News notes
On April 1, New York researcher Focus Plus marked 30 years in business.
Boston-based firm research firm InCrowd has issued the one-millionth answer from its 1.8 million-member clinical “Crowd” of physicians, nurses, pharmacists and managed care experts to companies who use InCrowd to obtain business insights. The physicians and clinicians contribute their insights as a service to the life sciences companies that work with InCrowd by answering companies’ business, regulatory and product questions.
Bloomington, Minn., research company Information Specialists Group celebrated 20 years of business on April 2. The firm says its next phase includes office expansion to add to its data collection capacity, along with a more formal training facility.
Netherlands-based research software firm Nebu and the University of Debrecen in Hungary have agreed to establish the Nebu Scholarship for IT students. Students will have the opportunity to participate in a research project during the summer, supervised by specialists from both Nebu and the university.
Synergistics Research Corp., Atlanta, celebrated its 35th anniversary on April 1.
The Research Partnership Inc. (TRP), a research firm in Wichita, Kan., is on the market after 33 years in operation. TRP and its facility are for sale by owners and founders Bob Ross and Esther Headley.
Irvine, Calif., firm MFour Mobile Research has boosted its active-panel size to more than 1 million. Since January, 198,000 new panelists have signed up for the firm’s Surveys on the Go application, putting it past the million-member milestone.
ComScore, Reston, Va., has been granted accreditation by the Media Rating Council (MRC) for its Audience module of validated Campaign Essentials 2.0 (vCE 2.0), which includes its reporting of digital campaign age, gender and behavior-based ethnicity demographics and the resulting reach, frequency and GRPs. Both the vCE 2.0 Audience and Validation modules are now accredited. ComScore is the first company to offer an MRC-accredited viewable GRP for desktop display and video campaigns, which removes non-viewable and invalid impressions from GRP calculations.
Acquisitions/transactions
New York visual content marketing platform Olapic has acquired Piqora, a firm focused on marketing and data analytics for Pinterest. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Piqora’s technology will be integrated into the Olapic visual content marketing platform. As part of the acquisition, Piqora’s San Mateo, Calif., operations and team will be merged into Olapic. Olapic is now a Marketing Developer Partner of Pinterest and offers content publishing for Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
Raleigh, N.C., firm L&E Research has continued its expansion with the recent acquisition of Focus Market Research in Minneapolis.
U.K. professional services firm MARU Group has closed the transaction to acquire Vision Critical Research and Consulting, the North American spin-off research consulting division of Canada-based customer intelligence firm Vision Critical. The new business will operate as a stand-alone entity within MARU Group as maru/vcr&c under the leadership of the current Vision Critical Research and Consulting executive team. All current Vision Critical Research and Consulting employees will retain their roles in the new independent company and continue to serve all existing customers. Following the transaction, maru/vcr&c will work in collaboration with Vision Critical via a value-added reseller and strategic partner agreement, including the continued support by the Vision Critical Research and Consulting team in managing future community-powered research projects.
San Bruno, Calif., cross-platform e-commerce provider Astound Commerce has completed its acquisition of Chicago-based e-commerce consultancy the e-tailing group.
IBM Watson Health, Armonk, N.Y., has completed its $2.6 billion acquisition of Truven Health Analytics, an Ann Arbor, Mich., cloud-based health care data, analytics and insights provider.
Germany-based panel provider respondi has purchased France-based research, data science and IT company House of Common Knowledge, allowing respondi to expand its services and products to include data science, IT solutions and the corresponding consulting skills.
Concord, Mass., retail analytics firm ShopAdvisor has acquired Redwood City, Calif., in-store product data and location services firm Retailigence.
London-based investment firm XIO Group will acquire Costa Mesa, Calif., researcher J.D. Power from McGraw Hill Financial Inc. for a purchase price of $1.1 billion. The parties have entered into a definitive agreement and anticipate that the transaction will close during the third quarter of 2016, subject to customary closing conditions. Upon closing, XIO Group will support J.D. Power’s existing management team and employees in expanding the company’s market share.
London researcher TNS has acquired all remaining shares in Taylor Nelson Sofres ICAP Market Research SA (TNS ICAP), a research agency based in Greece. The acquisition increases TNS’s stake in TNS ICAP from 51 percent to 100 percent.
Canada-based mobile customer engagement firm Mobify has acquired Pathful, a Canada-based provider of machine learning-based technology for behavior-based targeting. Terms were not disclosed. Pathful’s team has joined Mobify, including co-founders Boris Lau as senior software engineer and Campbell Macdonald as an advisor.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Santa Clara, Calif., social analytics firm NetBase has partnered with American Fork, Utah, data analytics provider Domo to integrate data from NetBase’s social analytics platform with Domo’s cloud-based platform.
Commercial Radio Malaysia, an association of commercial radio operators, has made Nuremberg, Germany, firm GfK a research partner, allowing GfK to provide advertisers and media buyers with insights into the listening habits of local radio listeners. GfK will use a combined methodological approach for the study in Malaysia, with two waves of surveys that will be conducted per year among 12,000 representatively-selected radio listeners in Malaysia. The respondents will log their radio usage over seven days, with 80 percent responding via a paper diary and 20 percent via an electronic diary. To analyze the obtained data, GfK will use its own software solution that enables broadcasters and advertisers a strategic program and media-planning tool.
U.K. customer science company dunnhumby and Facebook, Menlo Park, Calif., have formed a partnership to help FMCG brands better measure the effectiveness of campaigns on Facebook across U.K. households, specifically whether they drove in-store and online sales, using the dunnhumby Sales Impact solution. The dunnhumby and Facebook data sets will be matched while respecting data privacy using a safe haven developed by marketing technology company Acxiom that enables anonymized matching and analytics. Through the use of this safe haven, the data used cannot be attributed to an individual user or household. Eight FMCG companies have been involved in pilot-testing for the new solution, measuring 10 well-known household brands from a range of categories including soft drinks, laundry detergent, confectionery, personal care and beers, wines and spirits.
New York media and entertainment company Time Warner Inc. has formed a three-year strategic partnership with Nielsen, New York, and the Time Warner Medialab, a facility that comprises technologies and research techniques to generate insight into consumer behavior. Nielsen will leverage the Medialab’s capabilities to evaluate how the modern consumer reacts and responds to various forms of media content and advertising. The deal will build on the Medialab’s existing neuroscience capabilities including biometric and eye-tracking technology and bring enhanced facial coding, behavioral coding and EEG technology to allow Nielsen to capture a variety of engagement measures to simulated viewing and purchase experiences. The goal of the partnership is to reveal insights into the non-conscious and conscious aspects of the consumer experience and decision-making process.
Anacortes, Wash., consulting firm Shainin has selected Lexington, Ky., research and consulting firm Photizo Group as its partner for providing predictive analytics solutions to Shainin clients.
Provo, Utah, survey platform Qualtrics and iModerate, a Denver-based research firm, have formed a partnership to allow organizations to get insights from customer feedback. Mutual clients will be able to utilize iModerate’s moderated one-on-one conversations to augment feedback obtained from Qualtrics’ technology and insight platform.
Nielsen, New York, and e-commerce analytics company Profitero, Boston, have formed a strategic alliance, making Profitero’s Digital Shelf 360 solutions available for Nielsen clients. Together, the two firms allow consumer packaged goods companies to correlate online performance with actual sales data.
Rockville, Md., market intelligence distributor MarketResearch.com has formed a business partnership with New York researcher Beige Market Intelligence, allowing for the marketing and distribution of Beige Market Intelligence’s proprietary market analyses through the MarketResearch.com site.
Singapore-based audience data firm Eyeota and Kantar Media, London, have formed a data partnership, beginning first in the U.K. The first phase of the partnership gives advertisers and media buyers in the U.K. access to predefined segments built from Kantar Media’s TGI study of consumer behavior and characteristics, allowing them to target specific audiences for online advertising.
Facebook, Menlo Park, Calif., has added Nielsen, New York; comScore, Reston, Va., and Integral Ad Science, New York, to its list of ad verification partners. The firms will verify ad viewability and attention metrics for photo and video ads on Facebook, offering more advertisers the transparency needed to trust their ad delivery data.
Canada-based firm 360insights, which recently launched its Channel Success Platform for predictive analytics, has engaged research industry consultant Kristin Luck. She will assist the company in leveraging the new platform capabilities to help clients make business and marketing decisions.
Awards/rankings
Jupiter, Fla., research firm Quick Test/Heakin announced that it was a contributing agency to two Shopper Marketing Effie (SME) Awards, which were presented at the Path to Purchase Institute’s Shopper Marketing Summit Awards Celebration in March. In the Multi-Brand Shopper Solution category, Walmart and Starcom MediaVest Group won a Silver SME for “Chosen by Kids,” along with contributing agencies Shopper Events, The Martin Agency, OneKreate and Quick Test. And in the Seasonal/Event category, Walmart and Starcom MediaVest Group won a Gold SME for “Chosen by Kids,” with contributing agencies Shopper Events, The Martin Agency, OneKreate and Quick Test. Quick Test provided respondent recruiting, event staffing and management for the event, interviewing 1,000+ children for the kid-curated Top Toys list.
Indianapolis-based customer experience consulting firm Walker was named a winner in the 2016 Customer Experience Vendor Excellence Awards. The award recognizes firms that help other companies improve their customer experience.
Salt Lake City customer experience company MaritzCX has been named a winner of a 2016 Temkin Group Customer Experience Vendor Excellence Award. Temkin Group, a customer experience research and consulting firm, instituted the award program to recognize the providers of products and services that help organizations improve customer experience outcomes.
The USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, Los Angeles, has selected Robert V. Kozinets, an expert in marketing research, strategy and social media, as the Jayne and Hans Hufschmid Chair in Strategic Public Relations and Business Communication. The Hufschmid Chair is designed to provide academic and research leadership focusing on the intersection of business and communication. Kozinets, who will hold a joint appointment with the USC Marshall School of Business, will create new classes and programs on the evolution of media and strengthen the connections among digital communications, networks, brands and entertainment.
New accounts/projects
ComScore Inc., Reston, Va., has formed a new long-term agreement with DISH Network, Englewood, Colo., to renew its integration of DISH’s TV viewing information with comScore’s TV measurement service. The integration of DISH’s aggregated and projected TV viewing with comScore’s services is designed to provide the industry with more dynamic measurement and holistic reporting. ComScore provides DISH with an internal system to make programming, marketing and advertising decisions. ComScore also helps DISH measure addressable campaigns, with the goal of allowing brands to deliver more relevant messages to viewers. Separately, Nielsen, New York, has entered a multi-year agreement with DISH under which data provided by DISH will be integrated into Nielsen’s Local TV measurement service across all 210 designated market areas. The agreement will also enable Nielsen to leverage DISH’s set-top-box data to complement many of its local and national products and multiple national insight services. Additionally, Nielsen will also have the ability to use set-top-box data for its suite of marketing effectiveness and return on ad sales solutions, including CPG, retail and auto.
New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions
Denver-based firm Resolution Research & Marketing Inc. has opened a new focus group facility in Denver.
Atlanta public relations and digital communications agency Hope-Beckham Inc. has launched its market research group. The research offerings include digital personas, customer journey mapping, focus groups and group studies, affinity interest mapping, hot topic heat maps, secret shoppers and online surveys.
U.K. firm Keen as Mustard Marketing has moved to a new office in the Vauxhall district of central London.
Canada-based market research data collection firm The Logit Group has undergone a rebrand and has opened a new 115-seat call center in Wichita, Kan.
Cambiar Consulting, Pennington, N.J., has opened a new technology and analytics office and practice in Palo Alto, Calif., to be led by Richard Scionti, who has joined the company as a full partner.
After separating from eBay Inc. in November, eBay Enterprise Marketing Solutions, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., has rebranded as Pepperjam. Michael Jones, who served as general manager, now leads Pepperjam as CEO. Pepperjam provides technology and services including The Pepperjam Network, affiliate marketing management, analytics and insights, content and design, display advertising, search marketing and social marketing.
Palo Alto, Calif., technology research and advisory firm Aragon Research is launching a new consulting practice focusing on digital business and transformation. Aragon is partnering with Practically Digital, a Chicago-based technology consulting firm which specializes in digital strategy, innovative technology solutions, cognitive computing and IT due diligence and mergers support.
Omnicom Media Group, the media services division of New York-based marketing communications company Omnicom Group Inc., has launched its third agency network, Hearts & Science, a data-driven marketing agency with media planning and buying capabilities, among other services that include shopper marketing, marketing innovation and content activation. Hearts & Science has opened its North America-based operation with Procter & Gamble as its inaugural client and Scott Hagedorn as its CEO.
In London, a group of communications measurement professionals have launched The Measurement Practice, a virtual consultancy created to help in-house and agency communications teams use the right research data to inform decision-making and help meet key business objectives. The consultancy offers three core services: program auditing and alignment, training and workshops and supplier identification. The associates within the practice include Mike Daniels (business and communications), Colin Wheeler (research and integration), Liam Kelly (media analysis and insight), Pat Molloy (analytics, insight, data mining and technology solutions) and Guy Corbet (communications and strategy).
Chalfont, Pa., researcher Reckner, owner of The Institute for Sensory Research and Reckner Facilities, has opened a sensory and product testing facility in Harrison, N.Y.
London-based Basis Research has opened its first U.S. office, in Los Angeles, to be led by Kate Hartzell.
Information services company Experian has expanded its DataLabs in North America by opening a new facility in the San Diego, Calif., area. The new facility will be outfitted with beacons, biometrics and emerging technologies.
Piscataway, N.J., data collection agency Azure Knowledge Corporation has opened two new offices in Sao Paulo and Moscow. Ernest Khodzhaev will serve as country manager for Russia and Danielle Ribeiro de Souza will serve as country manager for Brazil. The firm also has further plans to expand its footprint in China.
Bristol, Pa., research and consulting firm BioVid Corporation has developed a new Business Development and Licensing division devoted to offering business solutions for business development and licensing professionals in biopharma. The firm’s team of decision scientists has also developed a proprietary platform, DemandDefender BD&L, which delivers a market assessment for each stage of the acquisition process. The division will be headed up by Gary Schwebach as executive director.
Research company earnings/financial news
Belgium-based consumer collaboration agency InSites Consulting has reported revenue growth of more than 20 percent throughout this fiscal year and anticipates to close the fiscal year (June 30, 2016) with Û23 million in revenues or a 30 percent organic growth. Its four client-facing offices based in Ghent, Belgium; Rotterdam, Netherlands; New York and London amount for approximately 40 percent, 30 percent, 20 percent and 10 percent of corporate revenues, respectively.
U.K. research company Join the Dots has reported a year-on-year increase in revenue of 27 percent, with the company’s revenue hitting £7.75 million in 2015.
Cloud-based customer insight and personalization software provider ciValue, based in Israel, has closed a $2.4 million seed round from Nielsen Innovate, Mac Fund, a Korean-Israeli fund, Deutsche Telekom and other investors to support the rollout of its cloud-based, self-service customer analytics and personalization solution for grocery, health and beauty retailers.
Study Hall Research, Tampa, Fla., reported that quarterly revenues increased by 32.2 percent versus the same period one year ago. For the same time period, the company noted that contracted client engagements for the first quarter occurred at a rate of more than one per week for the entire quarter. The company posted its strongest Q1 revenues since it was founded in 2010.
Nielsen, New York, reported its first-quarter 2016 results and also announced that its board of directors approved an increase in the company’s quarterly cash dividend of 11 percent to $0.31 per share. Revenues were approximately $1.5 billion for the first quarter of 2016, up 2.0 percent or 5.2 percent on a constant currency basis, compared to first-quarter 2015. Adjusted net income for the first quarter of 2016 of $187 million was up 8.1 percent or 9.4 percent on a constant currency basis, as compared to the first quarter of 2015. Adjusted net income per share on a diluted basis grew 10.9 percent to $0.51 for the first quarter of 2016, compared to $0.46 in the first quarter of 2015. Net income for the first quarter of 2016 increased 60.3 percent to $101 million or 62.9 percent on a constant currency basis, compared to the first quarter of 2015.
Boulder, Colo., marketing automation firm TapInfluence has closed $14 million in financing led by Noro-Moseley Partners with participation from existing investors Grotech Ventures and Access Venture Partners, as well as new investor Knollwood Investment Advisory. Contributions were also made from MergeLane, a start-up accelerator for women-led companies and super angel Robin Ferracone, founder and CEO of Farient Advisors. The firm plans to double its headcount by year’s end and open additional offices.