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Rory Sutherland: The value of nothing
Rory Sutherland
Insight & Strategy
Refreshing research: How PepsiCo uses insight
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Impact Reports
It's the taking part that counts: Improving the participant experience
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News28 February 2017
Innovate makes two senior hires
Audience sampling firm Innovate has hired Josh Belknap and Hilary Belletti to senior positions.
Advertisers failing to set clear media KPIs
A survey of advertisers and agencies has revealed widespread agreement that advertisers are failing to lead on key media decisions.
British Airways remains UK's favourite consumer brand
British Airways has come out on top of the annual Consumer Superbrands list for the fourth consecutive year.
Ravi Radhakrishnan to lead MetrixLab Mumbai office
Robert Langkjaer-Bain
Digital researcher MetrixLab has appointed Ravi Radhakrishnan as managing director of its first commercial office in India, in Mumbai.
Millward Brown's Link gets stamp of approval from marketing accountability body
Kantar Millward Brown's Link ad testing tool has completed an audit by the Marketing Accountability Standards Board, a US body that sets standards for linking marketing activities to financial performance.
High prices and flat earnings hit UK consumer confidence
Confidence among UK consumers was down in February, according to research by GfK, leading to fears of a general economic slowdown.
News27 February 2017
New tool integrates data from multiple applications
A new software tool from Go2Group promises to bring together insight and analytics data from numerous other platforms.
UK teens 'fed up with brands stereotyping them'
More than half of UK teenagers are fed up with brands stereotyping them, according to a survey of 500 16-19-year-olds conducted by FreshMinds.
Feature27 February 2017
Inside a neuroscientist's mind
Jane Bainbridge
Baroness Susan Greenfield talks to Jane Bainbridge about research, consciousness and why a generation is being changed by social media and computer games
ICM Direct extends use of Confirmit platform
Data collection firm ICM Direct has signed a new three-year deal with Confirmit to extend its use of the company's software.
Ipsos year-on-year revenues remain stable
Ipsos reported overall revenue of €1,783m for 2016, virtually the same as figures from 2015 ( €1,785m), and organic growth of 3%.
GSMA unveils 'big data for social good' initiative
Bronwen Morgan
The GSMA, which represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, has launched an initiative to use mobile operators' big data capabilities to address humanitarian crises.
News24 February 2017
Consumer ad blocking levels stabilise
Widespread consumer understanding of how advertising funds free content has led to a stabilisation in ad blocking levels, according to a new report.
MFour names Clark as COO
Mobile market research company MFour Mobile Research has hired Darren Clark as its chief operating officer.
BrainJuicer seeks to rebrand as System1
Following the launch of its System1 advertising agency, BrainJuicer has announced that it intends to adopt the System1 name across the group.
InCrowd launches qualitative 'micro-research' offer
InCrowd has unveiled a new qualitative 'micro-research' offer for healthcare, MicroQual, intended to enable time-poor healthcare professionals to take part in research.
YouGov opens Manchester office
YouGov has announced the opening of a satellite office in Manchester, intended to support the company's growing customer base in northern England and Scotland.
News23 February 2017
ComScore launches multi-platform digital video measure in UK
ComScore has announced the UK launch of Video Metrix Multi-Platform, which provides a single unduplicated measure of digital video consumption across smartphone, tablet and desktop devices.
Mobile set to become top screen for UK video viewing
Mobile is already level with desktops and laptops for video viewing in the UK and is set to become the most popular screen, according to a new report.
Vision Critical unveils new customer intelligence platform
Customer intelligence platform provider Vision Critical has unveiled Sparq 3, which uses 'relationship memory' to connect existing customer knowledge with information from insight communities.
Online businesses biggest TV ad spenders
TV ad revenue has grown for the seventh consecutive year to reach £5.27 billion in 2016, according to the marketing body for commercial TV Thinkbox.
Feature23 February 2017
Safety in numbers
Car manufacturer Volvo’s long- term vision is to protect its customers while making them feel special. Understanding how to do that involves immersing its employees in customers’ lives.
Explain Market Research hires commercial director
Newcastle-based market research agency Explain Market Research has appointed Holly Shiel-Redfern as its commercial director.
News22 February 2017
Messaging apps to overtake social media apps
A new report from Gartner predicts that messaging apps will become more popular than social media apps within the next two years.
Accenture to buy SinnerSchrader
Global professional services company Accenture has announced it intends to acquire digital agency SinnerSchrader as part of its expansion of Accenture Interactive.
Australia unveils 'Total TV' metric
Australia's TV industry has joined forces to provide a total figure for all advertising spend across commercial television.
BIT launches BI Ventures
The Behavioural Insights Team ( BIT) has created a new arm – BI Ventures – with the aim of using behavioural science to build scalable products that have a social impact.
Google agrees to MRC audit of YouTube viewability
Google has announced that YouTube will subject its third-party viewability reporting metrics to an independent audit by the Media Ratings Council ( MRC).
Leger appoints Carter as Toronto MD
Market research and polling company Leger has hired Michelle Carter as senior vice-president and managing director of its Toronto office.
News21 February 2017
Self-service is top data analytics trend for 2017
Self-service data analytics has been named as the top data analytics trend for 2017 by global analytics and advisory firm Quantzig, which has revealed its top 10 trends.
Feature21 February 2017
Cracking the cheat code
Crawford Hollingworth
It's human nature to cheat a little, says Crawford Hollingworth. That's why changing the way that forms are completed to improve honesty could have significant impacts on business.
Cunill joins Bilendi as UK panels director
Daniel Cunill has joined sample provider Bilendi from Ipsos Interactive Services as UK panels director.
Circle puts Cade and Wells on management board
B2B market research company Circle Research has promoted Graeme Cade and Chris Wells to its management board.
Kantar makes SABMiller’s Kollman chief research officer
Kantar has appointed former head of insights at SABMiller Julie Kollman to the role of chief research officer.
O&M acquires stake in Eightytwenty
WPP-owned Ogilvy & Mather has bought a stake in its digital communications partner in Ireland, Eightytwenty Customer Experience for an undisclosed amount.
Promoted Content21 February 2017
Five focus groups that changed the world
Recent reports of the death of the focus group have been greatly exaggerated. Jamin Brazil, CEO of FocusVision explains why the focus group is even more relevant today than it’s ever been...
News20 February 2017
Future Thinking promotes five
Future Thinking has boosted its qualitative, operations, experience and communications divisions with five promotions.
UK retail sales fall
ONS figures reveal that UK retail sales in January saw a fall in both the monthly and three-month on three-month figures; the first fall in the latter since December 2013.
Feature20 February 2017
Research Arabian style
Laura Chaibi, head of digital research for Middle East broadcaster MBC, was born in Canada and has lived on five continents. She considers herself a ‘global citizen’ who currently calls Dubai home. We asked her to share her international experiences
Business tech best B2B customer experience
The business technology sector ( including hardware and software) provides the best B2B customer experience in the UK, according to a new KPMG Nunwood report.
Simulmedia and IRI partner on purchase-based targeting
Marketing technology company Simulmedia and big data and predictive analytics provider IRI have formed an alliance to offer ad targeting based on purchase behaviour.
Verve makes UK and Romanian promotions
Community panel specialist Verve has promoted Eugen Tuchendria and Tom Brand to associate directors as part of a raft of promotions across its UK and Romanian teams.
Barb gives Kantar Media Dovetail Fusion contract
The Broadcasters' Audience Research Board ( Barb) has awarded the Dovetail Fusion contract – its cross-device content evaluation – to Kantar Media.
News17 February 2017
Euvic unveils digital business ideation service
Polish IT service provider Euvic has launched new ideation-as-a-service ( IDaaS) and Agile Dev Factory services.
Feature17 February 2017
A hypothesis-driven approach to social media insight
Speaking at yesterday's MRS Social Media Research Summit, Francesco D'Orazio of Pulsar demonstrated how to use social media to validate a research hypothesis.
A third of consumers get news from social media
New research has revealed that 29% of US broadband households get most of their news from social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
Ad skipping 'mostly automatic'
Two thirds of consumers ( 65%) skip online video ads as soon as possible, and three quarters ( 76%) do so as an ingrained habit, according to new research.
Lightspeed enhances survey platform
Lightspeed has added an Intelligent Components feature to its QuestionArts platform, which optimises surveys for use on all devices.
News16 February 2017
Kantar TNS UK expands analytics and data science team
Kantar TNS UK has announced six new hires to its analytics and data science team, including Matt Dodd as managing partner and head of analytics of Kantar UK & Ireland.
ComScore mobile viewability measurement gains MRC accreditation
ComScore has been granted accreditation by the Media Ratings Council ( MRC) for its mobile viewability measurement across display, video, web and apps.
Facebook unveils video app for TV
Facebook has unveiled a number of updates to its video service, including an app that allows users to watch videos from the site on a TV.
Over half of Snapchat users open brand stories
Over half of Snapchat users will open a brand's story and 88% will watch the story to the end, according to a new report from Snaplytics.
Location-based video ads key mobile trend in 2016
The growth of location-based mobile video ads was the top US mobile ad trend in 2016, according to a report from Positive Mobile.
Jameson joins Kynetec in global custom research role
Richard Jameson has joined Kynetec, which specialises in research in the animal health and agriculture industries, as executive director of global custom research.
News15 February 2017
Brand loyalty becoming increasingly fickle
Over three quarters ( 77%) of consumers retract their loyalty more quickly than they did three years ago, according to a new study from Accenture.
Dentsu reports organic growth up 5%
Tokyo-based advertising network Dentsu has reported revenues up 2.4% to ¥838.4bn and gross profit of ¥789bn for the year ended 31 December 2016.
Bakamo launches behaviour-focused social listening tool
Bakamo Social has launched Market Maps, a social listening product that aims to reveal the motivations and needs of consumers in any category.
Digital measures dominate 'soft' metrics
The use of awareness as an effectiveness measure has declined in the last four years of the IPA Effectiveness Awards, while the use of digital measures has increased.
Mobile video ethnography agency RealLife Research launches
RealLife Research has been founded by qualitative research veteran, Frank Hines, specialising in video mobile ethnographic research.
Maslansky + partners hires former P&G BE specialist Baumann
Omnicom-owned strategic agency maslansky + partners has appointed Joe Baumann to the newly created role of senior vice-president of R&D and product strategy.
News14 February 2017
Kantar TNS hires Sanchez in Asia Pacific
Global insights business Kantar TNS has appointed Stephane Sanchez as regional head of customer strategies in Asia Pacific based in Singapore.
Feature14 February 2017
A guide to B2B ethnographic research
Ethnographic studies can be a valuable tool for B2B research. Jennifer Strange of B2B International maps out 10 key steps for a successful ethnographic approach.
A blended approach to privacy notices
Michelle Goddard
Dr Michelle Goddard talks about what to consider when putting together privacy notices and ensuring compliance with legislation
European ad industry sees confident start to 2017
Levels of business confidence in the European advertising and marketing industry are improving despite economic uncertainties, according to new research.
One in four businesses unprepared for GDPR
A quarter ( 26%) of marketers believe their companies are not ready for the introduction of the EU General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR), due to come into effect in May 2018.
Consumers anticipate accelerated inflation
Three quarters ( 74%) of consumers believe prices have risen over the last 12 months, and the same proportion expect them to keep rising over the next year, according to a new survey.
Y&R forms tech and business brands practice
Global marketing communications company Y&R has created a new division to focus on technology and business brands.
News13 February 2017
Nielsen and CBS renew TV measurement agreement
Nielsen has announced that CBS Television stations has signed a multiyear renewal agreement for Nielsen's local TV measurement.
ComScore stock delisted from Nasdaq
The Nasdaq stock market has suspended trading in shares of the measurement firm following its continued failure to review its 2015 financial results on time.
Opinion13 February 2017
A post-truth world?
Researchers need to respond to a changing landscape – where facts are not the deciding factor they once were, and emotions now hold increasing sway.
Social video impacts purchase
46% of consumers surveyed in a recent poll had made a purchase as a result of watching a branded video on social media.
Rawlinson joins Nielsen board of directors
Nielsen has made David Rawlinson, president of online business at W.W. Grainger, a member of its board of directors and the audit committee.
TFWA appoints Portland Design for insight reports
Retail strategy and design agency Portland Design has been appointed by the Tax Free World Association ( TFWA) to deliver bi-annual reports on the future of duty free and travel retail.
News10 February 2017
Nielsen revenues up 2% in 2016
Nielsen has released its fourth quarter and full year 2016 results, revealing that its revenues for the full year were $6.3m, a 2.2% increase on 2015.
Northstar's Bond joins Skim
Samantha Bond has joined Rotterdam-based SKIM from Northstar as a research manager.
Twitter ad revenue falls
Social media giant Twitter has posted its slowest revenue growth in the four years since it went public as ad revenue fell compared with a year ago.
New operations leadership at Lightspeed Health
Healthcare data specialist Lightspeed Health has appointed Mary Andrews to senior vice president, global operations.
Unilever Ventures invests in AR game
The investment arm of Unilever, Unilever Ventures, has backed a new augmented reality gaming app, Snatch, which allows brands to engage differently with consumers.
Phoenix appoints Frazita to strategic role
Global marketing research and consulting firm Phoenix Marketing International ( PMI) has hired Richard Frazita executive vice-president and client advisor.
News9 February 2017
MaritzCX adds journey mapping via new partnership
Customer experience software and service provider MaritzCX has added CX Workout's dynamic journey mapping software to its portfolio.
European consumer confidence sees 'very positive growth'
Consumer confidence in Europe experienced 'very positive growth' during the fourth quarter of 2016, according to the latest GfK Consumer Climate Europe study.
Dentsu Aegis US makes executive changes
Dentsu Aegis Network US has appointed Carat US CEO Doug Ray as its first president of product innovation.
Opinion9 February 2017
The mental map
Rory Sutherland compares the way we misunderstand the map of the London Underground to how we view economic theory today.
BrainJuicer reports double digit growth for 2016
International marketing and market research agency BrainJuicer has reported a 24% increase in revenue, to £31.2million and a 27% gross profit growth to £25.6m for the year ended 31 December 2016.
GfK promotes Albert to lead digital and shopper teams
David Albert has expanded his role at GfK North America and become managing director of both the digital experiences and shopper and retail strategy teams, in addition to his role as director of data insights and integration.
FocusVision releases new focus group video technology
Market research technology company FocusVision has launched FV360 Live, its new focus group video system featuring 3600 cameras.
News8 February 2017
Confirmit releases new survey designer tool
Confirmit has launched a new survey designer tool, intended to speed up and simplify the survey creation process.
Adsquare includes GfK insights
Mobile data exchange company adsquare has announced that region-based consumer insights from GfK will now be available on its platform.
Kelton Global appoints two new partners
Insights and strategy consultancy Kelton Global has promoted two of its vice presidents, Alison Servi and Amy Snow, to partner.
Nielsen unveils media optimiser tool
Nielsen has launched Benchmark Media Optimizer, a media allocation tool that uses benchmark insights to simulate and optimise strategy.
WPP launches Health & Wellness
WPP has formed a sub-holding company WPP Health & Wellness to unite its health and wellness offering under one banner and increase partnerships with clients in this area.
Fiftyfive5 adds to analytics team
Research and insight business Fiftyfive5 has invested in its advanced analytics offer and appointed two data scientists to its team.
News7 February 2017
Cello Health Insight hires Derbyshire
Healthcare market research agency Cello Health Insight has hired Claire Derbyshire as client services director.
Beyond Analysis buys out Visa's shares
Big data, insight and analytics specialist Beyond Analysis has announced that it is buying out Visa Europe's stake in its business.
Roisin Donnelly joins IAB
The Internet Advertising Bureau ( IAB) has appointed former Procter & Gamble brand director and patron of the Market Research Society, Roisin Donnelly, to lead its advertiser engagement work.
Kantar Public opens Singapore office
Kantar Public has launched an office in Singapore, to be led by Sandra Lim, former general manager at MRC.
Be Heard buys majority stake in Freemavens
Digital marketing services group Be Heard has announced its proposed acquisition of a 75% stake in marketing analytics and innovation consultancy, Freemavens, for £1.7million.
BrainJuicer gives Hunt global market research lead
Alex Hunt, who has led BrainJuicer's Americas business since 2015, has been promoted to run its market research business worldwide.
Opinion6 February 2017
Goodbye sadvertising, hello star power
Tom Ewing
During the Super Bowl, Brainjuicer live tested the adverts to see which performed the best in its emotional ad testing.
News6 February 2017
Football Association looks for additional agency partners
The Football Association has announced it will open its doors for two days in March to run back-to-back sessions where research agencies can pitch.
Using laughter to find new brand stories
Consumer theatre workshops are more interactive and co-creative than other qualitative research technique and are producing improved responses.
Mobile is device of choice for video streaming in US
More than half ( 58%) of US video consumers watch content on their smartphones with paid-for video streaming commonplace.
Feature6 February 2017
Visitor attraction
The falling pound has been just one factor influencing tourism and its role in the UK economy – VisitBritain’s Richard Nicholls talks about visitor trends past, present and future
Brand Potential opens northern hub
Brand consultancy Brand Potential has opened its first satellite office in the north of England, based in Leeds.
WPP invests in US virtual reality company
WPP has announced it has invested in SubVRsive, a tech company that works with advertisers in the emerging virtual reality and augmented reality sector.
News3 February 2017
Cello Health buys Defined Health
Cello Health has acquired New Jersey-based business development biotech life sciences firm Defined Health, for an undisclosed amount.
MRS launches diversity questionnaire
The Market Research Society ( MRS) has teamed up with Lightspeed to survey market researchers on diversity.
Havas' Meaningful Brands outperform stock market by 206%
Google, PayPal and WhatsApp have secured the top places as the most Meaningful Brands 2017 in Havas's global study looking at brand performance and wellbeing.
CMI strengthens technology services team
Insights and consulting firm CMI has appointed Sharita Farhana as senior database administrator in its technology services team.
Voxpopme launches offline video capture
Video research company Voxpopme has released an app allowing researchers to capture video feedback in-field without an internet connection.
Lightspeed extends data service in Europe
Kantar-owned Lightspeed has introduced its data service, AmplifyR Appends, into Europe following its US launch last year.
Feature2 February 2017
The birth of qualitative research
John Griffiths
In 98% Pure Potato, John Griffiths and Tracey Follows describe how Britain became a global advertising power after the democratisation of qualitative research and the invention of account planning in 1960s London.
Tracey Follows
News2 February 2017
Maru Group buys Usurv
Market and customer insights company Maru Group has acquired research tech platform Usurv, for an undisclosed amount.
Rowlinson made UK MD of [m]Platform
GroupM has appointed Paul Rowlinson as managing director of its newly launched media planning, data analytics and digital services offering [m]Platform.
GfK’s Davis bolsters MetrixLab’s financial services offering
Global research agency MetrixLab has appointed Ian Davis as senior client director for financial services.
Lightspeed Health boosts sales team
Healthcare data company Lightspeed Health, formerly Lightspeed All Global, has made two hires to its business development team.
Kantar Media acquires Newsaccess
WPP-owned Kantar Media has acquired Newsaccess, a provider of multi-channel media monitoring in Ireland.
News1 February 2017
GfK launches automated analysis unit
GfK has announced the launch of Supercrunch, an independent unit that offers automated, user-defined analysis.
Facebook grows measurement partnerships
Facebook has expanded its measurement partnerships with Nielsen and comScore, as well as establishing a new partnership with DoubleVerify.
Confirmit names Ostreng as president and CEO
Confirmit has named Ken Østreng, the company's current CFO, as its new president and CEO following Henning Hansen's decision to leave the role.
Opinion1 February 2017
The rise of the mind economy
Colin Strong
Why has behavioural science moved up the agenda so rapidly? There is a strong case to be made that it represents a structural change in the market.
NatCen hires Harding as head of public attitudes
Roger Harding has joined The National Centre for Social Research as head of public attitudes.
Annalect Finland creates AI web analytics model
Omnicom Media's data and analytics division Annalect Finland has developed a web analytics model for better website data collection using artificial intelligence ( AI) and machine learning methods.
Google overtakes Apple as most valuable brand
Apple has fallen from the top spot in Brand Finance's most valuable brands table, losing 27% in brand value in 2016.
Toluna appoints Pasqualina to sales role
Digital consumer insights company Toluna has expanded its North American leadership team by hiring Marco Pasqualina as vice-president of sales.
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