News17 May 2012

Kantar Media Intelligence names Swallen as CRO

US— Kantar Media Intelligence North America has appointed Jon Swallen as chief research officer, where he will initiatives around the development of digital research methodologies.

News17 May 2012

LivePerson buys website testing and targeting specialist Amadesa

US— LivePerson, a firm specialising in online real-time chat and voice services, has acquired Israel-based web analytics start-up Amadesa.

News17 May 2012

Gemius and Ipsos retain Hungary web measurement contract

HUNGARY— IAB Hungary and the Association of Hungarian Communications Agencies ( MAKSZ) have re-appointed Gemius, in cooperation with Ipsos, as their ongoing providers of online audience measurement services.

News17 May 2012

Fizziology unveils TV analytics tool

US— Social media research agency Fizziology has launched an analytics service called SocialDensity to show the social impact of television programmes.

Feature6 April 2012

In praise of face to face

Shiny new methods might get most of the attention, but plenty of researchers are still standing up for face to face. Robert Bain meets them – in person, of course.

News30 March 2012

German growth boosts Netigate income

SWEDEN— Online research software provider Netigate has reported a 32% rise in operating income to SEK 40.1m ( $6m), thanks to strong growth in Germany.

Feature30 March 2012

Behind the scenes at Google Consumer Surveys

Brian Tarran picks through the details of Google’s ‘surveywall’, how it works – and why it may be too much for some consumers to get over.

News30 March 2012

Bowker merges publishing research ops

US— Book publishing information firm Bowker has merged its market research operations – PubTrack Consumer in the US and Book Marketing Limited in the UK – into a new entity, Bowker Market Research.

News30 March 2012

Predictive analytics firm InsightsOne gets $4.3m funding

US— Cloud-based predictive analytics firm InsightsOne has closed a $4.3m series A round of funding led by venture capitalists Norwest Venture Partners.

News30 March 2012

Google makes MR entrance with Consumer Surveys tool

US— Google has made its first foray into the market research sector with a new product, Google Consumer Surveys, that uses a ‘surveywall’ to quiz respondents as they browse the internet.

Feature30 March 2012

Putty in their hands

Affinnova’s Jeffrey Henning looks at crowd-shaped surveys, which evolve in response to what respondents say and do.

News29 March 2012

Disney/ABC hires Nielsen for iPad usage study

US— Disney/ABC Television has commissioned Nielsen to build a panel of iPad owners to monitor their use of apps and websites.

News29 March 2012

Emap splits into three, names insights group 4C

UK— Media group Emap has split itself into three operating companies in a move that onlookers say might precede a break-up of the group.

News29 March 2012

Harris regains Nasdaq compliance

US— Harris Interactive is to continue trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange after its share price remained above $1 for ten consecutive trading days.

News29 March 2012

NPD Group appoints Mike Leahy to lead Canada ops

CANADA— The NPD Group has appointed Mike Leahy as president of its maket research businesses in the country.

News29 March 2012

Ipsos launches United Arab Emirates panel

UAE— Ipsos Interactive Services has launched a new online panel in the United Arab Emirates, joining those recently built in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

News29 March 2012

ICM director Turner to head StrategyOne in UK

UK— ICM board director James Turner is leaving to join StrategyOne, the research firm owned by PR group Edelman, as UK managing director.

News29 March 2012

ARF seeks backers for study of panel management practices

US— The Advertising Research Foundation is seeking the backing of research providers and buyers for a follow-up to its 2009 Foundations of Quality study on online research.

News29 March 2012

Hearst buys stake in business intelligence firm Stylus Media

US— Media and information group Hearst Corporation has bought a 20% stake in business intelligence provider Stylus Media Group, which is based in London and has offices in New York and Los Angeles.

News28 March 2012

Capptain receives $1.5m funding for mobile analytics

FRANCE— Mobile analytics platform Capptain has received a $1.5m investment from Russian venture capitalists Runa Capital to help it grow its footprint in Europe, Russia and the US.

News28 March 2012

Research Now's Filz quits EMEA/APAC role

UK— Martin Filz, Research Now’s managing director for the EMEA and APAC regions, has resigned to take up an undisclosed role elsewhere in the research industry.

News28 March 2012

FTC backs 'do not track' opt-out for online tracking

US— The Federal Trade Commission ( FTC) has repeated its support for the development of a browser-based ‘do not track’ online data collection opt-out along the lines of the one proposed by the Digital Advertising Alliance ( DAA).

News28 March 2012

Ex-Peanut Labs trio pitch Research for Good

US— A trio of former Peanut Labs employees have launched a new online sample company that aims to support charities by making donations for every survey completed.

News28 March 2012

uSamp launches Hispanic panel

US— Sample provider uSamp has launched a Hispanic panel with 100,000 members.

Feature28 March 2012

Bye bye, COI

You can see the political logic of the government’s decision to close the Central Office of Information. But where they go from here is not so easily understood. Brian Tarran reports.

News27 March 2012

Harris announces changes to senior management tem

US— Harris Interactive has announced a quartet of changes in its senior management team as CEO Al Angrisani ‘solidifies’ the company’s upper ranks.

News27 March 2012

Quadrangle adds senior trio to line-up

UK— Quadrangle has appointed former Ipsos Mori executive Jamie Burnett to the newly created role of analytics director and added a new senior research manager, Jenny Betteridge, and senior analyst, Dia Anna Olafsdottir.

News27 March 2012

GutCheck adds groups to DIY qual offer

US— DIY qual service GutCheck has added the ability to conduct group discussions to its online platform, which previously only catered for one-on-one interviews.

News27 March 2012

Annik puts Nadilo in charge of global research practice

US— Former Greenfield Online CEO Rudy Nadilo has been named as senior partner, heading up the global research practice at Annik Technology Services. The firm has also made John Bird a partner in the practice.

News27 March 2012

Forbes adds emotional measurement to iPhone and Android

US— Forbes Consulting has brought its emotional response research platform on to iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

News27 March 2012

Intel leads $21m investment in Tobii's eye-tracking tech

US— Eye-tracking technology firm Tobii has secured $21m in a round of funding led by Intel Capital with support from existing investors Amadeus Capital, Investor Growth Capital and Northzone Ventures.

News27 March 2012

Arbitron settles California AG's PPM complaint

US— Arbitron has moved quickly to settle a lawsuit brought by California’s attorney general that accused the firm’s portable people meter-based ( PPM) radio audience measurement system of discriminating against minorities.

News26 March 2012

Truth revenue up 25% to £9m

UK— Strategic insight consultancy Truth said today that its annual revenue for the year ending 31 March will rise to around £9m, a 25% increase on the previous financial year.

News26 March 2012

Efamro elects Andrew Cannon as president

BELGIUM— TNS-Gallup’s Andrew Cannon has been elected president of the European Federation of Associations of Market Research Organisations ( Efamro) until 2015.

News26 March 2012

Mintel to examine Chinese consumer behaviour

CHINA— Mintel is launching a series of monthly reports examining different aspects of Chinese consumer behaviour.

News26 March 2012

Best Buy insights director now part of Influx at BSSP

US— Kristi Burrows, Best Buy’s former director of consumer insight, strategy and execution, has joined Influx Strategic Consulting as director of business strategy.

News26 March 2012

ImpactRx acquires AlphaDetail

US— ImpactRx has acquired AlphaDetail, which specialises in healthcare market research and influence network mapping.

News26 March 2012

Maggio puts ErinMedia patents up for sale

US— Former ErinMedia chairman and owner Frank Maggio is this week selling off the patents once held by the defunct media measurement firm in a private auction.

Opinion26 March 2012

In defence of procurement

Agencies should embrace the procurement process and use it to properly monetise their ‘thinking time’, says Nunwood CEO Clare Bruce.

News26 March 2012

Thinkbox hires Cog for study of two-screening

UK— TV marketing body Thinkbox has hired Cog Research for an ethnographic study of in-home ‘two-screening’ – where people watch TV while using a laptop, smartphone or tablet device.

News23 March 2012

Ketchum and The Modellers team up on analytics

US— PR agency Ketchum has partnered with Omnicom-owned research agency The Modellers to launch an analytics service helping clients measure the return on their PR investment.

News23 March 2012

Brand Potential launches panel of opinion leaders

UK— Brand consultancy Brand Potential has launched a panel of opinion leaders and experts for clients seeking “insight and inspiration”.

News23 March 2012

Ipsos and Innerscope launch biometric TV research

US— Ipsos MediaCT and Innerscope Research have teamed up to create a TV research methodology that uses biometrics to measure audience’s conscious and unconscious responses to programmes.

News22 March 2012

MMA hires MarketShare's Jude Ryan

US— Ipsos-owned Marketing Management Analytics ( MMA) has hired MarketShare’s Jude Ryan as VP of analytic innovation.

News22 March 2012

IHS acquires IMS Research for $46m

US— Business information firm IHS has acquired electronics industry specialist IMS Research in a deal worth approximately $46m, the firm said today.

News22 March 2012

DigitalMR appoints Idzik to lead Polish expansion

POLAND— Social media research agency DigitalMR has hired Piotr Idzik as country manager for Poland as the firm expands across Europe.

News22 March 2012

'Strong' 2011 for BrainJuicer with 27% sales growth

UK— Online researcher BrainJuicer has reported a 27% rise in revenue and a 24% rise in profit for 2011.

News22 March 2012

Pharma consultancy Campbell Alliance launches research arm

US— Pharma management consultancy Campbell Alliance has launched a new research and analytics business incorporating the promotional and medical audit businesses that it recently acquired from IMS Health.

News21 March 2012

InsightExpress promotes Ryan to EVP and CRO

US— InsightExpress has promoted Marc Ryan to executive vice president and chief research officer, responsible for all research activities and marketing analytics staff across the company.

News21 March 2012

Netmums partners with Cint on panel of mothers

News21 March 2012

Adobe and Google add to social media analytics capabilities

US— Adobe and Google are ramping up their social media analytics capabilities, according to two separate announcements.

News21 March 2012

TNS studies car buying in China

CHINA— TNS has completed a major multi-client study of car buying in China, which tracked 1,200 people over four months.

News21 March 2012

Vision Critical names Bruce Wells as Asia leader

HONG KONG— Research technology and panel firm Vision Critical has named Bruce Wells as managing director and president of Asian operations.

News21 March 2012

FTC signs off on SDI business disposals

US— The Federal Trade Commission ( FTC) has approved the purchase of two SDI businesses by InVentiv - the sale of which was required to resolve competition concerns arising from SDI’s merger with IMS Health.

News21 March 2012

K-C MR manager launches Insights business

US— Kimberly-Clark Professional’s former global market research manager Steve Babcock has launched his own company, Insights Market Research, based in Atlanta, Georgia.

News21 March 2012

Nielsen share sale to return $900m to investors

US— Nielsen shareholders are set for a $900m payday when the company completes its secondary public offering.

News20 March 2012

Rentrak adds The CW Network to client list

US— The CW Network, a joint venture between Warner Bros and CBS, has signed up to receive Rentrak’s TV Essentials audience measurement tool and the company’s proprietary information packages, such as Exact Commercial Ratings.

News20 March 2012

Envirosell launches in UK through HPI deal

UK— Communication research agency HPI has become shopper behaviour firm Envirosell’s licensee in the UK.

News20 March 2012

TNS Infratest to pilot Dapresy dashboards

GERMANY— TNS Infratest has signed an agreement with Dapresy to pilot the use of the latter’s online dashboard software on select b2b custom research projects.

News20 March 2012

Ex-George Street director heads to Australia

AUSTRALIA— Former George Street Research director David Primrose has relocated from Scotland to Australia and taken up the role of director of development for data collection firm AFS Smart Askers.

News20 March 2012

Fox hires Yoder for research and strategy role

US— Twentieth Century Fox has hired MarketCast managing director Kevin Yoder as executive vice president of research and strategy.

News20 March 2012

CBS Outdoor launches consumer insight panel

UK— CBS Outdoor has launched an online research panel named work.shop.play.

News19 March 2012

Clear Channel names new sales and MR leader

US— Clear Channel has appointed former Nielsen executive Radha Subramanyam as executive vice president of sales and marketing research for its media and entertainment arm.

News19 March 2012

GroupM working with Nielsen on integrated TV and online metrics

US— Nielsen is working with WPP media agency GroupM on the launch of a ‘cross-platform campaign ratings’ service that will provide integrated TV and online viewing metrics.

News19 March 2012

GfK Asia appoints retail director

SINGAPORE— GfK Asia has appointed Lawrence Yeow as regional retail director.

News19 March 2012

Simpson Carpenter adds research trio

UK— Simpson Carpenter has appointed former TNS director Paul Griffiths as commercial director and added a director and research executive to its major studies team.

News19 March 2012

Mediabrands Analytics appoints new MD

AUSTRALIA— Chris Carr has been named managing director of Mediabrands Analytics, the research and data modelling division of Mediabrands Australia.

News19 March 2012

Experian Hitwise unveils audience targeting tool

US— Experian Hitwise has launched a new audience targeting service to help online retailers understand their customers and prospects using a mix of demographic, psychographic, transactional and behavioral insights.

News16 March 2012

Nielsen launches NeuroFocus in China

CHINA— Nielsen has launched its NeuroFocus subsidiary in China where it will carry out neurological testing for consumer research.

News16 March 2012

Ex-UPS and Motorola researcher joins YouGov tech team

UK— YouGov has appointed former United Parcel Service and Motorola researcher John Gilbert as technology and telecoms consulting director.

News16 March 2012

Ladbrokes reaches for Sky IQ for CRM task

UK— Bookmakers Ladbrokes has appointed Sky IQ as a partner to strengthen its customer analytics, campaign effectiveness and CRM capabilities.

News16 March 2012

SPA Future Thinking adds digital director

UK— Ex-BrainJuicer director Paul Roberts has joined SPA Future Thinking as group digital director, a newly created role at the company.

Feature16 March 2012

Why ‘function words’ matter

Research by Tom De Ruyck and Stephan Ludwig finds that shared ‘function word’ usage among MROC members is correlated to the amount of community activity.

Feature16 March 2012

Why ‘function words’ matter

Research by Tom De Ruyck and Stephan Ludwig finds that shared ‘function word’ usage among MROC members is correlated to the amount of community activity.

News16 March 2012

Nauta Capital leads investment in Brandwatch

UK— Social media monitoring firm Brandwatch has secured £3.6m in a round of fundraising led by investment house Nauta Capital, with a contribution from existing shareholder Gorkana Group.

News15 March 2012

Placed lands $3.4m investment for location analytics

US— Location analytics firm Placed, formerly Sewichi, has closed a $3.4m Series A round of funding led by Madrona Venture Group.

News15 March 2012

Corporate events researcher Audience Metrix opens

US— Researcher Kevin O’Neill and branding expert Christopher Korody have launched a new firm, Audience Metrix, to help marketers demonstrate a return on their investment in customer events.

News15 March 2012

Shareholders approve $3m iPerceptions takeover

CANADA— iPerceptions shareholders have approved the sale of the online customer satisfaction and experience measurement firm to capital fund XPND.

News15 March 2012

Vision Critical reports 'solid' 2011

CANADA— Online panels and survey software provider Vision Critical has posted a double-digit rise in revenue for 2011 and is predicting further growth over the course of 2012.

News15 March 2012

'Strong recovery' for Aegis's retail scan data firm

UK— Aegis has reported a strong recovery for its retail scan data business Aztec, with revenue up 22% to £66.2m in 2011.

News14 March 2012

GfK's Phyllis Macfarlane elected as MRS chairman

UK— GfK’s Phyllis Macfarlane has been elected as chairman of the Market Research Society ( MRS).

News13 March 2012

VivaKi tasks InsightExpress with tablet research

US— Publicis division VivaKi, the home of digital agencies Digitas and Razorfish, has commissioned InsightExpress to measure advertising effectiveness on tablets.

News13 March 2012

Chime wins five-year Aviva deal

UK— Insurance group Aviva has appointed Chime’s Insight and Engagement Division ( CIE) as its strategic research consultancy to work across its health, general insurance and life insurance business lines.

News13 March 2012

Cello sees revenue, gross profit rise in 2011

UK— Insight and marketing group Cello has posted increases in revenue, gross profit and headline profit before tax for 2011, according to figures published today.

News13 March 2012

Affinity sues GfK MRI claiming 'theft' of trade secrets

US— Print audience researcher Affinity is suing rival GfK Mediamark Research and Intelligence ( MRI) alleging that it stole trade secrets and used the information to deliver a cut-price alternative to Affinity’s own ad effectiveness service, putting it out of business.

News12 March 2012

Toluna intros SmartSelect for online sample design

US— Toluna has introduced a new methodology to select online survey respondents based on the demographic, attitudinal and behavioural characteristics of target populations.

News12 March 2012

Learning and Skills Improvement Service building research roster

UK— Education body the Learning and Skills Improvement Service is looking to recruit up to 50 agencies to form a new research and development framework.

News12 March 2012

Havas 'to acquire Work Research'

UK— Havas has agreed a deal to buy London-based consumer insight agency Work, according to the firm’s co-founders Justin Gibbons and Stuart Armon.

News12 March 2012

Ebiquity buys media auditor Fairbrother Lenz Eley

UK— Media intelligence group Ebiquity has acquired Fairbrother Lenz Eley ( FLE), a media auditing company, in a deal worth up to £11m.

News12 March 2012

Ipsos reorganises marketing business into four practice areas

FRANCE— Ipsos has reorganised its largest global business line, Ipsos Marketing, into four practices following the company’s merger with Synovate.

News12 March 2012

Nielsen readies for UK launch of online campaign ratings

UK— Nielsen is laying the groundwork for the launch of its online campaign ratings service in the UK, following a successful rollout in the US.

News12 March 2012

NBC picks Arbitron for out-of-home Olympics TV research

US— Arbitron has joined NBC Universal’s London Olympics line-up. The media measurement firm has been tasked with tracking out-of-home viewing of the games using its portable people meter ( PPM).

News9 March 2012

Tom Hogg to head sales and marketing at DigitalMR

UK— Online researcher DigitalMR has hired Tom Hogg from Kantar Worldpanel to lead its sales and marketing efforts.

News9 March 2012

People on the move

The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research and consumer insight industry.

News9 March 2012

Rentrak bags two more TV measurement contracts

US— Rentrak has ended the week with a further two contract wins, securing TV measurement deals with Crown Media Holdings and Local TV after announcing an expanded agreement with Music Choice on Tuesday.

Opinion9 March 2012

When 'cut and paste' doesn't cut it

Emerging economies look to developed markets to help them up their game in market research, says Peter Mouncey. But success requires more than just a straight transplant of western thinking and methods.

News9 March 2012

Ipsos in data viz partnership with The Design Laboratory

UK— Ipsos Mori is the latest research agency to team up with designers for work on data visualisation.

News9 March 2012

'Do not track' means no tracking, says EU data protection group

BELGIUM— It was hailed as an “important step forward” in the US, but the Digital Advertising Alliance’s ( DAA) proposed do-not-track system won’t cut it in Europe, according to data protection watchdogs.

News8 March 2012

SiteSpect to provide A/B testing for SurveyMonkey site

US— SiteSpect has won a contract to provide multivariate testing tools to DIY online survey software firm SurveyMonkey.

News8 March 2012

Omnicom buys Tokyo-based pharma research specialist

JAPAN— Omnicom’s Diversified Agency Services group has acquired a majority stake in Medical Collective Intelligence ( MCI), which provides online market research and customer relationship management tools for pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.

News8 March 2012

Dialsmith moves Perception Analyzer online

US— Dialsmith has launched an online version of its Perception Analyzer tool, which allows respondents to record their reactions to videos while they are watching.

News8 March 2012

Ex-Synovate chief takes global MD role at OnePoint

UK— Mobile research technology provider OnePoint Global has appointed former Synovate CEO Robert Philpott as global managing director.

Opinion8 March 2012

Health and ethnography: don’t just ask, watch

When it comes to health, consumers’ complex and contradictory behaviour makes observational research highly valuable, says Ipsos Mori director Oliver Sweet.

News7 March 2012

OpinionPanel restructures and rebrands as YouthSight

UK— OpinionPanel, a company specialising in researching students and graduates, has rebranded as YouthSight.

News7 March 2012

Zaaz merges with Possible, with Atchison as CEO

US— Analytics expert Shane Atchison has merged his digital agency Zaaz with WPP-owned interactive marketing agency Possible Worldwide, becoming chief executive of Possible in the process.

News7 March 2012

Federal Election Commission asked to intervene on NH push poll law

US— Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research ( GQRR) is seeking another route round New Hampshire’s problematic push polling law – it has asked the Federal Election Commission ( FEC) to intervene.

News7 March 2012

Kantar Media adds Belgium's Brand Media Monitor to TGI

BELGIUM— Kantar Media has expanded the reach of its TGI network of syndicated single-source consumer and media surveys with the addition of Belgium’s Brand Media Monitor ( BMM).

News7 March 2012

Chime unveils Watermelon as research results improve

UK— Chime Communications has launched a new digital research business, Watermelon, as its insight and engagement division reports a 17% rise in annual revenue.

News7 March 2012

SPA Future Thinking sells stake in social media specialist

UK— SPA Future Thinking has sold its stake in Simply Zesty as part of a £5m takeover of the social media research and marketing firm by UTV Media.

News6 March 2012

Music Choice expands deal with Rentrak to include TV Essentials

US— Rentrak has signed an expanded contract with Music Choice to provide the video and music network with viewing data for its SWRV TV channel.

News6 March 2012

Foviance hires Ben Langdon as president

UK— Ben Langdon has become president of user experience and web analytics consultancy Foviance, as executive chairman Philip Hunt moves to a non-executive role.

News6 March 2012

Web Analytics Association becomes Digital Analytics Association

US— The Web Analytics Association has renamed itself the Digital Analytics Association to reflect the broadening of the field to deal with a wider range of data.

News6 March 2012

Ipsos ASI to track ads and brand health for Tetley Tea

UK— Advertising research specialist Ipsos ASI has won the ad tracking and brand health account for Tetley Tea, following a competitive pitch.

Feature6 March 2012

Do polls shape public opinion?

It’s Super Tuesday in the US – so what better time to debate the role of opinion polls in elections and whether they influence voting intentions or simply record them. Read and vote.

News6 March 2012

ComScore COO Dale becomes EVP for international

US— ComScore has completed a senior-level reshuffle, moving chief operating officer Greg Dale to the position of executive vice president, international.

News6 March 2012

Yahoo Labs boss bound for Google ahead of cuts – report

US— Prabhakar Raghavan, the head of Yahoo’s Labs unit, is leaving the company ahead of expected cuts to its research team.

News5 March 2012

Opponents of New Hampshire push poll law find political ally

US— Opponents of a New Hampshire law that puts pollsters at risk of massive fines for asking questions about an election candidate’s “character, status, or political stance or record” have found a new ally – Representative David Bates.

News5 March 2012

App sales analytics firm secures €1.5m investment

UK— Mopapp, a London-based startup that has developed an analytics platform to allow developers to track the sales performance of their mobile apps, has received a €1.5m investment.

News5 March 2012

Itracks' Longo takes marketing role at startup firm VoteIt

US— VoteIt, a startup company that has developed a tool to aid group decision-making, has hired veteran market researcher Jim Longo to lead client development and marketing.

News5 March 2012

RSMG buys IFM group of sports research companies

US— Sports and sponsorship research group RSMG Insights has acquired the IFM Group, which owns IFM Sports in Germany and IFM Sports Marketing Surveys in the UK.

News5 March 2012

Researchers report 'strong' prospects for 2012 – survey

UK— Business prospects remain strong for research in 2012, according to a survey of 411 UK research professionals conducted by fieldwork provider Schlesinger Associates.

News5 March 2012

Radio ads promote research in Germany

GERMANY — Germany’s research industry has launched a new radio ad campaign encouraging the public to take part in market research.

Opinion5 March 2012

A smarter response to survey challenges

Survey data collection costs are rising as researchers go to great lengths to entice non-responders to take part. But Gerry Nicolaas says efforts to increase response rates need to be better informed and better targeted. Responsive design can help.

News2 March 2012

GfK's Portuguese TV ratings system gets off to rocky start

PORTUGAL— A new TV audience measurement service was launched in Portugal this week, two months later than expected, but the GfK-run system has already met with criticism from two TV networks who fear that their audiences are being undercounted.

News2 March 2012

ICM sees cost benefit of adding mobile to poll samples

UK— ICM Research is adding mobile phone samples to its telephone omnibus and voting intention polls, reflecting the growing number of homes that are ditching landlines in favour of mobiles.

News2 March 2012

Gemius bags Moldovan web contract

MOLDOVA— Online agency Gemius has been awarded the contract to carry out internet audience measurement in Moldova by BATI, the country’s joint industry committee.

News2 March 2012

Sutherland to lead Ogilvy behavioural science practice

UK— Rory Sutherland has long been a believer in behavioural economics and its ability to help businesses understand what makes people tick. Now he’s to lead a new behavioural sciences practice at Ogilvy & Mather.

News2 March 2012

Royal Mail Group roster review prompts SME complaints

UK— A review of the Royal Mail Group’s market research roster has prompted complaints that it shuts out small and medium-sized businesses from competing by excluding companies under £3m in turnover.

News2 March 2012

GfK buys healthcare market access consultancy

UK— GfK has acquired Bridgehead International, a market access consultancy working with companies in the pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics industries.

News2 March 2012

IAB Europe expands Mediascope study to 28 countries

UK— The Interactive Advertising Bureau ( IAB) Europe has added 13 new countries to its study of European media consumption, Mediascope Europe.

Feature1 March 2012

Ego-socialism and the implications for MR

The recession is leading to a new model of consumerism – one still motivated by self-interest, but where people are coming together to form their own structures and systems for getting what they want. Brian Tarran reports.

News1 March 2012

Market Force Europe begins continental expansion

UK— Customer intelligence firm Market Force Europe, formerly Retail Eyes, has embarked on an expansion into mainland Europe after signing the lease for a new office in Paris.

News1 March 2012

MetrixLab hires Millward Bown's Habgood as managing consultant

UK— Online MR agency MetrixLab has appointed former Millward Brown man Andy Habgood to lead its UK brand, media and advertising business unit.

News1 March 2012

MR associations form global network

UK— The European Federation of Associations of Market Research Organisations ( Efamro) has come together with the Asia Pacific Research Committee ( APRC) and the Americas Research Industry Alliance ( Aria) to create the Global Research Business Network ( GRBN).

News1 March 2012

Angrisani to stay on as Harris CEO for two more years

US— Harris Interactive’s interim president and CEO Al Angrisani has signed a new contract to lead the company through to June 2014.

News1 March 2012

WPP insight revenue up 1%, operating profit 10%

UK— Consumer insight revenue at WPP was up just 1% in 2011 to £2.46bn, but headline operating profit increased almost 10% to £258m.

Feature1 March 2012

Do you want the good news or the bad news?

People don’t like or trust advertising as much as they used to. Robert Bain asks Karen Fraser of industry think tank Credos how we got here and what can be done about it.

Feature1 March 2012

Make us laugh

Charlotte Butterworth of SPA Future Thinking looks at how research helped Comic Relief and Sport Relief get the best out of their fundraisers.

Opinion29 February 2012

The big issues

What concerns are top of mind for the researchers vying for a place on the Market Research Society council?