Feature4 October 2012

Big companies, big data

Ford, Orange Business Services and Coca-Cola on how they are looking to make the most out of the masses of information available to them.

Feature3 October 2012

Channeling digital insight

Google knows huge amounts about what people do online. But for a full picture of the digital lives of consumers, it turns to its market insights team. Brian Tarran goes behind the scenes at the company’s UK headquarters.

Feature2 October 2012

Get smart

The research industry needs to muscle in on big data, says Colin Strong. It’s too important to leave to the mathematicians and computer scientists.

News1 October 2012

ZenithOptimedia predicts 2013 ad spend increase

GLOBAL— Media agency ZenithOptimedia has predicted that global ad spending will grow 4.6% in 2013, totalling $525bn by the end of the year.

Feature1 October 2012

Weighing big data's potential

Big promises have been made about the power of big data. But we still need survey data to explain why people do what they do. Brian Tarran reports.

Feature1 October 2012

Big. Big and clever

It is hard for us to get our heads around just how much data is being produced every year. We’re wowed by it, but ultimately size doesn’t matter. The size of a dataset does not correlate to its worth. This section is about Big Data, but what we’re really interested in is smart uses of that data.

News28 September 2012

Clientside researchers 'must master business languages'

UK— Clientside researchers need to master “every language that is spoken in business” to make sure they are properly listened to, said Global Radio’s insight director John Fryers.

News28 September 2012

Cint creates five new roles in US

US— Research software and services provider Cint has created five new positions within its US operation.

News28 September 2012

Google and Nurago launch media consumption panel

UK— Google and Nurago, a division of GfK, have partnered to launch a new panel that examines how people consume media and their attitudes towards brands and advertising in different media contexts.

Opinion28 September 2012

Measuring social ROI... and why it might be a bad idea

The obsession with converting social media fans into sales dollars might be misguided on many occasions, writes Alastair Heggie, reporting on yesterday’s MRS Social Media Conference.

News28 September 2012

Global ad spend creeps up in Q2, says Nielsen

US— Global ad spend rose 2.4% to $139bn in the second quarter of 2012, according to the results of Nielsen’s quarterly Global AdView Pulse report.

News28 September 2012

Privacy watchdogs urge FTC to probe Facebook–Datalogix deal

US— Two privacy watchdogs have filed a joint letter with the Federal Trade Commission alleging that Facebook’s deal with Datalogix may be infringing on an earlier commitment by the social network to be clear about how it handles user data.

News28 September 2012

CNN wins Kantar-backed data visualisation contest

UK— CNN was crowned overall winner of the most beautiful data visualisation artwork at the inaugral Information Is Beautiful awards ceremony, hosted by Kantar in London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts.

News28 September 2012

Evidence giving way to gut instinct, fears Poynter

UK— Vision Critical’s Ray Poynter worries that society is moving away from a culture of evidence-based decision making in favour of gut instinct.

News27 September 2012

CW to offer audience guarantees through Nielsen OCR

US— The CW Network, a television broadcaster aimed at 18-34 year-old audiences, has signed up to use Nielsen’s Online Campaign Ratings ( OCR) as part of its digital advertising strategy.

News27 September 2012

Dataminr secures $13m in series B funding

US— Dataminr, a social media analytics company serving the financial and government sectors, has completed a $13m series B round of equity financing.

News27 September 2012

Eastlan ratings to cover former Arbitron markets

US— Eastlan Ratings is to begin providing radio ratings this autumn for two markets no longer covered by Arbitron’s audience measurement service.

News27 September 2012

Cisco makes location analytics buy

IRELAND— Cisco has acquired location analytics software provider ThinkSmart technologies. The firm will become part of Cisco’s Wireless Networking Group and be integrated into the Cisco Mobility Services Engine.

News27 September 2012

Insights key to sustainability cause, says P&G chief executive

US— Procter & Gamble CEO Bob McDonald sees consumer insights as a powerful weapon in the battle to get consumers to buy more sustainable products.

Feature27 September 2012

Facebook's retail sales challenge – and the data solution

Why Facebook is banking on data to convince retailers that it is a credible place for them to put their advertising.

News26 September 2012

Peter Milla joins Cambiar as associate

US— Market research management consultancy Cambiar has appointed Peter Milla as an associate. Milla has run his own consultancy since 2009 and has held senior roles with Survey Sampling, Harris Interactive and Roper Starch Worldwide.

News26 September 2012

M:Metrics' McAteer launches Metaresolver for mobile ads

US— M:Metrics co-founder Seamus McAteer is heading up a new business working in the mobile ad targeting space.

News26 September 2012

NORC signs up for Voxco survey technology

CANADA— NORC at the University of Chicago, an independent research organisation, has signed up to use Voxco’s Command Center data collection platform for its research and survey projects.

News26 September 2012

Three Group Research hires Turner as advanced analytics VP

US— Adam Turner has been appointed senior vice president of advanced analytics at research consultancy Three Group Research. He joins the firm from Lieberman Research Worldwide where he was a senior research manager.

News26 September 2012

Columinate wins South African digital behaviour study from DMMA

SOUTH AFRICA — Online research specialists Columinate have been awarded the contract to conduct research into the South African digital media market on behalf of the country’s Digital Media and Marketing Association ( DMMA).

Feature26 September 2012

New angles on understanding

In part two of InSites Consulting’s feature on co-researchers, the company considers the value participants can bring to the analysis and presentation stage of a research project.

Feature26 September 2012

New angles on understanding

In part two of InSites Consulting’s feature on co-researchers, the company considers the value participants can bring to the analysis and presentation stage of a research project.

Feature26 September 2012

New angles on understanding

In part two of InSites Consulting’s feature on co-researchers, the company considers the value participants can bring to the analysis and presentation stage of a research project.

Feature26 September 2012

New angles on understanding

In part two of InSites Consulting’s feature on co-researchers, the company considers the value participants can bring to the analysis and presentation stage of a research project.

News26 September 2012

AdMobius gets $5m funding for mobile ad targeting

US— Admobius, a startup that aims to improve mobile ad targeting, has closed $5m in a first-round funding led by Opus Capital and Storm Ventures.

News26 September 2012

KPMG and Chaordix offer crowd sourcing to UK clients

US/UK— Crowd sourcing agency Chaordix has teamed up with professional services firm KPMG to provide managed services to companies in the UK.

News26 September 2012

LGA draws up standardised questions for residents' surveys

UK— The Local Government Association ( LGA) is hoping to bring a bit of comparability to the residents’ surveys conducted by local councils with a new standard set of satisfaction questions.

News25 September 2012

RapidBlue turns shopper analytics into 3D visualusations

FINLAND— RapidBlue Solutions has created a series of new 3D visualisations for retailers to overlay shopper analytics data on maps of commercial properties.

News25 September 2012

M3 Global Research strengthens European team

UK— Medical market research agency M3 Global Research has announced several additions to its European team as it looks to expand across the continent.

News25 September 2012

City of Ryde appoints Toluna to online community engagement task

AUSTRALIA — The City of Ryde council, based near Sydney in New South Wales, has appointed Toluna to run a dedicated online community panel for residents to participate in key planning decisions.

News25 September 2012

Fox taps TrueAnthem to trace social sharing of TV shows

US— Broadcaster Fox has teamed up with digital measurement agency TrueAnthem to track the social sharing of the organisation’s digital television content and assess its social influence.

Feature25 September 2012

Community breakthrough

Four executives from InSites Consulting make the case for empowering community participants to become co-researchers. Part one of a two-part feature.

Feature25 September 2012

Community breakthrough

Four executives from InSites Consulting make the case for empowering community participants to become co-researchers. Part one of a two-part feature.

Feature25 September 2012

Community breakthrough

Four executives from InSites Consulting make the case for empowering community participants to become co-researchers. Part one of a two-part feature.

Feature25 September 2012

Community breakthrough

Four executives from InSites Consulting make the case for empowering community participants to become co-researchers. Part one of a two-part feature.

News25 September 2012

Facebook strikes US partnership with Datalogix

US— Facebook has formed a partnership with Datalogix that will enable the social media giant to track whether people who see ads on the social networking site end up buying the relevant products in stores.

News25 September 2012

$12m investment for data firm eXelate

US— Advertising data platform eXelate has closed a third round of funding worth $12m, with the cash earmarked for geographic expansion and the development of mobile and analytics product lines.

News25 September 2012

DigitalMR and BNMC partner for healthcare projects

ITALY— Social media research agency DigitalMR has struck a partnership with Italian health marketing firm Brandnew Marketing Communications ( BNMC) to develop new services for the pharma and healthcare markets.

News25 September 2012

GMI makes survey tool 'device agnostic'

UK— Global Market Insite ( GMI) has anounced an update to its interactive survey tool which will see it become device agnostic.

News25 September 2012

Liquidation for entertainment specialist Brand Driver

UK— London-based media, leisure and entertainment research specialist Brand Driver has called a meeting of creditors for tomorrow to place the company into creditors’ voluntary liquidation.

News24 September 2012

Warc finds September marketing budgets down

GLOBAL— Marketing budgets continued to fall in September, according to Warc’s latest Global Marketing Index ( GMI).

Opinion24 September 2012

The hidden value of performance analytics

Media agency group Initiative is making a big investment in performance analytics, including several recent senior hires. Here, Sue Moseley explains the approach and what it means for brand owners and agencies.

News24 September 2012

Deadline Hollywood taps Rentrak for box office data

US— Rentrak has struck a deal with movie industry blog site Deadline Hollywood to provide it with all official reported domestic box office data.

News24 September 2012

ResponseTek names Hill as MD for UK and EMEA

UK— Customer experience management software specialist ResponseTek has hired PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Mark Hill as its managing director for the UK and EMEA region.

News24 September 2012

Netfluential hires Wise as director of research

UK— Netfluential has appointed Brand Driver’s managing director Karen Wise to the newly created role of director of research. She joins the agency on 1 October after five years in her previous role.

News24 September 2012

Sainsbury's teams with Nectar owner for marketing services JV

UK— Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s is working with Aimia, the owner of the Nectar loyalty card programme, to use Nectar data to design and implement marketing programmes for FMCG suppliers.

News24 September 2012

Revelation hires Hornor as lead methodologist

US— Online qualitative research specialist Revelation has appointed Jim Hornor as its lead methodologist. He joins after two and a half years as Gravitytank’s chief research associate.

News24 September 2012

PRS relocates call centre from Acton to St Albans

UK— Data collection specialists Perspective Research Services ( PRS) has opened a new call centre in St Albans, Hertfordshire. It will employ 75 staff, ranging from interviewers to mystery shopping experts.

News21 September 2012

Belgian and Swiss research associations join Efamro

BELGIUM — The European Research Federation ( Efamro) has added the Belgian and Swiss research associations as its newest members, extending its reach to 14 countries across the continent.

News21 September 2012

Nunwood aligns Fizz to new CEM agency focus

UK — Nunwood has released the latest version of its Fizz system, which focuses on “insight-powered customer experience management”. It will be known as Fizz: Experience Management.

News21 September 2012

Edelman Berland appoints Schneider to UK analytics role

UK — Edelman Berland, the insights and analytics subsidiary of Edelman, has appointed Ben Schneider to lead its UK media measurement and analytics team. He starts his role on 1 October, reporting to James Turner, UK managing director.

News21 September 2012

GfK hires TNS APAC veteran Sethi alongside new regional MDs

ASIA — GfK has appointed Ashok Sethi from TNS as regional development director APAC. He is joined by four new managing directors across key offices.

News21 September 2012

Research Now launches UK Healthcare Panel

UK — Research Now has announced the launch of its UK Healthcare Panel as part of the first stage of its expansion into the European medical market research market. It has enrolled over 4000 healthcare professionals thus far.

News21 September 2012

The Observer appoints Opinium to run political polls

UK — The Observer newspaper has chosen Opinium Research to confuct its political polling ahead of the forthcoming party concerence season. The Opinium/Observer Political Poll will be launched in this Sunday’s edition and will run fortnightly.

News21 September 2012

LBi to be acquired by Publicis Groupe for €416m

UK — Digital agency LBi has announced that it has reached an agreement with Publicis Group to be acquired for €416m. The deal includes the data businesses Bigmouthmedia and social media marketing and insights firm Mr Youth, founded by Matt Britton ( pictured).

News20 September 2012

I-view media lab comes to London

UK— Qureshi Market Research MD Bob Qureshi is opening a media laboratory in London. The facility will include eye-tracking, dial testing and NeuroFocus services for market researchers.

News20 September 2012

Insites' Van Belleghem to lead B-Conversational spin-off

BELGIUM— InSites Consulting has promoted Steven Van Belleghem to lead its spin-off conversation coaching venture B-Conversational. He will step down as manager of InSites Consulting.

Feature20 September 2012

Kings of convenience

Nunwood’s Customer Experience Excellence Programme ranks the USA’s customer service superstars. David Conway reviews this year’s top performers and the factors that put them on top.

News20 September 2012

Nielsen secures 14 new partners for OCR

US— Nielsen has expanded its Online Campaign Ratings ( OCR) initiative by agreeing deals with 14 online ad platforms including AudienceScience, Jivox and Videology.

News20 September 2012

BrainJuicer reports 14% rise in first-half sales as Popper departs

UK— BrainJuicer has reported a 14% rise in revenue for the first half of the financial year, largely driven by its UK and US offices.

News20 September 2012

General Sentiment names Pete Moran as CEO

US— Social media analytics firm General Sentiment has appointmented former Cablevision SVP Pete Moran as its chief executive officer with immediate effect. He replaces Ari Kahn, who served as interim CEO.

News20 September 2012

Kantar takes Worldpanel ComTech to Japan

JAPAN— Kantar Worldpanel ComTech has launched a mobile and tablet panel in Japan to measure mobile phone behaviour, including purchases of phones and mobile phone bills.

News19 September 2012

Itracks launches first mobile app service

CANADA— Online qualitative software specialists Itracks are launching their first mobile app this week. Itracks Mobile will be available on Android and iPhone devices free of charge.

News19 September 2012

Xaxis adds Facebook Exchange to analytics range

US— WPP’s audience buying platform Xaxis has added the Facebook real-time bidding system Facebook Exchange to its analytics range, enabling advertisers to buy and monitor ad slots on Facebook through the platform.

Feature19 September 2012

Play on

Brian Tarran hears how The Football Association turned to research in a bid to halt a decline in the number of teenagers playing organised football.

News19 September 2012

Oliver Henry Consulting opens in Hong Kong

HONG KONG— Industry veteran Dean Edwards has launched Oliver Henry Consulting, a boutique healthcare market research consultancy in Hong Kong.

News19 September 2012

Vision Critical boosts UK office with Kantar's Carter

UK— Vision Critical has appointed Kantar’s Michelle Carter as its first head of UK client services. Based in London, she will lead the firm’s British community panel management and full service insight teams.

News19 September 2012

ComScore helps Chicago entrepeneurs with 1871 partnership

US— ComScore has partnered with the Chicago Entrepeneurial Centre ( CEC) to provide insight to start-ups intending to launch in 1871, a 50,000 square-foot open room in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart.

News19 September 2012

Budweiser launches new beers inspired by consumer feedback

US— Budweiser is to sell three new varieties in its Project 12 scheme. The US initative involved an extensive experiential sampling push asking drinkers to choose new recipes from a selection of twelve.

News19 September 2012

Symphony Advanced Media names Buchwalter as CEO

US— Symphony Advanced Media ( SAM) has appointed industry veteran Charles Buchwalter as president and CEO. He will oversee day-to-day operations and set strategic initiatives at the San Francisco firm.

News19 September 2012

Cello sees 2.8% lift in H1 revenues despite research slowdown

UK— Cello Group, parent of 2CV, Face, RS Consulting and Insight Research Group, has reported a 2.8% increase in first half revenues. The company says its healthcare division helped it overcome a marked slowdown in research spending.

News18 September 2012

Playboy picks new agency to measure social media performance

US— Simply Measured has replaced Radian6 as Playboy’s social measurement platform.

News18 September 2012

Holden Pearmain calls in administrators

UK— Holden Pearmain has called in the administrators after 12 years in business, Research has learned. Company co-founder David Holden ( pictured) confirmed the news in a telephone call.

News18 September 2012

Harris Interactive partners with Google for benchmark surveys

US— Harris Interactive has agreed a collaboration with Google to allow brands to collect customer satisfaction data through Google’s self-service Consumer Surveys and to benchmark themselves against industry competitors.

Feature18 September 2012

Best of the web – August 2012

Articles on Twitter analytics, the future of marketing and infographics were among the 10 most popular research-related links from the rest of the web in August, as shared by the MR community on Twitter.

News18 September 2012

Buxton sues Visa over tourism data product

US— Customer analytics specialist Buxton is suing Visa, claiming it was tricked into revealing its research methods so as to inform the development of Visa’s own analytics products.

News18 September 2012

BuzzFeed buys Kingfish Labs to improve Facebook strategy

US— Social news aggregator BuzzFeed has acquired Facebook data partner Kingfish Labs to improve the effectiveness of Facebook sponsored stories.

News18 September 2012

Commercial Radio Australia calls audience measurement review

AUSTRALIA— Commercial Radio Australia has published a tender for its audience measurement service to start in January 2014. The incumbent on the account is Nielsen, who have been invited to repitch.

News17 September 2012

Havas looks to Russia for new sponsorship opportunities

RUSSIA— Havas has announced the opening of Havas Sports and Entertainment in Russia as it seeks opportunities for sponsors for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and the Russia 2018 World Cup.

News17 September 2012

GfK acquires User Centric to boost global UX reach

US— GfK is acquiring US-based user experience specialists User Centric with effect from 1 October. It says the deal will create a global firm with over 150 UX consultants available worldwide.

Feature17 September 2012

NRS PADD receives mixed response

The National Readership Survey ( NRS) has launched its new print and digital data dataset NRS PADD. Research asked a panel of experts whether the new offering really offers new insights?

News17 September 2012

NRS hires Finch to oversee NRS PADD client education

UK — The National Readership Survey ( NRS) has appointed Bauer Radio’s. She will take up her new role at NRS in November and report to CEO Mike Ironside.

News17 September 2012

Real-time ad buying needs more research support – Microsoft

US— The take-up of real-time online ad buying ( RTB) is being held back by a lack of appropriate measurements, according to research commissioned by Microsoft Advertising.

News17 September 2012

MSL Group promotes Mishra to Asia social insights VP

CHINA— Publicis-owned communications agency MSL Group has promoted its social media director Gaurav Mishra to vice president of insights, innovation and social in Asia.

News17 September 2012

Dunnhumby USA names news head of India operations

US— Dunnhumby USA has promoted Rex Davis ( pictured) to senior vice president and head of India.

News17 September 2012

Verve hires five executives

UK— Verve, a specialist in online communities and panels for research, has appointed five new executives as it staffs up to meet anticipated client demand.

News17 September 2012

Illumination Research adds two to leadership team

US— Illumination Research has appointed Jennifer Holt ( pictured) as director of marketing and new business development and Heather Smith as director of insight strategy.

News14 September 2012

YouthSight research helps launch Which? University website

UK— Which? has launched a new website for prospective university students based on primary research carried out by YouthSight.

News14 September 2012

Insight-Narrator tells a better story

UK— Former Royal Mail and Ipsos researcher Caroline Florence has launched her own independent consultancy, Insight-Narrator, which aims to help clients “tell the story” hidden in research findings.

Feature14 September 2012

Miller's vision for community panel growth

Vision Critical’s new global CEO sees huge growth for community panels – and with $20m recently invested in the company, Scott Miller has the resources to make it happen.

Opinion14 September 2012

Plugged in to the energy market

Research agencies and energy suppliers met on 13 September at an MRS Conference in London to discuss the big issues in today’s energy market. Alastair Heggie covers the highlights.

News14 September 2012

InsightExpress launches Ignite Mobile panel system

US— InsightExpress has launched its first mobile panel product, Ignite Mobile, which will let marketers measure exposure to mobile advertising using a 250,000-member panel of iOS, Android or Windows Phone users.

News14 September 2012

Univision signs up with Rentrak TV Essentials

US— Hispanic broadcaster Univision has signed up to receive audience figures through Rentrak’s TV Essentials service.

News14 September 2012

Quipper launches online qual platform

INDIA— Quipper Research has launched a new platform to carry out secure online qualitative work.

News13 September 2012

Dub Studios adds Golsby to online research team

UK— Research software firm Dub Studios has hired Liveminds’ Edward Golsby as account manager and online research consultant.

News13 September 2012

Surveys on mobiles 'double', finds eDigital

UK— The volume of surveys carried out on smartphones and tablets more than doubled between 2011 and 2012, according to eDigital Research’s own numbers.

News13 September 2012

ESPN, Arbitron and ComScore chase five-platform measurement

US— Arbitron and ComScore are teaming up to provide information on media consumption habits across radio, television, PCs, smartphones and tablets.

Opinion13 September 2012

Growing concern

As far as inflation goes, Pete Comley thinks the only way is up. But what does this mean for the generation of marketers who’ve never had to deal with the pain of fast-rising prices?

News13 September 2012

Omnicom names president for Annalect Asia Pacific

SINGAPORE— Lee Smith has been appointed Asia Pacific president at Annalect, Omnicom Media Group’s data-driven marketing division.

News13 September 2012

Screen Engine and Rentrak launch PostTrak tool

US— Rentrak and entertainment research agency Screen Engine have teamed up to launch PostTrak, a syndicated service to report movie box office figures, audience demographics and key drivers of interest and attendance.

News13 September 2012

Thomas Cook gives Hoban new insight director role

UK— Thomas Cook UK & Ireland has appointed former Confused.com marketer Mike Hoban to the new position of director of marketing, brand and customer insight.

News12 September 2012

YouGov promotes Gritten and Wagstaff after restructure

UK— YouGov has promoted Adèle Gritten and Michael Wagstaff to the newly created roles of UK commercial director and head of research respectively.

News12 September 2012

Sorrell files to dismiss "baseless, frivolous" defamation suit

US— Lawyers acting for WPP chief executive Martin Sorrell have filed to dismiss a defamation suit brought against him by the law firm representing broadcaster NDTV in its legal battle over Indian TV ratings.

News12 September 2012

PRS appoints Willke as executive VP

US— Shopper research firm Perception Research Services International ( PRS) has appointed Nielsen’s Timothy Willke as an executive vice president with immediate effect.

News12 September 2012

DataSift launches Twitter-based analysis tool for financial clients

US— Social data platform DataSift has launched a tool for clients in the financial services sector to identify and analyse stock and company information.

News12 September 2012

Pathmapp launches with A/B tests for mobile developers

US— A new company called Pathmapp launched yesterday to provide A/B testing for mobile app developers.

News12 September 2012

Kinesis and Federated Sample strike partnership

US— Kinesis Survey Technologies has partnered with Federated Sample to integrate their product offerings for research data collection.

News12 September 2012

uSamp hires Meier to lead European sales push

GERMANY— Research technology specialist uSamp has appointed Ronald Meier to the newly created role of sales director for Europe. He will be based in Frankfurt.

News12 September 2012

Calkins Media signs up for Rentrak ratings

US— Media group Calkins Media has signed up to use Rentrak’s StationView Essentials local TV audience measurement service.

News12 September 2012

Research industry remains 'soft' according to MRA index

US— The Research Industry Index ( RII) produced by the Marketing Research Association reports a continuing softness in MR business activity in the second quarter, carrying over from the first quarter.

News11 September 2012

Kantar and DoubleVerify partner for digital ad measurement

US— Web analytics provider Kantar Media Compete has partnered with online media verification and viewability measurement firm DoubleVerify on a new campaign measurement system that aims to “pinpoint” who is being reached by digital advertising.

News11 September 2012

Kagiso Media takes majority stake in researcher KLA

SOUTH AFRICA— Media group Kagiso Media has acquired a majority stake in brand analytics and research consultancy KLA.

Feature11 September 2012

The future is 'now'

Webtrends’ new CMO Martin Doettling says the next few years will see major investments in technology to help digital marketers track and respond to consumer behaviour in real-time.

News11 September 2012

M3 Global hires biz dev manager for London studio

UK— Caroline Powell has left Viewpoint to join M3 Global Research as business development manager for its London-based research facility.

News11 September 2012

Localytics gets $5.5m financing for app platform

US— Mobile app analytics provider Localytics has announced the launch of a new app marketing platform after securing funding from Polaris Venture Partners.

News11 September 2012

Analytic Partners opens Sydney office and appoints Fernando as VP

AUSTRALIA— Analytics consulting firm Analytic Partners has hired former Mediabrands Australia executive director Clare Fernando to run its new Sydney office.

News11 September 2012

YouGov expands MENA omnibus surveys to India and Pakistan

DUBAI— YouGov has expanded coverage of its omnibus services in the Middle East and North Africa region to include India and Pakistan.

News11 September 2012

Sands Research appoints Shane Moon as president

AUSTRALIA— Neuromarketing specialist Sands Research Inc ( SRI) has appointed Shane Moon as its president. He will also retain his position as director of insight, strategy and planning at consultancy Inner Truth.

News10 September 2012

Esomar unveils draft guidelines for mobile market research

NETHERLANDS— Esomar has partnered with the Mobile Marketing Research Association to develop new guidance for conducting mobile market research.

News10 September 2012

Federated Sample and Ugam partner to create new sample model

US— Federated Sample and Ugam Research have inked a deal which sees Ugam licence Federated’s Fulcrum platform while also becoming Fulcrum’s official services partner.

News10 September 2012

Quirky raises $68m Series C funding

US— Quirky, a community site that conceives and builds physical products, has raised $68m in Series C funding led by Andreessen Horowitz and including Kleiner Perkins, Norwest Venture Partners and RRE Ventures.

News10 September 2012

Eastbridge Consulting adds director of research

US— Marketing advisory firm Eastbridge Consulting has hired Ginger Bates as its new director of research.

News10 September 2012

BrainJuicer launches India practice with ex-McKinsey associate

INDIA— BrainJuicer has opened a new practice in India and hired former McKinsey & Company partner Pooja Haldea as managing director for the country.

News10 September 2012

Nielsen and OzTAM agree TV measurement contract extension

AUSTRALIA— OzTAM has extended Nielsen’s contract to carry out television audience measurement in the country for another two years, from 2015 to 2017.

News10 September 2012

Dataskill snaps up Staffing Innovations

US— Business intelligence and predictive analytics agency Dataskill has acquired recruitment agency Staffing Innovations for an undisclosed amount.

News7 September 2012

Ipsos MediaCT names new CEO

FRANCE— Ipsos has appointed Yannick Carriou as chief executive of Ipsos MediaCT, replacing Richard Silman who has been made head of corporate and social responsibility programs across the company.

News7 September 2012

Print auditing bodies ABC and CAC agree merger

US— Newspaper and magazine auditors ABC and CAC have agreed a merger, subject to a vote by members of CAC.

News7 September 2012

OFT delays Aegis-Dentsu deliberation for 10 more days

UK — The Office of Fair Trading has delayed its decision on whether to refer the £3.16bn acquisition of Aegis by Dentsu to the Competition Commission for at least another 10 days. A decision will now be published by 24 September.

Opinion7 September 2012

My (not so) private life

Wolfram Alpha now allows Facebook users to dig into their personal data in search of nuggets of insight. Brian Tarran comes up empty-handed. But would market researchers do any better?

News7 September 2012

AIP opens India subsidiary

JAPAN— Online sampling and data collection firm AIP has opened a subsidiary office in India to offer back-office support to the company.

News7 September 2012

InCrowd gets $2.2m Series A funding

US— Healthcare market research provider InCrowd has secured $2.2m in funding from venture capitalist Nauta Capital.

News7 September 2012

Mesh Planning arrives in Manhattan

UK— Mesh Planning is to open a new office in New York later this month, its first outside its home market.

News7 September 2012

Simon-Kucher expands into the Middle East

UAE— Strategy and marketing consultants Simon-Kucher & Partners have opened an office in Dubai. It plans to staff the office with 20 consultants and generate up to $10m in revenue annually.

News7 September 2012

Constellation hires Heaton as VP and principal analyst

AUSTRALIA— Constellation Research, which works with clients in emerging and disruptive technologies, has appointed SAP’s Gavin Heaton.

News6 September 2012

Global research revenue up 3.8% to $33.5bn

GLOBAL— Market research industry revenue grew 3.8% to $33.5bn, according to the latest report from industry association Esomar. Growth after inflation was 0.4%.

Feature6 September 2012

Edelman Berland: an all new StrategyOne?

How will PSB’s Michael Berland ramp up Edelman’s research? We spoke to StrategyOne international president Laurence Evans to find out more about the new combined entity.

News6 September 2012

Lastminute.com picks Webtrends for site optimisation

UK— Lastminute.com has licenced technology from digital intelligence agency Webtrends to optimise website content across three of its online brands.

News6 September 2012

WideOrbit buys research and intelligence software firm OneDomain

US— Advertising management software developer WideOrbit has acquired OneDomain, a firm that develops research, business intelligence and media planning software for ad agencies and televison and radio stations.

News6 September 2012

Marketing and comms firms launch Leadership Institute in China

BEIJING— Six marketing and communications companies have joined together to form the Burson-Marsteller Leadership Institute in China.

News6 September 2012

Gongos introduces SmartFly Beta to learn from mobile consumers

US— Gongos Research has beta-launched its new smartphone-based mobile ethnography research technology, SmartFly.

News6 September 2012

Stamats launches healthcare insight arm

US— Market research and communications group Stamats has launched Stamats Healthcare Marketing, a new division to provide clients in the healthcare sector with strategic insight and planning services.

News6 September 2012

Ex-Ipsos Reid president launches Insights West

CANADA— Former Ipsos Reid president Steve Mossop has launched a new agency, Insights West, to serve private and public sector clients in west Canada.

News6 September 2012

Vision Critical promotes Scott Miller to group chief executive

US— Online panel and research technology provider Vision Critical has promoted Scott Miller to the role of group CEO from October. Founder and co-CEO Andrew Reid will continue to lead the firm’s innovation and software development activities.

News5 September 2012

GfK Philippines adds retail director

PHILIPPINES— GfK Philippines has appointed 25-year industry veteran Mary Margaret Co Martinez as retail director, where she will be responsible for recruiting new retailers to the firm’s panel, among other tasks.

News5 September 2012

Yomego hires Ney as director of research and insight

UK— Social media firm Yomego has appointed Strathclyde University lecturer Jillian Ney as its research and insight director.

Feature5 September 2012

Tapping customer energy sources

Energy company E.ON is working with its customers to pursue a cleaner, greener future. James Verrinder hears how co-creation is helping inspire a new range of products and services.

News5 September 2012

Cambiar recruits MREB's Field to training team

US— Market research consulting firm Cambiar has hired the Market Research Executive Board’s Aaron Field as an associate on its training and skills development team, as part of an expansion of its “power skills” training programmes.

News5 September 2012

Scripps signs up for TiVo's TV Auto Ratings

US— TV content developer Scripps Networks Interactive has signed up to use TiVo Research and Analytics’ TV Auto Ratings platform to gain information on the link between exposure to adverts and actual purchases.

News5 September 2012

PSB founder Berland leaves to lead Edelman research unit

US— Michael J Berland has resigned from his role as president of WPP’s Penn Schoen Berland to move to rival PR giant Edelman as CEO of a new strategic research and analytic business, Edelman Berland.

News5 September 2012

Cido adds China office to Asian presence

SHANGHAI— Cido has opened a Shanghai office for its Chinese operations. It will be led by former STL Technology VP Linda Ho ( pictured) as general manager.

News5 September 2012

Fizziology to open UK office to track online buzz

UK— Social media research company Fizziology is opening a UK office, which will rate entertainment, advertising and sports through topical online UK conversations.

News4 September 2012

NDTV's law firm sues Sorrell over 'defamatory' comments

US— The law firm representing Indian TV news network NDTV in its legal battle over alleged manipulation of TV ratings data is suing WPP chief executive Martin Sorrell for defamation.

News4 September 2012

Abt SRBI signs tech licensing agreement with Voxco

CANADA— Abt SRBI, the survey subsidiary of Abt Associates, has signed a licensing agreement with Voxco to use its data collection technology.

News4 September 2012

AudienceScience appoints Riley as marketing VP

US— Emily Riley, a former Forrester Research vice president and analyst has joined digital marketing technology firm AudienceScience as vice president of marketing and sales strategy.

News4 September 2012

Rentrak adds Victoria Television Group as client

US— Rentrak has signed a multi-year StationView Essentials contract with Saga Broadcasting to provide local TV audience viewing data for its Victoria Television Group.

News4 September 2012

John Gongos commemorated with charitable fund

US— The late John Gongos is to be commemorated through a charitable fund set up by his agency, Gongos Research, in association with Research For Good and Outrun the Sun. It will be called the John Gongos Melanoma Education Fund.

News4 September 2012

Google closes TV Ads buying and measurement platform

US— Google is to shut down its five-year-old TV Ads product, which was launched to bring digital buying and measurement technologies to traditional TV advertising.

News4 September 2012

Global top 25 grow 4.1% to $18.7bn, says Honomichl

GLOBAL— The collective revenue of the research industry’s 25 biggest companies grew 4.1% last year to $18.7bn, according to industry watcher Jack Honomichl’s latest analysis.

News4 September 2012

ICM hires Lynch as data services director

UK— ICM has hired Teresa Lynch to join its operations division as data services director, bringing with her almost 30 years of experience.

News4 September 2012

GfK and Sinomonitor measure print ad effectiveness in China

CHINA— GfK has partnered with Sinomonitor to measure the advertising effectiveness of magazine ads in China.

News4 September 2012

Lumi Mobile appoints Dan Foreman to business development role

US— Mobile research technology firm Lumi Mobile has hired Dan Foreman, the former CEO of Insight International, as head of business development.

News3 September 2012

The Research Partnership hires for new consultancy offer

UK— Healthcare market research specialist The Research Partnership has launched a new market access consultancy, The Access Partnership.

Feature3 September 2012

Conversation culture

Having convinced advertisers to embrace customer conversation, Steven van Belleghem is setting out to achieve full-scale corporate culture change with his new book The Conversation Company.

News3 September 2012

Nepa UK appoints Caldwell to client services role

UK— Online research specialist Nepa UK has appointed former Research Now director Johnny Caldwell to the newly created role of client services director.

News3 September 2012

Smith and Booth launch Firebrand Insight

UK— Andrew Smith, the former chairman of the Independent Consultants Group has launched Firebrand Insight with Andy Booth, formerly of Circle Research.