MRI and Simmons Research form joint venture

Combining the companies will bring together their syndicated media research and consumer intelligence products, including MRI’s national study and reporting services, accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC), and Simmons Research’s National Consumer Survey.

The joint venture will be co-owned by GfK and SymphonyAI Group, with GfK as the majority partner. According to GfK, it will allow new services, including applications and APIs, to be developed more quickly, offering clients ‘one, high-quality partner to meet all their media research and insights needs’.

Anna Welch, managing director of MRI, will lead the joint venture and GfK executive vice-president Mike Drankwalter will lead sales.

Gregg Lindner, president of GfK North America and chairman of MRI-Simmons, said: “This joint venture provides a strong talent base with an ability to focus more resources on different product areas, from enhancing and expanding current products to building new ones even faster.”

John Ouren, chairman at Simmons and board member of MRI-Simmons, said: “MRI and Simmons together provide a scale not possible when operating as separate businesses. As a result, all our clients will have access to better technology and a more comprehensive range of solutions for faster and smarter decision-making with even more robust data and services.”