Acquisitions/transactions
Paris research company Ipsos has completed its acquisition of the Chicago research business Synovate from Aegis Group PLC, London, for £525 million.
SocialGrapple, a San Francisco Twitter analytics startup, has been acquired by Google, Mountain View, Calif.
Chicago research company Mintel has acquired Access Asia, a London research company.
GfK Custom Research Japan, Tokyo, has increased its share in the joint venture with Japan research companies NTT DATA SMIS and NTT DATA Corporation. Both companies have been fully incorporated into GfK Custom Research Japan.
Separately, The GfK Group, a Nuremberg, Germany, research company, has increased its share in GfK Egypt, its Cairo research division, to 100 percent.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
U.K. research company Synovate Retail Performance has partnered with Shenzhen, China, research company Firs Technologies to allow retailers and brand owners in China to monitor business performance against customer opportunity.
Portland, Ore., research company Rentrak Corporation and Melbourne, Fla., communications company Harris Corporation have partnered to integrate Rentrak’s StationView Essentials TV ratings data into Harris’s media software solutions.
Oslo, Norway, research software company Confirmit has partnered with Miami research company eCGlobalPanel Inc. to deliver market research technology to the Brazilian business community. ECGlobal will serve as a local Confirmit partner and reseller from its Brazil headquarters in Salvador.
Association/organization news
The Qualitative Research Consultants Association, St. Paul, Minn., has elected its board of directors for 2011-2012: Susan Thornhill, Thornhill Associates; Susan Saurage-Altenloh, Saurage Research; Foster Winter, Sigma: Research Management Group; Liz Van Patten, Van Patten Research; Susan Abbott, Abbott Research and Consulting; Manuela Fletcher, Andrew Fletcher Consulting Ltd.; Kendall Nash, Burke, Inc.; Benjamin Smithee, Spych Market Analytics; and Monica Zinchiak, Z. Research Services.
The Council of American Survey Research Organizations, Port Jefferson, N.Y., has partnered with Minneapolis insurance broker Hays Affinity and Lloyd’s of London to offer its members a custom professional liability/errors and omissions policy.
Awards/rankings
Jeremy Pincus of Forbes Consulting Group, a Lexington, Mass., research company, has been awarded the Marketing Researcher of the Year Award by the Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Group, Minneola, Fla., for demonstrating leadership, business impact, research innovation and commitment to health care market research.
MarketResearchCareers, Stamford, Conn., released the 2011 Market Research Supplier Satisfaction Survey, which recognizes market research suppliers delivering the highest levels of customer satisfaction.
In the online sample providers category: Epocrates, San Mateo, Calif.; Authentic Response/Return Path, New York; e-Rewards/Research Now, Plano, Texas; MarketTools/Zoomerang, San Francisco; and uSamp, Encino, Calif.
In the qualitative research providers category: Understanding Unlimited (Ipsos), Cincinnati; C+R Research, Chicago; Hall and Partners, New York; Doyle Research, Chicago; and Firefly (Millward Brown), Westport, Conn.
In the full-service research providers category: Decision Analyst, Arlington, Texas; Directions Research, Cincinnati; Guideline, Princeton, N.J.; C&R Research Services, Chicago; and Morpace, Farmington Hills, Mich.
In the syndicated research providers category: Gartner, Stamford, Conn.; Forrester Research, Cambridge, Mass.; Scarborough Research, New York; The NPD Group, Port Washington, N.Y.; and Frost & Sullivan, Mountain View, Calif.
In the online survey software providers category: SurveyWriter, Chicago; SurveyGizmo, Boulder, Colo.; Qualtrics, Provo, Utah; Sawtooth Software, Evanston, Ill.; and SAS, Cary, N.C.
Full results are available at www.marketresearchcareers.com/2011.
FGI Research, Chapel Hill, N.C., has been named one of the best places to work in North Carolina’s Research Triangle by the Triangle Business Journal, based on a satisfaction survey among its employees. FGI also demonstrated innovative approaches to human resources, the Journal said.
The Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Group, Minneola, Fla., has named Lynnette Cooke of New York research company Kantar Health the recipient of the R.R. Fordyce Award Recipient for exemplifying the principles of excellence, innovation and integrity in pharmaceutical market research.
Cincinnati research company dunnhumbyUSA has been named a 2011 Great Place to Work in the U.S. by the Great Place to Work Institute Inc., in conjunction with Entrepreneur.com. DunnhumbyUSA placed ninth out of 50 recognized companies in the category of small and medium workplaces. Selection and ranking is determined by an online employee survey and evaluates a company’s culture based on credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie.
Amanda Durkee of Zanthus, a Portland, Ore., research company, has been selected as one of the 4 under 40 Marketing Research Emerging Leaders for 2011 by the American Marketing Association, New York.
BrainJuicer Group PLC, a London research company, received a Gold Award for Research Innovation at the American Association of Advertising Agencies’ Jay Chiat Strategy Festival for its Let’s Get Emotional About Advertising paper.
Joe Phelps of Santa Monica, Calif., research company The Phelps Group has been honored as one of the top 30 innovators of 2011 by The Internationalist magazine.
New accounts/projects
Portland, Ore., research company Rentrak Corporation has expanded its contract with Gray Television to make Rentrak’s StationView Essentials TV ratings available to two additional Gray Colorado stations and three Gray stations in Charlottesville, Va.
Additionally, Rentrak has renewed its StationView Essentials contract with Fisher Communications Inc., Seattle, for Fisher’s CBS and FOX stations in Bakersfield, Calif., and its Seattle ABC affiliate.
Finally, Rentrak’s TV Essentials ratings data has been selected by Shorts International for its Shorts HD network, Santa Monica, Calif.
Baja Fresh, a Cypress, Calif., Mexican restaurant chain, has chosen Boulder, Colo., research company Market Force Information to carry out a mystery shopping initiative.
Gemius, a Warsaw, Poland, research company, has been awarded a contract for an online audience measurement audit in the Czech Republic by the Czech Joint Industry Committee.
Ann Arbor, Mich., research company ForeSee Results has been selected by U.K. department store group House of Fraser to measure and analyze the customer experience in its stores, on its Web site and with its call center.
Menlo Park, Calif., research company KN Dimestore’s online ad campaign measurement platform has been adopted by media technology companies BrightRoll, San Francisco; TubeMogul, Emeryville, Calif.; and SocialVibe, Los Angeles.
The London School of Economics’ Enterprise Team has appointed Opinium Research, London, to conduct a study across France, Finland, the U.K., Hungary, Austria, Spain and Bulgaria to examine young people’s political attitudes.
The NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y., research company, has signed an agreement with Bentonville, Ark., retailer Sam’s Club to analyze trends in consumer purchases.
New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions
London research company YouGov has launched its French operation YouGov France at 32 Rue de Caumartin, Paris.
Maritz Research, St. Louis, has relocated its U.K. offices to High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.
Chicago research company Mintel has launched its Mintel Beauty and Personal Care division.
Researchers Rodrigo Toni and Eduardo Sincofsky have launched Animux, a Sao Paulo, Brazil, research consultancy, in partnership with Toronto research company Hotspex.
Columbia, Md., research company Merkle has debuted its social customer relationship management agency Merkle Connect.
London research company Kantar Media has expanded Boston social and traditional listening company Cymfony into Europe with a London office.
London research company The BDRC Group has opened a Singapore office, dubbed BDRC Asia.
C&C Market Research, Fort Smith, Ark., has opened offices in Asheville, N.C.; and Tempe, Ariz.
The BrainJuicer Group PLC, a London research company, has moved its Netherlands operations to Amsterdam.
Research company earnings/financial news
Truth, London, has received a £45 million investment from College Group and Vitruvian.
Convergys, Cincinnati, has received authorization from its board of directors to purchase an additional $200 million of outstanding shares as market and business conditions warrant.
Spredfast, Austin, Texas, has closed a $12 million B round of venture funding from InterWest Partners.
Harris Interactive, Rochester, N.Y., announced fourth-quarter results for fiscal year 2011. Total revenue was $45.2 million, compared with $43.6 million for the same prior-year period. Operating loss was $(4.7) million, compared with operating income of $0.2 million in 2010. Net loss was $(5.1) million, compared with a net loss of $(1.3) million for the same period in 2010.
Arbitron, Columbia, Md., announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011. Revenue was $105.6 million, an increase of 6.1 percent over the third quarter of 2010. Net income was $15.4 million, compared with $11.3 million for third-quarter 2010. For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, revenue was $302.2 million, an increase of 6.5 percent over 2010.