News4 November 2013

Karyn Hall joins uSamp

Bronwen Morgan

Hall joins as VP of Instant.ly, uSamp’s on-demand consumer insights engine.

Feature4 November 2013

Change of gear

Lucy Fisher

Auto Trader has gone digital-only. Group consumer marketing director Jonathan Williams tells Lucy Fisher why data is set to fuel the brand’s future growth.

News4 November 2013

Insight Exchange becomes Big Sofa

Bronwen Morgan

Rebrand comes as Big Sofa looks to expand into other markets.

News4 November 2013

Edwards joins MarketVision Research

Bronwen Morgan

Marc Edwards has joined the firm as research manager.

News4 November 2013

TNS hires Vishy Rajagopal as regional director

Bronwen Morgan

Rajagopal will re-join TNS Asia Pacific from Nielsen.

News4 November 2013

Ipsos Healthcare re-launches Fieldwork International in Asia

Bronwen Morgan

Follows successful re-launches in UK, Italy and Spain.

News4 November 2013

AMAA introduces new technology partners

Bronwen Morgan

Datalicious and ObservePoint will help deliver the Australian audited website measurement service announced last month.

Opinion1 November 2013

Profit through patriotism

Danni Findlay

Brand UK is going strong, and many marketing campaigns are looking to capitalise on the resurgence of British patriotism. But it’s not a guaranteed win, argues Danni Findlay.

News1 November 2013

Leeds University Union launches segmentation study

Bronwen Morgan

The student charity has hired RDSI to conduct the study with 4,000 of its student members.

News1 November 2013

DJS Research secures place on Electoral Commission framework

Bronwen Morgan

The company is now an approved supplier to the independent watchdog and regulator.

News1 November 2013

CBS and Nielsen announce first ever cross-media measurement trial

Bronwen Morgan

The media company has announced it will participate in Nielsen’s trial to measure cross-media campaigns on local television and radio.

News31 October 2013

Game rolls out customer feedback programme with SMG

Brian Tarran

‘How’s Our Game’ programme covers all 340 retail outlets in the UK and asks shoppers to report on in-store experience.

Feature31 October 2013

Headline grabbers

Brian Tarran

A creative director explains how brands can turn current events to their advantage – with a little help from social media data.

News31 October 2013

Ad spend forecasts reined in on lowered Eurozone, US and China expectations

Brian Tarran

2013 ad spend is now forecast to rise 2.2% this year, down from 3% – although after inflation, growth is expected to be just 0.1%.

News31 October 2013

Neustar acquires Aggregate Knowledge

Bronwen Morgan

Real-time information and analysis provider Neustar acquires campaign and predictive analytics platform.

News31 October 2013

Kantar Media and Twitter partnership extends to Spain

Bronwen Morgan

TV planning and analytics tool to cover Spanish TV industry from 2014.

News31 October 2013

Cashback site Quidco adds opinion panel

Brian Tarran

20,000 shoppers already signed up as Quidco looks to develop a deeper understanding of its 3.75m members.

News30 October 2013

ComRes names Katharine Peacock as managing director

Brian Tarran

Promotion “recognises the role she has played in the growth of our business since 2008”, says chairman Andrew Hawkins.

News30 October 2013

Arena Media's intelligence chief joins Channel 4 in ad research role

Brian Tarran

Martin Greenbank to take up the role of head of advertising research and development by the end of the year.

Opinion30 October 2013

Get ready for automated research

George Terhanian

Marketers are relying increasingly on automated systems, and research is ripe for automation too, says George Terhanian.

News30 October 2013

Nathaniel Payne joins Cardinal Path as senior data architect

Bronwen Morgan

The growing independent analytics firm welcomes Payne from OverInteractive Media.

News30 October 2013

Big data equals big payoff, says IBM

Bronwen Morgan

According to an IBM analytics study, almost 40% of companies see a rapid ROI within the first six months of analytics adoption.

News30 October 2013

Ipsos Healthcare relaunches Fieldwork International in Spain

Bronwen Morgan

Fieldwork International replaces Field Services following its “continued success” in the UK

News30 October 2013

Mathew Francis joins Zaicom Research Plus as research director

Bronwen Morgan

Francis rejoins the team from his position as global director of consultancy at E-Tabs.

News30 October 2013

Brands on Instagram see 350% increase in engagement

Bronwen Morgan

As the photo-sharing service approaches 200 million users, brands using it are enjoying record levels of engagement.

News29 October 2013

SurveyMonkey sues MarketTools for alleged non-payment of invoices

Brian Tarran

DIY survey software provider claims it’s owed money for sample provision and survey verification software subscription.

News29 October 2013

ComScore posts 11% growth in third-quarter revenue

Brian Tarran

US — ComScore’s third-quarter revenue grew 11% to $71.6m, while net losses shrank from $3.1m a year ago to just $82,000, the company said today.

News29 October 2013

Nielsen to release software for mobile TV measurement in November

Brian Tarran

TV ratings giant says ‘unified coding approach’ will allow it to follow content across screens and ad models.

Opinion29 October 2013

Big data vs. emotional drivers: collision or synergy?

David Forbes

Two major trends in research – harnessing big data and understanding the emotional drivers of behaviour – are seemingly at odds: one takes a broad view and the other focuses on detail. But they can work together, argues David Forbes.

News29 October 2013

Lumi hires Roger Lovegrove as CFO

Brian Tarran

New finance chief to run enlarged finance function, created following the recent acquisition of IML Worldwide.

News29 October 2013

Former SPSS exec named president at healthcare data firm SHP

Brian Tarran

Alex Kormushoff established the enterprise predictive analytics business at SPSS prior to the company’s 2009 sale to IBM.

News29 October 2013

Cristian Ilie joins QualMetrix

Bronwen Morgan

Co-founder of Visual Intelligence joins the healthcare analytics company as chief technology officer.

News29 October 2013

Forrester pokes Facebook; Facebook doesn't 'like' it

Brian Tarran

Forrester says Facebook is failing marketers, but the social network criticises analyst’s “at times illogical and… irresponsible” report.

News29 October 2013

Prognoz appoints Wendy Mak as US MD

Bronwen Morgan

Newly created position increases company’s focus on development and growth in US market.

News29 October 2013

AAP to sell media monitoring service to iSentia

Bronwen Morgan

AUSTRALIA — iSentia - previously known as Media Monitors - has announced that it is to buy out AAP’s media monitoring business.

News28 October 2013

Orchidea Research launches services through CATI and online

Bronwen Morgan

India-based research company offers first online services to a limited market, with further expansion planned for coming months.

News28 October 2013

ODC rebrands as Norstat

Brian Tarran

Name change comes nearly 18 months on from Norstat’s acquisition of a majority stake.

Opinion28 October 2013

No, Twitter is not more important to teens than Facebook

Ray Poynter

A recent Pipar Jaffray study on the importance of social media has been misinterpreted by the mainstream press. But the headline was retweeted by researchers who should know better, argues Ray Poynter.

News28 October 2013

Spinach announces eight new hires

Bronwen Morgan

Beth Broughton joins as director of impact alongside seven other new joiners.

News28 October 2013

Atanasova joins The Marketing Workshop

Bronwen Morgan

Lena Atanasova joins the research and consulting firm as marketing science analyst.

News28 October 2013

Crimson Hexagon partners with public sector organisations

Bronwen Morgan

Provider of social media analytics software announces partnership with public sector organisations under its social research grant program.

News28 October 2013

Privacy concerns delay sale of personal data on Kickstarter

Brian Tarran

Federico Zannier says project delivery was held up when he realised he might be sharing other people’s personal data along with his own.

Feature25 October 2013

The art of consumer understanding

Jane Bainbridge

Marc Sands tells Jane Bainbridge how research and insight is helping the Tate achieve its goal of bringing modern art to the masses.

News25 October 2013

HootSuite in Brandwatch tie-up to add new social data to dashboard

Brian Tarran

Social media posts that are collected and analysed by Brandwatch can now be automatically filtered into individual channel monitoring streams within HootSuite.

News25 October 2013

Market Track buys competitive ad intelligence firm

Brian Tarran

Competitrack product integration will provide “a more comprehensive view of what’s hitting the market”, says Market Track CEO Wayne Mincey.

News25 October 2013

Romano joins FieldGlobal amid expansion plans

Bronwen Morgan

Bob Romano joins as the firm announces the opening of its New York office.

News25 October 2013

DataSift names Attensity's Beth Beld as chief marketing officer

Brian Tarran

New hire seeks to position social data company as leader in ‘powering the new big data economy’.

News25 October 2013

Levy joins GfK US

Bronwen Morgan

Eric Levy has joined GfK’s north American financial services team.

News24 October 2013

Location tracking players commit to privacy code of conduct

Brian Tarran

Retail analytics firm Euclid is among the companies pledging to provide notice to people when tracking is taking place, and to give them information on how to opt out.

News24 October 2013

Forrester revenues inch up as 'recovery' process continues

Brian Tarran

Revenue guidance met and operating margin exceeded expectations in the third-quarter, says CEO George Colony.

News24 October 2013

Research by Design welcomes four new recruits

Bronwen Morgan

New joiners at Birmingham-based business include a new associate director.

News24 October 2013

US gov't shutdown causes dip in GMI for Americas

Bronwen Morgan

Improvements in GMI for Asia Pacific and Europe ensures confidence in global marketers remains steady overall.

News24 October 2013

WPP reports 3.2% rise in data investment management revenue

Brian Tarran

“Even more significantly,” the company said, “gross margin was up 4.2% like-for-like, a reversal of the trend seen during 2012.”

Feature24 October 2013

The name of the game has changed

Brian Tarran

‘Consumer insight’ has become ‘data investment management’ within Martin Sorrell’s WPP. He explains why in an interview with Brian Tarran.

News24 October 2013

Nepa hires David Brennan and launches new programme concept testing

Bronwen Morgan

Media guru joins Nepa as shareholder and partner.

News23 October 2013

Ipsos reports 5% decline in Q3 revenues, but organic growth improves

Brian Tarran

FRANCE — Ipsos’s revenue declined 5% to €418.6m in the third quarter, the company said today. However, it recorded its fastest organic growth rate – 1.8% – since the fourth quarter of 2011.

News23 October 2013

Third-quarter revenue up 2.7% to $1.39bn at Nielsen

Brian Tarran

CEO David Calhoun reports consumer research revenue up 2.2% to $871m, and media measurement revenue up 3.4% to $516m.

News23 October 2013

CoolaData closes $7.5m series A funding round

Bronwen Morgan

Big data analytics provider has announced the closing of its series A funding from Greylock IL and Carmel Ventures.

News23 October 2013

Prism Skylabs announces $15m series B funding round

Bronwen Morgan

Intel Capital leads second round of funding for visual analytics company.

Opinion23 October 2013

Working relationships

Mark Ingwer

Companies understand the meaning of “relationships”, but rarely consider what it takes to make their audiences’ needs a priority, says Insight Consulting Group founder Mark Ingwer.

News23 October 2013

Mindshare appoints Dr. Gary Edwards as chief customer officer

Bronwen Morgan

Former Empathica chief customer officer joins as expansion of marketing insights team also announced.

News23 October 2013

9% of US population account for 46% of natural/ organic product sales

Bronwen Morgan

“True believers” and “enlightened environmentalists” provide best opportunities for manufacturers and retailers, according to IRI and SPINS.

News22 October 2013

InfoScout dashboard turns receipts into brand data

Brian Tarran

US — InfoScout, a retail market research firm backed by Dunnhumby Ventures, has launched a free public beta of its analytics dashboard, InfoScout.co.

News22 October 2013

Nielsen and Experian to beta test 'enhancements' to online campaign ratings

Brian Tarran

Nielsen looking to use Experian’s consumer data to up the demographic detail it provides in its ratings reports.

News22 October 2013

EU Civil Liberties Committee backs 'right to erasure' of data

Brian Tarran

MEPs vote in favour of giving everyone “the right to have their personal data erased if he/she requests it”.

News22 October 2013

Over half of digital advertising impressions ineffective, says InsightExpress

Bronwen Morgan

Analytics provider claims that the average digital campaign wastes 53% of impressions due to oversaturation.

News22 October 2013

Simulmedia adds Nielsen purchase data to its TV viewing database

Bronwen Morgan

The targeted television advertising company will add Nielsen Buyer Insights ( NBI) to its database of TV viewing habits.

News22 October 2013

OnePoint Global appoints new CCO and opens two new offices

Bronwen Morgan

Rob Huijboom joins the mobile researchers as new offices open in Bremen and Cairo.

News22 October 2013

Vision Critical releases new co-creation tool

Bronwen Morgan

IdeaHub uses members of existing insight communities for innovation and new product development.

News22 October 2013

Global CMO appointment to kickstart Effective Measure expansion

Brian Tarran

Six new market launches will take place before year-end – including Kenya, Morocco, Zimbabwe and Nigeria.

News21 October 2013

MRS strengthens code of conduct and issues new mobile research guidelines

Bronwen Morgan

Researchers asked to closely consult new “future-proof” rules and offer feedback during consultation process.

Feature21 October 2013

Millennial appeal

Brian Tarran

Viacom’s Christian Kurz discusses the media giant’s efforts to understand the millennial generation, and how those insights are shaping the company’s content.

News21 October 2013

New video mining tool adds app for directing film tasks

Brian Tarran

LivingLens, founded by Curiosity director Carl Wong, promises to save time and release more value from research-related video – including respondent-created content.

News21 October 2013

Verve launches AllDevice tools

Bronwen Morgan

New JavaScript tools designed to work across all mobile devices, including Apple.

News21 October 2013

Google turns Consumer Survey question limit up to 10

Brian Tarran

“Our research customers tell us that… they often find our two-question constraint too limiting.”

News21 October 2013

YouGov expands Dubai team

Bronwen Morgan

YouGov MENA has broadened its Dubai team with the addition of five new team members.

News21 October 2013

19% of online surveys taken on a mobile device, says new report

Brian Tarran

GreenBook’s Consumer Participation in Research report says iOS most popular mobile platform, ahead of Android and BlackBerry.

News21 October 2013

ComScore wins AMAA measurement contract

Bronwen Morgan

Digital Analytix selected as the analytics platform behind the Audited Media Association of Australia ( AMAA)’s new audited website measurement service.

News18 October 2013

Judge reverses decision on tossing TRA's claims against Kantar

Brian Tarran

US — A district court judge, who earlier this month dismissed patent and trade secrets claims in a dispute between TRA and Kantar, has moved to withdraw her previous order and to strike it from the record.

News18 October 2013

HP Autonomy unveils multichannel Digital Marketing Hub

Bronwen Morgan

New solution from HP is designed to help businesses use big data to increase engagement, conversions and revenue.

News18 October 2013

Consumers on the phone, laptop or tablet 34 times a day, says IAB

Brian Tarran

More than two out of every 24 hours are spent using an internet-connected device, according to new research mixing interviews and lifelogging.

News18 October 2013

Lumi Mobile selected for government's 'Future Fifty'

Bronwen Morgan

Audience insight and engagement specialist selected for first wave of technology companies to join government-backed fast-track programme.

News18 October 2013

NPD Group to acquire sports specialists Leisure Trends

Bronwen Morgan

The global information company will acquire the retail sales tracking and consumer research businesses of the Boulder-based sports and recreation research agency.

News18 October 2013

Updated Research Now mobile service facilitates sampling of mobile respondents

Bronwen Morgan

Latest version of the Research Now mobile service allows controlled mixing of mobile and online respondents and enhanced location-based targeting.

News18 October 2013

Richard Collins appointed MD of Decrypt

Bronwen Morgan

Former director of client development to oversee business operations and client services at UK-based branch of Decipher.

Feature18 October 2013

Why big data is the new cocaine

Brian Tarran

It makes people feel smart and sexy – and it makes them talk a lot of rubbish. Marketers are hooked on big data, but it won’t solve all their problems, said Exponential’s Bryan Melmed, at yesterday’s IAB Engage conference.

News17 October 2013

Sharp rise in subscriptions to SVOD services has 'little impact on pay TV'

Bronwen Morgan

1 in 10 UK internet users now have a Netflix account, but Decipher’s MediaBug tracker shows little impact of subscription video on demand ( SVOD) use on pay TV subscriptions.

News17 October 2013

IPA finds MR budgets down as marketing spend bounces back to near 13-year high

Brian Tarran

UK — A net 3% of companies have revised their market research budgets down in the third quarter of 2013, according to the latest Institute of Practitioners in Advertising ( IPA) Bellwether report.

Opinion17 October 2013

Divided attentions

Brian Tarran

Issue 3 of Impact Magazine, out now, takes an in-depth look at how media owners and advertisers are adapting to the multi-screen world.

News17 October 2013

Online trackers not optimised for mobile could 'compromise data quality'

Bronwen Morgan

Excluding the 30% of panellists who now register to online panels through tablets or smartphones could lead to a drop in data quality, says online research company GMI.

News17 October 2013

TNS rolls ConversionModel 'app' on to ZappiStore platform

Brian Tarran

‘Express’ version of brand equity tool is “not ConversionModel Lite” says founder Jan Hofmeyr ( pictured).

Feature17 October 2013

Automatic for the people

Brian Tarran

As TNS launches an automated, app-based version of ConversionModel, Jan Hofmeyr explains why this isn’t the death of conventional research as we know it, but an expansion of opportunities.

News17 October 2013

Further adoption of 'critical' analytics may be restricted by shortage of talent

Bronwen Morgan

Urgent need for maths, stats and quant skills are cited by 48% of respondents to a Lavastorm Analytics survey.

News17 October 2013

Specialist LGBT agency requests withdrawal of 'misleading' ONS data

Bronwen Morgan

Out Now claims poor methodology in the Integrated Household Survey has led to ‘dangerously’ inaccurate data on the prevalence of homosexuality and bisexuality in the UK.

News16 October 2013

46% of Americans foresee financial strain due to gov't shutdown

Bronwen Morgan

US — Results from a new IRI MarketPulse survey suggest that American consumers’ financial outlook is being affected by the government shutdown and looming debt ceiling crisis.

Feature16 October 2013

What we learned at the IPA's Eff Fest

Bronwen Morgan

Why jelly is like advertising, that the web is not IT, and why we should never underestimate the creativity of others.

News16 October 2013

Focus Pointe Global acquires Delve

Brian Tarran

US — Data collection firm Focus Pointe Global ( FPG) has acquired St. Louis-based marketing research firm Delve.

News16 October 2013

Hall & Partners names new global brand and marketing team

Brian Tarran

UK — Hall & Partners has established a new global brand and marketing team, under the leadership of global marketing and communications director Ashley Walker ( pictured).

News16 October 2013

uSamp hires Zumbox exec for marketing role

Brian Tarran

US — Online sample supplier uSamp has appointed Andy Jolls ( pictured) as senior vice-president of marketing.

News16 October 2013

Nepa promotes Johnny Caldwell to UK managing director

Brian Tarran

UK — Nepa UK has promoted business development director Johnny Caldwell to managing director while former Cint statistician Kalle Backlund joins the firm as senior market analyst.

News16 October 2013

Stanford researcher says accelerometer defects could ID phone users

Brian Tarran

US — A Standford University researcher has discovered a method by which websites – and potentially advertisers – could track online behaviour using a unique fingerprint created by mobile device accelerometers.

Opinion16 October 2013

A connection is made

Colin Strong

Mobile phones collect a lot of useful data about their owners. By engaging with consumers about how they can use this data for their own direct benefit, Colin Strong believes that researchers will get closer to solving the value exchange conundrum at the heart of the industry.

News16 October 2013

Murray upped to MD at Infotools Europe

Brian Tarran

UK — Data visualisation services company Infotools has promoted director Ian Murray to managing director for Europe.

News16 October 2013

Cross-platform ratings launch, Nielsen sees variance in incremental reach

Brian Tarran

UK — Nielsen has officially launched its Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings system in the UK, following several months of trials backed by Unilever and Mondelez, among others.

News15 October 2013

Hispanic specialist ThinkNow appoints new head of qual division

Brian Tarran

US — Hispanic market research firm ThinkNow Research has appointed Lara Fordis, formerly director of operations at Q-Insights, as head of its qualitative research division.

News15 October 2013

Global ad spend up 2.8% in first half, but Europe is down 6%

Brian Tarran

Latin America and Asia Pacific are leading the world in terms of ad spend growth, according to Nielsen’s latest Global AdView Pulse report.

News15 October 2013

Cint makes spate of hires across European and US offices

Brian Tarran

SWEDEN — Research technology provider Cint has made a number of hires across its UK, Spain and US offices.

Feature15 October 2013

Consumers on board?

Bronwen Morgan

As an IBM study of C-suite executives demonstrates the growing importance of involving consumers in strategic decision-making, Kristof De Wulf of InSites Consulting shares his thoughts on how to ride the wave of consumer empowerment.

News15 October 2013

SPA Future Thinking nabs former Kantar biz dev head

Brian Tarran

UK — SPA Future Thinking has appointed Dagmar Moreside as a key account director to its sales and marketing team.

News15 October 2013

Progressive group MD Carole Oag retires today

Brian Tarran

UK — Progressive group managing director Carole Oag is to retire today after 30 years with the Edinburgh-based market and social research agency.

News15 October 2013

GSK opens high-tech consumer insights lab

Brian Tarran

UK — GSK has opened a new high-tech consumer insights facility in Brentwood that aims to help the company develop an in-depth understanding of what influences consumer decision-making.

News15 October 2013

Annual revenue up 8% to £62.6m at YouGov

Brian Tarran

UK — YouGov has posted an 8% improvement in revenue for the 12 months to 31 July 2013 to £62.6m, while adjusted operating profit improved 7% to £6m.

News14 October 2013

Media thinker, consultant Erwin Ephron dead at 79

Brian Tarran

US — Erwin Ephron, a noted media consultant who began his career working in PR for Nielsen, has died at the age of 79.

News14 October 2013

Markey takes aim at cross-device tracking's 'privacy implications'

Brian Tarran

US — Cross-device tracking is in the crosshairs of Senator Ed Markey ( pictured), who has written to the Federal Trade Commission’s chairwoman Edith Ramirez to request an investigation.

News14 October 2013

Facebook buys mobile analytics startup Onavo

Brian Tarran

Facebook has acquired a mobile analytics firm – Onavo, based in Israel.

News14 October 2013

Korea's T Store links up with Flurry for Android app analytics

Brian Tarran

KOREA — App analytics company Flurry has inked an agreement with SK Planet’s T Store – billed as Korea’s largest Android app market – to integrate Flurry’s analytics into the T Store developer centre.

News14 October 2013

Guavus founder Anukool Lakhina hands CEO role to Manish Goel

Brian Tarran

US — Guavus, a big data analytics provider that counts mobile network operators among its clients, has appointed Manish Goel as chief executive, taking over from founder Anukool Lakhina ( pictured).

Feature14 October 2013

Global thirst, local flavour

Jane Simms

Building strong local brands is a cornerstone of SAB Miller’s success in the global beer market – and insight plays a crucial role, says marketing director Nick Fell. By Jane Simms.

News14 October 2013

IBM buys telecoms customer insight firm The Now Factory

Brian Tarran

IRELAND — IBM has signed a deal to acquire The Now Factory, a Dublin-based developer of software that allows telecoms providers to analyse customer behaviour based on network usage.

News11 October 2013

SurveyMonkey sells TrueSample to investor group

Bronwen Morgan

US — DIY online survey company SurveyMonkey has sold its TrueSample business to a group of investors led by Five Peaks Capital Management.

News11 October 2013

Rentrak enters StationView contract with Media Solutions

Bronwen Morgan

US — Audience research firm Rentrak has signed a multi-year StationView Essentials contract with advertising agency Media Solutions.

Opinion11 October 2013

Attention please

Peter Shreeve

Looking to make an impact on the conference stage or in the boardroom? Then take a leaf out of the Toastmasters’ playbook, says independent research consultant ( and Toastmasters member) Peter Shreeve.

News11 October 2013

Centrica Energy appoints head of comms research

Brian Tarran

UK — Centrica Energy, an oil and gas production, power generation and energy trading firm, has appointed Corin Taylor as head of communications research.

News11 October 2013

Judge dismisses claims against Google, WPP in Safari cookie workaround case

Brian Tarran

US — A class-action lawsuit brought against Google, WPP and others, seeking damages from the companies for allegedly circumventing the privacy settings of Safari browser users, has been dismissed by a federal judge.

News11 October 2013

Looking for a better experience, Nunwood spends £1m on Fizz

Brian Tarran

UK — Nunwood has completed a ground-up rebuild of its Fizz knowledge management platform, eight years on from its original launch.

News10 October 2013

US research index hits highest point since Q4 2010 – MRA

Brian Tarran

A quarterly index tracking the health of the US marketing research industry has reached its highest point since the fourth quarter 2010, thanks to across-the-board increases in staffing levels, projects and proposals.

News10 October 2013

National Readership Survey chief to step down next year

Brian Tarran

UK — National Readership Survey ( NRS) CEO Mike Ironside is to step down in June 2014 after five-and-a-half years in the role.

Opinion10 October 2013

Stuck on repeat

Helen Donald

Habits make life easier; transforming activities and decisions from effortful thought-processes into effortless behaviours we can repeat over and over again. But understanding how people form habits is key to breaking them.

News10 October 2013

Bodden-Brux appointed MD of newly-opened SIS Berlin offices

Bronwen Morgan

GERMANY — SIS International Research have announced the opening of offices in Berlin and the appointment of Christoph Bodden-Brux as MD of the German subsidiary.

News10 October 2013

Kantar Worldpanel and IMRB in expanded consumer panel deal

Bronwen Morgan

INDIA — Kantar Worldpanel and IMRB have formed a strategic partnership to run a joint consumer panel service across India.

News10 October 2013

Marsh takes over at The Leading Edge as Bateman joins Telstra

Bronwen Morgan

AUSTRALIA — Marketing services group Enero has announced that Nigel Marsh will take over as chairman of its strategy and research agency The Leading Edge ( TLE), following former CEO Andy Bateman’s ( pictured) departure to Telstra.

News10 October 2013

Maritz veteran Schulte earns promotion to senior director

Brian Tarran

US — Maritz Research has promoted John Schulte from account manager to senior director for sales and marketing in the company’s financial services research group.

News10 October 2013

Research Panel Asia sets 100,000 target for new Taiwan panel

Brian Tarran

JAPAN — Research Panel Asia ( RPA) has launched a consumer panel in Taiwan, with a target of recruiting 100,000 consumers within the coming months.

News9 October 2013

New technology introduced as demand for mobile surveys grows

Bronwen Morgan

US — Federate Sample launches mobile router for sample exchange platform as Kinesis reports a rise in survey participation on mobile devices.

Opinion9 October 2013

Customer first, without compromise

Steven van Belleghem

Steven Van Belleghem and Peter Hinssen share the learnings from their recent ‘inspiration journey’ around Silicon Valley.

Opinion9 October 2013

Customer first, without compromise

Peter Hinssen

Steven Van Belleghem and Peter Hinssen share the learnings from their recent ‘inspiration journey’ around Silicon Valley.

News9 October 2013

Kantar launches television audience measurement service

Bronwen Morgan

US – Kantar Media has launched a TV audience measurement service to provide information on viewing behaviour, including programme engagement and commercial ratings.

News9 October 2013

Cido adds director of projects to Hong Kong office

Brian Tarran

HONG KONG — Cido has appointed Ayaz Akhtar ( pictured) as director of projects in its Hong Kong office.

News9 October 2013

Bronwen Morgan joins Research-live.com

Brian Tarran

We’re delighted to announce a new edition to the Research-live.com editorial team. Bronwen Morgan joins us this week as senior writer and deputy editor.

News9 October 2013

Sharrocks, ex-Aegis Media, named Barb chairman

Brian Tarran

UK — TV rating body Barb – the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board – has appointed Nigel Sharrocks, the former CEO of Aegis Media Global Brands, as chairman.

News9 October 2013

Annik chief relocates to US as economy bounces back

Brian Tarran

INDIA — Annik Technology Services CEO Rahul Sahgal is to relocate to New York as the company looks to drive further growth in the market.

News9 October 2013

Tweet returns: Twitter reveals data licencing revenue

Brian Tarran

$47.5m. That’s how much Twitter made last year from selling access to its ‘firehose’ of billions of tweets, with the data then sold on to brand owners, media planners and researchers for further analysis and insight.

News8 October 2013

Business leaders anticipate 'more extensive collaboration with customers'

Bronwen Morgan

US – Results of a new study by IBM indicate that senior business leaders have made an unprecedented commitment to allowing direct customer influence on their business decisions and operations.

News8 October 2013

Gazelle brings in ex-Globalpark exec for insights and strategy role

Brian Tarran

US — Gazelle Global, a global market research operations, sample and data management company, has appointed Jim Whaley as general manager of insights and strategy, a new position.

News8 October 2013

Omni retail group names eDigital as research partner

Brian Tarran

UK — eDigitalResearch has been appointed as global research partners for the new retailing organisation IORMA, the International Omni Retailing Members Association.

News8 October 2013

AskingCanadians taps RFG for extra sample

Brian Tarran

CANADA — AskingCanadians has partnered with Research For Good ( RFG) to boost its sample reach to a combined 600,000-plus Canadians.

News8 October 2013

Ipsos puts Nicholls in charge of UK employee research

Brian Tarran

UK — Ipsos has appointed Jonathan Nicholls, a veteran of the company, as head of employee research for Ipsos Loyalty UK.

Feature8 October 2013

Meeting the Makers

Colin Strong

Technologies such as 3D printing are putting the means of production into the hands of the individual. So, asks Colin Strong: What might the rise of the Maker Movement mean for market research?

News8 October 2013

Competition invites UK students to redesign iconic brands for the future

Bronwen Morgan

UK – A nationwide competition run by design research agency The Big Picture calls for university design students to combine research and design to re-imagine a selection of iconic brands.

News8 October 2013

FreshMinds melds research and social arms to form new consultancy

Brian Tarran

UK — FreshMinds Research has merged with sister company FreshNetworks, a social business consultancy, to form a new “growth and innovation consultancy”, called FreshMinds.

News7 October 2013

Twitter TV ratings good for Breaking Bad – advertisers too?

Brian Tarran

US — Nielsen has officially launched its long-awaited Twitter TV Ratings service, which measures the total activity and reach of TV-related conversations on the micro-blogging service.

News7 October 2013

TRA has patent and trade secrets claims dismissed in Kantar court row

US — A district court judge has dismissed claims brought by TRA against WPP’s Kantar, that the latter misappropriated trade secrets and infringed on TRA’s patents.

News7 October 2013

InsightExpress looks to connect with Facebook users for AdInsights

Brian Tarran

US — Ad research specialist InsightExpress has struck up a partnership with SocialQ to add Facebook profile to its ad effectiveness measurement tool, AdInsights.

News7 October 2013

Former Kantar ops head to lead f2f work at ICM Direct

Brian Tarran

UK — ICM has appointed Gina Moore as head of face-to-face project management within the ICM Direct fieldwork business.

Feature7 October 2013

Don't ask, won't tell

Brian Tarran

Are consumers hiding their most important desires and motivations from marketers – and maybe even from themselves? Y&R’s Chip Walker considers the evidence and the implications.

News7 October 2013

Publicis/Omnicom merger pushes 2013 M&A deal value above 2012's total – JEGI

Brian Tarran

US — Mergers and acquisitions in the media, information, marketing and related technology sectors during the first three quarters of 2013 saw 1,057 transactions announced at a total value of $67.5 billion, according to investment bank The Jordan Edmiston Group ( JEGI).

News7 October 2013

From 10 Downing St to 10 Northburgh St: Cooper returns to Populus

Brian Tarran

UK — Andrew Cooper, the former director of strategy to Prime Minister David Cameron, is returning to the research and strategy consultancy he helped co-found.

News4 October 2013

Simulmedia to use TiVo data to predict viewing behaviour

Simon Miller

US — Targeted television advertising company Simulmedia is to use TiVo Research and Analytics’ purchase data to predict viewing behaviour for likely auto and grocery consumers.

News4 October 2013

Adobe hit by cyber attack

Simon Miller

US — Software maker Adobe has warned customers that the company has been the victim of cyber attacks.

News4 October 2013

Treato signs two for management team

Simon Miller

ISRAEL — Healthcare intelligence firm Treato has appointed healthcare industry veterans Ezra Ernst and Gerhard Gallwitz to its management team.

News4 October 2013

Mopinion launches online customers analytics tool

Simon Miller

UK — Customer feedback management software specialist Mopinion has launched a programme to help businesses examine customers’ online activities.

News4 October 2013

Deloitte partners Wharton over customer analytics program

Simon Miller

US — Deloitte Analytics has begun a collaboration with the Customer Analytics Initiative at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( WCAI) to expand the knowledge base around customer analytics and business problems.

News4 October 2013

ForeSee appoints Scott as CMO

Simon Miller

US — Customer experience analytics company ForeSee has appointed Dave Scott as chief marketing officer.

News4 October 2013

Majority of data and analytics industry saw pay rise in 2012

Simon Miller

UK — Over half of UK data and analytics professionals saw their salary increase by more than double the rate of inflation last year according to a salary survey from recruiter Harnham.

News3 October 2013

FourthWall Media teams up with WPP firms

Simon Miller

US — Cable set-top box viewing data provider FourthWall Media is to work with WPP agencies to deliver cross-channel advertising campaigns and extend the reach and frequency of client campaigns.

Opinion3 October 2013

Protecting the science

Ray Poynter

Market research is currently awash with new ideas – and with it, pseudoscientific claims. In moving research forward, there are some basic tenets that need to be respected, says Ray Poynter.

News3 October 2013

Mintel appoints Omer

Simon Miller

US — Consumer, product and media intelligence provider Mintel has appointed Mohamed Omer as global personal care analyst.

News3 October 2013

Quri raises $10m and launches store tool for brands

Simon Miller

US — Retail analytics and intelligence company Quri has completed $10m in Series B funding.

News3 October 2013

Exponential partners I-Behavior in targeting the online consumer

Simon Miller

UK — Digital advertising intelligence firm Exponential has partnered with database marketing and behavioural targeting services provider I-Behavior to offer the targeting of consumers online based on their high-street purchasing habits.

News3 October 2013

Sam Davis joins 2CV

Simon Miller

UK - Research agency 2CV UK has hired Sam Davis as joint head of its social practice.

News2 October 2013

AMAA calls time on Nielsen

Simon Miller

AUSTRALIA — The Audited Media Association of Australia ( AMAA) has finally called time on its relationship with Nielsen.

News2 October 2013

Marshall Advertising picks Rentrak for TV data

Simon Miller

US — Rentrak has won a contract to supply TV audience data to Marshall Advertising.

Opinion2 October 2013

Insight to action: Twitter Alerts service

Brian Tarran

Twitter has launched an Alerts service to allow verified sources to push out and draw users’ attentions to tweets that detail warnings of imminent dangers or emergency situations.

News2 October 2013

Boxclever hires Barnett

Simon Miller

UK — Boxclever has appointed Maite Barnett as research director. 

Opinion2 October 2013

Making sense of the census proposals

Barry Leventhal

The Office for National Statistics ( ONS) has recently launched a consultation on approaches for providing census information and population estimates. Barry Leventhal weighs the pros and cons of the two options on the table.

News2 October 2013

Research Now launches diabetes panel

Simon Miller

US — Digital data collection company Research Now’s healthcare segment has launched a diabetes panel in North America.

News2 October 2013

And the nominees are...

Brian Tarran

UK — Forty companies have made the cut as finalists for this year’s Research-live.com Awards, with winners to be announced at the MRS Awards 2013 dinner on 9 December.

News2 October 2013

Millward Brown appoints European MDs

Simon Miller

UK — Brand, media and communications research firm Millward Brown has appointed Benoît Tranzer and Jean-Michel Janoueix as regional managing directors for Europe.

News1 October 2013

AnswerTap makes way for Discuss.IO, new online qual service

Brian Tarran

US — Research technology company AnswerTap has emerged from beta with a new name – Discuss.IO – and a new real-time qual market research service.

News1 October 2013

WhichSocial wins place on ecommerce incubator

Brian Tarran

UK — Social media measurement firm WhichSocial.com is one of the three companies to have won a ‘residency’ at affiliate marketing network Tradedoubler’s London office.

News1 October 2013

Nielsen veteran Whiting to retire

Simon Miller

US — Vice-chair of Nielsen Susan Whiting is to retire at the end of the year after a 35-year career with the company.

News1 October 2013

Wisconsin U to track flu with Survey Analytics app

Simon Miller

US — The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Population Health Sciences Department has partnered with Survey Analytics to develop an app to track flu on campus.

Feature1 October 2013

The behavioural insight hothouse

Jonathan Knott

How the Cabinet Office’s ‘Nudge Unit’ has grown to influence policy and strategy development across government – and beyond. By Jonathan Knott.

News1 October 2013

Incite makes New York and Singapore appointments

Simon Miller

UK — International market research consultancy Incite has made a series of appointments to its recently opened offices in New York and Singapore.

News1 October 2013

Flurry appoints Burnett as COO

Simon Miller

US — App measurement and advertising platform Flurry has appointed Grady Burnett as chief operating officer.

News1 October 2013

St Ives' marketing services hit 2012 targets

Simon Miller

UK — St Ives’ marketing services segment hit its target of contributing more than 30% of group operating profit for the year according to the group’s annual results.

News1 October 2013

Verve hires three for qualitative team

Simon Miller

UK — Online communities specialist Verve has expanded its specialist qualitative team with three more senior hires.