News31 January 2020

The Data Lab launches business advisory service

The Data Lab, Scotland’s innovation centre for data and artificial intelligence, has begun an initiative to connect businesses with specialist data partners and advisers.

News31 January 2020

'Business as usual' for data during Brexit transition, warns ICO

Katie McQuater

With the UK leaving the European Union today ( 31st January), the Information Commissioner’s Office has warned that GDPR will continue to apply during the transition period.

News31 January 2020

OpinionRoute hires CIO

Insights process management company OpinionRoute has appointed Rich Ratcliff as chief information officer.

News31 January 2020

Nichols Research SVP Mermelstein elected MRII president

The Market Research Institute International ( MRII) has elected Michael Mermelstein, executive vice president of Nichols Research, as its board president for 2020.

News31 January 2020

Consumer confidence up two points in January

Optimism for personal finances and the overall economy has increased in the first month of the year, according to GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index.

Feature30 January 2020

The principled pragmatist

Jane Bainbridge

Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress ( TUC), talks campaigning, membership, Brexit and democracy.

News30 January 2020

Analytic Partners names Spetsaris SVP

Analytics company Analytic Partners has appointed Konstantinos Spetsaris as senior vice-president ( SVP).

News30 January 2020

Digital growth boosts Q3 ad spend

Advertising spend in the UK grew 5.6% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2019, according to the most recent report published by the Advertising Association/Warc.

News29 January 2020

Further&Further launches Chicago office

North American research agency Further&Further has opened a Chicago office and appointed three new members of staff.

News29 January 2020

OpinionWay appoints international development director

Marketing and opinion research company OpinionWay has appointed Philippe Cartallier as director of international development, responsible for international studies and subsidiaries.

News29 January 2020

SurveyGizmo adds NPS tool

Survey software company SurveyGizmo has launched a Net Promoter Score ( NPS) tool.

News29 January 2020

IPG Mediabrands to use Nielsen podcast tool

Interpublic Group's media and data arm IPG Mediabrands has signed up to Nielsen’s podcast listener buying power service, which is used to obtain insights on listeners based on their podcast genre preferences.

News29 January 2020

LiveVox acquires SpeechIQ

Customer service company LiveVox has acquired speech analytics platform SpeechIQ.

News29 January 2020

PRS In Vivo expands behavioural qual services

Shopper and product research company PRS In Vivo has expanded its qualitative research offer with a new set of services, LAB.

News29 January 2020

Zappi hires O’Brien as go-to-market lead

Automated market research and insights firm Zappi has appointed Yvonne O’Brien as executive vice-president.

Video29 January 2020

Is marketing working for young people?

We asked delegates at the MRS Kids and Youth Insights 2020 conference whether marketing was still having an impact on young people. What are the barriers and opportunities?  

Opinion29 January 2020

Is consolidation good for everyone?

Rhea Fox from Aviva, Angela Morgans from Metrixlab and Jon Priest from Capel Partners discuss the wave of M&A in the latest Evidence Talks podcast.

News28 January 2020

Walnut Unlimited expands qual team

Market research agency Walnut Unlimited has appointed Anniki Sommerville as an associate director in the company’s qualitative research team.

News28 January 2020

Brexit ad campaign had little impact, says National Audit Office

UK – The government's 'Get Ready for Brexit' public information campaign did not result in any significant improvements in preparedness, according to a report published by the spending regulator. 

News28 January 2020

Sikh Federation appeals census tick box case

The Sikh Federation has issued an appeal after its legal challenge over the census was dismissed by the High Court.

News28 January 2020

InnovateMR hires Tan as COO

Sampling company InnovateMR has appointed John Tan as chief operations officer, Aakash Bhasin as managing director of India and Joe DiGregorio as global director of programming. 

News28 January 2020

BMG Research appoints employee experience lead

Independent research agency BMG Research has appointed Lee Cartwright as employee experience director. 

News27 January 2020

Half of marketers plan to improve privacy approach

Over half of marketers are planning to implement more provisions to strengthen their data policies this year, research from Warc suggests.

Feature27 January 2020

The whole self

Jane Bainbridge

Emma Case has used her own experiences as a neurodivergent woman to build a network for other women like herself, as she explains to Jane Bainbridge.

News27 January 2020

Snapchat exec Idell joins WarnerMedia

Media and entertainment company WarnerMedia has appointed Cheryl Idell as executive vice-president, chief research officer of WarnerMedia Entertainment and Direct-to-Consumer.

News27 January 2020

ICO calls for facial recognition code as Met Police rolls out

The Information Commissioner’s Office has reiterated its call for the government to introduce a statutory code of practice for live facial recognition as the Met Police prepares to roll out the technology in London.

News27 January 2020

VideoAmp hires privacy chief

Video advertising data platform VideoAmp has appointed Andrew Gaudin as chief legal and privacy officer.

News27 January 2020

Alison Lewis joins Neustar board of directors

Information services company Neustar has appointed Kimberly-Clark’s Alison Lewis as a non-executive director.

News24 January 2020

160,000 data breaches reported under GDPR

Katie McQuater

Over 22,000 personal data breaches have been reported in the UK under the General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR) to date, with 160,000 reports across Europe as a whole.

News24 January 2020

Phebi launches voice survey technology

Voice technology company Phebi has launched Phebi Insight, a voice recognition software designed for survey research.

News24 January 2020

DJS Research adds eight to team

Market research agency DJS Research has appointed eight new members of staff, including Helen Menzies as associate director and Lucy Pawson as HR manager.

News24 January 2020

Weber Shandwick launches data division

Communications company Weber Shandwick has established a global intelligence unit focusing on data analytics.

News23 January 2020

New president at KJT Group

Healthcare market research company KJT Group has named Michaela Gascon as president as Kenneth Tomaszewski steps down from the role.

News23 January 2020

Pulsar hires EVP behavioural science

Audience intelligence and social listening platform Pulsar has appointed Nisa Bayindir to the newly created role of executive vice-president of behavioural science.

News23 January 2020

Invade and QPSMR partner on CATI

Predictive dialling company Invade and market research software business QPSMR have partnered to combine their CATI and dialling systems.

News23 January 2020

BBC appoints Microsoft’s Davies

The BBC has appointed Paul Davies as director of marketing and audiences for content, radio and education.

Opinion23 January 2020

If data isn’t truth, then what is it?

Datasets are social constructs and require an interdisciplinary approach to be properly unpacked, writes Mihajlo Popesku.

News23 January 2020

Cledara hires chief revenue officer

London-based purchase and analytics platform Cledara has appointed Brad van Leeuwen as chief revenue officer.

News23 January 2020

Opinium to launch Brussels office

Research agency Opinium is planning to open an office in Brussels, Belgium.

Feature22 January 2020

Income for everyone

Jane Bainbridge

Giving citizens money for free is an idea that can be explored from many angles, with behavioural economists researching the concept among different income brackets.

News22 January 2020

US census kicks off in Alaska

The 2020 US census has begun, with the first people and households being counted in the Alaskan village of Toksook Bay.

News22 January 2020

The Sound hires UK head

Brand strategy and innovation agency The Sound has appointed Elizabeth Lockwood to lead its UK office.

News22 January 2020

Children’s online privacy code of practice published

Katie McQuater

The Information Commissioner’s Office has set out 15 privacy standards that companies designing online services should meet to safeguard children’s online privacy.

News22 January 2020

Ascribe and Nielsen Bases expand verbatim coding partnership

Verbatim analysis software company Ascribe has expanded its partnership with Nielsen Bases to become the product innovation service’s single-source verbatim coding provider.

News22 January 2020

Verto Analytics secures $16m in funding

Media measurement company Verto Analytics has closed its latest funding round, raising $16m.

News21 January 2020

Barb releases multiple-screen reach and time spent data

Television audience measurement organisation Barb has begun to report unduplicated programme reach and time spent viewing across multiple screens.

News21 January 2020

Clayton joins Ipsos Mori

Ipsos Mori has appointed Greg Clayton, formerly of Kadence International, as senior client officer.

News21 January 2020

Three more agencies sign MRS inclusion pledge

Motif, Firefish and BVA BDRC have become the latest agencies to sign up to the Market Research Society’s Manifesto for Opportunity, pledging to make commitments towards safer and more representative workplaces.

News21 January 2020

DVJ Insights opens German office

Marketing research and analytics agency DVJ Insights has expanded into Germany with the opening of an office in Hamburg.

News21 January 2020

Jamin Brazil joins Lookback as growth advisor

User experience company, Lookback, has appointed Jamin Brazil, co-founder of Decipher and former CEO of FocusVision, as its growth advisor.

News21 January 2020

MBO for Explain Market Research

Newcastle-based market research agency, Explain Market Research, has undergone a management buyout, with its founder, David Shiel, selling his 75% shareholding stake.

News20 January 2020

Breaking Blue Research joins Cello Health Insight

Market research agency, Breaking Blue Research, has now become part of Cello Health Insight ( CHI).

Opinion20 January 2020

New frontiers: expanding the framing toolbox

Crawford Hollingworth

Applied well, framing is one of the most powerful concepts in any behavioural science practitioner’s toolbox, write The Behavioural Architects' Crawford Hollingworth and Liz Barker in the latest of their series exploring the new frontiers of behavioural science.

Opinion20 January 2020

New frontiers: expanding the framing toolbox

Applied well, framing is one of the most powerful concepts in any behavioural science practitioner’s toolbox, write The Behavioural Architects' Crawford Hollingworth and Liz Barker in the latest of their series exploring the new frontiers of behavioural science.

News20 January 2020

YouGov completes SMG Insight acquisition

YouGov has completed its acquisition of sports media measurement company SMG Insight earlier than scheduled, rebranding the business as YouGov Sport.

News20 January 2020

Comscore researches audience drop-off

Cross-media audience measurement firm, Comscore, has collaborated with Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications researchers to identify advertising avoidance and audience drop-off during ads.

News20 January 2020

Former ITV CEO in talks to chair Kantar

Katie McQuater

Kantar is in discussions with Adam Crozier, formerly chief executive of ITV, to become its chairman.

News20 January 2020

Methodify boosts US division with two hires

Research tech and data collection company, Delvinia’s automated research platform Methodify has appointed Kwami Lewis as managing director and Brett Cohen as director of sales, both for its US division.

News20 January 2020

PRS In Vivo hires head of behavioural qual

BVA Group-owned shopper and product research company PRS In Vivo has appointed Matt Michaud as senior vice-president, head of behavioural qualitative.

News17 January 2020

Flamingo makes senior hires in London and New York

Omnicom-owned strategic insight agency Flamingo has appointed two senior partners in London and New York City.

News17 January 2020

Psychiatrists call for social networks to hand over data for online harms research

Social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram should be forced to share data with universities for the purposes of research on the harms of social media use on children and young people, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

News17 January 2020

ActionIQ raises $32m

Customer data platform, ActionIQ, has secured $32m in a series C funding round led by March Capital Partners.

News17 January 2020

New hire at Beesy

Behavioural science insights agency Beesy Strategy has appointed Alex Levine as research manager.

News17 January 2020

OpinionRoute launches MR fraud tech

Insights Process Management ( IPM) business, OpinionRoute, has partnered with DeviceForensIQ to launch a web service to combat survey respondent fraud and duplication.

News16 January 2020

Twitter removes Grindr from ad network over GDPR complaint

Twitter has suspended dating app Grindr from its advertising network following the publication of a report claiming the app had breached GDPR.

Opinion16 January 2020

Welcome to the world of Qual 3.0

2020 brings Qual 3.0, a hybrid of traditional, technology-enabled and data-led approaches to deliver speed, quality and value. Firefish’s Jem Fawcus argues it will bridge the empathy gap between businesses and their data.

News16 January 2020

Comscore expands box office to Saudi Arabia

Cross-platform measurement firm Comscore has extended its box office measurement service into Saudi Arabia.

News16 January 2020

PureSpectrum creates tool to score respondents

Online sample company PureSpectrum has launched a machine learning-based respondent scoring system, PureScore.

News16 January 2020

Measure Protocol hires Zappi’s Wates

Blockchain-based data marketplace, Measure Protocol, has hired Guy Wates for the newly created role of director of operations and programmatic.

News16 January 2020

Language Insight appoints strategic director

Translation service, Language Insight, has hired Federica Meacci has its strategic director to support the company’s expansion.

News15 January 2020

Google announces privacy changes

Google has outlined plans to drop support for third-party cookies in its Chrome browser within the next two years.  

Feature15 January 2020

What next in the inclusion debate?

Jane Bainbridge

A group of market researchers, at all levels in the sector, came together to discuss diversity in our work environments and identify what we’ve learnt, and still need to learn. 

News15 January 2020

IAB UK creates research role

Digital advertising industry body, IAB UK, has hired Elizabeth Lane in the newly created role of head of research and measurement and Dominic Tillson as head of industry relationships and initiatives.

News15 January 2020

Differential Asia and Potentiate join forces

Singapore-based automotive specialist research and data analytics business, Differential Asia, and human experience company, Potentiate, have formed a strategic alliance to expand Potentiate’s platform to SE Asia.

News15 January 2020

Escalent makes senior hires

Human behaviour and analytics firm Escalent has appointed Nancy Arter as a senior vice-president in the technology & telecommunications divisions and Keir Lococo as vice-president in the health division.

News15 January 2020

Research spend cut while overall marketing budgets rise

Market research spend remained at the bottom of the IPA Bellwether’s budget rankings for a second successive quarter, despite a slight increase to total marketing budgets at the end of 2019.

News15 January 2020

Nielsen hires CEO of Global Connect and CFO

Nielsen has appointed David Rawlinson as chief executive of Nielsen Global Connect and Linda Zukauckas as chief financial officer.

Opinion14 January 2020

CES 2020: three innovations that will impact us this year

Savanta’s Vin DeRobertis was in Las Vegas for consumer technologies show, CES 2020, and shares his stand-out areas for our industry.

News14 January 2020

PreciseTarget releases consumer taste data set

Retail data company, PreciseTarget, has beta launched its Consumer Taste Profile data set, helping retailers increase acquisition and add taste data to their CRM data.

News14 January 2020

Guardian Media Group appoints CEO

The Guardian Media Group ( GMG) – publisher of The Guardian and The Observer newspapers – has hired Annette Thomas as its new chief executive officer.

News14 January 2020

Strat7 launches data collection division Citizen

Strategy group Strat7, founded in 2019 from the merger of ResearchBods and Bonamy Finch, has launched a data collection service, Citizen.

News14 January 2020

Redblue hires James as director

Research and strategy consultancy, Redblue, has appointed Allison James as a director.

News14 January 2020

Delvinia CEO joins MREF board

The Marketing Research Education Foundation ( MREF) has appointed Adam Froman, chief executive at Delvinia, to its board of directors.

News14 January 2020

Bilendi expands UK team

Data collection business Bilendi has made four senior appointments in its UK sales team as it looks to support international expansion.

Feature13 January 2020

Sniff test

Katie McQuater

Bad smells can make our memories stronger and improve emotional learning.

News13 January 2020

Merkle releases retail tool

Tech and data-driven global performance marketing agency, Merkle, has launched a tool to help retailers grow their digital ad revenue, build manufacturer partnerships and personal experiences.

News13 January 2020

Beano Studios expands insights team

Beano Studios, part of publishing company DC Thomson, has appointed Pete Maginn as director of insight.

News13 January 2020

PepsiCo’s Painter joins pladis as chief insights officer

Jane Bainbridge

Snacking company pladis – owners of McVitie’s, Godiva chocolates and Jacob’s among other brands – has appointed Geoff Painter as its chief insights officer.

News13 January 2020

IPA criticises Facebook refusal to limit political ad targeting

Katie McQuater

The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising ( IPA) said ad tech has been ‘weaponised for political messaging’ after Facebook said it won’t restrict the targeting of political advertising on its platform.

News13 January 2020

Escalent buys Javelin Strategy & Research

Human behaviour and data analytics firm, Escalent, has acquired Javelin Strategy & Research from Greenwich Associates for an undisclosed amount. 

News13 January 2020

Nielsen buys retail analytics firm Precima

Nielsen Global Connect, Nielsen’s consumer packaged goods and retail business, has acquired retail strategy and analytics company Precima for an undisclosed sum.

Opinion10 January 2020

Five tips on taking on apprentices

Sinead Hasson

Sinead Hasson, founder and managing director of recruitment consultancy Hasson Associates, shares her advice for companies hiring apprentices.

News10 January 2020

ICO fines Dixons Carphone £500,000

The Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO) has fined DSG Retail, a subsidiary of Dixons Carphone, £500,000 after a cyber attack on a till system affected around 14 million customers.

News10 January 2020

IAB responds to ICO's real-time bidding concerns

Online ad industry organisation, IAB UK, has set out a series of actions to help companies engaged in real-time bidding ( RTB) to be data protection and privacy compliant in response to the ICO's report.

News10 January 2020

Dun & Bradstreet buys Orb Intelligence

Data and analytics firm Dun & Bradstreet has acquired digital business identity and data company Orb Intelligence for an undisclosed sum.

News10 January 2020

Digitell.me opens its doors

A start-up experience management company, digitell.me, has been founded by Ted Osammor, Dr Christopher Morasch and Ole Scharpen based in Cologne, Germany. 

News10 January 2020

BritainThinks makes raft of promotions

Insight and strategy consultancy, BritainThinks, has promoted Max Templer and Rachel Rowlinson to associate directors, along with several lower level promotions.

News9 January 2020

Former Nielsen and Publicis execs join Kantar

Kantar has appointed Chris Morley as managing director, UK, Ireland and USA, for the Worldpanel division, and Dom Boyd as managing director, offer for the UK Insights division.

News9 January 2020

Kubient appoints CFO

Digital audience marketing platform, Kubient, has hired Josh Weiss as chief financial officer.

News9 January 2020

S4 Capital to acquire Circus Marketing

UK – Digital advertising company S4 Capital is acquiring Mexico City-based digital content agency Circus Marketing.

News9 January 2020

Tru Optik and NCSolutions partner on audience segments

Audience intelligence platform Tru Optik has partnered with advertising effectiveness company NCSolutions ( NCS) to expand audience-based targeting for consumer packaged goods ( CPG) advertisers.

News9 January 2020

Tech veteran Yazdani to advise Comscore CEO

Cross-media measurement business, Comscore, has appointed Amir Yazdani as strategic adviser to the CEO.

News9 January 2020

InsightsNow launches behavioural tools portal

Behavioural research firm, InsightsNow, has released an online portal for product development and marketing.

News8 January 2020

Nielsen beta tests linear addressable TV platform

Global measurement and data analytics company, Nielsen, has announced the beta launch of its addressable TV platform with seven TV companies.

News8 January 2020

Ebiquity buys Digital Decisions

 Marketing and media consultancy, Ebiquity, has acquired digital media monitoring service, Digital Decisions, for a €700,000 initial consideration.

News8 January 2020

Asda hires new chief customer officer

Asda has appointed Anna-Maree Shaw as chief customer officer as part of several executive board additions.

Opinion8 January 2020

In praise of social identity theory

Crawford Hollingworth

Crawford Hollingworth explores how social identity theory can be used to influence people's behaviour, from increasing voter turnout to encouraging more physical activity.

News8 January 2020

Measure Protocol secures £2m investment

Blockchain-based data marketplace Measure Protocol has secured £2m in funding led by Dynata and Blockchain Valley Ventures, with Medicys Ltd also joining the round.

News7 January 2020

New CFO at Kantar

Katie McQuater

Kantar has appointed Ian Griffiths, formerly of ITV, as chief financial officer.

Video7 January 2020

What marketing tech can you not live without?

From machine learning to text recognition and behavioural measurement - we asked clients and agencies at the MRS Research and Marketing Tech conference last November what marketing technology they find absolutely indispensable.  

News7 January 2020

Twitter’s EMEA VP departs

Bruce Daisley, vice-president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Twitter, has stepped down after eight years at the company.

News7 January 2020

Tremor buys Unruly

Video ad tech business Tremor International has acquired video ad platform, Unruly, from News Corp.

News7 January 2020

Ipsos named UKOM audience measurement supplier from 2021

Online measurement body UKOM ( UK Online Measurement) has appointed Ipsos as its new supplier from January 2021, after its contract with Comscore ends on 31st December 2020.

News7 January 2020

Nielsen and Nexstar Media Group enter measurement deal

Nielsen has signed a multi-year agreement with media company Nexstar Media Group to provide broadcast and cable ratings services and consumer insights.

News7 January 2020

Gritten joins Cambridge Market Research as CEO

Jane Bainbridge

Market research business Cambridge Market Research ( CMR) has appointed former Future Thinking managing director, Adele Gritten, to the newly created role of chief executive officer.

News6 January 2020

BritainThinks moves to employee ownership

Jane Bainbridge

Insight and strategy consultancy BritainThinks has announced it will be passing the majority ownership of the business to a trust set up on behalf of its staff.

Opinion6 January 2020

Time for a story?

James Oates

In his latest column for Impact, James Oates, UK analytics director at Nielsen, discusses the importance of finding the story in the data.

News6 January 2020

BlueConic raises $13m Series B funding

Customer data platform ( CDP), BlueConic, has closed a $13m Series B funding round, led by new investor Spring Lake Equity Partners with contributions from existing investor Sigma Prime Ventures, as well as angel investors.

News6 January 2020

Cummings calls on data scientists to join No 10

Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s chief strategist, has called on data scientists, software developers and ‘junior researchers’ to apply to work at Downing Street.

News6 January 2020

Gracenote extends OTT services support

Nielsen-owned Gracenote has unveiled global OTT guide offerings for on-demand video streaming services, Smart TV makers and traditional cable and satellite operators. 

News6 January 2020

Analytic Partners hires Bachmann to lead Americas growth

Analytics company Analytic Partners has appointed Kathy Bachmann, formerly of ComScore, as general manager of the Americas region.

News3 January 2020

Mozilla makes California privacy rights changes for all users

Software organisation Mozilla is rolling out changes under the new California Consumer Privacy Act ( CCPA) to all users of its web browser, Firefox.

News3 January 2020

Mastercard acquires security startup RiskRecon

Mastercard has agreed to acquire artificial intelligence and data analytics company RiskRecon as it looks to boost its cybersecurity.

Feature3 January 2020

Preview of the decade: What will market research look like in 2030?

Ten years from now, will market research have a seat at the top table? Will it even be known as research?

News3 January 2020

IRI joins Facebook marketing mix programme

Data and analytics company IRI has been selected to join Facebook’s marketing mix modelling ( MMM) partner programme.

News3 January 2020

Maru/Matchbox hires tech lead

Technology-based insights business Maru/Matchbox has appointed Andrew Hawn as managing director, technology.

News2 January 2020

White and Saller feature in NY Honours list

Jane Bainbridge

Former chief executive of Ofcom, Sharon White, has been made a Dame for her "public service", in this year's New Year Honours list.

News2 January 2020

Facebook fined $1.6m in Brazil for data misuse

Jane Bainbridge

The Ministry of Justice in Brazil has fined Facebook 6.6 million reais ( $1.6m) for improperly sharing user data.

News2 January 2020

Nielsen CFO exits

Nielsen has announced that its chief financial officer and chief operating officer David Anderson has resigned as the company goes through the process of separating into two businesses.

Feature2 January 2020

Machine wars

Katie McQuater

The war on fake news faces a new enemy: could bad actors harness AI technology to generate disinformation without the need for human writers?

Feature2 January 2020

Preview of the decade: biggest challenges for the next 10 years

We’re on the cusp of a new decade so what do our contributors think will be the greatest challenges of our industry over the next 10 years...in a word – data.