News notes
In response to efforts made by the Marketing Research Association, Glastonbury, Conn., to protect research with health care practitioners in Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Department of Health has issued official guidance exempting market research incentives from the application of the state’s new Marketing Code of Conduct for pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.
The Department specifically exempted incentives from public reporting requirements, as long as health care practitioners who receive market research incentives “do not know what pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturing company” sponsored the research and the sponsor “does not know which health care practitioners participated in the study.”
Ci Research, Cheshire, U.K., has confirmed its £2 million management team buyout to turn over the company. Managing director Ian Font and fellow investors Colin Auton, Andy Wright, Richard Walker and Katie Waterhouse will head up the new executive team.
Republican polling firm Public Opinion Strategies, Alexandria, Va., has resigned from U.S. Senator Arlen Specter’s campaign team in response to Specter’s switching political parties in April 2009.
PERT Survey Research, Bloomfield, Conn., has changed its name to The PERT Group.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, research company Itracks has noted a 40 percent increase in online qualitative activity in first-quarter 2009 over the same period last year. In addition, the company has conducted its 10,000th online qualitative focus group.
Stix Market Research, Kerrville, Texas, celebrated its 10th anniversary in April 2009.
Acquisitions/transactions
An investor group, including Boston firms Spectrum Equity Investors and Bain Capital Ventures, has entered into an agreement with Portland, Ore., online survey creation company SurveyMonkey to acquire a majority stake interest in the company. As part of the transaction, Dave Goldberg will become CEO of SurveyMonkey and a minority investor in the company. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
London research company YouGov has acquired Princeton, N.J., research company Clear Horizons for an initial $600,000. The fee could rise to $2.7 million based on certain performance targets over the next three years.
Bloomfield, Conn., research company The PERT Group has acquired two research companies: Market Directions Inc., Kansas City, Mo., and Pulsar Research, Storrs, Conn. Both companies will continue to operate as part of The PERT Group.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Two State College, Pa., research firms, Diagnostics Plus and Market Insight, have entered into a strategic alliance and will combine operations. Both companies will continue to operate a call center in State College and will operate under one roof at 1333 S. Allen St. Diagnostics Plus also has an office in Pittsburgh.
New York consulting company Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) and San Antonio research company Frost and Sullivan have formed an alliance. Frost and Sullivan will become a premium GLG council partner, allowing Frost and Sullivan’s consultants to communicate with GLG clients through GLG’s platform. Additionally, GLG will introduce published resources from Frost and Sullivan’s TEAM Research offering to its clients.
Informa Research Services Inc., Calabasas, Calif., and Omega Performance Corporation, a Charlotte, N.C., consulting company, have partnered to deliver an approach for improving financial institutions’ employee performance through targeted training and customer experience measurement.
Los Angeles research company OTX has formed an alliance with Los Angeles consumer technology immersion lab Emerging Media Lab (EML), a division of New York advertising and marketing company Interpublic Group (IPG). OTX will have full access to EML. Additionally, OTX and IPG will issue periodic white papers and reports based on the findings from their collaborative studies. As part of this alliance, IPG will also have access to all of OTX’s syndicated research products and services.
Association/organization news
The Marketing Research Association (MRA), Glastonbury, Conn., has officially endorsed Robert Groves, President Obama’s nominee as director of the U.S. Bureau of the Census. MRA has urged the Senate to promptly approve Groves and let him begin working.
Additionally, MRA has announced its annual board of directors. Kim Larson of Information Alliance will serve as MRA’s 2009-2010 president. Jon Last of Sports and Leisure Research Group will serve on the board as past president; Elisa Galloway of Galloway Research Service Inc. as president-elect; Ken Roberts of Cooper Roberts Research as treasurer; and Kevin Lonnie of KL Communications as secretary.
The following research professionals will join MRA’s board as directors-at-large: Debbie Schlesinger-Hellman of Schlesinger Associates; Marisa Pope of Jackson Associates; Jill Donahue of Nestle Purina PetCare Company; and Adam Weinstein of Authentic Response.
Joining the board as workgroup chairs are Diane Kosobud of Ipsos North America; Janet Savoie of M/A/R/C Research; Angela Lorinchak of Metro Research Services; Magda Cooling of Opinions... of Sacramento; and Ted Donnelly of Baltimore Research.
Awards/rankings
Taymoor Arshi, senior vice president, engineering and CTO of Columbia, Md., research company Arbitron Inc., has been selected to the 2009 Academy of Distinguished Engineers at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore. Membership is awarded to mid-career Oregon State alumni who have sustained distinguished contributions to their profession, to their field, to Oregon State or to society at large.
New accounts/projects
Dallas research company e-Rewards Inc. has entered into an agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group , a Denham, U.K., hotel management company. Members of the hotelier’s Priority Club rewards program will have the opportunity to enroll in the e-Rewards opinion panels and earn rewards, including Priority Club points, in exchange for sharing their thoughts and opinions with market researchers.
Huntington Bancshares, a Columbus, Ohio, bank holding company, has renewed its contract for a second year with Omaha, Neb., research company The MSR Group ’s APECS customer satisfaction and advocacy measurement system.
New York researcher The Nielsen Company has extended its relationship with General Mills , Minneapolis. Nielsen will provide General Mills with retail tracking, insights on consumer purchase behavior, analytic tools and technology services.
Columbia, Md., research company Arbitron Inc. has signed a new three-year agreement with San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications Inc. for diary-based radio ratings services, as well as other related agreements.
Additionally, Arbitron has renewed a multiyear agreement with Beasley Broadcast Group Inc. , Naples, Fla., for diary-based radio ratings services in five markets: Augusta, Ga.; Fayetteville, N.C.; Ft. Myers, Fla.; Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville, N.C.; and Wilmington, Del. Beasley had previously signed for the Arbitron Portable People Meter (PPM) radio ratings services in Philadelphia and for PPM services in Las Vegas and Miami when Arbitron commercializes the service in those markets.
Finally, Arbitron has announced plans to raise three of its sample-quality benchmarks and its average in-tab sample targets for cell-phone-only households in its PPM radio ratings services. The company also intends to report PPM panel composition by country of origin for Hispanic respondents starting in the first quarter of 2010.
Several Baskin Robbins franchises have selected Nashville, Tenn., research company edo interactive inc. ’s marketing platform Prewards to deliver incentives. Baskin Robbins will utilize Prewards to incentivize purchases at their Los Altos, Blackhawk, and San Ramon, Calif., locations.
Preward campaigns are designed to allow companies to demographically target specific debit-card holders by offering them a monetary incentive to purchase or use a product - in this case a one-dollar Preward. When consumers choose to accept the Preward, it is stored on their debit card until the point of purchase, at which time it is applied with any remaining balance deducted from their existing balance.
New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions
Media Monitors , a White Plains, N.Y., broadcast verification service, has opened a branch in London. Georgie Greenland will serve as the training and support specialist for the region. The company plans to expand further across the British Isles.
Stockholm, Sweden, research company Cint has opened an office in Berlin. Michael Henrich, CEO of Cint Germany, will manage the office and be responsible for customer development and support in all German-speaking countries, including Austria and Switzerland.
Entertainment Research and Marketing has opened its doors at 1120 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Floor, New York. The company specializes in delivering audience feedback on movies, live theater, video games and other forms of consumer entertainment.
Leyhausen Field Services International , a Leverkusen, Germany, research company, has opened an office in the Middle East. The facility is located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Gilmore Research Group , Seattle, has opened a new location with three separate focus suites. Gilmore’s corporate headquarters and research team will be housed in the new location at 2101 4th Ave., 8th Floor.
MP Global Link India, a Mumbai research company, commenced operations on April 1, 2009, as a national fieldwork agency. The company formerly served as the field operations unit for Market Probe India, a division of Milwaukee research company Market Probe .
Research company earnings/financial news
The Nielsen Company , New York, announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2009. Reported revenues were $1,133 million, a decrease of 7 percent over reported revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2008, of $1,214 million. Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, revenues increased 1 percent.
Reported operating income for the quarter was $109 million, compared to $115 million for the prior-year period. These results were negatively impacted by charges relating to restructuring costs. Adjusting for these items, operating income on a constant currency basis increased 1 percent.
As of March 31, 2009, total debt was $8,576 million, and cash balances were $410 million. Capital expenditures were $64 million, compared with $69 million for the prior-year period.
Arbitron Inc. , Columbia, Md., announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009. Net income for the quarter was $12.3 million, or $0.46 per share (diluted), compared with $16.3 million, or $0.57 per share (diluted) for first-quarter 2008. Excluding the $8.2 million pre-tax impact of the previously-disclosed restructuring charge, earnings per share for the quarter were $0.65 per share (diluted).
For the first quarter of 2009, Arbitron reported revenue of $98.5 million, an increase of 4.7 percent over revenue of $94.1 million during first-quarter 2008.
Costs and expenses increased by 19.1 percent, from $63.3 million in 2008 to $75.4 million in 2009, due to planned expenditures for the Portable People Meter ratings panels, the planned introduction of cell-phone-only household sampling in diary markets and expenses of $8.2 million related mainly to severance and benefits for the reorganization and restructuring program announced in March 2009.
Income from continuing operations for the quarter was $12.3 million or $0.46 per share (diluted), compared with $16.3 million, or $0.58 per share (diluted) in first-quarter 2008.
Toluna, London, reported results for the year ended December 31, 2008. Revenue rose 74 percent to £21.7 million (£12.5 million in 2007); net cash from operating activities increased 47 percent to £5.0 million (£3.4 million in 2007); profit before tax increased 48 percent to £4.7 million (£3.2 million in 2007); total dividend increased 47 percent to 1.65 pence (1.12 pence in 2007); and earnings per share increased percent to 9.63 pence (6.59 pence in 2007).
In 2008, Toluna also acquired Dallas research company Common Knowledge and opened an office in Sydney, Australia.
Ipsos, Paris, reported first-quarter 2009 revenues of EUR 207.3 million, down 4.6 percent compared with the same period of 2008. The three components of this decline were negative organic growth of 5.1 percent; negative currency effects of 2.3 percent; and positive consolidation effects of 2.8 percent due to the consolidation of Punto de Vista, a Chilean research company Ipsos acquired in 2008.
Harris Interactive , Rochester, N.Y., reported total revenue for the third quarter of fiscal year 2009 of $39.9 million, as compared with $57.3 million for the same period in the prior year, representing a decline of $17.4 million or 30.4 percent. Included in the decline was an unfavorable foreign exchange rate impact of $4.4 million.
Operating loss was ($7.3) million, as compared with an operating loss of ($1.9) million for the prior-year period. The operating loss included $5.3 million in restructuring and other charges, specifically $3.4 million for severance related to U.S. and U.K. headcount reductions and post-employment payments to a former executive; $1.1 million for performance improvement consultant fees; $0.8 million in other charges, including a reserve for a note receivable (whose collectability is doubtful) and bank negotiation legal fees.
Net loss was ($6.7) million, or ($0.12) per fully diluted share, as compared with a net loss of ($2.1) million, or ($0.04) per fully diluted share for the prior-year period.
Research Now , London, announced preliminary results for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2008. Group revenues rose 60 percent to £41.2 million (£25.8 million in 2007) and underlying revenue growth rose 40 percent. Repeat business generated 83 percent of revenues. Operating profit rose 15.3 percent to £6.3 million (£2.3 million in 2007). Profit before tax increased to £5.7 million, up from £0.3 million in 2007.
Datascension Inc. , Las Vegas, announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009. The company recorded earnings up $75,801 over the prior-year first quarter. Total net revenues decreased to $3.7 million as compared to $5.3 million for the prior-year period. Net profit for the quarter was $8,911, compared to a net loss of ($66,890) for the prior-year quarter.
TRA, New York, has closed its second round of series B funding led by Arbitron Inc., raising $13.5 million. The round included participation by current investors Kodiak Venture Partners and WPP, as well as others. TRA plans to use the funds to grow its sales team and invest in Media TRAnalytics, the company’s online reporting engine.
Psydex, Atlanta, has received $3.5 million in funding. Psydex will use the investment to launch Psyng, a news service portal designed to scour newswires, Internet feeds, TV closed captions, blogs and other sources of chatter to reveal statistical patterns and trends in social networks, human behavior and financial markets.
Tobii Technology , Stockholm, Sweden, has received EUR 16 million expansion capital from investment companies Amadeus Capital Partners, Northzone Ventures and Investor Growth Capital. The capital will be used to expand Tobii’s eye-tracking technology and services.
Cello, London, has acquired an additional 30.6 percent in Fenix Media Limited, London, taking its total holding to 50.7 percent. The original stake was acquired in December 2007.