News1 February 2011

Affectiva wins grant to take emotional measurement online

US— Start-up firm Affectiva has been awarded a £150,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop an online version of its technology which reads facial expressions and determines people’s emotional and cognitive states.

Opinion1 February 2011

Dodging the bullet

To say ‘research kills creativity’, as Simon Cowell did recently, is a gross simplification, writes author and consumer behaviour consultant Philip Graves. Done right, research can make a valuable contribution to the creative process.

Opinion31 January 2011

The good, the ad and the ugly

When it comes to advertising, Richard Brown says qual researchers are too often treated like children trying to join the grown-ups’ conversation.

News31 January 2011

SPSS's Markham joins Millward Brown as CIO

US— Former SPSS chief information officer Ronald Markham has joined Millward Brown with a remit to lead the advertising research agency into “the next frontier” of the internet, mobile computing and social media.

News31 January 2011

Peanut Labs sales chief Sean Case to depart this week

US— Peanut Labs’ senior vice president of sales and client service Sean Case is to leave the business this week without a job to go to. He has been with the company for more than three-and-a-half years.

News31 January 2011

Kantar Video adds research, engineering leaders

US— Kantar Video has hired new leaders for its research and engineering teams as it prepares to take its Videolytics platform out of public beta and on to a full general release.

News31 January 2011

Britain Thinks names David Ashton to senior team

UK— Britain Thinks, the consultancy set up by Opinion Leader co-founders Viki Cooke and Deborah Mattinson, has added David Ashton to its senior team.

News31 January 2011

Five agencies fight for IAB Australia web measurement work

AUSTRALIA— The Interactive Advertising Bureau ( IAB) has named the five bidders that are in the frame to become the trade body’s preferred supplier of online audience measurement services.

News28 January 2011

TNS Gallup shutters Webprofil service over complaints

DENMARK— TNS Gallup has pulled its Webprofil site audience analysis service after members of its online panel complained they were not properly informed about how data would be collected.

News28 January 2011

APCO Insight launches healthcare division

UK— APCO Insight, the research arm of communications consultancy APCO Worldwide, has launched a specialised healthcare research division.

News28 January 2011

Synovate adds research manager to consumer goods team

UK— Synovate has appointed Celine Varloud as research manager within its UK consumer goods team.

News28 January 2011

Kantar Media buys web measurement tech partner Spring

GERMANY— Kantar Media has acquired Spring, a long-time “friend of the family” whose internet measurement technology is already deployed in a number of Kantar services.

News28 January 2011

Harris Interactive to 'substantially reposition' UK business

US— Harris Interactive CEO Kimberley Till has announced a major reorganisation of the firm’s UK operations, which has “shown negative trends in revenue and profit for the past four years”.

News27 January 2011

Astral Television signs up for Rentrak ratings

US— Astral Television Networks, a Canadian pay TV broadcaster, has signed up to receive audience numbers through Rentrak’s OnDemand Essentials service.

News27 January 2011

A tasty MROC case study from Ben & Jerry's

Unilever’s consumer shopper insight manager Martijn Van Kesteren and InSites Consulting’s Tom DeRuyck present an overview of the research community built for the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream brand, explaining how fans were given the opportunity to become future-shapers.

News27 January 2011

Gazelle adds qual viewing room to NY headquarters

US— Gazelle Global Research Services has opened a qualitative viewing room at its headquarters in Manhattan, New York, with space for up to eight research participants.

News27 January 2011

Scarborough hires Condon for commercial development

US— Scarborough Research, the joint venture between Nielsen and Arbitron, has appointed Brian Condon as executive vice president of commercial development, a role he will step into at the beginning of April.

News27 January 2011

Knowledge Networks adds custom analytics to SoMe offer

US— Knowledge Networks has expanded its work on understanding social media consumers to include custom analytics that explore the effects of ‘SoMe’ conversations on product categories and people’s feelings about brands.

News27 January 2011

Strata appoints ex-Kantar Health group director

UK— Former Kantar Health group director Louise Tamblin has joined healthcare agency Strata Research as head of research.

News27 January 2011

C&R Research launches shared ParentSpeak community

US— Chicago-based C&R Research has launched a new shared online research community made up of parents of children up to 18 years of age.

News27 January 2011

Judge dismisses counterclaims in Nielsen and Truck Ads copyright row

US— A judge this week granted Nielsen’s request to dismiss two counterclaims filed against it by Truck Ads, an outdoor advertising firm accused of infringing Nielsen’s copyright.

News26 January 2011

People on the move

The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research and consumer insight industry. This week: the Advertising Research Foundation, Brooke Adams Research, TagMan, Ci Research, TNS Infratest, WorldOne, Nunwood, Opinion Matters, iModerate, Insight Research Group and Millward Brown.

News26 January 2011

WPP ups stake in Mindshare South Africa

SOUTH AFRICA— WPP has agreed to acquire a further 50% stake in media buying and planning agency Mindshare South Africa from its affiliate Ogilvy South Africa, taking its share in the company up to 70%.

News26 January 2011

InfoGroup founder sued over 'unpaid' advisory services bill

US— InfoGroup founder Vin Gupta is facing a lawsuit from a New York investment bank over claims of $6.8m in unpaid fees.

News26 January 2011

Sunbeam drops remaining claims over Nielsen TV ratings

US— Sunbeam Television has dropped claims of breach of contract and unfair trade practices made against Nielsen in a long-running legal wrangle over TV ratings.

News26 January 2011

Kadence names Marcus Boyland UK insight director

UK— Kadence International has appointed former ICM research director Marcus Boyland as insight director and UK board member.

News26 January 2011

Nielsen prices initial public offering at $23 per share

US— Nielsen has priced its initial public offering ( IPO) of stock at $23 per share, a dollar above the previous guidance range, netting the company $1.5bn.

News25 January 2011

Web analytics pros sign up in support of code of ethics

US— Almost a hundred web analytics experts have expressed support for a new code of ethics, published by the Web Analytics Association ( WAA), which sets out the industry’s commitment to data privacy, transparency, consumer control, education and accountability.

News25 January 2011

Arning launches Creative Semiotics

UK— Semiotician Chris Arning has launched a boutique consultancy called Creative Semiotics to work with companies on strategy development and innovation projects.

News25 January 2011

Research International Greece rebranded as Millward Brown RI

GREECE— Research International Greece is to be rebranded as Millward Brown RI following a merger in May last year. Both companies are part of the Kantar Group of research companies.

News25 January 2011

The Futures Company and TNS India strke partnership

INDIA— The Futures Consultancy has struck a strategic partnership with sister firm TNS India to serve multinational and local clients.

News25 January 2011

McDonald's Buchanan joins Marks & Spencer

UK— McDonald’s former consumer insight manager Ruth Buchanan has joined Marks & Spencer as senior project manager.

News25 January 2011

The Week taps GfK MRI for Starch statistics

US— The Week magazine has signed up to use metrics from GfK MRI’s Starch Advertising Research to back its performance guarantee to advertisers.

News25 January 2011

CACI consultant Gordon Cousland killed in Moscow airport blast

UK— The British victim of yesterday’s bombing at a Moscow airport has been named as Gordon Cousland, a consultant at market analysis firm CACI.

News24 January 2011

Synovate establishes full-service office in Switzerland

SWITZERLAND— Synovate has established a full-service office in Geneva staffed by a team of 12, some of whom have relocated from the company’s Dutch and French offices.

News24 January 2011

Unilever cuts BrainJuicer stake to 13.5%

UK— Unilever has shed more of its BrainJuicer stock, selling over 100,000 shares in two separate trades a month apart. It continues to hold a 13.5% stake in the online research agency.

News24 January 2011

GIM reports turnover up 11.8% to €18m

GERMANY— GIM, a qualitative research group, has reported 2010 turnover of €18m ( £15.3m) in its German, French and Swiss businesses, up 11.8% on the year before.

News24 January 2011

GutCheck signs up uSamp as panel partner for DIY qual service

US— USamp has been named as panel partner to GutCheck’s do-it-yourself online qualitative research service, responsible for the automated delivery of screened and qualified participants.

News24 January 2011

M&S research manager joins Shoppercentric

UK— Shoppercentric, a shopper behaviour research agency, has appointed Susie Spencer as a director, having previously worked at retailer Marks & Spencer as senior research manager for customer insight.

News24 January 2011

Attentio acquires MR tech firm 365Research

BELGIUM— Attentio, a social media monitoring agency, has acquired Brussels-based market research technology firm 365Research to boost its core product offerings.

News24 January 2011

Brass Insight opens London office

UK— Brass Insight has expanded from its base in Leeds to open a new office in London, headed by account director Laura Morris.

News21 January 2011

Amaury de Condé joins Synovate as Southern Europe CEO

UK— Synovate has appointed Amaury de Condé as CEO for Southern Europe and managing director of Synovate in France.

News21 January 2011

Andrew Jeavons joins Survey Analytics as EVP

US— Andrew Jeavons, the former boss of Nebu in the US, has joined self-service research software business Survey Analytics as executive vice president.

News21 January 2011

Simon-Kucher sees 19% revenue growth in 2010

GERMANY— Strategy and pricing consultancy Simon-Kucher increased revenue by 19% in 2010 to €105.4m.

News21 January 2011

People on the move

The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research and consumer insight industry. This week: WorldOne, CMI, Nebu, Incite and Chime

News21 January 2011

The Luxury Institute partners with database marketing firm

US— Research consultancy The Luxury Institute has formed a partnership with database marketing firm MBS.

News21 January 2011

DRG opens new focus group facility

US— The Dieringer Research Group ( DRG) has opened a new focus group facility in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

News21 January 2011

Zamps contract won by Research Bureau International

ZIMBABWE— Research Bureau International ( RBI) has been chosen by the Zimbabwe Advertising Research Foundation to conduct its All Media and Product Survey ( Zamps).

News21 January 2011

Ipsos adds cellphones to telephone omnibus

US— Ipsos has introduced cellphone sampling to its telephone omnibus, in response to the rising number of people ditching their landlines.

News20 January 2011

Compete to add web data to LogicLab's planning platform

US— LogicLab, a marketing analytics firm, has signed a deal to add traffic, audience and engagement metrics from website audience measurement firm Compete to its TargetLab planning platform.

News20 January 2011

JD Power looks to Reille to deliver on digital research commitment

US— JD Power has set up a digital research team, led by Fabien Reille, with a remit to incorporate online, mobile and social media data into its market information research services.

News20 January 2011

Kiplinger taps uSamp for online research panel

US— Kiplinger, a publisher of business forecasts and personal finance advice, is launching a custom online market research panel with uSamp.

News20 January 2011

Telmar integrates TAB's out-of-home data with media planning systems

US— Telmar has integrated audience data from the Traffic Audit Bureau’s ( TAB) Eyes-On out-of-home media measurement system into its suite of media planning tools.

News20 January 2011

Thinkbox research chief Brennan set to leave in July

UK— David Brennan, the research and strategy director for TV marketing body Thinkbox, will leave the organisation in July after nearly five years in the role.

Feature20 January 2011

The power of text in the developing world

We speak to Nathan Eagle about how his company, TxtEagle, is tapping into the rise of text messaging in emerging markets to crowdsource data-gathering tasks.

News20 January 2011

Kantar Media to replace GfK on Romanian TV ratings contract

ROMANIA— Kantar Media has won a four-year contract to produce TV ratings for the Romanian Association for Audience Measurement ( ARMA), taking over from GfK Romania in 2012.

News19 January 2011

New roles for Truth partners Tomasevic and Coburn

UK— Truth senior partners Leanne Tomasevic and Neil Coburn have been named head of UK and head of global ahead of a planned expansion into Asia this year.

News19 January 2011

NPD renews data-sharing arrangement with Staples

US— The NPD Group has renewed a long-standing deal with office supplies retailer Staples to share point-of-sale data for inclusion in NPD’s retail tracking service.

News19 January 2011

Terhanian replaces Scott as president of Toluna North America

US— Toluna’s global chief strategy officer George Terhanian has taken on additional responsibilities for the North American business, following the departure of Jeff Scott.

News19 January 2011

Ebiquity reports Xtreme rise in first-half revenue

UK— Ebiquity, a media intelligence and analytics firm, has reported half-year revenue up 122% to £20.5m, thanks to the acquisition of Xtreme Information.

News19 January 2011

Komli Media raises $15m for research and media units

INDIA— Komli Media, a digital media network and audience measurement firm, has raised $15m in a funding round led by Norwest Venture Partners, backed by existing investors Nexus and Helion Venture Partners.

News19 January 2011

Conaré named CEO of Firefly Millward Brown UK

UK— Firefly Millward Brown, the qualitative arm of the ad research specialist, has named Cécile Conaré as CEO of the UK business and director in Europe.

News19 January 2011

Demdex buy adds audience optimisation to Adobe marketing offer

US— Adobe has bought Demdex, a data management platform, to add audience optimisation capabilities to its marketing services offer.

Opinion18 January 2011

Cultural insight is marketing's untapped resource

Truth’s UK managing director Leanne Tomasevic on why marketers must become the ‘cultural antennae’ of companies.

News18 January 2011

People on the move

The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research and consumer insight industry. This week: Brand Potential, Times Union, Platypus, Philips, Cint, Schlesinger Associates, Ipsos Health, GfK Custom and Double Helix.

News18 January 2011

Nielsen expects 2010 revenue of up to $5.13bn

US— Nielsen’s annual revenue in 2010 was up as much as 6.7% to $5.13bn, according to preliminary figures released today.

News18 January 2011

Channel 4 creates board-level research and insight role

UK— Research has bagged itself a board-level role at Channel 4. The broadcaster has named Gill Pritchard as director of audience technologies and insight, reporting directly to CEO David Abraham.

News18 January 2011

eBay's Bulois returns to Added Value in UK quant role

UK— Former eBay researcher Nic Bulois has joined Added Value UK as head of quantitative insight. He has spent the past three years at the online auction and shopping website.

News18 January 2011

Health professionals move in to Insight's eVillage

UK— Insight Research Group has launched an online community for healthcare professionals, eVillage, to work with companies on developing new products and marketing campaigns.

News18 January 2011

Windle joins ex-Ipsos colleagues at Samson Research

UK— Richard Windle, the former global research director of Ipsos MediaCT, has joined ex-colleagues Sam McGuire and Alison Bigsby as a consultant at their new agency, Samson Research.

News18 January 2011

TNS Canada VP Michael Antecol dies at 42

CANADA— Michael Antecol, a vice president with TNS responsible for Western Canada, died suddenly on 29 December, the company has announced. He was 42.

News17 January 2011

Bad news on fourth quarter budgets from Bellwether

UK— So much for stability – marketing budgets were revised down in the fourth quarter of 2010 following a modest upgrade in the previous quarter, but the authors of the Bellwether Report point to an expected rise in spend in 2011 as cause for hope.

News17 January 2011

MRA's business activity index hits new high from record low

US— The Research Industry Index ( RII), a measure used by the Marketing Research Association ( MRA) to analyse business activity, has reached its highest-ever score of 101 – topping the baseline survey that was conducted in 2007.

News17 January 2011

Comments sought on revised ISO market research standard

GLOBAL— ISO 20252, the international quality standard for market, opinion and social research, has been revised for the first time since its publication four years ago.

News17 January 2011

GfK Roper Consulting moves UK manager to Asia Pacific

ASIA PACIFIC— GfK Roper Consulting is relocating former UK general manager Jodie Roberts to Asia Pacific to drive an expansion of the business in the region.

News17 January 2011

Experian buys majority stake in social media marketer Techlightenment

UK— The founders of social media marketing agency Techlightenment have sold a majority stake in the business to Experian, becoming part of the information services firm’s marketing services division.

News17 January 2011

Nielsen sees anti-trust claims dismissed in Sunbeam court battle

US— A court has dismissed all federal and state anti-trust claims brought against Nielsen by a disgruntled TV ratings customer, Sunbeam Television.

News14 January 2011

InsightExpress recruits panel companies for Ignite Network

US— InsightExpress is working with a quartet of undisclosed panel companies to track online behaviour, ad exposure and decay rates on a longer-term basis than site intercept surveys allow.

News14 January 2011

Innerscope opens Boston biometrics and neuroscience media lab

US— Innerscope Research has launched a biometrics and neuroscience media lab in Boston, boasting two client viewing rooms and a test room that has the space and capability to biometrically test up to 30 people at one time.

News14 January 2011

ComScore upgrades UK online video measurement service

UK— ComScore has upgraded its online video audience measurement service in the UK, adding reporting of advertising impressions.

News14 January 2011

Nielsen takes Telewizja Polska ratings contract from TNS OBOP

POLAND— Public broadcaster Telewizja Polska ( TVP) has entered into a four-year contract with Nielsen for television audience measurement services, beginning this month. The contract was previously held by TNS OBOP.

News14 January 2011

TNS's Stamper takes new qual role at Synovate

UK— Paul Stamper, the former deputy MD of TNS Opinion in Brussels, has joined Synovate as UK head of qualitative research.

News14 January 2011

Annual revenue up 35% to £16m, says BrainJuicer

UK— BrainJuicer has reported a 35% increase in annual revenue to more than £16m, according to a trading update released ahead of its full results in March.

News13 January 2011

Enterprise Strategy Group targets 'big data' market with CentricInfo buy

US— IT industry analyst The Enterprise Strategy Group ( ESG) has bought CentricInfo to expand its coverage of the data management marketplace.

News13 January 2011

German authorities consider fines for Google Analytics users

GERMANY— Data protection officials in Germany are considering fines for users of Google Analytics, after breaking off talks with Google over changes to the tool.

News13 January 2011

Hershey's to fund university's sensory science lab

US— Chocolate maker The Hershey Company is donating $90,000 to a university in its home state of Pennsylvania to develop an on-campus sensory science and consumer research lab.

News13 January 2011

Merger for user experience agencies Foolproof and Flow

UK— Foolproof and Flow Interactive, two user experience design and research agencies working in digital media, have merged. Foolproof’s co-founders Peter Ballard and Tom Wood become majority shareholders in the enlarged business.

News13 January 2011

Ando Media's Krasinski to head digital media analytics at Arbitron

US— Arbitron has hired Paul Krasinski from internet radio research firm Ando Media to take on the new role of senior vice president of digital media and analytics.

News13 January 2011

Ipsos Mori hires Cowan as head of retail and shopper research

UK— Ipsos Mori has appointed Lindsay Cowan as head of UK retail and shopper research, having previously served as worldwide director of shopper research and insight at TNS RI.

News13 January 2011

Adobe promises easy deletion of Flash cookies through browsers

US— Adobe is promising web users that unwanted Flash ‘cookies’ will soon be easier to delete thanks to a new API developed in partnership with browser companies.

News12 January 2011

Social science hub opens for researchers

UK— Academic publisher Sage has launched a cross-community network designed to bring together those with a stake in social science.

News12 January 2011

People on the move

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

Opinion12 January 2011

Tax breaks for MR could make small even more beautiful

A proposal for tax relief on consumer research would encourage SMEs to invest in insight, writes Jessica Bower of Sundance London, but research providers need to play a role too in making their services accessible and effective for growing businesses.

News12 January 2011

Ad analytics firm ClearSaleing bought by GSI

US— Advertising analytics firm ClearSaleing has been bought by e-commerce company GSI Commerce to broaden the offering of its marketing services division.

News12 January 2011

Accenture, ComScore and Dunnhumby team for CPG website research

US— Accenture, ComScore and Dunnhumby are partnering on a study to compare consumer usage of CPG brand websites with in-store brand buying behaviour.

News12 January 2011

Populus and Decision Analyst tap Imperium

US— Imperium has signed up two new users of its RelevantID digital fingerprinting tool – Decision Analyst in the US, and the UK’s recently-launched Populus Data Solutions.

News12 January 2011

Searchmetrics gets $6.75m in new funding

GERMANY— Searchmetrics, whose software is used by companies to analyse which search terms drive traffic to their websites, has secured $6.75m in new funding from Iris Capital and existing investors.

News11 January 2011

Stapylton leaves PluggedIN to head Hall & Partners New York

US— Mark Stapylton has left online research community firm PluggedIN after a year to join Hall & Partners as managing partner of their New York office.

News11 January 2011

Tacis Gavoyannis joins Radius' EMEA management team

UK— Radius Global Market Research has appointed Tacis Gavoyannis to its new London-based EMEA management team, in charge of business development.

News11 January 2011

SurveyMonkey makes inroads into CRM with Clicktools investment

UK/US— SurveyMonkey has bought a sizable stake in Clicktools, a UK company with a survey creation platform that boasts tight integration with Salesforce’s customer relationship management software.

News11 January 2011

Evolution and Research Now kickstart new SME study

UK— Evolution has embarked upon a syndicated study among SMEs to judge attitudes towards commercial insurance.

News11 January 2011

TNS vice president joins Market Probe team

US— Don Ryan has been named vice president of Market Probe’s technology practice.

News11 January 2011

Simpson Carpenter launches healthcare division

UK— Simpson Carpenter has launched a healthcare research division headed by Anna Sawka, formerly of Aequus Research.

News11 January 2011

Rentrak inks Epsilon deal for demographic data points

US— Rentrak has signed a deal to add anonymous household demographic information from marketing services firm Epsilon to its national and local TV measurement services.

News11 January 2011

Drummond Madell adds a dash of Relish to company brand

UK— Drummond Madell has rebranded as Relish Research and opened a new office near Leeds, called Relish North.

News11 January 2011

Committee calls on Indian TV industry to fund bigger ratings samples

INDIA— A government-commissioned review of television ratings in India has called for broadcasters, advertisers and ad agencies to fund an expansion of audience measurement panels, calling the size of existing ones “grossly inadequate”.

News11 January 2011

Nielsen starts wooing investors to back $1.5bn IPO

US— Nielsen, the consumer and media research giant, is to begin wooing investors this week to back its initial public offering, which puts 20% of the company up grabs in the hopes of raising $1.5bn to pay down debt.

News10 January 2011

IFM Sports Marketing Surveys sells off equipment research business

UK— IFM Sports Marketing Surveys has sold its sporting goods research business in a management buyout to director John Bushell, with the business trading under the name Sports Marketing Surveys Inc.

News10 January 2011

Survey Sampling appoints ex-Googler as German leader

GERMANY— Survey Sampling International has named former Googler Christian Michael as managing director of Germany, with responsibility for developing the firm’s business in Austria and Switzerland as well.

News10 January 2011

Richardson named MD of Ipsos Asia Pacific

CHINA— Ipsos has named David Richardson as managing director for Asia Pacific, supporting new regional CEO Lifeng Liu who was appointed last week.

News10 January 2011

IDC and Cyber Media move from being partners to rivals

INDIA— IDC and Cyber Media, long-time partners in offering information and communications technology ( ICT) market research in India, are to become rivals.

News10 January 2011

Populus Data Solutions launches with online field and tab offer

UK— Populus has officially launched its new Populus Data Solutions ( PDS) business offering online field and tabulation services, with CATI on the cards.

News10 January 2011

Supreme Court to review Vermont's prescription data law

US— The Supreme Court is to rule this summer on whether attempts by the state of Vermont to block the use of physician prescribing data for marketing purposes is a restriction of free speech.

News7 January 2011

People on the move

The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research and consumer insight industry. This week: Simon-Kucher & Partners, Nielsen, Opinion Leader, OpinionPanel, Cint, The Pert Group, Research Runner, National Analysts Worldwide, HIMSS Analytics, NIESR, CMI, EEDAR and MRUC.

News7 January 2011

People on the move

The latest appointments and promotions in the global market research and consumer insight industry. This week: Simon-Kucher & Partners, Nielsen, Opinion Leader, OpinionPanel, Cint, The Pert Group, Research Runner, National Analysts Worldwide, HIMSS Analytics, NIESR, CMI, EEDAR and MRUC.

News7 January 2011

JD Power reorganisation creates research hubs in Singapore and Detroit

US— Research roles across JD Power’s international offices have been axed as the firm centralises its research operations in Singapore and Michigan – but the company remains tight-lipped about the extent of cuts.

Feature7 January 2011

Raising research's profile – who's right for the job?

Trust and respect from the public are vital to the market research business. Should research associations be doing more to improve the industry’s image? Or should agencies just focus on delivering better research?

News7 January 2011

Dubit opens youth panel to monthly omnibus

UK— Dubit, a youth communications company, is to start fielding a monthly omnibus survey among members of its Informer Panel, made up of 37,000 people aged 11-24.

News7 January 2011

Knowledge Networks wants young adults and Hispanics for panel

US— Knowledge Networks has committed to increasing the numbers of young adults and Hispanics on its online KnowledgePanel.

News7 January 2011

National Geographic taps Rentrak for VOD ad verification

US— National Geographic Channel has signed an expanded deal with Rentrak for reporting and verifying advertising impressions delivered via its video-on-demand ( VOD) platform

News7 January 2011

Gongos Research names Nicita as chief operating officer

US— Gongos Research has promoted Camille Nicita to chief operating officer after nearly two decades with the company.

News6 January 2011

JD Power cuts Toronto headcount

CANADA— JD Power and Associates has cut the bulk of its staff in Toronto. Research work is being redirected to Singapore and Detroit as part of a broader reorganisation, reports the Toronto Star.

News6 January 2011

Ipsos names new top team in Asia Pacific

CHINA— Ipsos Asia Pacific has revealed details of a new management structure, which will be led by Lifeng Liu as chief executive. Liu was most recently the CEO of Ipsos Greater China.

News6 January 2011

Alabama Education Association forced to suspend polling work

US— A polling centre attached to the Alabama Education Association ( AEA) has suspended operations in response to a new state law that prohibits member dues being used for political purposes, including polling.

News6 January 2011

Experian Hitwise makes Indian debut

INDIA— Experian has launched Hitwise, its internet measurement service, in India.

News6 January 2011

Apple and app developers sued over device data sharing

US— Apple and a host of app developers are being sued by iPhone and iPad users who allege that information about their devices and their locations was shared with advertisers without their permission.

News6 January 2011

Opinionology launches panels in Italy and Spain

US— Opinionology has added Italian and Spanish online panels to its European portfolio.

News6 January 2011

Nunwood posts 10% revenue growth

UK— Nunwood has reported revenues of £11m in 2010, up 10% on the previous year.

News6 January 2011

Dunnhumby feasts on three-year Ruby Tuesday deal

US— Restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday has signed a three-year analysis and consulting contract with DunnhumbyUSA .

News6 January 2011

Zabin's Gleanster gets further support from seed investor

US— Former Aberdeen Group research fellow Jeff Zabin’s new IT market research firm Gleanster has secured a secondary round of funding from seed investor Synetro Group.

News5 January 2011

GfK pursues joint venture with community firm Passenger

US— GfK is pursuing a joint venture with online community builder Passenger to co-market both companies’ services.

News5 January 2011

Repucom buys brand monitoring rival Image Impact

US— Repucom has bought Image Impact, a rival in the monitoring of brand exposure in sports broadcasting and the official provider of brand placement analysis for Major League Baseball.

News5 January 2011

Rentrak buys Media Salvation

US— Media measurement firm Rentrak has bought Media Salvation, which provides sales and financial reporting systems to studios and film companies.

News5 January 2011

Anna Garofalo joins MedeConnect as MD

UK— MedeConnect Healthcare Insight, the market research division of Doctors.net.uk, has taken on Anna Garofalo as managing director.

News5 January 2011

Buxton names Wetzel as new CEO

US— Customer analytics firm Buxton has promoted Charles Wetzel to the post of CEO.

News5 January 2011

Russian research market grew 15% in 2010, says OIROM

RUSSIA— The research market in Russia delivered a solid performance in 2010, according to the Russian Association for Market and Opinion Research ( OIROM), with growth reported at 15% in local currency.

News5 January 2011

Macromill launches purchase data business with ad agency partners

JAPAN— Macromill, an online research agency, is partnering with advertising and marketing firms Hakuhodo and Tokyu Agency in establishing a subsidiary company to collect and sell data on consumer commodity purchases in Tokyo.

News5 January 2011

Blackwell to boost qual profile at ICM Group

UK— ICM Group has hired Rupert Blackwell as a board director, with a remit to create a “broader awareness” of the firm’s qual offering.

Feature5 January 2011

Why it pays to get social in research communities

Stephan Ludwig and Paul Nola on how encouraging social interaction can help to get better results from participants in online research communities.

Feature5 January 2011

Why it pays to get social in research communities

Stephan Ludwig and Paul Nola on how encouraging social interaction can help to get better results from participants in online research communities.

News5 January 2011

Synovate names new South Africa boss and forms shopper insights centre

GLOBAL— A double helping of New Year news from Synovate: the firm has appointed a new head of South Africa and a research director in the UK while forming a partnership with Duke University in the US to establish a Shopper Insights Centre.

News5 January 2011

GfK ups stake in SirValUse and Nurago to 60%

GERMANY— GfK has become the majority shareholder in user experience consultancy SirValUse and Nurago, the web tracking technology partner for its Media Efficiency Panels in Germany and the UK.

News5 January 2011

YouGov's Germany chief leads buyout of employee research unit

GERMANY— Andreas Schubert, the CEO of YouGov’s German subsidiary YouGovPsychonomics, has resigned his position to lead a management buyout of the company’s employee research and consultancy business Great Place to Work ( GPW) Deutschland.

News5 January 2011

NBC insights veteran to join ARF in global business strategy role

US— Horst Stipp, a 40-year veteran of media research at NBC Universal, is joining the Advertising Research Foundation in the newly-created role of executive vice president of global business strategy.

News5 January 2011

NPD Group buys In-Stat a year after supporting its MBO

US— Consumer and retail information agency NPD Group is to acquire In-Stat, a firm of analysts focused on the mobile and digital entertainment industries.

Feature1 January 2011

This month we... failed a sensory test

Robert Bain tries to begin a new career as a food taster in a sensory research lab, and finds it tougher than he expected.

Feature1 January 2011

In the public space

With government spending facing huge cuts, it would be easy for local authority researchers to start panicking. But Neil Wholey, Westminster City Council’s research chief, has some ideas up his sleeve.

Feature1 January 2011

The open secret

Consumers care deeply about keeping their personal data private. Or do they? Robert Bain looks at the emerging face of online privacy, and asks where it leaves surveys and social media research.

Feature1 January 2011

Combating the stigma of HIV

Esther Mustchin, director of Insight Research Group, explains how the agency helped the NHS in London to highlight the importance of HIV testing.

Feature1 January 2011

Hear me out: Let's give research reports to respondents

Ever had an idea that you know is genius, but everybody else thinks is crazy? Here is your chance to share it with the world of research. This month, Gary Austin, head of quantitative research at 100%Cotton, shares his vision.

Feature1 January 2011

Making the research connection

sHow are market researchers using social media? Francesco D’Orazio, Sharmila Subramanian and Jess Owen of Face’s social media team find out.

Feature1 January 2011

Making the research connection

sHow are market researchers using social media? Francesco D’Orazio, Sharmila Subramanian and Jess Owen of Face’s social media team find out.

Feature1 January 2011

Making the research connection

sHow are market researchers using social media? Francesco D’Orazio, Sharmila Subramanian and Jess Owen of Face’s social media team find out.

Feature1 January 2011

Ups and downs – Kirsty Yeomans

Kirsty Yeomans, FreshMinds Research’s qualitative manager, plans her own research revolution.

Opinion1 January 2011

Sweet smell of success

By the time you read this the winners of the Research Magazine Awards will have taken in the congratulations offriends and weathered the tight-lipped smiles of competitors.

Feature1 January 2011

Diary: Coffee stop, ginger top and dodgy pop

A roundup of stuff that caught our eye in and around the research industry this month.