News notes
CIRQ, a subsidiary of the Insights Association, has awarded certification to New Orleans-based research firm The Olinger Group for compliance to the ISO 27001 Standard. ISO 27001 provides a framework for companies to manage data security and establishes requirements for information controls to manage people, processes and technology.
CIRQ, a subsidiary of the Insights Association, has awarded certification to Auburn Hills, Mich., research company Gongos Inc. for compliance to the ISO 27001 Standard, which provides a framework for companies to manage data security.
Acquisitions/transactions
Fort Washington, Pa., firm M3 Global Research, part of the M3 Group, has acquired Gothenburg, Sweden, data collection company QQFS (Qualitative & Quantitative Fieldwork Services). QQFS, which will continue under the same name, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the M3 Group.
Canada-based software solutions firm Enghouse Systems Limited has broadened its contact center portfolio by acquiring San Francisco-based survey technology company Survox Inc.
Nielsen, New York, has agreed to acquire marketing intelligence software firm Visual IQ. Nielsen will acquire Visual IQ’s MTA software platform, along with the underpinning data, technology and intellectual property.
West Des Moines, Iowa, corporate engagement firm ITA Group has acquired Boston-based research and strategy firm Chadwick Martin Bailey.
U.K. animal health and agriculture research firm Kynetec has completed the acquisition of Market Probe Agriculture and Animal Health and Market Probe Europe. The acquisition will add around 40 professionals to Kynetec’s team and will provide the company with operations in Belgium.
Plano, Texas, firm Research Now and Shelton, Conn., researcher Survey Sampling International (SSI) have signed a merger agreement. The combined company will be privately held, with Court Square Capital Partners and HGGC, current majority owners of Research Now and SSI respectively, remaining as majority owners of the combined business. The merger transaction is expected to close by the end of the year. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Winston-Salem, N.C., technology and data science firm Inmar has acquired Detroit-based marketing analytics company reach | influence.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Boston-based market intelligence firm InCrowd has formed a partnership with Physician Moms Group, a community of female doctors across all specialties. The partnership gives female physicians added influence and representation in market research and more say in how decisions are made in the health care industry.
IBM, Armonk, N.Y., has formed a new agreement with drugstore chain Walgreens to deploy IBM retail analytics at over 8,100 locations to help improve the efficiency of field service support.
Stamford, Conn., research technology firm FocusVision has partnered with consumer goods company Procter & Gamble to provide software and support for its market research teams. FocusVision will support Procter & Gamble’s consumer and employee panels, integrating research from participants across all 10 product divisions. Procter & Gamble will use FocusVision’s survey platform Decipher and its panel management software Kinesis.
Los Angeles-based research platform Fuel Cycle and SurveyGizmo, Boulder, Colo., have formed a partnership to integrate SurveyGizmo’s solution into Fuel Cycle’s customer insights platform, giving Fuel Cycle clients more survey options.
Provo, Utah, research software firm Qualtrics and Indianapolis-based professional services firm Walker have formed a partnership to provide experience management solutions and services to businesses. Walker will act as a systems integrator for the Qualtrics Experience Management Platform and provide consulting guidance, end-to-end platform implementation and a managed services model to companies seeking experience management solutions.
U.K. firm Circle Research has collaborated with marketing and communications agency Radley Yeldar. The two firms interviewed 10 companies featured in Radley Yeldar’s 2016 Fit for Purpose Index to find out what role purpose plays in the B2B business sector.
Stockholm-based software company Cint has formed a partnership with data commercialization company Narrative I/O. The partnership will allow buyers in Narrative’s marketplace to purchase Cint’s first-person data.
Atlanta-based health care technology company Pursuant Health has partnered with Alpharetta, Ga., researcher P2Sample to provide insights for pharmaceutical, CPG and shopper-oriented marketers, with targeting by geographic location, real-time biometric measurements, demographic and behavioral data.
The National Retail Federation, Washington, D.C., and Ascential PLC, parent company of the World Retail Congress, have formed a global partnership.
In Sydney, Research Now and RDA Research have formed a partnership, allowing clients in Australia and New Zealand to connect data across the marketing lifecycle. RDA Research’s geoTribes solution targets research participants based on 15 named audience segments that use age, life stage and socioeconomic status to reflect elements of the population at a certain lifecycle stage. Matching RDA’s segmentation data with Research Now’s data from opted-in panel members will allow Research Now to provide survey-based research insights.
In Beijing, e-commerce company JD.com and Internet services firm Tencent have expanded their partnership and have launched the JD-Tencent Retail Marketing Solution, which integrates insights on consumer behavior from Tencent’s social platforms with online and offline shopping data from JD and its brand partners.
Stockholm-based software company Cint has partnered with Miami Beach, Fla., firm eCGlobal Research Solutions to expand its reach into Latin America. Through the partnership, Cint’s insights exchange will gain additional respondents in Latin America, as well as the addition of eCGlobal’s Hispanic audience in the U.S. ECGlobal will use Cint’s technology to automate its recruitment and digital research fielding.
In London, audience platform Lucid and panel management platform Ingress have formed a partnership, increasing sample supply and access across Europe. Ingress will be integrated into Lucid’s programmatic marketplace, providing access for sample suppliers looking to expand throughout the European market and beyond.
Association/organization news
The QRCA, St. Paul, Minn., has created NewQ, a membership category for new professionals in the field of qualitative research, specifically those who have been practicing qualitative research for less than five years. The NewQ membership will cost $175 per year.
The Insights Association and MRIA have penned an open letter to Craig Federighi, senior VP of software engineering at Apple, about Apple’s newest Safari browser update. According to the associations, the new intelligent tracking prevention system in Safari poses a problem for online research and analytics, including consent-based online audience measurement and user experience research.
Awards/rankings
Rob Ramirez, executive vice president of strategic development for Iselin, N.J., researcher Schlesinger Associates, was named a finalist in the Constellation SuperNova Awards. The awards recognize leaders and teams for their application of disruptive technology in business.
Research firm Clearworks announced the 2017 Clearworks Student Innovators, who each received full sponsorship to attend TMRE in October. The students are Alex Kass, Paul H. Park and Sneha Venkatraman.
Steve Murphy, CIO of Boca Raton, Fla., mobile marketing firm 3Cinteractive, has been selected as a CIO Award finalist for the 2017 Technology Awards.
The first annual MRX Diversity Champion Award was presented to Denene Jonielle Rodney, founder of research firm Zebra Strategies, at TMRE in October. The award was created by nonprofit organization Women in Research in collaboration with TMRE.
New accounts/projects
U.K.-based DJS Research has won a two-year contract for the Consumer Council for Water’s 2017-18 and 2018-19 Water Matters survey, which will help understand customer views of water and sewerage services and how they change over time.
New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions
Germany-based agricultural research firm Kleffmann Group has restructured its consulting division amisAgriGlobe. The developing team will be managed by Bob Fairclough as director and team leader. Two new sub-teams have also been created: the analytical team, led by Puran Mal; and the team of excellence, led by Fairclough.
Virginia Beach, Va., research company Issues and Answers Network plans to open a call center in Fayetteville, N.C., which the company plans to eventually grow into 300 to 500 permanent part-time jobs.
Research firm Survey Healthcare (SHC) has announced a 46 percent increase in its production staff, based out of its Pocatello, Idaho, and London operations. The company has also announced rebranding initiatives to more accurately represent its service offerings. Formerly SHC Universal, the company has formally dropped “Universal” from its corporate identity to reduce marketplace confusion and since the former CATI center business has been divested. The company also has a new logo.
In Chicago, researcher Verve has expanded into North America, providing its full-service, quant and qual, online and offline proposition. Leading the expansion is Marie Patenio, who was recently promoted to SVP, research and consulting. Also joining the business are Marlene Kohn as VP business development and Kristin Render as senior research manager. Bogdan Bucur, director of operations in London, will also join the Verve Chicago team.
Researcher John Gilfeather has announced that he is re-opening his Stamford, Conn., research consultancy John Gilfeather & Associates. Gilfeather put the practice on hold six years ago to join Koski Research.
Kantar Media, London, and software firm TechEdge have created a dedicated audience analytics software unit, led by Andreas Velter. The new unit will focus on innovation, driving new product developments for the media industry and supporting existing applications.
U.K. research firm Join the Dots will be opening an office in New York, its second international opening following the launch in Singapore last year. The U.S. operations will be headed up by Jeff Haselum, who has been promoted to head of U.S. research.
U.K.-based consultancy DJS Research has opened an office in Leeds. Simon Driver, recently appointed as research director, will head up the research department in Leeds and Matt Coulling, operations director, will oversee operations.
Kantar Worldpanel, based in London, has launched a household panel in the United Arab Emirates, covering Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman.