News notes

New York researcher The Nielsen Company’s entertainment-focused online community, Hey! Nielsen, has been closed down after just over a year. Site organizers said a new consumer site is in the works, though no further details about the site were given.

Acquisitions/transactions

Paris research company Ipsos has acquired Shanghai, China-based automotive research company B-Thinking. The business will be integrated into Ipsos’ existing business in China.

In-Touch Survey Systems Ltd., Ottawa, Canada, has acquired NCI Mobility LLP, a Chicago data capture and mobile marketing firm. The acquisition of NCI is intended to aid In-Touch’s growth strategy of investing in technology. 

Alliances/strategic partnerships

Ludinghauser, Germany, research agency Kleffmann Group has named Independent Business Resources (IBR), a Wiltshire, U.K., research company, as a U.K. partner. IBR has been given an exclusive license to offer U.K. clients access to Kleffmann’s panel of farmers, called the Agricultural Marketing Information System. The deal will also involve IBR carrying out ad hoc research and data analysis for Kleffmann in the U.K.

Research International (RI), Chicago, has entered into an alliance with STAT’COM, a Paris sales forecasting company, to launch a simulated test market product named MicroTest Nouveau. The partnership is intended to enable RI to integrate modeling that reflects changing market conditions using a database of over 40,000 records to put results into context. The launch of the MicroTest Nouveau is expected on January 2nd, 2009.

Data Development Worldwide, a New York research company, and Marketing Analysts Incorporated, Charleston, S.C., have merged. Both organizations will maintain their respective brands and facilities. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Visible Measures, a Boston data collection company, has partnered with MTV Networks (MTVN), a division of New York media conglomerate Viacom. MTV Networks will use Visible Measures’ Internet video metrics media platform across MTV Network’s 340+ destination Internet video sites. As part of the multi-year agreement, MTVN Global Digital Media and MTVN Digital Media Research will use Visible Measures to build online video performance metrics.

Ipsos Mori, a London division of Paris research company Ipsos, has formed a partnership with Hampshire, U.K., information management firm The Logic Group to optimize customer relationship programs and loyalty schemes.

Association/organization news

The Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA), St. Paul, Minn., has formed a political special interest group (SIG) that is designed to give both researchers and buyers of political-oriented qualitative research access to experts and best practices. The political SIG is made up of a group of QRCA members/researchers who are experts in the field, and it will address qualitative research issues and opportunities in politics, public policy, social policy and public affairs.

Awards/rankings

Vision Critical, a Vancouver, B.C., research company, has been ranked fifth among the annual Deloitte Technology Fast 50, a ranking of the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in Canada, based on the percentage of revenue growth over five years. Vision Critical’s increase in revenues of 5,298 percent from 2003-2007 resulted in its fifth-place ranking.
Additionally, Seattle research company Global Market Insite Inc. (GMI) has been ranked 13th among the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in Washington State. GMI’s five-year revenue growth by 1,096 percent from 2003-2007 resulted in its 13th-place ranking.

Inc. has named Observant LLC, a Waltham, Mass., research company, in its annual Inc. 5000 ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. Observant was ranked in the top-22 percent. Observant also ranked 40th in Inc.’s Top 100 Businesses in Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H. and ranked 95th in Inc.’s Top 100 Advertising and Marketing Companies.

SPSS Inc., a Chicago research company, has been recognized for its data mining software Predictive Analytics. Predictive Analytics has been ranked as the No. 1 choice of data mining professionals worldwide according to the 2008 Data Mining Survey, published by Rexer Analytics, a Boston data mining consulting company.

Redlands, Calif., geographic mapping software company ESRI has been awarded the 2008 Geography Excellence in Media award, given by the National Council for Geographic Education. The award has been given to the authors of Our World GIS Education, a book series that teaches students how to think spatially and use geographic information system technology to study the world around them.

Reston, Va., research company comScore Inc. was recognized as the fastest-growing global market research firm in an Inside Research report on growth rates of the world’s largest market research firms. With $87 million in revenues in 2007, comScore posted a five-year revenue growth rate of 463 percent, triple that of the second fastest-growing company on the list.

Hotspex, Toronto, has been named Canada’s fastest-growing marketing research company on Profit’s 20th annual Profit 100 ranking of Canada’s fastest-growing companies. Hotspex’s growth of 1,614 percent over the past five years placed the company 38th on the list and made Hotspex the only market research company to appear.

New accounts/projects

TNS US, a New York research company, has adopted Dulles, Va., research company Vovici’s enterprise feedback management platform and Vovici’s Community Builder Module as its standard platform for building custom online panels and communities for its customers.

Pacific Coast Companies Inc., a Rancho Cordova, Calif., development company, has adopted Chicago research company SPSS Inc.’s enterprise feedback management platform Predictive Analytics. Pacific Coast Companies will use Predictive Analytics to identify internal fraud, forecast sales and analyze vendor and product supply for the company.

Navteq, a Chicago digital mapping company, has chosen Redlands, Calif., geographic mapping software company ESRI’s ArcGIS suite of software products as its platform to build products beyond the core map database.

New York research company Arbitron Inc. has commercialized its Portable People Meter radio ratings services in eight new markets: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Nassau-Suffolk, Middlesex-Somerset-Union, Riverside-San Bernardino and San Jose.
Additionally, Everwell TV, an Atlanta-based media network that provides health- and wellness-based television services for patients in physicians’ waiting rooms, has signed an agreement for Arbitron custom research studies to measure awareness of digital televisions in doctors’ offices. Arbitron will provide on-site surveys in doctors’ offices across multiple markets.
Finally, Arbitron has brought forward the introduction of cell phone-only households to its diary-based ratings panels, as part of improvements to sampling. Arbitron had planned to introduce cell-only sampling to diary panels in 50 markets in the fall of 2009 but was persuaded by broadcasters and advertisers to bring this forward by six months. The total will then be increased to 125 markets in the fall of 2009. Sample sizes will be kept above 80 percent of targets for the 18-54 age range.

RTi Research, Research Triangle Park, N.C., and Sample Czar, a Los Angeles research company, have selected San Francisco research company Peanut Labs’ Optimus digital fingerprinting technology to help improve the quality of online sample data.

British Airways, Harmondsworth, England, has invited members from its executive club to enroll in the e-Rewards Opinion Panel, a panel developed and managed by Dallas research company e-Rewards. Invitees who join the panel will be able to earn British Airway miles by completing online market research surveys.

Experian, a New York research company, has selected Hampshire, U.K., mobile tracking company Path Intelligence’s FootPath system to integrate with Experian’s own FootFall measurement practice. With Path Intelligence’s FootPath and FootFall, Experian plans to study the movements of shoppers by tracking their mobile phones. Experian intends to market the technology to U.K. shopping centers.

New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions

Common Knowledge/Toluna, a Dallas/London research company, has opened an office in Sydney, Australia. Mike Billingsley will head up the office in Sydney.

Authentic Response, a New York research company, has opened an office in Toledo, Ohio. Paul Hudson, the company’s new vice president of technology, will manage the office.

Quick Test/Heakin Research Inc., Jupiter, Fla., has opened an office, QuickView Los Angeles, located in Puente Hills Mall, City of Industry, Calif. Scott Gonzalez has been named facility manager.

Lux Research, New York, has expanded with an office in Dubai. Matthew Silvester will serve as director, Middle East.

Fresno, Calif., research company Decipher Inc. has opened an office in Portland, Ore. The Portland office is led by Jayme Plunkett, Decipher’s co-founder and co-CEO.

Research company earnings/financial news

IMS Health, a Norwalk, Conn., research company, has announced third-quarter 2008 revenue of $573.7 million, up 6 percent. Net income and earnings per share grew 33 percent and 41 percent, respectively, in the quarter. After adjusting for certain items, net income rose 11 percent, and earnings per share were up 19 percent.
Operating income in the third quarter of 2008 was $124 million, up 6 percent, and includes a charge related to the company’s government solutions subsidiary. When adjusted for this item, operating income on a non-GAAP basis for this year’s third quarter would have been $127.7 million, up 9 percent.
Net income on a GAAP basis was $75.9 million, an increase of 33 percent, compared with $57.1 million in the year-earlier quarter. When adjusted for the items above, net income on a non-GAAP basis for the 2008 third quarter would have been $79.4 million, compared with $71.6 million in the year-earlier quarter.

New York research company Arbitron Inc. has announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2008. Net income for the quarter was $17 million, or $0.63 per share (diluted), compared with $17.2 million, or $0.58 per share (diluted), for the third quarter of 2007.
For the third quarter of 2008, Arbitron reported revenue of $102.5 million, an increase of 9.9 percent over revenue of $93.3 million during the third quarter of 2007.
Costs and expenses for the third quarter increased by 14.5 percent, from $63 million in 2007 to $72.1 million in 2008, due primarily to planned expenditures for the commercialization of the Portable People Meter ratings service. In the third quarter of 2008, share-based compensation amounted to $2.1 million, up from $1.6 million in the third quarter of 2007.
Earnings before interest and income tax expense (EBIT) for the quarter were $28.2 million, compared with EBIT of $27.1 million for the third quarter of 2007.
Income from continuing operations for the quarter was $16.9 million or $0.63 per share (diluted), compared with $17.1 million, or $0.57 per share (diluted), in the third quarter of 2007.

YouGov, a London research company, has announced results for the year ended July 31, 2008. Revenues almost tripled to £40.4 million, and normalized operating profit rose 55 percent to £8.7 million, although reported profit is down 29 percent to £4.0 million.
The firm’s revenues rose 183 percent from £14.3 million in the previous year, with organic revenue growth of 38 percent in the U.K. and Middle Eastern businesses. The firm reported pro forma organic revenue growth of 28 percent overall in the acquired businesses in the U.S. (89 percent), Germany (13 percent) and Scandinavia (44 percent). The revenue of £20.8 million from the newly-acquired businesses contributed 145 percent to the revenue growth.
Normalized earnings per share rose 30 percent to 8.3 pence, and the firm reports a strong cash balance of £13.4 million at July 31, 2008, more than tripled from £4.1 million a year earlier.
U.K. revenues grew by 52 percent to £12.6 million, and operating profit increased by 11 percent to £3.9 million. In the Middle East, revenues grew 18 percent to £7.7 million and operating profit increased by 6 percent to £3.8 million with strong expansion of panels and of the firm’s reach across the region, notably in Saudi Arabia. It also has new international partnerships in Turkey and Greece.

TA Associates, a Boston-based private equity and buyout firm, has completed a $60 million minority investment in Dallas research company e-Rewards Inc.