News notes
According to data released on December 17, 2009, the Research Industry Index (RII), a measurement of the state of the U.S. research industry conducted by the Marketing Research Association, Glastonbury, Conn., experienced its second consecutive increase to 87 from a second-quarter 2009 score of 86. The cumulative three-point gain over a six-month period follows a decline during five consecutive quarters. The RII also reports that RFPs and proposals in the industry continue to increase.
Atlanta research company Jackson Associates has left GroupNet, a network of independently-owned and -operated focus group facilities in the U.S. Jackson Associates had been a GroupNet member since 1994.
Automated Research and Marketing, Fayetteville, Ark., has shut down its operation after nine years of business, including closing its Tulsa, Okla., location.
London research company BrainJuicer celebrated its 10th anniversary in December 2009.
Acquisitions/transactions
Portland, Ore., research company Rentrak Corporation has agreed to acquire Nielsen EDI, a measurement division of New York researcher The Nielsen Company. As part of the transaction, Nielsen will enter into a long-term data license agreement with Rentrak for continued access to certain box-office sales information. Nielsen EDI will be integrated into Rentrak’s AMI division and its Box Office Essentials business.
Menlo Park, Calif., research company Knowledge Networks has acquired Caduceus Marketing Research, Mount Arlington, N.J., to expand its health care and pharmaceutical research capabilities.
Gartner Inc., a Stamford, Conn., research company, has agreed to acquire AMR Research Inc., Boston, for approximately $64 million in cash.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Environics Analytics, a Toronto research company, and Research Now, London, have partnered to code the Research Now online panel of 400,000 Canadians with PRIZMC2, Environics Analytics’ segmentation system, which includes 66 consumer lifestyle types.
Naperville, Ill., research company Millward Brown and China-based research company Moment Systems have formed an alliance in which Millward Brown will provide its clients with the digital advertising monitoring system developed by Moment Systems. The companies will work together to develop new digital research and planning solutions for advertisers and their agencies.
New York researcher The Nielsen Company and Catalina Marketing Corporation, a St. Petersburg, Fla., communications company, have formed Nielsen Catalina Ventures, a joint venture to create media solutions and ROI measurement tools to connect marketing exposure to actual purchase. The collaboration will integrate information from Nielsen’s purchase panels with purchase data from shoppers from a cross-section of retailers in Catalina Marketing’s network.
TiVo, Alviso, Calif., and Google, Mountain View, Calif., have entered into an audience research agreement in which Google will integrate TiVo television viewing data into its measurement of audiences for ads sold through the Google TV Ads platform. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Montreal research company Metro Inc. has partnered with London research company dunnhumby to create dunnhumby Canada, a joint venture focused on customer satisfaction.
Awards/rankings
Research Magazine, London, announced the winners of its Research Magazine Awards 2009: Flamingo, Best Agency; Razor Research, Best New Agency; Starcom MediaVest Group, Research Breakthrough; Hall and Partners Europe, Best Place to Work in Research; New Look and eDigitalResearch, Business Transformation.
The Ipsos research team in Cincinnati was selected by the U.S. Commerce Association, Washington, D.C., as the recipient of 2009 Best of Cincinnati Award in the Marketing Program Services category.
The University of Georgia, Athens, has been ranked No. 1 in advertising research by the International Journal of Advertising, Oxfordshire, U.K., based on the number of articles published in top advertising journals.
The Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA), St. Paul, Minn., selected Ngaia Calder of Auckland, New Zealand, to receive QRCA’s 2009 Global Outreach Scholarship.
New accounts/projects
Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), a Harleysville, Pa., research company, and Mediamark Research and Intelligence (MRI), New York, have integrated NMI’s Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) consumer segmentation model with MRI’s Survey of the American Consumer database to evaluate the sustainability marketplace. NMI has identified five LOHAS segments, which will be available to MRI.
Columbia, Md., research company Arbitron Inc. has accelerated a scheduled increase in its diary market cell-phone-only (CPO) household sample target, aiming to raise the proportion of its diary sample coming from CPO households to an average of 15 percent across the U.S. by spring 2010.
Additionally, Arbitron has partnered with research companies comScore Inc., Reston, Va., and Omniture, Orem, Utah, to provide cross-platform audience measurement for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games on NBC. The three firms plan to track NBC’s total Olympic coverage reach across its broadcast, cable and online platforms. NBC expects to have access to day-after-next results.
Finally, Arbitron and radio networks Dial-Global, Premiere Radio Networks and Westwood One have agreed to collaborate on an initiative intended to improve the analytical methods used by advertisers to evaluate the tangible impact of radio advertising on product sales.
Christian Research, Swindon, U.K., has chosen Cologne, Germany, research company Globalpark’s software platform to power its Faith Journey project, an initiative that aims to record U.K. faith journeys.
Chicago research company UXalliance has added SSB BART Group, a Washington, D.C., IT company, and Bentley University, Waltham, Mass., to its global research network. SSB BART Group is the network’s first corporate member.
EasyInsites, a Surrey, U.K., research company, has been selected to build and maintain U.K. network GMTV’s research panel, ViewBack. EasyInsites will use its EasyMobile product to allow viewers to text a term to a free mobile number shown during a program. Once the text is received and e-mail address provided, online registration will occur. ViewBack will also provide members with direct incentives via PayPal and be open to other researchers through the EasyExchange (also known as the Cint Panel Exchange).
TNS Media, a New York research company, renewed its five-year partnership with British Sky Broadcasting, Middlesex, U.K., for the provision of SkyView, its audience measurement panel.
Separately, TNS Telegal, a Tel-Aviv, Israel, research company, has renewed its contract to continue operating the national Israeli Television Audience Measurement service, awarded by the Israeli Audience Research Board, also of Tel-Aviv.
New York researcher The Nielsen Company has begun measuring television viewing in Puerto Rico. The first clients for the ratings service include WKAQ-TV (Telemundo); WLII-TV (Univision); and WAPA-TV (independent).
New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions
Cologne, Germany, research company Globalpark has relocated its New York office to 299 Broadway, 19th Floor, New York.
Paul Lubin has opened Lubin Research LLC, with offices in New Rochelle, N.Y., and Delray Beach, Fla.
Rotterdam, the Netherlands, research company Skim has opened a London office.
Acropolis Research Suites and Services LLP has opened its doors in Bangalore, India. Acropolis is a focus group facility that features three themed group discussion rooms, a test kitchen and food lounge. The firm is online at www.acropolisresearch.com.
Stockholm, Sweden, research company Cint has moved its sales headquarters to its London location. Richard Thornton has been named global sales director in London.
Research company Next-Generation Marketing Insights has opened in Charlotte, N.C., specializing in Web analytics, predictive modeling and social network data mining. The firm is online at www.nextgenmi.com.