Feature14 August 2009

Crossing the pond

How wide is the gulf between the research industries in the US and the UK? We asked Owen Jenkins, a Brit in the US, and Charles Jennings, an American in the UK, for their impressions of the differences, the ups and the downs of being an outsider.

Feature14 August 2009

Crossing the pond

How wide is the gulf between the research industries in the US and the UK? We asked Owen Jenkins, a Brit in the US, and Charles Jennings, an American in the UK, for their impressions of the differences, the ups and the downs of being an outsider.

News7 August 2009

RS Consulting MD Neil Swan reveals all

In the latest Spotlight interview Neil Swan, managing director of RS Consulting, talks to us about his professional and personal bugbears.

News31 July 2009

Webtrends agrees Widemile deal

US— Web analytics firm Webtrends has agreed a deal to acquire Widemile, a provider of multivariate testing and site optimization technologies and services.

News31 July 2009

TiVo offers 'Pure Programme Ratings' to TV advertisers

US— TiVo has some new data for advertisers from its Stop Watch TV ratings service – but they won’t much like what they hear. ‘Pure Programme Ratings’ from the digital video recorder company found some shows lose as much as 84% of their audience to ad skipping during commercial breaks.

News31 July 2009

ComRes's Greig Baker on polling

Greig Baker is head of operations at polling firm ComRes. He talks to us about his professional and private preoccupations in our Spotlight feature.

News31 July 2009

ComScore calls out Nielsen over US panel size claims

US— ComScore has called out rival Nielsen over claims that the latter’s expanded NetView panel “will be the largest of its kind in the US”.

News31 July 2009

Harris chief Till taps TNS again for TMT unit leader

US— Harris Interactive CEO Kimberley Till has hired Michael Saxon from TNS as SVP of the Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecommunications business unit.

News31 July 2009

C-sat firm Confero appoints business development manager

US— Customer experience measurement agency Confero has appointed Janet Morrison as business development manager.

News30 July 2009

Forrester 'on target' during second quarter

US— Forrester Research has reported declines in second-quarter and first-half revenue and income – but chairman and CEO George Colony said the firm’s performance was “on target”. Q2 revenue was down 3% year-on-year to $61.6m, while net income declined 28% to $6.2m.

News30 July 2009

Forbes points the way using Marketshare's Compass

US— Marketshare Partners has struck an alliance with business news publisher Forbes to offer select advertisers access to the latter’s marketing resource allocation software Compass.

News30 July 2009

Cegedim acquires patient data firm Hospital Marketing Services

FRANCE— Healthcare research agency Cegedim Strategic Data has acquired UK-based Hospital Marketing Services for an undisclosed amount.

News30 July 2009

Screen Digest and Media Partners Asia join forces

HONG KONG— Media intelligence firms Media Partners Asia and UK-based Screen Digest have inked a deal to collaborate on research and consulting services.

News30 July 2009

JD Power continues to feel pinch from auto industry woes

US— Marketing information firm JD Power & Associates continued to see weakness in the automotive sector in the second quarter of 2009.

News29 July 2009

IMS Health general counsel set for departure

US— IMS Health’s general counsel Robert Steinfeld is to leave the company at the end of the month after 10 years with the healthcare information firm.

News29 July 2009

White House taps Linkedin for business focus group

US— Networking site Linkedin has been tapped by the White House as a giant focus group to gauge the views of businessmen and women.

News29 July 2009

Market Insight Corp readies for China launch

CHINA— Market Insight Corporation ( MIC) is gearing up to launch its MyProductAdvisor website in China, which collects anonymous product preference information from consumers to inform market planning and new product development.

News29 July 2009

Synovate names research manager to UK tech team

UK— Synovate has appointed Gareth Jones as research manager within its technology sector team in the UK.

News29 July 2009

Karlsberg to head McCallum Layton analytics offer

UK— Research and marketing insight consultancy McCallum Layton has promoted Angela Karlsberg to the position of head of analytics.

News29 July 2009

Congressmen press GAO to investigate Arbitron's PPM ratings system

US— Nine members of the House Judiciary Committee have written to the Government Accountability Office to call for an investigation of Arbitron’s portable people meter radio ratings system.

News29 July 2009

Ipsos inks deal to buy MRBI from WPP

IRELAND— Ipsos is to acquire Market Research Bureau of Ireland ( MRBI) from WPP, which was ordered to sell the business following its takeover of TNS.

News28 July 2009

Datamonitor grows in first half of 2009

UK— Market intelligence firm Datamonitor delivered “another six months of top-line growth”, according to parent company Informa’s half-year results.

News28 July 2009

Nunwood hires CFO to spearhead expansion strategy

UK— Nunwood has appointed financial strategist Kieran Marsh to the newly created role of chief financial officer to oversee its “substantial” growth plans.

News28 July 2009

IRI adds partners in consulting and innovation

US— Information Resources has added two senior partners to its consulting and innovation practice: Krishnakumar Davey and Ed See.

News28 July 2009

Ex-Common Knowledge exec launches sales consultancy

US— Paul Kirch, the immediate past-president of the northwest chapter of the Marketing Research Association, has launched a new sales management consultancy aimed at the market research industry.

News28 July 2009

IBM to acquire survey and analytics software firm SPSS for $1.2bn

US— IBM is to acquire survey and predictive analytics software provider SPSS in an all-cash deal worth $1.2bn. ‘Big Blue’ is offering $50-a-share for the company, which sells a range of data collection, statistical and modelling software packages.

News28 July 2009

Analytics startup Space Pencil gets $3.8m backing

US— Web analytics startup Space Pencil has raised $2.8m and $1m in two separate funding rounds, according to regulatory filings.

News28 July 2009

Fed to peg impact of recession through re-interviews

US— The Federal Reserve Board is planning to re-interview more than 4,000 people who took part in its 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances ( SCF) to gauge the impact of the recession.

News28 July 2009

Jonkheid murder case postponed until September

SOUTH AFRICA— The case of two brothers accused of murdering Consumer Psychology Lab founder Klaas Jonkheid has been postponed for further investigation.

News27 July 2009

Granite Broadcasting picks The Media Audit over Nielsen

US— Granite Broadcasting has ditched Nielsen ratings in four TV markets, choosing instead to sign with International Demographics and its qualitative audience survey The Media Audit.

News27 July 2009

Paris office for online panel firm E-Rewards

FRANCE— Online panel firm E-Rewards has opened an office in Paris headed by newly-appointed sales managers Katia Levy and Virginie Le Rat.

News27 July 2009

People on the move

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

News27 July 2009

DeBiase out, Kent named general manager at TNS Media

US— TNS Media North America has appointed Terry Kent as general manager following the departure of Dean DeBiase.

News27 July 2009

White House seeks to lift cookie ban for federal websites

US— White House officials are looking to overturn a nine-year ban on the use of cookies on federal government websites.

News27 July 2009

Prompt RI introduces 'snapshot' ad testing service

SOUTH AFRICA— Eye tracking firm Prompt Research Insights has introduced a system to asses how well print and billboard ads are recognised in a single glance.

News27 July 2009

Ex-ITV research manager given Clear Channel Outdoor role

UK— Emma Jones, the former commercial research and insight manager at broadcaster ITV, has joined outdoor media owner Clear Channel Outdoor as UK research and insight manager.

News27 July 2009

House approves $139m funding for health statistics surveys

US— The House of Representatives on Friday approved $139m in funding for the National Centre for Health Statistics ( NCHS) surveys for the 2010 fiscal year.

News24 July 2009

OTX appoints MTVN researcher to new family and youth business

US— OTX Research has appointed Donna Sabino to lead its new youth and families research practice.

News24 July 2009

Pollsters vindicated by Yudhoyono's election victory

INDONESIA— Pollsters faced accusations of inaccuracy and bias in the run-up to Indonesia’s presidential election on 8 July, but their exit polls proved largely on the money.

News24 July 2009

JiWire to use Nielsen Claritas data for wi-fi targeting service

US— Mobile audience media agency JiWire has agreed a deal with Nielsen Claritas for a new service that aims to help marketers better target advertising to consumers who use the company’s 25,000 wi-fi hotspots.

News24 July 2009

Spring's Steve Phillips takes to the Spotlight

What makes Steve Phillips tick? In the latest Spotlight interview he talks to us about ambition, the recession and a profound flaw in MR methodology.

News24 July 2009

IFF to measure vaccination campaign impact

UK— IFF Research has won the contract to measure the impact of a government campaign to raise awareness of a vaccination to protect young women against cervical cancer.

News24 July 2009

Study identifies prejudice in anonymous customer feedback

CANADA— Women and ethnic-minority workers score lower ratings than their white male counterparts on anonymous customer feedback forms, according to a university study.

News24 July 2009

E-Rewards appoints SVP of international operations

UK— Online panel provider E-Rewards has appointed former TNS director Mark Walton as senior vice president of international operations.

News23 July 2009

Majestic MRSS launches in Indonesia

INDONESIA— Full service research agency Majestic MRSS has opened a new office in Jakarta and hired Teju Harjono as executive director of operations.

News23 July 2009

IMS Health to axe 850 jobs across the globe

US— Healthcare information provider IMS Health is to cut 850 jobs globally over the next 12-15 months, with 170 set to go in the US, according to CEO David Carlucci.

News23 July 2009

New GSRU head promises stronger links with research community

UK— The new head of the Government Social Research Unit ( GSRU), Cressy MacDonald, has outlined her desire to develop stronger links with research agencies, councils and societies.

News23 July 2009

EMI Music appoints insight VP in digital marketing reshuffle

UK— EMI Music has reshuffled its digital marketing operations following the recent arrival of Cory Ondrejka as executive vice president.

News23 July 2009

Nielsen and IAB Australia plan hybrid web measurement

AUSTRALIA— The Interactive Advertising Bureau and Nielsen Online are developing a hybrid web audience measurement solution for Australia.

News23 July 2009

Omniture reports record second-quarter revenue

US— Analytics software firm Omniture has reported a 22% rise in revenue to a record $87.6m for the second quarter of 2009, up from $71.6m.

News23 July 2009

Groves sworn in as Census Bureau director

US— Robert Groves was sworn in yesterday as the new director of the US Census Bureau, just eight months before the count is set to take place.

News22 July 2009

Omniture appoints corporate development vice president

US— Brian Andersen has been appointed vice president of corporate development at analytics software firm Omniture, where he will be responsible for mergers and acquisitions.

News22 July 2009

Ebiquity turns a profit as revenue rises 7% to £18.4m

UK— Media intelligence firm Ebiquity has reported revenue up 7% to £18.4m for the year ended 30 April 2009, with growth driven by the company’s analytics division.

News22 July 2009

Cossette forms committee to consider its options

CANADA— Bid target Cossette has formed a special committee to consider a takeover proposal from one of its co-founders and to review “the various strategic options available” to the marketing communications group.

News22 July 2009

UK sales up 40% at Kadence in 2008/09

UK— Kadence International has reported a 40% increase in UK sales to £4m for the financial year 2008/09.

News22 July 2009

Former GfK NOP man Stracey given InterQuest community role

UK— InterQuest has appointed Daniel Stracey as community research manager.

News22 July 2009

Jonkheid murder trial to begin tomorrow

SOUTH AFRICA— The trial of two brothers charged with the murder of researcher Klaas Jonkheid is due to begin tomorrow.

News22 July 2009

Nationwide opts out of Phorm

UK— Nationwide Building Society has become the latest company to tell Phorm it does not want its web pages scanned by the firm’s targeted advertising software, Webwise.

News22 July 2009

Indian newspaper surveys move towards merger

INDIA— The producers of India’s two rival newspaper readership surveys – the Indian Readership Survey and the National Readership Survey – are moving closer to a merger.

News21 July 2009

Former Qualcomm analysis director charged with insider trading

US— The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Qualcomm’s former director of strategic marketing analysis with insider trading.

News21 July 2009

Variety and Visible Measures launch online trailer chart

US— Internet measurement firm Visible Measures and entertainment publisher Variety have launched a weekly chart of the top performing online film trailers.

News21 July 2009

People on the move

The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research industry

News21 July 2009

Preeti Reddy to take the reins at Sri Lanka's LMRB

SRI LANKA— Tissa de Alwis, managing director of the Lanka Market Research Bureau ( LMRB), is to step down at the end of July after 25 years.

News21 July 2009

Arbitron lowers 2009 revenue forecast

US— Radio ratings firm Arbitron has lowered its revenue forecast for 2009, blaming tough economic conditions and the downturn in advertising.

News21 July 2009

Adcentricity launches out-of-home research service

US— Digital out-of-home media firm Adcentricity has launched a research service to help advertisers evaluate the effectiveness of their campaigns.

Opinion21 July 2009

Setting research free

Do-it-yourself tools are opening up market research to the masses. But Richard Thornton ( pictured) and Bo Mattsson of Cint argue that the DIY trend is about much more than just survey tools, and could have a profound impact on the role that research plays in business.

Opinion21 July 2009

Setting research free

Do-it-yourself tools are opening up market research to the masses. But Richard Thornton ( pictured) and Bo Mattsson of Cint argue that the DIY trend is about much more than just survey tools, and could have a profound impact on the role that research plays in business.

News21 July 2009

Nielsen launches web audience measurement in Taiwan

TAIWAN— Nielsen has launched a new internet audience measurement service in Taiwan.

News20 July 2009

Web Analytics Association merges with Spanish counterpart

US— The Web Analytics Association has merged with its Spanish-language counterpart, the Asociación Española de Analítica Web.

News20 July 2009

Spring's Emotimeter aims to grab gut reaction to ad campaigns

UK— Spring Research has launched a new online service to “capture the basic emotion” a consumer feels when seeing an advert.

News20 July 2009

UK and Australia set for network-based mobile ratings

UK/AUSTRALIA— The GSM Association is working with mobile operators and media associations in the UK and Australia to introduce network-centric measurement systems.

News20 July 2009

Cossette receives takeover bid from former executives

CANADA— Marketing communications firm Cosette has received a takeover approach from a group of investors that includes two of its former executives.

News20 July 2009

Market Probe acquires pharma research business from Maritz

US— Milwaukee-based research firm Market Probe has acquired the pharmaceutical research group of rival Maritz for an undisclosed sum.

News20 July 2009

Equity fund invests in Kenya's Research Solutions Africa

KENYA— Private equity house TBL Mirror Fund has invested £196,000 ( 25m Kenyan Shillings) in full-service agency Research Solutions Africa ( RSA).

News20 July 2009

COI research spend climbs 30% to £29m

UK— The Central Office of Information, the UK government’s marketing arm, spent £29.4m on research in the 2008/09 financial year, up 30% on the previous year.

News20 July 2009

Auditor raises questions over Sarkozy's €400,000 polling bill

FRANCE— France’s national audit office has raised questions over €400,000 spent by President Nicolas Sarkozy last year on opinion polls whose results also appeared in the press.

News20 July 2009

Added Value moves Drinkwater to Sydney

AUSTRALIA— WPP-owned marketing insight agency Added Value has moved Peter Drinkwater to its Sydney office where he will take the role of director of insight and brand development.

News20 July 2009

John Gerzema on research and the 'brand bubble'

We speak to John Gerzema, co-author of The Brand Bubble, about how research can help brands to cope with new consumer realities.

News17 July 2009

Scantron names ex-deputy education secretary as president

US— A former deputy secretary of the US Department of Education, William “Bill” Hansen, has been appointed president of Scantron, which provides survey and assessment services to education, commercial and government organisations.

News17 July 2009

B2B research spend 'resilient', Circle survey finds

UK— Business-to-business market research spend over the next 12 months is set to be “resilient”, according to the results of Circle Research’s B2B Barometer.

News17 July 2009

Optimisa shareholders vote in favour of AIM delisting

UK— Investors in research and intelligence group Optimisa have voted to delist the firm’s shares from the Alternative Investment Market ( AIM) as part of cost-cutting efforts.

News17 July 2009

Krüger promoted to lead consumer division at TNS Infratest

GERMANY— Jens Krüger has been promoted to head of the consumer and retail division at TNS Infratest.

News17 July 2009

Agency studies the 'green' gap between attitudes and behaviours

UK— People say they buy ‘green’ when often they don’t. Leeds-based agency The Buzzz has launched a new business unit to explore the barriers to responsible consumerism.

News17 July 2009

Engage Research's Deborah Sleep

In this continuing series, Engage Research director Deborah Sleep admits to a beach nightmare and tells young researchers to ‘go for it’.

News17 July 2009

Toluna completes Greenfield Online acquisition

FRANCE— Toluna has completed the $40m acquisition of the internet survey business of Greenfield Online and its subsidiary Ciao after securing shareholder backing earlier this week.

News17 July 2009

The big picture: Arbitron maps US cell-onlys

US— Radio ratings firm Arbitron has mapped the penetration of cellphone-only households down to the local market level. It estimates that cellphone-only penetration rates vary from as low as 5% in Hamptons-Riverhead, New York, to as high as 38% in Bryan-College Station, Texas.

News17 July 2009

Australian newspaper body plans measurement tender

AUSTRALIA— An industry body created to prove the effectiveness of newspapers as an advertising medium is on the hunt for an agency to provide readership measurement metrics.

News16 July 2009

Critical Mass gets Curious about online communities

US— Omnicom-owned digital marketing agency Critical Mass has set up a research division that will build and manage online market research communities for brand owners.

News16 July 2009

Ipsos France deputy CEO given Syntec role

FRANCE— Ipsos France’s deputy CEO Patrice Bergen has been elected president of the board of directors at the Syntec Marketing Research and Opinion organisation.

News16 July 2009

Enthuze secures $1.65m funding

US— Texas-based consumer research agency Enthuze has been awarded $1.65m by the technology investment house Satai and the South Texas Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization.

News16 July 2009

TV Dragon takes a bite out of MR blocker Truecall

UK— TV entrepreneur Peter Jones has bought a 12.5% stake in Truecall, a firm that designed a robotic answering machine to block unwanted calls from market research agencies, telemarketers and malicious callers.

News16 July 2009

Nunwood posts 15% rise in first-half sales

UK— Research consultancy Nunwood has reported a 14.9% rise in sales in the first half of 2009, with turnover up £640,000 year-on-year to almost £5m.

News16 July 2009

Livingstone heads analytics at Targetbase Claydon Heeley

UK— Direct marketing and data analytics firm Targetbase Claydon Heeley has appointed Angela Livingstone as head of analytics.

News16 July 2009

UK researchers to face new background checks next year

UK— Researchers who carry out interviews with children and vulnerable adults in places such as schools or care homes will be required to submit to new background checks before November 2010, when a new Vetting and Barring Scheme comes into force.

News16 July 2009

Researchers to meet US legislators over physician payment laws

US— A series of meetings between researchers and federal legislators are being planned for August as part of continuing efforts to secure an exemption for survey incentives from physician payment disclosure laws.

News16 July 2009

New non-exec directors and CFO at Aegis

UK— Aegis has appointed three new non-executive directors and a new group finance chief as incumbent Alicja Lesniak ( pictured) retires.

News16 July 2009

Added Value takes 51% stake in Saffron Hill

UK— WPP-owned marketing insight firm Added Value has acquired a 51% shareholding in Saffron Hill Research, a full-service agency based in Singapore and the Philippines. The firm lists BAT, Epson, Microsoft, Nokia and Johnson & Johnson among its clients.

Feature16 July 2009

Truth, lies and market research

One of the key priorities of our trade is to design research in a way that elicits honest answers from people, says Mike Jaxa-Chamiec of FreshMinds. But even with sound design and the best of intentions, market research can fail.

News16 July 2009

Is piracy the new market research?

Matt Mason, author of The Pirate’s Dilemma, speaks to us about how businesses can learn to see pirates as a source of market insight.

News15 July 2009

Former eBay CMO joins Marketshare advisory board

US— Mike Linton has been appointed to the board of advisers at marketing analytics agency Marketshare Partners.

News15 July 2009

Compete probes impact of unclicked ads

US— Web measurement firm Compete has developed a new service designed to help advertisers and web publishers understand what people do online after seeing an advert.

News15 July 2009

Alterian snaps up social media tracker Techrigy

UK— Alterian has acquired New York-based social media monitoring and analytics software firm Techrigy in an all-share deal that could be worth up to $4.1m.

News15 July 2009

Microsoft claims top spot in UK Superbrands survey

UK— Microsoft has regained its position as Britain’s biggest brand, according to the latest Superbrands survey of 2,000 consumers. Luxury watchmaker Rolex were second, beating last year’s winner Google into third place.

News15 July 2009

TNS Gallup lands new net measurement deal in Norway

NORWAY— The Norwegian Media Businesses’ Association ( MBL) has renewed TNS Gallup’s contract to provide internet audience measurement data in the country - moving from a site-based to a user-based system.

News15 July 2009

Allegiance makes Inquisite acquisition

US— Feedback management software developer Allegiance has acquired online survey software firm Inquisite for an undisclosed amount. Its clients include AT&T, Dell, Intel, Visa, Johnson & Johnson, Siemens and Xerox.

News15 July 2009

Florida AG sues to stop PPM ratings becoming 'currency'

US— Florida attorney general Bill McCollum is suing Arbitron to prevent radio ratings based on its portable people meter measurement system from becoming currency in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood market.

News14 July 2009

Singh named managing director of Euro RSCG Discovery

US— Euro RSCG has named Jatinder Singh as managing director of its North American data analytics, CRM and behavioral marketing agency network Euro RSCG Discovery, reporting to CEO Zain Raj.

News14 July 2009

KickApps adds community insights dashboard

US— Social media tools company KickApps has unveiled a community insights dashboard through which clients can track discussions, identify influencers and understand sentiment among users of their websites.

News14 July 2009

Buzz tracking firm raises $3m with share offering

US— Buzz tracking company Collective Intellect has raised $3m in a share offering. The firm uses automated tools to analyse online content and provide feedback on what people are saying about brands.

News14 July 2009

Quattro forms mobile analytics alliance with Havas's Mobext

US— Mobile ad network Quattro Wireless is partnering with ad group Havas to develop more sophisticated analytic tools to help brands better understand the impact of mobile marketing on their overall campaigns.

News14 July 2009

NeuroFocus launches quick-turnaround package design tests

US— NeuroFocus is eyeing a bigger slice of the $100 billion-plus package design industry with a new 24-hour-turnaround research offer that uses brainwave measurement to assess consumer responses.

News14 July 2009

PPM critics call for second congressional investigation

US— Critics of Arbitron’s portable people meter-based radio ratings system are lobbying for a second congressional investigation into claims minority broadcasters have been adversely affected by the introduction of the technology.

Opinion14 July 2009

Upturn won't mean a let-up in pressure, say UK researchers

A new survey suggests the UK market research sector is facing its toughest period for at least eight years. Just how low is confidence at the moment – and is the downturn going to lead to longer-term changes in the way the research sector operates? John Madden, partner at RSM, explores the implications of the survey’s findings.

News14 July 2009

Senate confirms Groves as US Census boss

US— Robert Groves was confirmed as the new director of the US Census Bureau yesterday afternoon, just months before the 2010 population count.

News13 July 2009

Greek gov't pushes for two-week ban on election polls

GREECE— The Greek government is planning to ban pollsters from releasing opinion poll results in the two weeks leading up to elections, according to local media reports.

News13 July 2009

CMOs see budgets down 20% in Q1, says Forrester

US— More than two-thirds of chief marketing officers surveyed by Forrester had their budgets cut in the first quarter of 2009, with the majority reporting reductions of 20% or more.

News13 July 2009

Sternberg out as Magna reorganises

US— Veteran media researcher Steve Sternberg has left his role as executive vice president of audience analysis at Magna Global after the Interpublic-owned media agency reorganised the division.

News13 July 2009

MMR Group promotes Mat Lintern to MD

UK— Mat Lintern has been promoted to managing director of MMR Research Worldwide and online agency Qubiq-Online by MMR Group.

News13 July 2009

People on the move

The latest appointments and promotions in the global research and insight industry. This week: news from AMR Research, Sky, GeoAnalytics, Progressive, Maktoob, WDMP and Servint.

News13 July 2009

Conversition's TweetFeel analyses Twitter sentiment

US— Social media research agency Conversition has developed a website through which people can search Twitter for mentions of brands, celebrities and products, and to see whether the tweets are positive or negative.

News13 July 2009

Toluna shareholders approve Greenfield Online deal

FRANCE— Toluna shareholders approved plans to acquire the survey businesses of Greenfield Online and Ciao at a general meeting held earlier today.

News13 July 2009

Saarf boss defends brand research over budget claims

SOUTH AFRICA— The South African Advertising Research Foundation has defended its brand research against suggestions it should be dropped over cost concerns.

News13 July 2009

Senators push for vote on Obama's Census nominee

US— Democrats in the Senate are hoping to force a vote on the confirmation of Bob Groves as director of the Census Bureau, after Republican senators blocked an earlier vote.

News13 July 2009

Bellwether Q2 suggests 'worst is over', says IPA president

UK— Fewer companies reported cuts to marketing budgets in the second quarter of 2009 than in the first three months of the year. The survey of 300 companies found 38% decreased spend while 10% increased - compared to 45% and 7% respectively in Q1.

News10 July 2009

Albanian election poll heralds 'new era' for research, says Zogby

ALBANIA— John Zogby says the successful running of election polls in Albania shows that the country has entered a new era for opinion research.

Feature10 July 2009

Zogby on polling challenges in Albania

Voters in Albania went to the polls on 28 June, and Zogby International was there for the first time to conduct exit polls. We speak to John Zogby and Sam Rodgers about the challenges and lessons of polling in a young democracy.

News10 July 2009

IRI pours out Liquid Modelling solution in UK

UK— Information Resources Inc ( IRI) has launched Liquid Modelling, an analytics tool for manufacturers and retailers, in the UK.

News10 July 2009

Six new life members for New Zealand research society

NEW ZEALAND— The Market Research Society of New Zealand has elected six new life members.

News10 July 2009

Gierhart becomes research boss at Neiman Marcus

US— Wanda Gierhart has been appointed senior vice president and chief marketing officer at US retail group Neiman Marcus.

News10 July 2009

Sorrell casts gloomy eye on prospect of advertising recovery

US— WPP CEO Martin Sorrell has predicted an “anemic and mild” recovery for the advertising market in 2010, but remains optimistic about the prospects for consumer insight.

News10 July 2009

US Hispanics rate products higher than others, survey says

US— Hispanics tend to give higher ratings in product surveys than non-Hispanics, according to a study by Jeffry Savitz, professor of marketing research at the University of North Texas.

News10 July 2009

Consumer spend trends could outlast recession, says IRI

US— Consumer research house Information Resources Inc ( IRI) has predicted that US consumer spend is likely to remain sluggish beyond economic recovery.

News10 July 2009

Two accused denied bail in Jonkheid murder case

SOUTH AFRICA— Two brothers charged with the murder of researcher Klaas Jonkheid were denied bail yesterday. Charges against two other men have been dropped, according to police.

News10 July 2009

Spotlight: IFF Research's Katie Oldfield

Katie Oldfield is associate director at IFF Research. She offers us her professional take on jargon, tough projects and the next big thing.

News9 July 2009

Ex-Home Depot CMO to head Emerging Media Lab

US— Former Home Depot marketing chief John Ross has been appointed president of Interpublic’s Emerging Media Lab, which acts a testbed for new media platforms and consumer technology.

News9 July 2009

TNS Infratest to cut workforce by 4% following RI merger

GERMANY— TNS Infratest has said it expects to reduce its total workforce by around 4% as part of a restructure following its merger with Research International.

News9 July 2009

Pulse Group introduces mobile and IVR capabilities

MALAYSIA— Research outsourcing firm Pulse Group is adding mobile and IVR ( interactive voice response) solutions to its range of data collection services in Asia.

News9 July 2009

Survey Geek vs. The Cord-Cutters

Self-confessed ‘survey geek’ and blogger Reg Baker brings us up to speed on the rising numbers of cell-only households and the challenges these ‘cord-cutters’ pose to telephone research in the US.

News9 July 2009

State of the industry survey paints bleak picture for UK

UK— Almost two-thirds of UK research professionals have seen a decline in budgets in the past six months, and one-third are predicting further cuts to come, according to MR agency RSM.

News9 July 2009

Kadence names Nielsen director as Malaysian MD

MALAYSIA— Research agency Kadence has appointed Benjamin Webb as managing director of its Malaysian operation, which is based in Kuala Lumpur.

News8 July 2009

Double appointment for Double Helix in Europe

UK— Healthcare-focused research consultancy Double Helix has made two appointments to its business in Europe.

News8 July 2009

SSI expands in Asia Pacific and Latin America

US— Survey Sampling International has opened new offices in Hong Kong and Singapore, and launched expanded panels in Brazil and Mexico.

News8 July 2009

Quamnet picks Hitwise for competitive intelligence

HONG KONG— Online financial services portal Quamnet has contracted Experian Hitwise to provide competitive intelligence to feed into the development of ad strategies.

News8 July 2009

Obama pollster invests in new online qual technology

US— iModerate, the online qual services firm co-founded by President Obama’s pollster Joel Benenson, is overhauling its research platform for autumn 2009.

News8 July 2009

Maven appoints Craigmile as research director

UK— Maven Research has hired former Harris Interactive, Harte-Hanks, City Research Group and NOP researcher Graham Craigmile as research director.

News8 July 2009

Quantcast silent on reports of $50m financing round

US— Online measurement firm Quantcast was tight-lipped today over reports that it was in the process of raising $50m with a third funding round.

News8 July 2009

BT says privacy concerns not an issue with Phorm

UK— BT has gone on record to say that privacy issues played no part in its decision not to deploy Phorm’s targeted advertising technology, Webwise.

News8 July 2009

'Encouraging' first half for BrainJuicer

UK— Online research agency BrainJuicer saw revenue grow 22% during the first half of 2009, according to a trading statement released today.

News8 July 2009

Panelbiz adds to management as CEO takes outside role

GERMANY— Miriam Keilbach has joined online panel provider Panelbiz, while CEO Oliver Weyergraf takes on the additional job of CEO at online rental marketplace Erento.

News7 July 2009

Now Carphone Warehouse shuts door on Phorm

UK— Carphone Warehouse, the owner of internet provider Talk Talk, has become the second ISP in two days to decide against introducing Phorm’s Webwise targeted advertising software.

News7 July 2009

Lightspeed promotes Jethwani to VP of client ops

US— Tara Jethwani has been promoted to vice president of client operations at Lightspeed Research in the Americas.

News7 July 2009

Communispace crowd-sources acquisition opportunities

US— Communispace makes its money by helping brands improve their businesses by tapping the collective brain power of their online communities. Now the company is putting that money where its mouth is.

News7 July 2009

Researchers win exemption from German opt-in law

GERMANY— The research industry in Germany has succeeded in securing an exemption from new data protection rules in a law that squeezed through on the last day of parliament before the summer break.

News7 July 2009

Changes at the top at Attentio

BELGIUM— Social media analytics agency Attentio has promoted Amaia Lasa to CEO and reorganised other senior management positions.

News7 July 2009

Creston's £3m placing to help fund Newvista expansion

UK— Marketing services group Creston is looking to fund an international expansion of its Newvista online research business with a share placing.

News7 July 2009

GfK acquires Ifop Music and stake in Watch Media

GERMANY— GfK Retail and Technology has acquired French music sales tracking firm Ifop Music – one of two purchases announced today.

News7 July 2009

Verve replaces Lightspeed as Which? panel manager

UK— Product testing organisation Which? has picked Verve to replace Lightspeed Research as manager of its survey panel following a four-way pitch.

News7 July 2009

Fieldwork boss warns against compromising on quality

UK— Fieldwork agency boss Tony Bird is urging buyers of interviewing services not to sacrifice quality in favour of cost amid severe price competition in the marketplace.

News6 July 2009

Millward Brown promotes two in Greater China

HONG KONG— Millward Brown has named Malini Pani as chief client officer for Greater China and Rupam Borthakur as managing director of Hong Kong and Taiwan.

News6 July 2009

Maktoob shops new syndicated trends study in Middle East

UAE— Maktoob Research is launching a syndicated study of shopping trends across Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

News6 July 2009

Ipsos Loyalty adds mystery shopping experts

US— Mark Greene and Dolores Forget have joined Ipsos Loyalty’s new mystery shopping division as vice president and director respectively.

News6 July 2009

Nunwood hires trio of new staff

UK— Nunwood has boosted its ranks with the addition of three new senior members of staff.

News6 July 2009

Hartley named as new VP for GfK Customer Loyalty

US— GfK Custom Research North America has appointed Thomas Hartley as vice president of GfK Customer Loyalty.

Opinion6 July 2009

Parliament shoots itself in the foot

UK politicians are to introduce tough new rules on disclosure in a bid to quell public anger over the expenses scandal. The Parliamentary Standards Bill will require MPs to declare all their outside interests – including any incentives they receive for taking surveys. But this puts their participation in research at risk, argues ComRes CEO Andrew Hawkins.

News6 July 2009

EasyInsites chosen for Surrey Chamber of Commerce task

UK— The Surrey Chamber of Commerce has contracted online agency EasyInsites to design, build and maintain an online research panel.

News6 July 2009

TNS UK Custom asks staff to take unpaid leave

UK— TNS Custom is asking its UK employees to take two weeks’ unpaid leave before the end of the year in order to stave off the threat of redundancies.

News6 July 2009

BT backs away from Phorm's Webwise technology

UK— BT has decided against deploying Phorm’s targeted advertising software, Webwise, choosing to devote resources to “other opportunities”.

News6 July 2009

Sky Italia appoints ex-TNS iTram boss

ITALY— Sky Italia has hired Andrea Mezzasalma, TNS’s former global head of internet, TV and radio audience measurement, as head of audience research and insights.

News3 July 2009

Appointments and promotions – roundup

Appointments and promotions in the global market research industry, including: Fanscape, Portrait Software, Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment, InsightExpress, Screen Digest, ForeSee Results, Edigital Research, Wyndham Hotel Group, Cambridge Market Research and Qforma.

News3 July 2009

Ad industry reacts to behavioural targeting outcry

US— Advertising industry bodies have come up with a seven-point plan to regain consumer trust and head off the threat of potentially restrictive new privacy laws following the outcry over behavioural targeting practices.

News3 July 2009

Pollsters overturn data publication restrictions

INDONESIA— Some good news for Indonesian pollsters for once – the country’s constitutional court has ruled in favour of allowing them to publish exit poll results after ballots close in next week’s presidential elections.

News3 July 2009

Arbitron: FCC 'has absolutely no authority' to regulate PPMs

US— Arbitron has told the Federal Communications Commission ( FCC) that it has “absolutely no authority to impose regulations” on its portable people meter-based ( PPM) radio ratings system.

News3 July 2009

Conquest aims for ‘gut’ reaction with new testing tool

UK— Conquest Research has launched iSpark, an online tool to measure consumers’ “gut reactions” to new products.

News3 July 2009

GfK upgrades German TV measurement technology

GERMANY— GfK is upgrading the metering technology it uses to measure TV audiences in Germany, adding the capability to monitor time-shifted and out-of-home viewing.

News3 July 2009

Spotlight: Synovate's UK CEO Jill Telford

Jill Telford gives us the lowdown on what makes her angry about research, what clients get wrong and how a new focus should be put on listening.

News3 July 2009

Cello warns of mixed first half with gross profit down 10%

UK— Cello warned that gross profit will be down around 10% for the first half of 2009, in a mixed trading update released today.

Feature3 July 2009

Smarter policing through social science

As head of the Strategic Research & Analysis Unit in the Metropolitan Police, Professor Betsy Stanko leads the organisation in its mission to make the best use of social science in support of organisational policy development – and the direction of policing in London.

Opinion3 July 2009

Taking the pulse of the drive for online research accuracy

As the online quality debate rumbles on, Knowledge Networks CEO Simon Kooyman argues for the creation of central database to capture information on an ongoing basis on how many surveys a respondent takes and in what categories.

News2 July 2009

OTX appoints SVP for TV entertainment arm

US— David Klein has been appointed senior vice president of the TV entertainment division at consumer research and consulting agency OTX.

News2 July 2009

IMS Health hires chief privacy officer

US— Kimberly Gray has joined healthcare data firm IMS as chief privacy officer. She will be responsible for ensuring privacy laws are complied with in the company’s activities in the US, Canada and Latin America.

News2 July 2009

Auditor warns against government intervention in radio ratings

US— Industry regulation of audience measurement services remains “preferable” to government intervention, the Media Rating Council has told the Federal Communications Commission.

News2 July 2009

Predictive analytics – what Next?

UK— Clothing retailer Next has signed up to use predicitive analytics technology from MR software firm SPSS in an effort to boost online marketing effectiveness.

News2 July 2009

GfK ups stake in Indian joint venture with Nielsen

INDIA— GfK has become the majority owner in ORG-GfK, the joint venture it runs with Nielsen, increasing its stake from 40% to 50.1%.

News2 July 2009

Millward Brown merges IMS and Lansdowne in Dublin

IRELAND— Millward Brown is merging its IMS and Lansdowne businesses in Dublin into a single company called Millward Brown Lansdowne.

News2 July 2009

German online research body forms mobile group

GERMANY— Online research association AGOF has formed a working group to establish a currency for mobile audience measurement.

News2 July 2009

P&G told to pull TV ad over 'misleading' survey claims

UK— The Advertising Standards Authority has told Procter & Gamble to stop broadcasting a TV ad for Clairol Nice ’n Easy hair dye, because claims made in the ad on the basis of survey results are ‘likely to mislead’.

News2 July 2009

COI appoints 108 agencies to roster

UK— The Central Office of Information, the government’s marketing communications arm, has appointed 108 firms to its market research agency roster, half of whom are new additions.

News1 July 2009

Financial research agencies merge

UK— Research agencies NMB and H2B have merged to create what they claim will be the “UK’s leading research company dedicated solely to the financial services sector”.

News1 July 2009

Cegedim buys pharma intelligence firm Nomi

FRANCE— CRM company Cegedim has acquired the Nomi Group, which provides information and intelligence services to the pharmaceutical industry, from its parent company Bisnode.

News1 July 2009

New MP rules put research at risk, says ComRes chief

UK— Andrew Hawkins, CEO of pollsters ComRes, has attacked new legislation that would require MPs to declare all their outside interests – including any incentives they receive for taking surveys.

News1 July 2009

Vovici appoints Greg Stock as CEO

US— Enterprise feedback management and survey software maker Vovici has appointed Greg Stock as chairman and chief executive officer.

News1 July 2009

Research International Germany becomes TNS Infratest RI

GERMANY— Research International’s German business will trade from now on as TNS Infratest RI, following the merger of TNS and RI in February.

News1 July 2009

Kantar merges TNS panel business into Lightspeed

UK— Kantar is merging TNS’s 6th Dimension online panel business with Lightspeed Research.

News1 July 2009

Nielsen expands NY and LA TV samples

US— Nielsen is increasing the size of of its Local People Meter samples in New York and Los Angeles from 800 to 1,000 households.

News1 July 2009

Research Now growth beats predictions

UK— Online panel and fieldwork provider Research Now has reported a 24% rise in revenue to £23.6m for the six months ended 30 April 2009.

Feature1 July 2009

World of temptation

‘DIY’ online survey and analytics tools are an increasingly tempting option for conducting research for minimal cost, or no cost at all. Tim Phillips ponders the effect they could have on the industry.

Feature1 July 2009

Getting the measure of ROI on ad spend

How do you go about providing a successful solution for measuring ad ROI? Robert Bain finds that staying focused on your own ROI is a good start.

Feature1 July 2009

Research in Asia: It's not all plain sailing

A new survey of the Asian research market suggests initial views of the downturn’s impact may have been a little over-optimistic. But while spending is down, it’s an open market for agencies with the right stuff.

Feature1 July 2009

If there's one thing I've learnt... Mark Long

Feature1 July 2009

Double Lives – Roger Banks

Researchers reveal how their out-of-hours pursuits impact on the 9-to-5. This month it’s Roger Banks, managing director of Incite, and also a gliding instructor at the London Gliding Club.

Feature1 July 2009

The IT crowd gathers at the Casro tech conference

Tim Macer files his report from this year’s optimistic Casro technology conference in New York.

Feature1 July 2009

60 Second Soapbox – Thom Noble

Thom Noble, European managing director of neuromarketing agency NeuroFocus, is shocked at how little research has evolved in 50 years.

Opinion1 July 2009

Bottom line on top managers