News5 September 2012

Predilytics gets $6m to grow analytics offering

US— Healthcare data analytics firm Predilytics has raised $6m in a round of Series A funding led by Flybridge Capital Partners and Highland Capital Partners with investment from Google Ventures.

News3 September 2012

IgnitionOne opens in Brazil

BRAZIL— Digital marketing and analytics technology firm IgnitionOne has appointed Edmardo Galli as managing director of its new office in Brazil.

News3 September 2012

KJT Group reveals European expansion plans

US— Healthcare research agency KJT Group is gearing up for a European expansion in 2013, according to CEO and founder Kenneth Tomaszewski.

News31 August 2012

Nielsen wins Indian school dinners survey task

INDIA— The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India ( FSSAI) has hired Nielsen to study the eating habits of schoolchildren as part of its plan to ensure that quality meals are served in schools.

Opinion31 August 2012

What kind of source would you like?

Following up last week’s report on incentivising online respondents, Lightspeed Research’s Frank Kelly highlights the different ways of recruiting people to take part in online research studies.

News31 August 2012

MRG and ScreenPlays Information strike partnership

US — Multimedia Research Group ( MRG) has struck a partnership with ScreenPlays Information Marketplace to provide immediate access for MRG’s clients to industry intelligence, thought leadership and market updates from ScreenPlays and vice versa.

News31 August 2012

Cint and Voxco partner to boost global reach

SWEDEN — Cint has formed a partnership with Canadian software company Voxco, which will help the latter to provide its customers with access to the opinions of over seven million individuals worldwide.

News31 August 2012

Vision Critical hires industry veteran to lead global HR push

US — Vision Critical has appointed Synovate’s Jim Cravens as its executive vice president, global human resources.

News31 August 2012

Splunk revenue up 71% in fiscal Q2

US— Data analytics software firm Splunk has posted a 71% increase in revenue for its fiscal second quarter.

News31 August 2012

Atkins & Zementis partner on predictive analytics for infastructure firms

US — Predictive analytics specialist Zementis has partnered with engineering and design consultancy Atkins to deliver real-time predictive analytics to the infrastructure industry.

News31 August 2012

Facebook unveils data-matching tool for advertisers

US — Facebook is working on new advertising technology that will allow businesses to upload their customer lists and compare data with the social media site’s encrypted user database.

News31 August 2012

Wunderman launches joint venture in Indonesia

INDONESIA— WPP has announced plans to create a joint venture relationship marketing Indonesian network called PT Wunderman Pamungkas Indonesia. Wunderman is partnering with Rahadian Nugraha Agung and Tommy Prastowo for the launch of the new agency.

News30 August 2012

COO Creamer joins Arbitron board

US— Arbitron EVP and chief operating officer Sean Creamer has been appointed to the board of directors of the media measurement firm.

News30 August 2012

Twitter launches partner programme for analytics firms

US— Twitter has rolled out a certified products programme to work with service providers that use its data to help companies engage with customers and understand what people are saying about them.

News30 August 2012

IBM acquires Kenexa for $1.3bn

US— IBM is to acquire employee management specialists Kenexa for approximately $1.3bn. The deal will include the Kenexa Research Institute created after Kenexa acquired Gantz Wiley Research in 2006.

News30 August 2012

DemystData gets funding for data analysis

US— Data analysis firm DemystData has received an undisclosed amount of Series A funding from venture capitalist Arbor Partners Asia and global non-profit Accion.

Opinion30 August 2012

Insult or injury?

Discussions about the wording of the referendum question on Scottish independence have been branded a waste of time and an insult to the public’s intelligence. No offence, says Ruth Stevenson, but the question is too important to get wrong.

News30 August 2012

P&G's Chien joins Ipsos ASI China as MD

CHINA— Eddie Chien, a 20-year research veteran of Procter & Gamble has left the consumer goods giant to join Ipsos ASI.

News30 August 2012

SSI partners with Interresearch in new Danish venture

DENMARK— Sample and data provider SSI has bolstered its presence in the Nordic market with the launch of SSI Denmark, a joint venture with local company Interresearch.

News30 August 2012

What Runs Where buys start-up Mobile Ad Spy

US— What Runs Where, a competitive intelligence service for online advertisers, has acquired UK-based start-up Mobile Ad Spy, which offers a similar service for mobile adverts. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

News30 August 2012

WPP insight division sees 1% revenue growth in first half

UK— Revenue for WPP’s consumer insight division increased by 1.2% in the first half of the year, albeit with the second quarter down 0.4% due to increased pricing pressure and currency exchange rate fluctuations.

News29 August 2012

Placed to provide location analytics for mobile websites

US— Placed has expanded its location analytics services beyond mobile apps to include mobile internet sites.

News29 August 2012

WPP moves to dismiss NDTV's Indian ratings lawsuit

US— Lawyers acting for WPP have moved to dismiss NDTV’s lawsuit over alleged manipulation of Indian TV ratings data, criticising the case as “a desperate attempt… to drum up media coverage”.

News29 August 2012

Hall & Partners opens The Room in London and NY

US/UK— Hall & Partners has opened new qualitative research viewing facilities called The Room in London and New York.

News29 August 2012

Arbitron adds Manish Bhatia to new product innovation role

US— Arbitron has appointed Symphony Advanced Media’s president and CEO Manish Bhatia to the newly created position of EVP for new product innovation.

Feature29 August 2012

Corporate communicators

Who’s up, who’s down, who’s in and who’s out in our monthly ranking of the most influential market research voices on Twitter, including new corporate rankings.

News29 August 2012

Revelation hires SSI director to head Atlantic NE sales

US — Online qualitative research software provider Revelation has hired Survey Sampling International’s ( SSI) Julie Gagliardi as the company’s director of sales for its Atlantic North-East region.

News29 August 2012

StrategyOne names Emily Hunt as director of insights

UK— Edelman’s insights and analytics subsidiary StrategyOne has appointed ICM’s Emily Hunt as director of insights. She will join the firm on 31 August.

News29 August 2012

Nielsen wins new Indian Readership Survey contract

INDIA— The Media Research User’s Council ( MRUC) has awarded Nielsen the contract to carry out the new Indian Readership Survey ( IRS), which kicks off next year.

News29 August 2012

CIE sees 18% growth in operating income

UK— Chime Insight and Engagement ( CIE) has reported a strong first half to the financial year with operating income growing by 18% and operating profit up 148%. The company also says margin has improved from 9.1% to 19.0%.

News28 August 2012

Vision Critical raises $20m investment from OMERS Ventures

CANADA— Vision Critical has announced a $20m investment from OMERS Ventures, the venture capital investment arm of Canadian pension funds giant OMERS.

News28 August 2012

YouGov and McGill launch GCC business confidence index

UK— YouGov and the McGill Consulting Group have partnered to launch a new syndicated quarterly report on the business environment in the Gulf Cooperation Council states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE and Oman.

News28 August 2012

New Balance taps Crimson Hexagon for social insight

US— Shoe and trainer brand New Balance has selected data analysis firm Crimson Hexagon’s ForSight platform to give its sales team consumer insights from social media conversations.

News28 August 2012

Kicktraq to analyse Kickstarter project performance

US— A new analytics tool has been launched to track and analyse the performance of projects seeking financing on the crowd funding site Kickstarter.

News28 August 2012

Deltek acquired by Thoma Bravo for $1.1bn

US— Deltek, a project management software firm that owns research agencies Washington Management Group and Input, is to be acquired by private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo for $1.1 bn.

News28 August 2012

Facebook gets Sway with Threadsy acquisition

US— Facebook is acquiring Threadsy, the start-up company behind the Swaylo social influence measurement service.

News28 August 2012

Edentify hires Maxus' Gaines to lead data planning offering

AUSTRALIA— David Gaines, CEO of Maxus Australia, is to leave the media planning agency to become a managing partner at research and insights agency Edentify.

News28 August 2012

AT&T tool to fuse TV and mobile audience data

US— AT&T AdWorks is launching a new behavioural offering called AT&T AdWorks Reflection, which it claims will provide advertisers with insights for online campaigns, garnered from TV and mobile contextual audience behaviour.

Feature27 August 2012

The joy of six

Dominic Twose, global head of knowledge management at Millward Brown, on the benefits of creativity in advertising.

News24 August 2012

Companies to collaborate on indoor positioning technologies

FINLAND— A group of 22 companies have formed an alliance aimed at developing more accurate technologies for working out where people are within indoor locations.

News24 August 2012

Editor's note: August Bank Holiday

It’s a public holiday in the UK on Monday 27 August. Normal service will resume on the 28th but in the meantime check back for some fresh new feature content.

News24 August 2012

Storey joins Zaicom Research Plus as director

UK— Zaicom Research Plus, part of the Zaicom International group of companies, has appointed YouGov’s John Storey as research director with immediate effect.

Feature24 August 2012

An end to old struggles

Creatives and researchers are long-time adversaries, but the commercial realities of 2012 are forcing them to settle their differences.

News24 August 2012

Revelation launches text visualisation and search tool

US— Online qualitative research software and tools provider Revelation has released a text visualisation and search tool, Word Trees.

News24 August 2012

Whistleblower accuses Gallup of defrauding US government

US— A former director of the Gallup Organisation has filed a lawsuit against the firm, alleging that it defrauded the US government and sacked him when he threatened to report the matter to the Justice Department.

News24 August 2012

Jeff Green opens Stone Door Media Lab in Nashville

US— Music industry veteran Jeff Green has stepped down from his post as VP operations for Country Aircheck to launch Stone Door Media Lab – a Nashville-based think tank providing ratings research, customer data, digital media consumption analytics and market analysis.

News24 August 2012

News broadcasters want gov't intervention on TAM ratings

INDIA— A coalition of news broadcasters in India have asked the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to order TAM Media Research to suspend reporting of TV audience data amid concerns over the accuracy of its ratings.

News23 August 2012

The Modellers launches ModHub for MR agencies

US— Predictive analytics agency The Modellers has launched a new division called ModHub specialising in multivariate analytics services for research agencies.

News23 August 2012

Decipher adds TrueSample to Beacon platform

US— Decipher has integrated SurveyMonkey’s TrueSample panel cleaning tool into its Beacon market research platform.

News23 August 2012

AbsolutData gets $20m investment from Fidelity

INDIA/US— Data analytics services firm AbsolutData is set to receive a $20m investment from venture capital group Fidelity Growth Partners India to boost its delivery capabilities.

News23 August 2012

UX firm Foviance merges with service design shop Seren

UK— User experience and analytics consultancy Foviance is merging with service design agency Seren Partners.

News23 August 2012

Vital Insights hires EMEA managing director

CANADA— Vital Insights has appointed Joerg Hoehner, previously of SPA Future Thinking, as its new managing director for the EMEA region, tasked with leading the firm’s expansion.

Feature23 August 2012

Cash for questions

With panel companies under pressure to cut costs, Research Now’s Chris Dubreuil and Mike Murray set out to quantify the impact that lower incentive levels would have on drop-out rates and respondent experience.

Feature23 August 2012

Cash for questions

With panel companies under pressure to cut costs, Research Now’s Chris Dubreuil and Mike Murray set out to quantify the impact that lower incentive levels would have on drop-out rates and respondent experience.

News23 August 2012

GMO Research to open Indian operations centre

INDIA— GMO Research and its subsidiary GMO Japan Market Intelligence are to open an operations centre in India by the end of the month.

News23 August 2012

Peak Answers celebrates £1m sales in first year

UK— Data collection agency Peak Answers has celebrated its first year in business by reporting sales of more than £1m, double what the firm had been expecting to bring in.

News23 August 2012

Sentia Media acquires BuzzNumbers

AUSTRALIA— Media intelligence firm Sentia Media has acquired social media monitoring platform BuzzNumbers, the company’s first acquisition since rebranding from Media Monitors Group in February.

News23 August 2012

Marketing expenditure falls but adspend predictions remain positive

GLOBAL— Marketing expenditure levels continue to decline around the world but experts are predicting that global advertising expenditure will grow overall in 2012 and 2013, though this will be slower than previously estimated.

Feature22 August 2012

QuestionPro enters the social polling space

Chief executive Vivek Bhaskaran tells Research how QuestionPro’s acquisition of PollBob will accelerate the firm’s investment in social polling.

News22 August 2012

Confirmit buys MarketTools' CustomerSat

US/NORWAY— Confirmit has acquired CustomerSat, the enterprise feedback management software and services provider which was previously part of MarketTools.

News22 August 2012

Topsy launches analytics tool

US— Data analysis firm Topsy has launched a new social analysis service, Topsy Pro Analytics, which provides real time and multi-year access to posts across social media sites.

News22 August 2012

Maxus strikes Effective Measure deal

SINGAPORE— Communications services group Maxus has struck a deal with online intelligence firm Effective Measure to offer the latter’s new campaign measurement tools to its clients.

News22 August 2012

Gongos appoints Camille Nicita as president and CEO

US— Camille Nicita has been appointed president and CEO at Gongos Research, replacing its founder John Gongos, who died in July.

News22 August 2012

Finlayson joins Relish Research from Nestlé

UK— Relish Research has appointed former Nestlé Confectionery brand insight manager Carol Finlayson to the newly created role of qualitative research manager. She will be based in the agency’s Relish North office.

News22 August 2012

SymphonyIRI appoints P&G VP to lead retail solutions

US— SymphonyIRI Group has appointed Procter & Gamble VP Beverly Grant as president of its retail solutions arm. She joins the firm after 26 years with P&G and will report to Mark Parise, president of IRI, SymphonyIRI.

News22 August 2012

WPP threatens defamation action over NDTV's TAM ratings accusations

UK— WPP is considering bringing a defamation action against Indian TV news network NDTV after the latter alleged that ratings produced by WPP’s joint venture company TAM Media Research had been manipulated.

Feature21 August 2012

A face in the crowd

It’s not the technology behind human interaction that matters, says ScenarioDNA’s Tim Stock and Marie Lena-Tupot. It’s the culture networks that drive it.

Feature21 August 2012

A face in the crowd

It’s not the technology behind human interaction that matters, says ScenarioDNA’s Tim Stock and Marie Lena-Tupot. It’s the culture networks that drive it.

News21 August 2012

Webtrends adds social data to Analytics On Demand

US— Digital intelligence agency Webtrends has added new social measurement capabilities to its Analytics On Demand product.

News21 August 2012

Roy Morgan Research explores 'The Digital Universe'

AUSTRALIA— Roy Morgan Research has added a new module to its Single Source customer research databank with the aim of helping marketers explore how digital touchpoints are affecting Australians’ daily lives, including their media consumption, shopping habits, socialisation and expectations.

News21 August 2012

Norweigan investigation considers banning Google Analytics

NORWAY— Google Analytics is facing a potential ban in Norway after the Norwegian Data Protection Bureau declared that the service is not compliant with a recent EU directive on the collection of IP addresses by search engines.

News21 August 2012

IMS Health buys PharmaDeals in latest analytics push

UK— IMS Health has acquired PharmaDeals, the UK-based subsidiary of PharmaVentures, which specialises in storing online information about business transactions, licensing, and mergers and acquisitions activity within the global pharmaceutical industry.

News21 August 2012

CBS Outdoor UK launches London Worker Planning Tool

UK— Advertising firm CBS Outdoor UK has launched a qualitative study that examines the behaviour of London workers so they can be targeted and understood by advertisers.

News21 August 2012

Repucom wins Omega Pharma–Quick Step cycling sponsorship deal

UK— Pro cycling team Omega Pharma–Quick Step has signed up sports research agency Repucom to help optimise its key sponsorship deals.

News21 August 2012

Condé Nast launches Style Society online community

US— Condé Nast has launched an online community, Style Society, which it describes as a “social hub for forward-thinking, style-focused women”. Run in conjunction with Ipsos North America, it aims to collect brand insights, product testing and co-creation opportunities from 2,000 women.

News21 August 2012

QuestionPro acquires PollBob

US— Web survey specialist QuestionPro has acquired PollBob, a community polling startup with a website and iPhone app used by over 350,000 registered users. The deal comes two years after PollBob was created.

Feature20 August 2012

Playing the online video game

Online video measurement firm Visible Measures has closed a $21.5m funding round led by DAG Ventures. Joe Fernandez caught up with Brian Shin ( pictured), founder and CEO, to find out about the company’s progress and ambitions.

News20 August 2012

TAM Media Research reveals six-point ratings plan

INDIA — TAM Media Research has outlined a six-point plan at a joint meeting of the Indian Society of Advertisers ( ISA) and the Advertising Agencies Association of India ( AAAI) to meet concerns over the accuracy of its TV ratings.

News20 August 2012

Market Force Information launches ID checking service

UK — Customer intelligence firm Market Force Information has launched a new customer intelligence programme that focuses on the identification checking process.

News20 August 2012

Volvo launches crowdsourcing initiative

SWEDEN— Volvo has launched a crowdsourcing project on Facebook called You Inside that it hopes will create new ideas for more personalised vehicles.

News20 August 2012

Marketing Workshop adds research manager

US — Research and consulting agency Marketing Workshop has hired Ashley Goode, formerly of DunnhumbyUSA, as research manager.

News20 August 2012

Basis picks Showman to lead quant team

UK — Basis Research has hired Lynsey Showman to lead its quantitative team and oversee the firm’s in-house data process and analytics team.

News20 August 2012

Sky's Danny Russell to join Paddy Power

IRELAND — Paddy Power has appointed BSkyB’s Danny Russell as its first insight director. He starts at the company on 15 October and will report to Paddy Power’s marketing director, Christian Woolfenden.

News20 August 2012

HSBC launches Viewpoint customer community

UK — HSBC has launched an online community called Viewpoint, which will let customers participate in a variety of discussions and surveys about banking with the firm. The site is being managed by online community research specialists Verve.

News20 August 2012

NRS confirms launch date for fused print and online dataset

UK— The National Readership Survey ( NRS) will launch its new print and digital data dataset NRS PADD on 10 September. It combines print data collected by Ipsos Mori with website readership figures from UKOM/Nielsen.

News20 August 2012

Chime Insight appoints O2's Bates as board director

UK— Chime’s Insight and Engagement Group has appointed Caroline Bates as a board director. Bates’s previous position was head of brand and marketing strategy at Telefonica O2.

News17 August 2012

Stingray Digital expands Rentrak deal

US— Digital media group Stingray Digital has added The Karaoke Channel to its ratings contract with Rentrak.

News17 August 2012

WPP to buy consumer participation firm Ascentum

CANADA— WPP has announced that Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada is acquiring consumer participation specialists Ascentum, in an attempt to increase its digital capabilities for clients.

Feature17 August 2012

All tooled up

Daniel Hansen on how Bosch Professional Power Tools applied social CRM software to work out the value of its social media presence

News17 August 2012

Barbara Adams OBE dies aged 89

UK— The social scientist and former government researcher Barbara Adams has died aged 89.

News17 August 2012

Service Management Group buys Locately

US— Customer loyalty research agency Service Management Group ( SMG) has acquired Locately, an agency specialising in consumer location analytics.

News17 August 2012

National Schools Partnership names Holland as research head

UK— National Schools Partnership has named former Ipsos director Mike Holland as its head of research. He will be responsible for reshaping the initiative’s research and evaluation strategy.

News17 August 2012

ABN Research rebrands and adds Hong Kong office

HONG KONG— ABN Research has opened a new office and changed its name to ABN Impact as it focuses on collaborative research.

News17 August 2012

Envirosell opens Istanbul office

TURKEY— Paco Underhill’s consumer behaviour research and consulting firm Envirosell has opened an office in Istanbul, which will be led by former Samsung executive Melik Karabiyikoglu.

News17 August 2012

McDowell Group founder dies

US — Eric McDowell, the founder of the McDowell Group, has died aged 69 following a brief illness. McDowell, who worked in Alaska, was praised as a “brilliant researcher, consultant and facilitator” by agency managing principle Jim Calvin.

News17 August 2012

Republican Party makes LexisNexis online research provider

US— The Republcan Party has appointed LexisNexis as its official online research provider for the 2012 Republican National Convention.

News17 August 2012

Harris Interactive reports revenue fall of 8.2% for 2012

US— Harris Interactive has reported a $13.2m fall in revenues for the 2011/12 financial year - equivalent to an 8.2% decline compared to the same period in the last full-year results.

News17 August 2012

Insight Research Group bolsters senior team

UK— Insight Research Group has announced two senior appointments with Gracie van Kemenade ( pictured) joining from Kantar Health as quantitative research director and Paul O’Meara joinig from Ipsos Healthcare as regional head of syndicated studies.

News17 August 2012

Goldman Sachs shuts Hudson Street Services

UK — Goldman Sachs Group has confirmed it is to close its research company Hudson Street Services, which offered data and independent research to investors and it will sell its minority stakes in most firms producing research.

News17 August 2012

Aegis shareholders approve Dentsu's deal

UK/JAPAN — Dentsu has announced that Aegis shareholders have approved its planned £3.16bn acquisition bid and that it has received notice from the German regulatory body Bundeskartellamt that it will not be prohibited legally.

News16 August 2012

Pinterest analytics tool sold at auction

US— Pinterest analytics tool PinReach has been sold in an online auction after founder Chris Fay took up the offer of a new job with Google.

News16 August 2012

SEOmoz snaps up Twitter tool Followerwonk

US— Search engine optimisation firm SEOmoz has acquired Twitter analytics platform Followerwonk for an undisclosed amount.

News16 August 2012

Ipsos InnoQuest names new global MarketQuest boss

SINGAPORE— Ipsos InnoQuest CEO Lauren Demar ( pictured) has named David Lansanah as global managing director of MarketQuest, the product research and development division it acquired with the takeover of Synovate last year.

News16 August 2012

IMS Health acquires TTC to bolster pharma analytics offering

US— IMS Health has acquired TTC, a Philadelphia-based benchmarking and analytics company which helps global life science organisations plan for and negotiate the costs of clinical trials.

News16 August 2012

XM Asia-Pacific launches lab with eye-tracking technology

SINGAPORE— XM Asia-Pacific, the JWT-owned digital agency, has launched a consumer experience lab that will use eye-tracking technology to better understand how Asian consumers absorb information from digital ads, websites and traditional media.

Feature16 August 2012

Knowledge bass

When bass music label UKF wanted to expand its output, it turned to research to make sure it was on the same wavelength as its biggest fans.

News16 August 2012

Market Probe adds Jill Rogers as vice president

US— Market Probe has hired Jill Rogers as vice president of its agriculture and animal health market research practice.

News16 August 2012

QuestBack builds development teams with senior hires

UK— QuestBack has hired Tom Meyritz, Ciao Surveys’ former head of business development for Europe, as its head of business development in the UK. He is joined by new client development directors Julian Zammit and James Riley ( pictured).

News16 August 2012

NDA hires ORC Int'l to scrutinise supply chain strategy

UK— The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority ( NDA) has appointed ORC International to help it conduct a company-wide review of its supply chain strategy. The research firm will conduct a number of interviews on the authority’s behalf over the next two months.

News15 August 2012

Inmar hires John Ross to lead new shopper analytics division

US— E-commerce specialist Inmar has hired Interpublic Group’s ( IPG) John Ross to lead a new division focused on providing data analytics for shopper behaviour and consumer promotions.

News15 August 2012

Arbitron names NPR's Delman as CFO

US— Radio ratings firm Arbitron has hired National Public Radio’s chief strategy officer Debra Delman as chief financial officer.

News15 August 2012

P&K Research appoints ex-MarketQuest pair

US— Full-service marketing and sensory research agency P&K Research has hired former Ipsos pair Mary Beth Lake ( pictured) and Paul Holtzman as senior vice presidents.

News15 August 2012

Owners roll Nqual into new agency Netfluential

UK— The founders of online qualitative software firm Nqual have launched a new full-service agency which will offer the Nqual suite of DIY tools as part of its offering to clients.

Feature15 August 2012

Walk on the wild side

How people on the fringes of consumer culture are helping shape mainstream brands: Joe Fernandez enters the world of extreme user research.

News15 August 2012

Mobile Posse and Annik strike mobile research partnership

US— Research outsourcing firm Annik and mobile advertising and CRM agency Mobile Posse have formed a partnership which they claim will provide brands and researchers with access to 15 million consumers.

News15 August 2012

ICM creates three new roles

UK— ICM Research has appointed Ipsos Mori’s Peter Cornick ( pictured) as project director for its government and social research unit. The position is one of three recently created at the business.

News15 August 2012

App Annie receives $6m finance boost

US— App Annie has closed $6m in Series B financing. The round was led by Greycroft Partners, with participation from a global network of investors, including e.ventures, Infinity Venture Partners, Kii Capital, and IDG Capital Partners.

News14 August 2012

Innovation fund invests in analytics startup

INDIA— The India Innovation Fund has invested an undisclosed amount in analytics agency iKen Solutions, which specialises in developing artificial intelligence analytics to help companies create personalised experiences for their customers.

Opinion14 August 2012

A head start for a kick start

Ben Bose, founder of Mavens of London, crunches some Kickstarter data to help budding entrepreneurs formulate strategies for successfully raising money on the web’s hottest crowd-funding site.

News14 August 2012

Pappas Telecasting signs station roster to Rentrak ratings

US— Broadcasting group Pappas Telecasting has signed up to receive Rentrak audience figures for its entire roster of five TV stations.

News14 August 2012

Visible Measures bags $21.5m investment

US— Online video measurement firm Visible Measures has closed a $21.5m funding round led by DAG Ventures with participation from existing investors.

News14 August 2012

GfK posts 'sharp' rise in first-half sales

GERMANY— GfK has posted an increase in sales for the first half of 2012 but reported a slight decrease in income for the period. In the first six months of 2012, sales were up 9.1% to €720.1m from €660.1m but its adjusted operating income for the period fell 3.1% to €81.4m from €83.9m.

News14 August 2012

Webtrends offers free analytics service through iPad app

US— Digital intelligence specialists Webtrends have unveiled a new free app for the iPad. Webtrends Today aims to offer marketers relevant marketing analytics and insights, including trending data from websites, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

News14 August 2012

US Census Bureau appoints chief scientist

US— The Census Bureau has appointed Johns Hopkins University professor Thomas A Louis as the new associate director for research and methodology and chief scientist. He will join the Bureau through an inter-agency personnel agreement on 7 January 2013.

News14 August 2012

Morris Hargreaves McIntyre adds international clients to roster

UK— Research consultancy Morris Hargreaves McIntyre has broadened its client roster to include its first international clients, the Qatar Museum Authority, 92Y New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Australia Museum and Te Papa, New Zealand.

Feature13 August 2012

Best of the web – July 2012

Articles on the Analytiks app, data visualisation, disruptive change and survey quality were among the 10 most popular research-related links from the rest of the web in July, as shared by the MR community on Twitter.

News13 August 2012

Hall & Partners names Dukes and Schaumann to managing partners

US/UK— Hall & Partners has promoted Caroline Dukes and Joann Schaumann to managing partners in London and New York respectively.

News13 August 2012

Prophet acquires (r)evolution to bolster strategic portfolio

US— Brand consultancy Prophet has acquired insight and brand positioning specialists ( r)evolution for an undisclosed amount. The firm’s offices and staff will be maintained in the latter’s existing Atlanta headquarters.

News13 August 2012

Kantar Media Custom hires Morioka as associate director

UK— Kantar Media Custom has bolstered its director team with the appointment of Emma Morioka as an associate director. She joins from P\S\L Group where she was a director of brand voice.

News13 August 2012

Effective Measure appoints Java to MD post in Philippines

PHILIPPINES— Online intelligence specialists Effective Measure have appointed Mindshare’s Maria Rodriguez Java to the newly created role of managing director of its Philippines bureau.

News13 August 2012

Madano to scrutinise service design industry for Design Council

UK— The Design Council has appointed the Madano Partnership to undertake a detailed research study into service design.

News10 August 2012

Google fined $22m by FTC over Safari cookie drops

US— Google has agreed to pay a record $22.5m fine to settle Federal Trade Commission ( FTC) charges that it dropped tracking cookies on the computers of Safari browser users who thought they were opted out.

News10 August 2012

VivaKi in ad viewability partnership with ComScore

US— VivaKi Nerve Center, the R&D arm of Publicis’ digital marketing network, has formed a partnership with ComScore to offer ad viewability metrics to clients.

News10 August 2012

The Research Partnership adds biz dev VP and research director

US— Healthcare market research consultancy The Research Partnership has appointed Paul Dick ( pictured) as VP of business development and Phil Rosenberg as research director.

News10 August 2012

Gamer analytics firm iQU installed in US

US— Netherlands-based gamer data and analytics firm iQU has expanded to the US, opening a Los Angeles office with Jeannette Weinstein as CEO.

News10 August 2012

CMI Research to offer Toluna communities to clients

US— CMI Research has partnered with Toluna to provide online panels and branded communities to its customers.

News10 August 2012

Rentrak hits milestone: AMI division overtakes home entertainment

US— Rentrak has reported a 31% rise in its Advanced Media and Information ( AMI) revenue for the three months ended 30 June.

News10 August 2012

Kraft's Alvarado to lead insight for Mondelez snacks business

US— Kraft Foods’ Maria Alvarado is to become vice president of consumer insight for Kraft’s rebranded snack food business, Mondelez, when the company splits in two later this year.

News9 August 2012

Crowdlab adds FreshMinds' Smith as research and tech director

UK— Mobile research software provider Crowdlab has appointed Niall Smith as research and technology director.

News9 August 2012

Baltimore Ravens hires football analytics director

US— Gridiron football team the Baltimore Ravens has hired Sandy Weil as director of football analytics to produce and study data about game trends, statistical analysis, NFL scouting and player production.

News9 August 2012

MoJ's Teresa Williams to join Nuffield Foundation

UK— The Nuffield Foundation has appointed government researcher Teresa Williams as director of social research and policy. She will take up her new post on 29 October after almost a decade in senior research roles within the civil service.

News9 August 2012

ComScore earns certification from two industry bodies

UK— ComScore has achieved industry certification for its audience measurement tools from the UK’s Audit Bureau of Circulation ( ABC) and Spain’s Informacion y Control de Publicaciones ( OJD).

News9 August 2012

Initiative hires Nielsen duo to bolster analytics offering

US— Media agency group Initiative has hired Nielsen’s Michael Heberle ( pictured) and Richard Sussman as senior VPs and directors of US performance analytics. The move forms part of a restructuring of the agency’s performance analytics unit.

News8 August 2012

FourthWall Media launches data division

US— Interactive television agency FourthWall Media has launched a new MassiveData division to mine set-top box viewing data for audience insights.

News8 August 2012

Trendrr hires Nielsen's Elrhoul as analytics VP

US— Trendrr.TV, a social TV measurement, insight and social curation service, has named Meghann Sills Elrhoul, former manager of analytics at Nielsen, as its new VP of client services and analytics.

News8 August 2012

EthniFacts appoints author to monitor consumer culture

US— Consumer research agency EthniFacts has appointed author and journalist Guy Garcia to the newly created role of president of ‘new mainstream’ initiatives.

News8 August 2012

LBi adds new head of research

UK— Global marketing and technology agency LBi has appointed Michele Chang-McGrath as head of research. She will lead the existing research team developing a new proposition to help build business value for clients.

News8 August 2012

ITVx partners with Rentrak for product placement viewing data

US— ITVx, a company that specialises in measuring the impact of TV product placement, is partnering with Rentrak to add viewing data to its campaign reports.

News8 August 2012

Affectiva raises $12m to extend emotional insight technology

US— Affectiva, an emotion measurement technologies company, has secured $12m in Series C financing led by Horizons Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

News8 August 2012

Vision Critical hires Bruce Friend to lead media unit

US— Bruce Friend, former president of Ipsos OTX Media CT, has joined Vision Critical as president of its media and entertainment division.

News8 August 2012

Nielsen teams with Microsoft to scrutinise online audience segments

US — Nielsen is partnering with Microsoft to help advertisers reach TV audiences online using its new Nielsen Online Audience Segments – TV’.

News8 August 2012

Fizziology appoints West Coast sales director

US— Social media research agency Fizziology has appointed Greg Buell as director of sales for the West Coast and added Carter Weiss to its advisory panel.

News7 August 2012

Qualtrics unveils first product expansion since $70m funding

US— Online survey software firm Qualtrics has launched its first new product since receiving $70m in funding from Accel Partners and Sequoia Capital.

News7 August 2012

People on the move

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

Feature7 August 2012

'Our users are small businesses that can't afford MR'

Research meets Guy Potter – one of the men behind Usurv, the latest DIY survey tool to hit the market.

News7 August 2012

Selinna Chin appointed general manager for GfK Malaysia

MALAYSIA— Selinna Chin has been appointed general manager of GfK Malaysia, responsible for the day-today running of the business and leading the local team.

News7 August 2012

Mississippi stations sign up for Rentrak ratings

US— Two local TV stations in Columbus-Tupelo-West Point, Mississippi, have signed up to receive ratings numbers from Rentrak’s StationView Essentials service.

News7 August 2012

Havas bumps Creston shareholding to 6%

UK— Havas has increased its holdings in marketing services group Creston to 6%, according to an after-hours regulatory filing yesterday.

News7 August 2012

YouGov sees 'solid' full-year trading performance

UK— YouGov today reported a “solid trading performance” for the year ended 31 July, in a brief update released to the London Stock Exchange.

News7 August 2012

TNS names Grace Liu as Malaysia managing director

MALAYSIA— TNS has hired former Nielsen executive Grace Liu as its new managing director in Malaysia.

News7 August 2012

Gilding to lead Gannett brand research and strategy

US— The Gannett media group, publisher of USA Today, has appointed Emma Gilding as vice president of brand research and strategy.

News6 August 2012

iMotions adds Affectiva biometrics to eye-tracking platform

US— Eye-tracking software firm iMotions is to add insights from Affectiva’s Q Sensor biometric testing service to its offering.

Opinion6 August 2012

The Olympics effect

With emotions running high, Crawford Hollingworth says the Olympics are a good time to put behavioural economics to work.

News6 August 2012

MM-Eye reorganises London management team

UK— Research agency MM-Eye has reorganised its London management team, promoting Anne Bolingbroke to chairman and Damien Field to managing director.

News6 August 2012

GlobalEdge colleagues launch Beyond Insights

SOUTH AFRICA— Former GlobalEdge executives Andrew Johnson and Catherine Read-Fletcher have launched Beyond Insights, offering research and strategic consulting services to clients in South Africa and the sub-Saharan region.

News6 August 2012

ValueClick looks to Vizu for online ad guarantee

UK— Online ad network ValueClick has tapped Nielsen-owned research firm Vizu to support its new advertising effectiveness guarantee.

News6 August 2012

Ipsos Healthcare names biz dev director for syndicated services

MALAYSIA— Ipsos Healthcare has appointed Richard Clarke as global business development director for syndicated services, based in Kuala Lumpur.

News6 August 2012

Gartner reports 9% rise in second-quarter sales

US— IT market analyst Gartner has reported second-quarter revenue up 9% to $397.5m while net income rose 29% to $41m.

News6 August 2012

Havas buys 5% of Creston shares

UK— French advertising group Havas has bought a 5.18% shareholding in marketing services group Creston, owner of research agencies ICM and Marketing Sciences.

News6 August 2012

Ad spend forecasts turn gloomy

UK— The advertising industry is growing increasingly pessimistic about ad spend prospects, with global growth estimates having been revised down almost a full percentage point since April.

News3 August 2012

GfK creates digital ROI measurement division

US— GfK has formed a new global practice to help give clients a complete picture of their return on digital marketing and advertising spend.

News3 August 2012

Davis-Swing joins MediaVest as analytics director

US— MediaVest USA has hired Larry Davis-Swing as senior vice president and director of analytics, reporting to CEO Brian Terkelsen.

News3 August 2012

Discovery's Ken Parker elected AQR chair

UK— Discovery Research founder Ken Parker has been elected chairman of the Association for Qualitative Research ( AQR).

Feature3 August 2012

L'Oréal wants social media analysis to make fans feel 'worth it'

Céline Dumais on how the cosmetics giant’s tie-up with Clarabridge will open up a new form of dialogue with customers.

News3 August 2012

News Group makes double measurement buy

UAE— News Group International has created what it calls a “measurement powerhouse” through the acquisitions of Report International and KDPaine & Partners.

News3 August 2012

Govt 'to probe TV ratings fraud allegations' – report

INDIAN— Reports from India suggest the government is preparing to investigate the fraud allegations levelled against TV ratings supplier TAM Media Research.

News3 August 2012

ARSGroup sale likely as ComScore sees digital pre-tests fall flat

US— ComScore is planning to sell some or all of the ARSGroup copy-testing business it acquired two years ago after failing to convince advertisers to buy into the idea of pre-testing their digital creative.

News2 August 2012

Twitter unveils Political Index

US— Twitter has launched a new tool to analyse user sentiment towards Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in the race to become the next US president.

News2 August 2012

General Mills names Jeanine Bassett as new insights VP

US— General Mills has named Jeanine Bassett as its new vice president of global consumer insights following the retirement of Gayle Fuguitt after 15 years.

Feature2 August 2012

Tempus Fuguitt

Gayle Fuguitt, the General Mills consumer insights VP, reflects on 30 years at the forefront of clientside research as she takes early retirement.

News2 August 2012

Pamro conference goes ahead despite Ebola outbreak in Uganda

UGANDA— The Pan-African Media Research Organisation ( Pamro) has told members that its conference in Uganda will proceed as planned this month, despite an outbreak of the Ebola virus in the country.

News2 August 2012

Seven hires Emelia Millward as head of research

AUSTRALIA— Seven Network has appointed Special Broadcasting Services’ Emelia Millward as its head of research. She joins after eight years with SBS as head of research and insights.

News2 August 2012

Umbel and Akamai join up for audience analysis

US— Digital audience measurement specialist Umbel has formed a partnership with cloud platform provider Akamai to provide digital publishers with a bundled measurement and analytics service.

News2 August 2012

Google acquires Wildfire for social insight

US— Google has acquired Wildfire, a start-up that uses social media to connect brands with consumers.The deal adds to Google’s involvement in social engagement measurement range.

News1 August 2012

Singapore office for AIP Corporation

JAPAN— Online sampling and data collection firm AIP Corporation has opened a new office in Singapore, and will establish a local panel management and resource development team to support it.

News1 August 2012

EyeTrackShop and Majestic MRSS agree distribution deal

INDIA— Majestic MRSS has agreed a deal to distribute and sell EyeTrackShop’s services throughout Asia and the Middle East.

News1 August 2012

Hiptype aims to be 'Google Analytics for e-books'

US— A startup company called Hiptype is setting out to be a Google Analytics for e-books with a platform that reports audience data for publishers and authors.

News1 August 2012

Pinfluencer gets $1.4m for Pinterest analytics

US— A new Pinterest analytics platform called Pinfluencer has emerged from private beta with $1.4m in seed funding behind it.

News1 August 2012

Verve raises £750k in extra capital

UK— Online community and research panel provider Verve has closed a £750,000 expansion capital fundraising from the its shareholder group to invest in accelerated growth.

News1 August 2012

Ace Metrix and Kantar to track political ad performance

US— Ace Metrix has partnered with Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group ( CMAG) to launch Ace Metrix Politics, an analytics platform to measure the effectiveness of US political advertising campaigns.

News1 August 2012

Aegis acquires analytics firm D2D

UK— Aegis has acquired marketing effectiveness analytics consultancy Data2Decisions ( D2D) in a bid to bolster its global technology and data offerings for marketers. The company will become part of Aegis Media.

News1 August 2012

L'Oréal USA turns to text analytics for Voice of Beauty

US— L’Oréal USA has chosen Clarabridge to manage and analyse its social media data to gain insight into what customers are thinking and feeling.