News notes
The Marketing Research Association, Glastonbury, Conn., has endorsed legislation in Minnesota that would make it legal for researchers to do exit polling near a voting place. Current Minnesota statute doesn’t allow anyone “except an election official or an individual who is waiting to register or to vote.” This bill would add to that exception, “or an individual who is conducting exit polling” and define exit polling as “approaching voters in a predetermined pattern as they leave the polling place after they have voted and asking voters to fill out an anonymous, written questionnaire.”
The Minnesota Board of Pharmacy, Minneapolis, has revised the language of a frequently asked question (FAQ) to ensure that payments to Minnesota health care practitioners for participation in bona fide market and opinion research are not prohibited or restricted. The Council of American Survey Research Organizations, Port Jefferson, N.Y.; the Marketing Research Association, Glastonbury, Conn.; and the Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Group, Minneola, Fla., worked with the Board of Pharmacy and the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General to clarify language in a FAQ that had effectively shut down pharmaceutical market research in Minnesota. The Board of Pharmacy confirmed that the original FAQ, which addressed the Minnesota statute that prohibited pharma manufacturers’ “gifts to practitioners,” was never intended to prevent research companies from conducting research with health care practitioners on behalf of pharmaceutical clients.
New York firms The Association of National Advertisers Television Advertising Committee and The Nielsen Company have determined a potential path for providing individual commercial ratings, also referred to as brand-specific commercial ratings. Viewing of commercials is currently reported as the average of all commercial minutes viewed live or in playback during a particular television program.
Stormy Dean, former CFO and senior executive of Infogroup, an Omaha, Neb., research company, is suing Infogroup for approximately $1.15 million for severance and bonuses he claims the company has refused to pay following his termination in October 2009, according to a lawsuit filed in Douglas County District Court.
Separately, Infogroup has eliminated 40 jobs as part of a companywide restructuring plan.
Mountain West Research Center, a Pocatello, Idaho, division of Orem, Utah, research company Western Wats, reported in February that it had begun temporary layoffs at its call center, citing the economic downturn as the cause.
Framingham, Mass., research company Kadence International has rebranded with a new logo, Web site, enhanced employee learning and development programs and updated promotional campaigns.
London research company TNS Worldpanel has rebranded as Kantar Worldpanel. Additionally, research companies TNS Media and KMR Group have been rebranded as Kantar Media. Kantar Media will be headquartered in Princeton, N.J.
2010 marks the 10th anniversary for The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research.
D3 Systems Inc., a Vienna, Va., research company, celebrated its 25th anniversary in February 2010.
Acquisitions/transactions
Cegedim Dendrite, the business unit of the London research company Cegedim Group, has acquired Irvine, Calif., research company SK&A Information Services Inc. SK&A will be branded as SK&A, A Cegedim Company, and will be integrated into Cegedim Dendrite’s OneKey business unit. SK&A will maintain its current operations in Irvine.
Nuremberg, Germany, research company The GfK Group has purchased Newbury, England, research company dmrkynetec for an undisclosed amount. Dmrkynetec had already been partially owned by GfK since July 2008, when GfK bought 25 percent of dmrkynetec in a stock swap. The company will operate under the name GfK Kynetec and is online at www.gfk-kynetec.com. GfK Kynetec will maintain its staff and headquarters.
New York professional services company Deloitte has acquired Pathfinder Solutions, a Wrentham, Mass., research company, for an undisclosed amount.
The Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics, Sao Paolo, Brazil, has acquired majority stake in Zogby International, a Utica, N.Y., research firm.
Reston, Va., research company comScore Inc. has acquired ARSgroup, an Evansville, Ind., research company in an all-cash transaction. Upon completion, ARSgroup will be renamed comScore ARS.
Paris research company Ipsos has acquired Los Angeles research company OTX.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Better Business Bureau (BBB), Arlington, Va., and Westlake Village, Calif., research company J.D. Power and Associates have entered into an online content sharing agreement designed to help consumers research and identify trustworthy businesses including car dealers, insurance agents, builders and movers. Visitors to BBB’s Web site will have access to J.D. Power’s Power Circle Ratings, a system based on the opinions of consumers who have actually used or owned the product or service being rated.
Waltham, Mass., research company Mzinga and Opinion Research Corporation, a Princeton, N.J., research company, have partnered to deliver online community research solutions using Mzinga’s OmniSocial platform and ORC’s customer and employee engagement research solutions.
Hispanic broadcasting network Telemundo, Miami, has established a polling partnership with Paris research company Ipsos. Ipsos-Telemundo Poll is intended to help monitor Hispanics’ opinions and attitudes.
Association/organization news
The Marketing Research Association (MRA), Glastonbury, Conn., has named COO Kristen Darby interim CEO.
Additionally, the MRA has introduced new Web seminar services designed to help MRA members reach new clients and connect with existing clients in a Webinar format.
Finally, the MRA has partnered with research companies KL Communications, Red Bank, N.J., and iTracks, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to launch its CEO Special Interest Group, an interactive discussion and networking forum for C-level executives.
Tom H.C. Anderson of Anderson Analytics, Stamford, Conn., and several research colleagues have established the Foundation for Transparency in Offshoring (FTO), an organization created to shed light on the risks of data offshoring. FTO also offers online self-certification modeled after the EU’s Safe Harbor Compliance Framework. A research supplier may self-certify its offshoring practices by activity, country and provider relationship. FTO is online at www.offshoringtransparency.org.
Awards/rankings
EasyInsites, a Surrey, U.K., research company, was named to London business support company Smarta.com’s inaugural Smarta 100, a list of the U.K.’s smartest small businesses.
Vancouver, B.C., research company Vision Critical’s Angus Reid Forum has scored top marks in the Grand Mean Project, a global quality measurement initiative conducted by East Islip, N.Y., research company Mktg, Inc.
New accounts/projects
Copenhagen, Denmark, research company iMotions has chosen Santiago, Chile, research company EyeOnMedia to serve as the reseller for iMotion’s eye tracking software Attention Tool in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Columbia.
Laithwaites Wine, a Berkshire, U.K., wine distributor, has appointed Leapfrog Research and Planning Ltd., Berkshire, U.K., to evaluate how customers and prospects perceive the wine merchant. Leapfrog’s qualitative program includes ethnographic evening home visits to wine drinkers and group discussions.
New York researcher The Nielsen Company signed Black Crow Media, a Daytona Beach, Fla., broadcasting company, to its radio ratings service. The agreement includes three Black Crow stations in Huntsville, Ala.
Watertown, Mass., research company Cymfony has selected Kantar-affiliated research companies Millward Brown, Naperville, Ill., and Dynamic Logic, New York, to integrate social media discussions into Cymfony’s marketing solutions.
Maponics, a Norwich, Vt., software company, has been chosen by the Real Estate Division of Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS), Jacksonville, Fla., to provide neighborhood and zip code boundary data required to enable local searching of LPS property databases.
MTV Networks (MTVN), New York, has selected San Francisco research company Quantcast to offer advertisers audience targeting capabilities on sites in MTVN’s domestic online portfolio.
Vancouver, B.C., research company Techneos’ SODA Mobile Access Platform has been adopted by the Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy, Washington, D.C., to power a study examining the effectiveness of mobile phone support for the D.C. Tobacco Quitline.
Long and Foster Real Estate Inc., Chantilly, Va., has selected Ann Arbor, Mich., research company ForeSee Results to implement a customer service measurement tool.
New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions
London research company ORC International has opened an office in Edinburgh, Scotland. Diarmid Hearns will lead the office.
Six European online research agencies - Multiscope, mo’web Research, M3 Research, Panelbase.net, Directpanel Research and SWG - have partnered to form Panelteam, a Netherlands research company that operates across 15 European countries and has eight local offices.
Research industry veterans Andrew Irving and Dorothy Chang have launched Andrew Irving Market Research (AIMR), London.
Nottingham, U.K., research company Experian has expanded its marketing services portfolio of products and services into Korea.
London research company E-Tabs has announced the launch of its New Zealand office in June 2010.
Quick Test/Heakin Research Inc., Jupiter, Fla., has opened a QuickView-Queens Center mall location in Elmhurst, N.Y.
Research industry veteran Scott MacLean has launched Nulink Analytics, a Brighton, Australia, quantitative research consultancy.
Resolution Research, Denver, has moved its headquarters to 490 South Santa Fe Dr., Unit E. Phone numbers, e-mail and Web site addresses have not changed.
Vancouver, B.C., research company Vision Critical has relocated its London office to Boston House, 63-64 New Broad St.
Research company earnings/financial news
The Nielsen Company, New York, announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2009. Reported revenues were $4,808 million, flat with the reported revenues for year prior. Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, revenues for the year increased 4 percent. Reported operating income was $116 million, compared to operating income of $421 million for 2008.
IMS Health, Norwalk, Conn., announced fourth-quarter 2009 revenue of $599.2 million, up 3 percent year-over-year, compared with $580.9 million in fourth-quarter 2008. Net income for the 2009 fourth quarter was $71.5 million, and diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $0.39, compared with net income of $98.5 million and EPS of $0.54 in the year-earlier period. Operating income in the fourth quarter of 2009 was $106.3 million, compared with $126.6 million in operating income in fourth-quarter 2008.
For the 2009 full year, revenues were $2,189.7 million, down 6 percent or 4 percent constant dollar, compared with revenues of $2,329.5 million in 2008. Net income for 2009 was $258.5 million, and diluted EPS was $1.42, compared with net income of $311.3 million and EPS of $1.70 the year earlier. Operating income for was $270.9 million, compared with $498.3 million in 2008.
Harris Interactive, Rochester, N.Y., announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2010. Total revenue was $44.6 million, compared with $50.7 million for the prior-year period. Operating income was $0.6 million, compared with an operating loss of $(45.9) million for 2008. Net income was $1.3 million, compared with a net loss of $(65.6) million for the prior-year period.
Arbitron Inc., Columbia, Md., announced results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009. Net income for fourth-quarter 2009 was $12.6 million, compared with $3.4 million for fourth-quarter 2008. Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2009 was $101.5 million, an increase of 8.5 percent over revenue of $93.6 million during the fourth quarter of 2008.
Net income for the full year 2009 increased 13.4 percent to $42.2 million, compared with $37.2 million in 2008. Revenue was $385 million, an increase of 4.4 percent over revenue of $368.8 million for the same period in 2008.
Clarabridge, Reston, Va., announced a 50 percent year-over-year revenue growth for 2009.
Vovici, Dulles, Va., achieved a 2009 30 percent software-as-a-service revenue increase over 2008.
MarketTools Inc., San Francisco, announced that 2009 was a record year for cash flow and EBITDA.
ForeSee Results, Ann Arbor, Mich., reported a 32 percent revenue increase in 2009.
Vision Critical, Vancouver, B.C., announced a 2009 revenue increase of 50 percent over the previous year, making it the most successful year in company history.
Revelation, Portland, Ore., reported a 240 percent growth in sales in 2009 over the previous year.