News notes

On April 12, Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced a Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights to establish a baseline code of conduct for how personally-identifiable information and information that can uniquely identify an individual or networked device are used, stored and distributed. Privacy rights include the right to security and accountability; the right to notice, consent, access and correction of information; and the right to data minimization, constraints on distribution and data integrity. Other elements include enforcement, voluntary safe-harbor programs and the role of the Department of Commerce.

The Media Rating Council (MRC), New York, has granted accreditation to Arbitron’s TAPSCAN Web, a Web-based sales proposal and analysis software system for radio. The MRC has also accredited the monthly average-quarter-hour radio ratings data produced by the Portable People Meter radio ratings service in 11 additional markets: Atlanta; Cincinnati; Cleveland; Kansas City; Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo, Utah; St. Louis; and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.
Separately, Reston, Va., research company comScore Inc. has received accreditation from the MRC for its comScore Direct service.

Acquisitions/transactions

U.K. research company SPA Future Thinking has acquired the Munro Group, East Kilbride, U.K., which includes FDS International, a London research company, and Maven Research, London, for an undisclosed sum. Munro will be incorporated into the SPA Future Thinking brand.

London research company YouGov has agreed to acquire Definitive Insights, a Portland, Ore., research consultancy.

Washington, D.C., research agency CSA has acquired Paris research company Directpanel.

Port Washington, N.Y., research company NPD Group has finalized its acquisition of In-Stat, a Scottsdale, Ariz., research company. In-Stat will operate in conjunction with NPD’s DisplaySearch division but retain its name.

London research company Cello Group PLC has acquired Redhill, U.K., research company Red Kite Consulting Group Limited. Cello will merge Red Kite with MSI, its existing pharmaceutical consulting business.

KANA Software Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., has completed its acquisition of Overtone Inc., a San Francisco social media and customer listening company.

New York technology analyst company The 451 Group has acquired ChangeWave Research, Rockville, Md.

New York hotelier solutions company Travelclick has acquired Maharashtra, India, research company Rubicon.

San Francisco software company Meltwater Group has acquired Bedford, N.H., customer relations management software company JitterJam.

Paris research company Ipsos has agreed to purchase the Central America custom research brand for TMG - The Marketing Group, New York.

Boulder, Colo., research company Market Force Information has acquired Winnipeg, Manitoba, research company Tell Us About Us.

Alliances/strategic partnerships

Research companies Ask Your Target Market (AYTM), San Francisco, and uSamp, Encino, Calif., have partnered to make uSamp’s panel of U.S. survey respondents available to AYTM clients.

Reston, Va., research software company Clarabridge Inc. and NM Incite, a New York joint venture of Nielsen and McKinsey & Company, have formed a strategic alliance to offer clients NM Incite’s social media data through the Clarabridge platform.

New York research company GfK MRI and Starch Research Services Limited, Toronto, have partnered to launch GfK MRI StarchMetrix, a syndicated service to provide ROI metrics for ads appearing in Canadian consumer magazines.

London research company Crowd DNA has partnered with New York research consultancy the rabbit hole to make the rabbit hole’s network and offerings available to Crowd DNA clients.

Research companies KL Communications Inc., Red Bank, N.J., and NetBase Solutions Inc., Mountain View, Calif., have partnered to integrate social media analysis into KL Communications’ research platform.

Scarborough Research, New York, and Geoscape, a Miami research company, have partnered to improve their efforts toward Hispanic consumers by adding Geoscape’s Hispanicity segmentation system to Scarborough’s consumer studies and Hispanic databases.

Corvallis, Ore., research company InsightsNow has partnered with Rubinson Partners Inc., a New York research consultancy, to create innovation methods for the consumer packaged goods industry.

GfK Custom Research North America, New York, has formed an alliance with Mountain View, Calif., research company NetBase use NetBase’s platform, social intelligence warehouse, analytic tools and scorecards.

Research companies Quick Test/Heakin, Jupiter, Fla., and ActiveGroup Ventures Inc., Atlanta, have formed a strategic partnership to offer ActiveGroup’s services to Quick Test/Heakin clients under one contract.

Awards/rankings

Short Hills, N.J., open ratings company Dun & Bradstreet has certified QSA Integrated Research Solutions, Alexandria, Va., as a top-quintile performer for demonstrating outstanding overall customer satisfaction relative to similar companies.

Adelphi Research by Design, Doylestown, Pa., has been named 2010 Global Supplier of the Year by Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis. The award is presented to recognize exceptional efforts.

The Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA), St. Paul, Minn., presented Seattle advertising agency Cole & Weber United’s Project See-Store: Getting Behind the Counter project as the winner of the Qually Award for excellence in qualitative research. The award was presented at the QRCA Symposium on Excellence in Qualitative Research in May in Chicago.

Cologne, Germany, research company Globalpark awarded London research companies Ipsos MORI and Lumi Mobile the Mobile Research Conference award for their project, titled “Appcast: Live mobile engagement & insights – I’m having fun, can this really be research?”

The Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), New York, presented the ARF Great Mind Awards at the ARF Re:think 2011 Convention in March. New York research company Ipsos ASI’s Next*Connect development team received the 2011 ARF Great Mind Quality in Research Award. Additionally, Ipsos ASI researchers Dave Walker and Jim Leonick were presented with Great Mind certificates. Leonick also received a Rising Star Award certificate and Walker was presented with an Innovation Award certificate. Additionally, Encino, Calif., research company uSamp’s Chuck Miller and Melanie Courtright were named winners of the ARF Innovation Award certificate.
Separately, Bellevue, Wash., research company Global Market Insite Inc. (GMI) and Chicago research company Mintel were presented with the award for Quality in Research by the ARF. GMI’s GMI Pinnacle and GMI Interactive solutions were each awarded a Certificate of Distinction.

Kim Harrison, president and CEO of Focus Forward LLC, a Fort Washington, Pa., research company, has been named to the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 2011 40 Under 40, which recognizes individuals under the age of 40 for professional accomplishments and community involvement.

New accounts/projects

Portland, Ore., research company Rentrak Corporation’s TV Essentials reporting system has been selected by MPG, the U.S. division of Havas Media, Surenes, France.

Separately, National Geographic Channel, Washington, D.C., has expanded its contract Rentrak to provide TV Essentials for Nat Geo WILD and Nat Geo Mundo.

London research agency Opinion Leader has been chosen to manage Newark, N.J., financial service company Prudential’s Brand Tracking Survey.

Market Publishers Ltd., London, has signed agreements with AFS Research, Uzbekistan, and the Assessment Group, Birmingham, Ala., authorizing MarketPublishers.com to distribute and sell the companies’ research reports.

Austin, Texas, research company Kinesis Survey Technologies has been chosen by London research company Mobilocity to build and manage a U.K. consumer panel for real-time feedback via mobile devices.

Nuremberg, Germany, research company The GfK Group has been awarded a TV research contract to establish a TV panel in Portugal.
Additionally, GfK Ukraine has extended its contract with the Television Industry Committee and in Belgium, GfK Audimetrie has been chosen to measure radio audiences.

Bosch Power Tools, Prospect, Ill., has adopted Social Insight Connect from Cologne, Germany, research company Globalpark to add a private community to Bosch’s Facebook page focused on professional-grade power tools.

New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions

New York research company Converseon has launched Converseon Nordics in Copenhagen, Denmark, to expand its offerings in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland.

Horsham, Pa., research company TNS has opened an office in Miami.

U.K. research company DCActiv has launched a new division in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Symphony Technology Group, Palo Alto, Calif., has launched Symphony Advanced Media to provide crossmedia advertising performance analytics and consumer insights. The company is online at www.symphonyam.com.

Research companies Infogroup, Omaha, Neb., and ORC International, Princeton, N.J., have launched an FDA and regulatory practice, led by Morris S. Whitcup, chief research officer. The practice will be part of ORC International’s health care and pharmaceutical research division.

Majestic MRSS, a Mumbai, India, research company, has expanded its presence in Greater China with offices in Taiwan, Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, in addition to its existing office in Shanghai.

Psyma International Inc., a King of Prussia, Pa., research company, has restructured to prepare for a change in leadership by the end of 2011.

Austin, Texas, patient management platform MyMedLeads.com has launched MysteryShopperMD, a mystery shopping service.

Research company earnings/financial news

Nunwood, Leeds, U.K., reported an 18 percent rise in sales in first-quarter 2011, including a 116 percent increase in Nunwood’s North American operation.

BrainJuicer Group PLC, London, announced financial results for the 12 months ended December 31, 2010. Highlights include 38 percent revenue growth to £16.4 million; 35 percent growth in operating profit to £2.2 million; and 26 percent growth in fully-diluted earnings per share to 11.3 pence.

The GfK Group, Nuremberg, Germany, reported record revenues for 2010, including a 14.3 percent margin and a sales increase of 11.1 percent.
 
Synovate, Chicago, announced financial earnings for 2010. Operating profit at constant currencies increased 19.4 percent to £45.6 million and net revenue increased 9 percent to £350.7 million.

Arbitron Inc., Columbia, Md., announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011. Net income increased 18.2 percent to $16.2 million. Revenue was $100.9 million, an increase of 5.2 percent. Operating income increased 15.5 percent, to $29.1 million.

IPerceptions, Montreal, reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 (amounts in Canadian dollars). Fourth-quarter revenue rose 7 percent over the prior-year period. For the 2010 fiscal year, revenue was $5.1 million, an increase of 5 percent over 2009. Net loss and comprehensive loss for the 2010 fiscal year was $2.1 million, compared to $3.3 million in 2009.

MarketShare, Los Angeles, announced a $32 million follow-on investment by Elevation Partners, New York.

Vision Critical, Vancouver, B.C., CEO Angus Reid made a $125,000 contribution to the R. James Travers Foreign Corresponding Fellowship at Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario. The fund has been established to make an annual award of $25,000 to cover travel, reporting and research expenses and a stipend for a journalist. It will be administered by Carleton University through its School of Journalism and Communication in the Faculty of Public Affairs. The award reflects the importance that Jim Travers attached to his six years reporting from Africa and the Middle East.