acquires feedback specialist Tell Us About Us

US— Customer intelligence firm Market Force International has acquired Canadian customer experience measurement agency Tell Us About Us ( TUAU).

News25 March 2011

People on the move

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.

News25 March 2011

MobileSquared unveils mobile internet database

UK— Specialist research agency MobileSquared has launched a database that provides data and forecasts on consumer usage habits relating to the mobile internet.

News25 March 2011

Fox Business Network becomes Nielsen client

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.

News25 March 2011

Travelclick acquires hotel intelligence agency Rubicon

US— Hotel ecommerce technology provider Travelclick has acquired Rubicon, an agency specialising in competitive market intelligence for the hospitality industry.

News25 March 2011

CivicScience lands $1.2m funding for polling tool

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.

News25 March 2011

Jeffrey Hunter on the client/agency relationship

News24 March 2011

MRUK to carry out visitor research for MLA Council

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.

News24 March 2011

ComScore sues back over Nielsen patent claims

US— ComScore has filed a claim for patent infringement against Nielsen, mere days after being sued on similar grounds by its online measurement rival.

News24 March 2011

The tense relationship between research and creativity

News24 March 2011

George Pappachen on privacy and market research

News24 March 2011

Neil Wholey on promoting the value of public sector research

News24 March 2011

IMRB International launches Indian 3G survey

INDIA— Kantar-owned IMRB International has launched a new syndicated study examining 3G mobile services in India.

Feature24 March 2011

Stuck in the middle with... who?

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.

Feature24 March 2011

Stuck in the middle with... who?

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.

News24 March 2011

BrainJuicer banks £141,000 from DigiViduals

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.

News24 March 2011

Gemius to provide Israeli online currency

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.

News24 March 2011

GfK wins Portuguese TV ratings contract

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.

News24 March 2011

Huntsworth buys Atomic PR, data analytics tool

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).

Feature24 March 2011

How data is transforming digital marketing

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.

News23 March 2011

ABC unites print and digital media audits

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.

News23 March 2011

Bosch signs up for Globalpark social media research tool

GERMANY— Electronics manufacturer Bosch is using Globalpark’s Social Insight Connect tool to engage with their fans on Facebook.

News23 March 2011

Visualisation expert David McCandless teams up with Kantar

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.

News23 March 2011

Online research start-up Motista bags $4.5m venture funding

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”.

News23 March 2011

Pete Cape on connecting with the new consumer

SSI’s global knowledge director Pete Cape on looking “beyond the craze” in a world of accelerating consumer change.

News23 March 2011

Research Now adds to UK, Asia leadership

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.

News23 March 2011

Synovate adds key account director in the UK

UK— Synovate has appointed Tradian Almasanu as key account director within its consumer packaged goods research team.

News23 March 2011

Nielsen sues ComScore over online measurement patents

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.

News23 March 2011

Andrew Freeman on rejoicing in the changing consumer

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?

News23 March 2011

Rachel Lawes on rebranding Charmin

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.

News22 March 2011

ARF reveals results from neuromarketing review and plans expert network

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.

News22 March 2011

GfK Media's Nick North on winning consumers' love

Nick North, chief marketing officer at GfK Media, on how consumers’ love of content can drive desire for products, and encourage brand loyalty.

News22 March 2011

Delvinia makes social media connections with Environics

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.

News22 March 2011

Tim Harford: Solving impossible problems

The author of The Undercover Economist and The Logic of Life discusses the limits of expertise in his keynote talk at Research 2011.

News22 March 2011

Meltwater buys social CRM software developer JitterJam

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.

News22 March 2011

ICM names long-serving execs to management board

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.

Feature22 March 2011

Do researchers understand visual design?

Are researchers mastering the art of presenting their findings visually? Designer Andrew Doyle and researcher Andrew Tharme go head to head.

News21 March 2011

New NeuroFocus headset gets closer to the Mynd

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.

News21 March 2011

MPG Media Contacts splits strategy division

UK— Havas-owned media agency MPG Media Contacts has split its strategy division into two separate teams to focus on communication and commercial strategy.

News21 March 2011

Rentrak boss Livek ups stake in company

US— Rentrak CEO Blll Livek has spent more than a quarter of a million dollars on shares in the television audience measurement company.

News21 March 2011

Cint partners for app data and location analytics

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.

News21 March 2011

Researching children: are we getting it right?

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’.

News21 March 2011

Nerdtopia! A nerd culture workshop for researchers

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.

News21 March 2011

How tapping unspoken responses sparks better decisions

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.

News21 March 2011

Quality is in the mind of the beholder

‘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’. 

News21 March 2011

Around the world in 60 minutes

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.

News21 March 2011

The long view on short-term thinking

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.

News21 March 2011

Fact versus fiction

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.

News21 March 2011

Enough talk. Where's the payback?

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.

News21 March 2011

Engaging the business to action and commercialise insight

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.

News21 March 2011

MarketVision names former P&G man as research director

US— Former Procter & Gamble consumer insight specialist Brad Weiss has been appointed research director at full-service agency MarketVision.

News21 March 2011

Citizenship Survey axed to save £4m despite opposition

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.

News21 March 2011

Beaufort Research picks up Visit Wales contract again

UK— Visit Wales, the tourism arm of the Welsh Assembly Government, has reappointed Beaufort Research to carry out the 2011 Wales Visitor Survey.

News18 March 2011

ROI Research named as Recyclebank insight agency

US— Recyclebank, an organisation that offers deals to consumers who take part in green activities, has appointed ROI Research as its consumer insight agency.

News18 March 2011

Matthew Tibbles given CBS Interactive insight role

AUSTRALIA— Website publisher CBS Interactive Australia has appointed former News Digital Media insight chief Matthew Tibbles as its new research and insights manager.

News18 March 2011

B2B International launches Brussels office

BELGIUM— B2B International has opened a new sales office in Brussels and added new staff to its operations in the UK, US and China.

News18 March 2011

Edentify opens its doors in Auckland

NEW ZEALAND— Australian online research Edentify has opened an office in Auckland to be closer to its existing clients in New Zealand.

Feature18 March 2011

'Many people have a slightly out of date view of Asian research culture'

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.

News18 March 2011

The Leading Edge appoints client director

AUSTRALIA— Andrew Therkelsen has been appointed client director at insight and strategy consultancy The Leading Edge.

News18 March 2011

Government urged to scrap COI and establish new Communication Centre

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.

News18 March 2011

Graham Page on neuroscience and market research

“Neuroscience is strategically vital to what we do.”

Opinion17 March 2011

The 2011 census – have we learned the right lessons?

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.

News17 March 2011

Ipsos to add Innerscope biometrics to ad testing offer

US— Ipsos is to integrate biometric research capabilities into some of its best-known ad research products through a partnership with Innerscope Research.

News17 March 2011

London mayor criticised for handling of crime stats

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.

News17 March 2011

Chime's own Dragons' Den to review investment opportunities

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.

News17 March 2011

StrategyOne promotes Moran to US president

US— StrategyOne, a communications research and consulting firm owned by PR group Edelman, has named Robert Moran as president of its US business.

News17 March 2011

Gibbons adds to Work load with Arena role

UK— Arena Media has hired Work Research co-founder Justin Gibbons to serve part-time as head of behavioural economics.

News17 March 2011

Aegis reports 'strong recovery' at Synovate

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%.

News17 March 2011

Reagan pollster Richard Wirthlin dies aged 80

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.

News16 March 2011

FTC settles with Chitika over 'deceptive' opt-out policy

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.

News16 March 2011

Confirmit 16 launches with new features for non-expert users

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.

News16 March 2011

The Sound Research opens diversity unit

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.

News16 March 2011

BackType nets $1m funding for social media monitoring

US— Social media monitoring firm BackType has been awarded $1m in seed funding by a group of private equity investors.

News16 March 2011

4As, BlackArrow and TV industry launch VOD research

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.

News16 March 2011

Ticketmaster launches analytics venture

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.

News15 March 2011

Skopos hires former Carphone Warehouse insight manager

UK— Former Carphone Warehouse insight manager Kevin Macdonald has been appointed director of digital, media and leisure research at Skopos.

News15 March 2011

SSI promotes DeAngelis to lead new healthcare division

US— Panel provider Survey Sampling International has promoted Chris DeAngelis to lead its new heathcare offering, SSI Health.

News15 March 2011

English Heritage picks BritainThinks for volunteering research

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.

News15 March 2011

Food giant launches chefs panel for industry feedback

UK— Premier Foods Foodservice has launched an online panel of chefs to share their opinions on catering industry matters.

News15 March 2011

Analytics and marketing trio merge to form Cardinal Path

US— Web analytics and data-driven marketing agencies PublicInsite, VKI Studios and WebShare have merged to create a new company, Cardinal Path.

News15 March 2011

Ex-Futures Company leaders apologise for 'overstepping the mark' in setting up new agency

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.”

News15 March 2011

ORC International launches social media analysis service

US— ORC International has launched a social media analysis service through a partnership with technology firm Infegy.

News15 March 2011

Japanese panel companies resume sending survey invites

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.

News15 March 2011

Web analytics partnerships still on the cards, says ComScore EVP

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.

News15 March 2011

Cello buys MedErgy to build up health services business

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.

News14 March 2011

Panel provider halts survey invites in aftermath of Japanese quake

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.

News14 March 2011

Anand given new Firefly Millward Brown strategy post

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.

News14 March 2011

Specific Media hires ex-News International insight manager

UK— Digital ad network Specific Media has hired former News International insight manager Chris Worrell as its first European research manager.

News14 March 2011

Opinion Matters named PRCA partner

UK— The Public Relations Consultants Association ( PRCA) has appointed Opinion Matters as its official research partner.

News14 March 2011

London Broadcasting Company signs up for Rentrak ratings

US— Texas-based London Broadcasting Company has signed up to use Rentrak’s StationView Essentials audience measurement service in two new local markets.

News14 March 2011

ComScore launches Digital Analytix after Nedstat buy

US— ComScore today rolled out the first offering born from its acquisition of Nedstat last year – a new web analytics package called Digital Analytix.

News14 March 2011

Radian6 acquires UK's 6Consulting

UK— Radian6, a Canadian developer of social media monitoring software, has acquired its UK reseller 6Consulting for an undisclosed amount.

News11 March 2011

People on the move

The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research industry, including news from RSM, Lucintel, Echo, MRUC, KL Communications and more.

News11 March 2011

Face and O2 create social media monitoring platform

UK— Co-creation agency Face has developed a customised social media monitoring service for the mobile and broadband provider O2.

News11 March 2011

ImpactRX launches panel of respiratory specialists

US— Physician panel provider ImpactRX is now offering a sample of pulmonologists – doctors specialising in respiratory illnesses.

News11 March 2011

Evolution Marketing Research names COO

US— Healthcare agency Evolution Marketing Research has appointed Daniel Slawe to the newly created position of chief operating officer.

News11 March 2011

Zogby International rebranded as Ibope embarks on US expansion

US— Pollster Zogby International has been rebranded Ibope Zogby International as the firm’s Brazilian majority owner expands into North America.

News10 March 2011

Zoomerang picked for SXSW app survey task

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.

News10 March 2011

Stratburg to offer SinoTech social media research tool in India

INDIA— Chinese social media researcher SinoTech is to offer its tools in India through a partnership with Bangalore-based Stratburg Market Research and Consulting.

Opinion10 March 2011

Credit where it's due

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.

Feature10 March 2011

Easing the burden

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.

News10 March 2011

Omnicom strikes deals with web publishers to target ads

US— Marketing services group Omnicom has signed deals with AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft to get access to audience data for ad targeting.

News10 March 2011

Web audience startup Sociocast raises $1.75m

US— Sociocast, the maker of a website audience analytics tool, has raised $1.75m in a stock offering.

News10 March 2011

Yahoo and Nielsen team up for online brand study in Asia

SINGAPORE— Yahoo and Nielsen have teamed up on a new study to gauge the effectiveness of online brand advertising in Asia.

News10 March 2011

TNS forms partnership with Chinese business school

CHINA— TNS has announced a partnership with the China Europe International Business School ( CEIBS), based in Shanghai.

News10 March 2011

Verve hires two ex-Vision Critical directors

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.

News9 March 2011

Wang returns to Yankee Group as chief research officer

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.

News9 March 2011

Facebook ramps up 'Like' and comment box analytics

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.

News9 March 2011

Face and Reckitt Benckiser on co-creating new products

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.

News9 March 2011

Wieland to head new business and finance division at TNS Infratest

GERMANY— Robert Wieland, managing director of TNS Infratest, has taken charge of the agency’s newly formed business and finance research division.

News9 March 2011

Millward Brown moves Southgate into digital brand role

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.

News9 March 2011

'Check out' new business recommendation app from Bizzy

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.

News9 March 2011

Chime's research division back in the black

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).

News9 March 2011

ICM appoints Emily Hunt as research director

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.

News8 March 2011

Toluna revenue up 50% – but pro forma US sales down 6%

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%.

News8 March 2011

Barb nears completion of virtual meter trials

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.

News8 March 2011

Kantar Media launches RapidView profiling service

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.

News8 March 2011

MarketShare and TRA strike reselling agreement

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.

News8 March 2011

Integer opens in Sydney, Singapore and Mumbai – adds Paris too

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.

News8 March 2011

Zokem expands through Danish partnership

DENMARK— Finnish mobile analytics firm Zokem has formed a strategic partnership with Danish agency Wilke to research the country’s smartphone market.

News8 March 2011

Pew hires ex-State Department official as first international survey director

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.

News8 March 2011

German agency rapped for blurring research and marketing

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.

News7 March 2011

SurveyGizmo adds panel capabilities through Cint deal

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.

News7 March 2011

Qriously launches with in-app mobile survey tool

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.

News7 March 2011

MRUK MD Jim Law flies solo with new consultancy

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.

News7 March 2011

Indicia takes stake in social media strategist Make It Rain

UK— Marketing services and customer intelligence group Indicia has taken an undisclosed stake in social media strategy agency Make It Rain.

News7 March 2011

GfK NOP names Jenkins as head of FMCG research

UK— GfK NOP has hired former Harris Interactive consumer lead Peter Jenkins as head of FMCG research in its consumer products and retail division.

News7 March 2011

Hallmark channels sign up for Rentrak audience measurement

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.

News7 March 2011

COI chief executive Mark Lund steps down

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.

News7 March 2011

Techneos adds barcode scanner and video to Android app

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.

News7 March 2011

Canoe to integrate iTV data with Donovan media buying system

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.

Feature4 March 2011

Valuable opinions

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.

News4 March 2011

Forbes.com uses Affectiva software to gauge ad reaction

US— Business information publisher Forbes.com is running an experiment to test and refine web-based face recognition technology developed by Affectiva.

News4 March 2011

People on the move

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.

News4 March 2011

Max Gadney on where research meets design

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.

News4 March 2011

Webtrends adds Windows 7 compatability to mobile app analytics

US— Online analytics agency Webtrends has launched a version of its mobile application analytics technology for the Windows 7 operating system.

News4 March 2011

Vital Findings emerges from stealth mode

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.

News4 March 2011

Consumer insight revenue up 4% to £2.4bn in 2010, says WPP

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.

News3 March 2011

Robert Raymond joins GfK Automotive in consulting role

US— GfK has appointed Robert Raymond to lead the ad hoc research team at GfK Automotive as vice president of consulting.

News3 March 2011

Male's TheInfoPro sold to tech industry analyst The 451 Group

US— Technology industry analyst The 451 Group has acquired the assets of TheInfoPro, a survey research and advisory firm focused on the IT market.

Feature3 March 2011

MROCs promise an end to 'death by PowerPoint', says Harris's Reiman

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.

News3 March 2011

UK government commits £28m to UK birth cohort study

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.

News3 March 2011

Populus nets new Premier League deal

UK— Populus has been awarded the contract to continue carrying out research among football fans on behalf of the Premier League.

News3 March 2011

Phoenix Healthcare appoints European managing director

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.

News3 March 2011

Arbitron moves Surratt into top finance role

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.

News2 March 2011

Futures Company hires former Orange man Harris

UK— Trends consultancy The Futures Company has appointed Patrick Harris, formerly of mobile operator Orange, as a director.

Opinion2 March 2011

There's no accounting for taste

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?

News2 March 2011

IAB and MMA launch new mobile web ad guidelines

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.

Opinion2 March 2011

Why so much segmentation is rubbish

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.

News2 March 2011

MRUC cancels work with Roy Morgan on consumer survey – report

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.

News2 March 2011

Publisher threatens Nielsen over 'flawed' figures

MALAYSIA— Newspaper publisher Sun Media Corporation ( SMC) has threatened legal proceedings against Nielsen, accusing it of operating a “flawed and erroneous” reader measurement system.

News2 March 2011

Opinionaided gets $1m in venture capital backing

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.

News2 March 2011

GutCheck wins $1m advertising prize at DEMO conference

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.

News1 March 2011

Hearst Magazines hires research director from rival

US— Hearst Magazines has appointed Fotoulla Euripidou, formerly of rival publisher Rodale, as vice president and director of consumer research.

News1 March 2011

Statistics Authority chair Sir Michael Scholar to retire

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.

News1 March 2011

Firefly Millward Brown moves Bourgery to global qual role

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.

News1 March 2011

Philippines publishers partner with Effective Measure

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.

News1 March 2011

Calhoun 'fired up' for future as Nielsen reports 6% rise in annual revenue

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.

News1 March 2011

Tech veteran Nugent named Mzinga CEO

US— Alan Nugent has been appointed chief executive officer of online social software and analytics provider Mzinga.

News1 March 2011

Ad trade bodies look to silence online metrics 'cacophony' with currency plans

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.

News1 March 2011

Rentrak adds time-shifted stats to StationView Essentials

US— Rentrak has added time-shifted ratings data from digital video recorders ( DVRs) to its StationView Essentials TV audience measurement service.

News1 March 2011

Ex-Hall & Partners innovation chief goes mobile with new venture

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.

Feature1 March 2011

Testing times

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?

Feature1 March 2011

How will behavioural economics change research?

Behavioural economics shines a light on the factors that influence our actions. Jules Berry considers what researchers can learn from it.

Feature1 March 2011

Order from chaos

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.

Feature1 March 2011

Picture perfect

Robert Bain takes a look at information design in research.

Feature1 March 2011

Big bad wolf? Or fairy godmother?

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.

Feature1 March 2011

The true face of quality

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.

Opinion1 March 2011

The right place, the right time

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.