Arbitron acquires mobile measurement firm Zokem in $24m deal

Zokem, which offers clients custom and syndicated mobile research panels and a range of plug-and-play mobile media measurement tools, will now operate as Arbitron Mobile and remain under the leadership of founder and CEO Hannu Verkasalo.

Earlier this year, the Finnish firm secured €2m in funding to fuel its growth over the next 12 months and went on to strike a partnership with Ipsos to track smartphone and tablet usage through a Zokem-designed app.

Arbitron CEO William Kerr said: “To better position themselves in the global media marketplace, advertisers, content providers and mobile operators are more eager than ever to understand how consumers are using mobile devices.”

He said Zokem’s mobile measurement capabilities would complement the technology Arbitron acquired in 2010 from Integrated Media Measurement (IMMI), including a cellphone-based tool that collects information on cross-platform media usage by identifying audio signatures.