The new company, Research+Data Insights, will be led by chairman Peter Zandan, formerly a board member at media agency Next Big Sound and senior adviser at Public Strategies, and president and COO Michael Lustina, previously MD at Public Strategies (which was bought by WPP in 2006).

Research+Data Insights will be based at H+K Strategies’ New York office, as well as 12 global offices in locations including the UK, Hong Kong, Norway, Mexico and Canada. Services on offer include reputation management, data analytics and communications-related research and analysis.

Zandan said: “In addition to offering H+K Strategies’ messaging, communications and reputation research, R+D Insights adds a new emphasis on data analytics that stems from the growth of social media and the need for analysis and insights into this growing communications platform.”

Global chairman and CEO Jack Martin added: “Hill+Knowlton Strategies understands that research and measurement are fundamental to everything we do and that every assignment should be driven by and founded on research. The R+D Insights organisation will be critical in helping our clients navigate their way through an increasingly challenging public environment.”