Acquisitions/transactions
According to MediaPost, Adwanted Group has acquired Kantar’s SRDS (Standard Rate and Data Service) from Bain Capital.
Evaluate Ltd., an analytics and intelligence provider to the pharmaceutical industry, has acquired London-based consultancy Black Swan Analysis.
GMO Research has concluded an Asia-exclusive sales agreement with itracks for its online qualitative survey tool, which GMO Research has integrated into its own offering to launch MO Insights, a solution for panel use and online qualitative and quantitative surveys.
Accenture has acquired B2B marketing services agency Yesler.
Location data companies Foursquare and Factual will merge, continuing operation as Foursquare.
Data and technology provider PlaceIQ Inc. has acquired location data company Freckle IoT.
Social media analytics platform Symplur has been acquired by W2O, a provider of marketing communications for the health care sector.
Marketing platform TapClicks has acquired AdStage, a provider of marketing and advertising intelligence solutions.
Customer experience management company Medallia Inc. has acquired speech-to-text platform Voci Technologies.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Clearwater, Fla.-based 180byTwo has partnered with DemystData to integrate its data solutions into DemystData’s repository of data products.
Live streaming tech company HighTech Development has partnered with whereby.com, a video meeting software developer, to launch HT FACE, a video streaming meeting place for market research focus groups and depth interviews.
Ipsos has partnered with the African Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and global health organization Resolve to Save Lives on COVID-19 prevention. The joint project will focus on monitoring and adapting guidance in situations where preventive measures taken elsewhere in the world cannot be adapted to the local context. Ipsos will provide data on the impact of COVID-19, behaviors surrounding it and control measures put in place in African countries, which Africa CDC, with support from Resolve to Save Lives, will develop into guidelines and distribute throughout the continent.
Media measurement company Comscore has partnered with video platform JW Player to offer Comscore’s brand safety and contextual categorization segments across media sites that use JW Player for their digital video playback.
Celerant Technology, a provider of retail solutions for the firearms industry, has partnered with SCOPE CLX, a business analytics program for the shooting sports industry. Through an integration with Celerant’s point of sale solution, the CLX will aggregate data from Federal Firearms Licensed retailers in the U.S. to offer insights on consumer demand and product trends.
Marketing services firm LRW Group has partnered with USC’s Price School of Public Policy and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to recruit and test 1,000 Los Angeles residents to discover the spread of COVID-19 across the U.S.
Pixability, a provider of software and insights for video advertising, has been selected for the expanded YouTube Measurement Program, an offering of independent solutions for measuring marketing on YouTube.
Marketing services provider Infogroup has partnered with Speedeon Data for its life event data.
Digital rewards platform Rybbon has selected branded payments provider Blackhawk Network to offer businesses digital prepaid reward options.
Marketing researcher Collaborata and research agency Research Narrative have partnered to launch a project titled, The United States of Video: How Video Content is Impacting Americans’ Brand Discovery and Purchase Decisions.
Digital rewards platform Rybbon has partnered with Voxco, a provider of omnichannel survey software and data collection tools. The partnership is intended to incentivize increased response rates by offering digital rewards like e-gift cards and Visa reward cards to respondents.
Marketing researcher Userneeds has partnered with market research tech firm RealityMine for a combined offering.
Nielsen Global Connect and insights firm 1010data have expanded their partnership to develop solutions designed to help retailers and manufacturers understand the daily sales, supply chain and on-the-shelf availability/out-of-stock positions at brick-and-mortar stores.
Marketing researcher Maru/Matchbox has partnered with BBC Global News to uncover implicit, emotional reactions to ongoing news coverage of COVID-19.
Association/organization news
The Insights Association has called upon market research and data analytics organizations to suspend non-compete agreements for staff who have been laid off.
Awards/rankings
The Canadian Research Insights Council has partnered with ESOMAR and Century Initiative to bring the Research Got Talent competition to Canada. This award encourages researchers aged 18-35 to support charities/nonprofit organizations to overcome relevant and pressing social issues.
The Marketing Research Institute International has launched the Reg Baker Awards program to cover enrollment costs for the Principles Express courses administered through the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education and Hotel. The awards will be presented to eligible applicants who “will make a positive contribution to the profession of insights, analytics and market research.” This program will award scholarships three times a year and the next application deadline is May 31, 2020.
New accounts/projects
Marketing researcher Nebu has received ISO 270001 certification for information security.
Quirk’s has launched a COVID-19 Resources and Information hub in order to offer researchers a central location for financial assistance, webinars, industry research and donation opportunities relating to the COVID-19 crisis.
Marketing research firm KJT Group Inc. has launched its redesigned website.
Insights firm Ignite 360 has been certified as an LGBT Business Enterprise through the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) Supplier Diversity Initiative. The NGLCC is the business voice of the LGBT community and a certifying body for LGBT-owned and -operated businesses.
Insights firm Curion has launched a new merger and acquisition strategy to expand the company’s footprint.
New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions
Agency33 Public Relations, a firm focusing on LGBTQ marketing, public relations and advertising, has added a consulting division for corporations looking to begin or expand LGBTQ marketing efforts.
Consumer insights agency Horowitz Research has launched Green Horizons, a research consultancy for the cannabis and holistic health industries.
Research company earnings/financial news
Tel Aviv, Israel-based Anagog has raised $10 million in a Series C funding round led by IN Venture and MizMaa, as well as Continental.
Business intelligence platform Pyramid Analytics has closed a $25 million funding round led by Jerusalem Venture Partners, along with existing investors Sequoia Capital, Viola Growth and Maor Investments.
Social research platform Pulse has closed a $6.5 million Series A funding round led by AV8 Ventures, bringing the company’s total funding to $10.5 million.
Analytics platform Glassbox has closed a $40 million Series C funding round led by Brighton Park Capital. As part of the investment, Lisa Hammitt, global VP of data and AI at VISA and special advisor to Brighton Park, and Zachary Gut, a partner at Brighton Park, will join the board. Existing investors include Updata Partners, Ibex Investors, Gefen Capital and CEIIF, bringing the company’s total funding to $70 million.
Behavioral research company EyeSee has concluded a €3 million round of financing led by ING Corporate Investments and Smartfin Capital.
New York-based Attentive has extended its Series C investment round to $110 million, with Sequoia Global Equities and Coatue joining as new investors. This brings the total capital raised to $164 million.
Data analytics platform Adverity has closed $30 million in a Series C financing round, bringing the total amount raised to $50 million. The latest funding round was led by Sapphire Ventures with participation from Mangrove Capital Partners, Felix Capital, SAP.iO and aws Gründerfonds.