News notes
The Media Rating Council (MRC), New York, has withdrawn accreditation of Columbia, Md., research company Arbitron Inc.’s monthly Portable People Meter (PPM) radio ratings data in five markets: Cleveland; Portland, Ore.; Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.; Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo, Utah; and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. Nine PPM markets remain accredited.
The Digital Advertising Alliance, New York, has announced plans to develop a browser-based opt-out system designed to allow consumers to block behavioral advertising and tracking.
Cologne, Germany, research company Globalpark has adopted its parent company’s name, following its August 2011 acquisition by Oslo, Norway, research company QuestBack. The firm will trade under the QuestBack brand.
Acquisitions/transactions
Vienna, Va., research company D3 Systems has acquired a significant share of Nairobi, Kenya, research company Infinite Insight. Infinite Insight’s new board of directors includes Margit Cleveland, Jane Delorie, Althea McCourt, David Jodice and Matthew Warshaw.
Horizon Research Limited, Chapel Hill, N.C., has acquired the ShapeNZ New Zealand research service from the Sustainable Business Council, Wellington, New Zealand.
C&C Market Research, Fort Smith, Ark., has acquired Harrison, N.Y., research company Friedman Marketing Services to expand C&C’s U.S. mall locations.
Dassault Systemes, a Vélizy-Villacoublay, France, virtual technology company, has acquired San Francisco dashboard technology company Netvibes.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Cincinnati marketing software company ThinkVine has added Little Rock, Ark., research technology company Acxiom Corporation to its value added reseller program, allowing Acxiom to use ThinkVine’s ThinkAhead technology in combination with its own offerings.
Association/organization news
Researchers Judah Phillips and Joel Rubinson have co-founded the Analytics Research Organization (ARO, pronounced “arrow”), a New York industry trade organization that aims to marry digital and traditional analytics and research methods to create economic value. ARO is online at www.thearo.org.
New York researchers The Conference Board and The Nielsen Company have launched The Demand Institute, a non-advocacy, non-profit entity focused on illuminating how consumer demand is evolving around the world. The Demand Institute mission is to strengthen the growth and vitality of the global economy by helping public- and private-sector leaders align strategies and investments to where consumer demand is headed across industries, countries and markets.
As a member-driven organization, The Demand Institute will create and deliver new knowledge to its members across three areas: leadership, evolution and science. The Demand Institute is online at www.demandinstitute.org.
The Neuromarketing Science and Business Association (NMSBA), Venlo, the Netherlands, has changed its Web and e-mail addresses. The NMSBA is online at www.neuromarketing-association.com. NMSBA was created to provide professional support to neuromarketers and neuromarketing scientists while contributing to the development and implementation of international guidelines and standardization in the neuromarketing discipline.
ESOMAR, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, has released 36 Questions to Help Commission Neuroscience Research, a guide designed to help research buyers understand what should be asked from a neuroscience supplier and to help understand the intricacies of commissioning neuroscience techniques.
Awards/rankings
Chicago research firm Networked Insights has been named to Fast Company’s list of The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies for 2012. The list is an annual guide to businesses whose innovations are having an impact across their industries and modern culture.
New accounts/projects
The NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y., research company, has reached an agreement with Walmart, Bentonville, Ark., to receive and analyze Walmart’s point-of-sale information. Under the agreement, NPD will receive sales data from Walmart U.S. stores and walmart.com, covering a broad set of general merchandise categories.
New York research company TNS has formed an exclusive partnership with French virtual reality software company ACTISKU to extend its retail and shopper offering into online 3-D environments.
New York researcher The Nielsen Company has been awarded a contract with Poland cable network UPC Polska and Poland advertising sales firm Atmedia to launch a TV audience measurement panel in Poland.
Additionally, Nielsen has signed an agreement with Unilever, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, allowing Unilever to use the Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings reach, frequency and gross rating point measurement for all Unilever brand Internet ad campaigns in the U.S.
Hilversum, Netherlands, research company Intomart GfK has extended its contract with Dutch radio association NLO for radio audience measurement in the Netherlands for four more years. The company has also been recording national Internet audiences, which will continue for the next three years.
New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions
House of Marketing Research, Pasadena, Calif., has launched House of Marketing Research Mobile, a division dedicated to offering mobile and Internet-based marketing research services.
Oslo, Norway, research company QuestBack has opened its North American headquarters in Bridgeport, Conn. Suresh Subbiah has been named president of North American operations.
BuzzBack Market Research, New York, has expanded into the Nordic region. Marie Hayling will lead the operation out of Gothenburg, Sweden.
New South Wales, Australia, research company Media Monitors Group has launched Sentia Media, a New South Wales research division for Asia-Pacific. Sentia is online at www.sentiamedia.com.
Researcher Louise Fraser has launched Jump Research in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company is online at www.jumpresearch.co.uk.
Las Vegas research company Precision Opinion has announced plans to double its staff, adding 300-400 permanent jobs in the first half of 2012.
Evolution Marketing Research, Blue Bell, Pa., has restructured and implemented its “Intelligent Efficiency” strategy.
Salt Lake City research company Mindshare Technologies has tripled the size of its text analytics team, hiring product managers, developers and text analytics engineers.
Decipher Inc., a Fresno, Calif., research company, has announced plans to open a U.K. office in June 2012. Richard Collins has been hired in London as director, client development, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
B2B International, a Manchester, U.K., research company, has launched Deep See, a consumer market research company. Deep See is headed by Conor Wilcock in New York.
Additionally, the company has opened an office in Chicago.
Research company earnings/financial news
IPerceptions Inc., Montreal, has entered into an agreement with XPND Fund, a Montreal growth capital fund, wherein XPND will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of iPerceptions for a consideration of $0.08 per share in cash, other than the shares held by the rollover shareholders.
InSites Consulting, Ghent, the Netherlands, grew 28 percent in 2011, bringing total revenues to more than 16 million euros.
The GfK Group, Nuremberg, Germany, achieved a sales increase of 6.2 percent in 2011 over to 2010, based on preliminary figures.
The Nielsen Company, New York, reported fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2011. Revenues for the fourth quarter increased 4 percent to $1,421 million. Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011, increased 8 percent to $5,532 million.
MarketSight LLC, Cambridge, Mass., announced a 2011 revenue increase of 40 percent over 2010.
Harris Interactive, Rochester, N.Y., announced results for the first half of fiscal-year 2012. Revenue declined to $77.4 million from $82 million in the prior-year period.