News notes
Research companies Survey Sampling International (SSI), Shelton, Conn., and Opinionology, Orem, Utah, have agreed to combine, pending regulatory approval. The two companies will operate under the SSI brand.
The Council of American Survey Research Organizations, Port Jefferson, N.Y., and ESOMAR, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, submitted a position paper offering conditional support of the Federal Trade Commission’s Do Not Track legislation, stating: “We support do-not-track proposals to the extent that they allow consumers to opt-out of online behavioral advertising. The scope of do-not-track should be limited to this activity and tracking where there is criminal or malicious intent. Web site analytics and tracking activities conducted by research organizations for legitimate research purposes should be excluded.”
Scottsdale, Ariz., research company The HSM Group has received national certification from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, Washington, D.C., as a business that is at least 51 percent owned, controlled, operated and managed by a woman or women.
Acquisitions/transactions
New York researcher The Nielsen Company has acquired NeuroFocus Inc., a Berkeley, Calif., research company. NeuroFocus will become a part of Nielsen’s product innovation practice and will continue to be led by founder and CEO A.K. Pradeep.
London research company dunnhumby Ltd. has agreed to acquire Boston social marketing company BzzAgent. BzzAgent will become a subsidiary of dunnhumby and operate as a stand-alone business. Dave Balter, CEO and founder of BzzAgent, will continue in his current role and will also join the dunnhumby executive team.
New York accounting company Deloitte has purchased all assets of Oco Inc., a Waltham, Mass., research software provider.
Forrester Research Inc., Cambridge, Mass., has acquired Springboard Research, Singapore. Springboard employees will join Forrester.
Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, the founders of YouTube, San Bruno, Calif., have acquired Tap11, a social media analytics company.
Palo Alto, Calif., research company SurveyMonkey has acquired Infinity Box Inc., a Tampa, Fla., Web application company and creator of Wufoo, an app for creating online forms. The Wufoo team will relocate to Palo Alto to join the combined company.
Echo Research, London, has been acquired by London research company Ebiquity. Echo’s team and name will remain the same.
Plano, Texas, research company e-Rewards Inc. has agreed to acquire Conversition Strategies, a Toronto social media data collection company.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Rochester, N.Y, research company Harris Interactive and Sybase, a Dublin, Calif., software company, have partnered to launch Harris Interactive’s mobile research capability on the three primary mobile platforms.
Research companies ActiveGroup Ventures Inc., Atlanta, and Kantar Group, London, have partnered to bring ActiveGroup’s videostreaming, online interview tools and bulletin/community boards to Kantar’s suite of research offerings and methodologies.
Awards/rankings
Orem, Utah, research company Opinionology’s Opinion Outpost panel was recognized as “perfectly consistent” in a blind and unrestricted audit performed by Mktg, Inc., an East Islip, N.Y., research company. The test includes 50,000+ interviews gathered in three waves from June 2010 to March 2011. Opinionology’s panel varied less than 1 percent on each of the evaluated behavioral, psychographic and demographic indicators.
AbsolutData Technologies Inc., a San Francisco research company, has been listed as one of the Top 10 Companies in Marketing Services Outsourcing by International Association of Outsourcing Professionals.
Service Management Group, a Kansas City, Mo., research company, was awarded the 2010 Purveyor of the Year award by OSI Restaurant Partners LLC, Tampa, Fla., for its work across OSI brands.
Bethesda, Md., research company Abt Associates has been recognized as one of the world’s top-40 development innovators by Devex, a Geneva business intelligence and recruitment services provider. The award recognizes leading development organizations that have been the most innovative in meeting the global challenges of underdevelopment and poverty.
Vancouver, B.C., research company Vision Critical’s Andrew Reid has been named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 for 2010 for promoting mentorship and professional development.
New accounts/projects
Reston, Va., research company comScore Inc. has been awarded a three-year contract by the Czech Association for Internet Advertising to serve as the official source of record for Internet audience measurement for online and mobile media.
Ann Arbor, Mich., research company ForeSee Results has been selected by travel company TUI Travel UK and Ireland to measure customer satisfaction on www.firstchoice.co.uk and www.thomson.co.uk.
Los Angeles digital entertainment network Kabillion has selected Portland, Ore., research company Rentrak Corporation’s OnDemand Essentials TV ratings to provide performance reporting for video-on-demand viewing. Relativity Media, West Hollywood, Calif., and Phase 4 Films, Toronto, have also expanded their existing contracts with Rentrak to include OnDemand Essentials. Additionally, The Richards Group, Dallas, has adopted Rentrak’s StationView Essentials TV ratings database. Finally, Si TV, Los Angeles, has extended its contract with Rentrak for Rentrak’s TV Essentials television ratings service.
Populus Data Solutions, a U.K. research company, has selected Surrey, U.K., research software company MARSC Limited’s MARSC.net panel management and sampling software system to run a professional online data collection business.
Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Lakewood, Colo., has chosen Kansas City, Mo., research company Service Management Group as its provider.
Austin, Texas, research company Kinesis Survey Technologies LLC’s Kinesis Survey software platform has been adopted by Alexis Research, North Wales, Pa. Additionally, Noviodata, a Netherlands research company, has selected Kinesis’ survey and panel management software platform.
New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions
Reston, Va., research company Clarabridge has opened its U.K. operations at the British Library.
Paris research software company Askia has opened an office in Mannheim, Germany. Dietmar Dzierzawa will serve as managing director and lead the operation.
Researcher Julie Houston has launched Nitty Gritty, an Australia social marketing insight consultancy. The firm is online at www.nittygritty.net.au.
Fresno, Calif., research company Decipher Inc. has relocated its headquarters to a larger facility.
London research company DigitalMR has launched DigitalMR USA with the opening of an office in Columbus, Ohio. Ryan Rutan has been appointed to lead the operation.
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, research company Cimigo has opened an office in Shanghai under the leadership of General Manager Daisy Sam.
Port Washington, N.Y., research company The NPD Group has opened a facility in Athlone, Ireland, to serve as the company’s global IT/operations center.
Las Vegas research company Precision Opinion has launched Focus+, a focus group facility and division of Precision Opinion to be lead and managed by Lisabeth Couturier.
Workhorse Field Management Services LLC, a Charleston, S.C., research company, has opened for business. Workhorse is led by its president, Scott Debrow. The firm is online at www.workhorsemr.com.
M3 Global Research, Washington, D.C., has opened an office in Princeton, N.J. Additionally, M3 Global Research’s London operation EMS Research has relocated and expanded its focus group facility studios.
Ipsos in North America, a New York research company, has moved its headquarters to the Time-Life Building at 1271 Avenue of the Americas, 15th floor.
Research company The Pert Group has relocated its headquarters from Bloomfield, Conn., to Farmington, Conn., to accommodate growth. The new office is located at 270 Farmington Avenue, Suite 200.
Bangalore, India, research company Cross-Tab has opened an office in Goregaon, Mumbai.
Austin, Texas, research company Kinesis Survey Technologies LLC has expanded its London office to include customer and technical support functions for all Kinesis clients based in Europe. Kinesis clients located in other regions will continue to be supported from its U.S. headquarters office in Austin.
New York research company WorldOne has opened an office in Mexico City. Roberto Varillas will serve as managing director, Mexico.
Gilmore Research Group, Seattle, has reorganized to launch its health care division.
Hatch Global Research, St. Louis, has opened an office in Frontenac, Mo., at 10403 Clayton Road, Suite 115.
Research company earnings/financial news
Arbitron Inc., Columbia, Md., announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011. Net income increased 18.2 percent to $16.2 million over first-quarter 2010. Revenue was $100.9 million, an increase of 5.2 percent over first-quarter 2010. Operating income increased 15.5 percent to $29.1 million.
Maritz Research, St. Louis, released its U.K. revenue figures for 2010, reporting organic growth of 12.8 percent over 2009.
The Nielsen Company, New York, announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011. Revenues increased 8.9 percent to $1,302 million over the first quarter of 2010. Net loss was $181 million compared to $43 million of net income in the first quarter of 2010. Adjusted net income for the first quarter increased to $64 million, compared to $16 million in the first quarter of 2010.
Evolution Marketing Research, Blue Bell, Pa., announced 2010 sales revenue of $12.5 million, representing 11 percent growth since 2009.
The GfK Group, Nuremberg, Germany, reported earnings for first-quarter 2011. Consolidated sales grew 10.4 percent to 310.2 million euros. Sales were 310.2 million euros, an increase of 10.4 percent. Adjusted operating income increased to 30.5 million euros, up 20.5 percent over the same prior-year period. Operating income rose 32.8 percent to 24.9 million euros.
Ipsos, Paris, reported organic growth of 6.2 percent for the first-quarter 2011.
Harris Interactive, Rochester, N.Y., announced results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2011. Revenue decreased 9 percent. Operating loss grew from $0.9 million in third-quarter 2010 to $1.9 million for third-quarter 2011. Total revenue was $38.1 million, compared to $41.2 million for the same prior-year period. Total revenue for the first nine months of fiscal 2011 was $120 million, compared to $124.8 million for the same prior-year period.
ComScore Inc., Reston, Va., achieved revenue of $53 million in the first quarter of 2011, an increase of 47 percent over the first quarter of 2010.
Invoke Solutions, Waltham, Mass., raised $3.8 million from its investors BRM Capital, Bain Capital, BEV Capital333 and North Atlantic Capital.