News notes

In response to the loss of Heinrich A. Litzenroth, who went missing following the December 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, Germany-based GfK Group has restructured its management board responsibilities. The aim of this restructuring is to create a team of five directors. In accordance with the resolutions passed by the supervisory board and the HR committee, the business operations of GfK, which had previously been organized in five business divisions, will in future be allocated to three areas of responsibility: custom research; retail and technology; consumer tracking/media.

For reasons of legal formality, it was necessary to withdraw the management board appointment of Litzenroth, who was the management board member with responsibility for the custom research business division. Litzenroth began his career with GfK in 1978. He was a co-initiator of the development of BehaviorScan test markets in Germany and France and he worked to expand the services of test market research. He was appointed managing director of GfK Marktforschung in 1993 and since 2000 had served as the board member for the custom research division.

 With the loss of Litzenroth in mind, the management, employees and business associates of GfK donated a total of EUR 300,000 in his memory to be used for an aid project to rebuild the tsunami-torn region.

ACNielsen, New York, has joined the University of Arkansas’ new RFID Research Center to study the impact of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology on the global consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. The center, at the university’s Sam M. Walton College of Business, is examining how best to utilize RFID technology in the CPG industry, with a special focus on helping retailers and manufacturers maximize their return on RFID investment.

Invoke Solutions, a Wellesley, Mass., research firm, announced a $6.5 million investment from Bain Capital Ventures and BEV Capital. William (Bill) Meurer, a partner with BEV Capital, has joined the Invoke Solutions board of directors.

Cincinnati-based AcuPOLL Research Inc., has restructured its operations in Europe, closing AcuPOLL Europe Ltd., which operated as a standalone full-service agency. AcuPOLL’s core services of concept screening and volumetrics are now offered via a division of AcuPOLL Research Inc.

Research firm TNS has reorganized its core custom business around four new areas of expertise: new product development, motivational research, brand and advertising research, and stakeholder management. In conjunction, TNS has appointed global leaders in each of the new areas. The brand and advertising research area will be jointly headed by Trevor Richards, based in the U.K., and Larry Friedman, based in the U.S., together with Jannie Hofmeyr. Joachim Scharioth will lead the stakeholder management area. Paer Kaelleskog and Andrea Wilson will head up the motivational research division together with Roz Calder and Michael Cook. The leader of the new product development area is yet to be announced.

Regal CineMedia, the media subsidiary of Regal Entertainment Group, will participate with Arbitron Inc., New York, in a planned demonstration of its Portable People Meter (PPM) ratings service in Houston, beginning mid-2005. Regal CineMedia will use Arbitron-supplied PPM encoders to embed unique identification codes in The 2wenty, an original short-form, entertainment pre-feature program, which includes national advertising. In Houston, The 2wenty is available on 46 screens in two theatres. When an Arbitron PPM Houston survey participant watches The 2wenty in any of those movie auditoriums, the Portable People Meter will detect the Arbitron-embedded codes and report that the individual has been exposed to the Regal CineMedia in-theatre programming. “The PPM system could measure the cinema audience with the same sample of consumers and the same methodology as radio, broadcast television and cable,” says Pierre Bouvard, president, Portable People Meters, Arbitron Inc. “That means cinema advertising could be integrated into the media plan using common audience metrics. At the same time, radio, broadcast TV and cable would have a direct measure of their ability to fill the seats at the local multiplex.”

Acquisitions/transactions

The McGraw-Hill Companies, New York, has completed its acquisition of J.D. Power and Associates, a Westlake Village, Calif., research firm. Terms were not disclosed. Founder J.D. Power III will remain actively involved in the strategic direction of the operation, and Stephen Goodall will continue to serve as J.D. Power and Associates president, with responsibility for day-to-day operations. The company, which includes the Power Information Network, LLC, has 787 employees, operates globally in 12 locations and will maintain its California headquarters as well as its other regional offices.

Harris Interactive, Rochester, N.Y., has added Turkey-based TRIA International Research and Consultancy and ESTIME, a full-service market research company in Venezuela, to its Global Network.

Paris-based Ipsos has acquired Chinese market research company Guangdong General Marketing Research Company Ltd. (GDMR). Founded in 1995 by Simon Tian, the company general manager and majority shareholder, GDMR will become part of Ipsos China. With 125 full-time employees principally based in Guangzhou (and also in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu), the company generated revenues of EUR 2.3 million in 2004.

Millward Brown New Zealand has agreed to merge with Colmar Brunton, a New Zealand research agency. The merged company, which will continue to operate as Colmar Brunton and will be a member of the Millward Brown network, will be based in Colmar Brunton’s Auckland office, with an office in Wellington. The merged company will employ around 80 full-time people, with around 500 part-time and casual staff. Colmar Brunton’s unaudited revenues for the year ended December 31, 2004 were $12.7 million, with net assets of $1.3 million as of that date. Millward Brown New Zealand’s revenues as of December 31, 2004 were $2.4 million, with net assets of $0.9 million at that date.

New York research firm FIND/SVP, Inc., has signed agreements to acquire two business and market research companies, Atlantic Research & Consulting, Inc., and Signia Partners, Inc. Boston-based Atlantic Research & Consulting, Inc., focuses on the financial services, management consulting, health care and public sectors. Established in 1985 by Peter Hooper, the firm had 2004 revenues of $5.8 million. Signia Partners, Inc., headquartered just outside of Washington, D.C., specializes in the financial services, health care and consumer sectors. Founded in 1984, Signia Partners was acquired by its current CEO, Douglas House, in 1992. In 2004, Signia Partners achieved revenues of $4.4 million. Terms of the transactions include an initial total payment of $7 million in cash and $800,000 in common stock, plus a three-year contingent earn out.

San Antonio, Texas-based marketing and research firm Harte-Hanks, Inc., has acquired longstanding Australian partner Communiqué Direct pursuant to its option to purchase Communiqué Direct that Harte-Hanks acquired in June 2003. Financial terms were not disclosed. Founded in 1992, Communiqué Direct is a privately held firm that provides marketing and information services for the business-to-business sector across the Asia-Pacific region.

Phoenix Marketing International, Rhinebeck, N.Y., has acquired Cultural Access Group, a Los Angeles research firm. Raul Lopez has joined Phoenix, continuing as president of Cultural Access Group. Cultural Access Group will be a part of the Phoenix Consumer Insights Group, managed by President Tom Payne. Cultural Access Group will retain its offices in Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.
Separately, the Consumer Insights Group also acquired Juice Market Research, which specializes in African-American research and consulting.

Synovate has acquired Aztec Information Systems, an Australia scanner data services firm. Separately, it has also acquired Columbus Quanti, a Belgium-based research business. Columbus Quanti will be integrated with Synovate’s existing research businesses, including all local and international business conducted through the Belgian office of Synovate and Synovate Censydiam. Hans Raemdonck has been named managing director of the enlarged Synovate Belgium business and Jan Callebaut has been named chairman of that business, alongside his global role as CEO of the Synovate Censydiam research practice.

Alliances/strategic partnerships

Millward Brown has appointed Romanian research company Daedalus Consulting as its licensee in Romania, expanding Millward Brown’s presence in Central and Eastern Europe.

Research firm Synovate Healthcare has reached agreement to license longitudinal oncology data from IMPAC Medical Systems, a provider of electronic medical record software for oncology communities. Under the agreement, IMPAC will provide Synovate Healthcare with de-identified patient data from electronic medical records completed by clinicians and its National Oncology Database.

Herndon, Va.-based WebSurveyor Corporation has partnered with Internet Retailer (IR) magazine to launch a monthly program that will survey IR’s readers on current issues and provide analysis about trends in the online retail industry. Internet Retailer will incorporate WebSurveyor into its new E-Retail Survey Reports, which will be published each month in the magazine as well as in its e-mail newsletter, IRNewsLink.

Nielsen Media Research International and the AGB Group have successfully closed their joint venture deal. The agreement to form a new joint venture was previously announced on August 5, 2004. Under the AGB Nielsen Media Research brand name, the 50/50 joint venture offers television ratings in more than 30 countries, as the deal merges the television audience measurement services of WPP-owned AGB Group with those of Nielsen Media Research International. The TV ratings services offered by Nielsen in the United States are not part of the transaction.

Association/organization news

“Becoming Cultural Architects: How to Drive the Influence of Research on Company Culture,” by Hilary Perkins and Paul Buckley, Allied Domecq Spirits & Wine, U.K., was the winner of ESOMAR’s John and Mary Goodyear Award for best international research paper presented at an ESOMAR event in 2004. The award carries a prize of EUR 3,500 and is sponsored by TNS. The paper was selected for its wide application potential to other categories and for its relevance to global marketing.

The Web Analytics Association (WAA) has been founded to promote and unite the Web analytics industry. The mission of the not-for-profit organization is to foster the interests of end-users, vendors, consultants and educators involved in measuring the success of their online business initiatives. Founding corporate members of the WAA include Coremetrics, IBM, Nedstat, Omniture, Visual Sciences, WebSideStory and WebTrends. Premiere corporate members to date include ClickTracks, Harvest Solutions, HP, Site Intelligence and ZAAZ. The founding members of the WAA board of directors are: chairman - Bryan Eisenberg, co-founder, Future Now, Inc.; president - Jim Sterne, president, Target Marketing; vice president - Seth Romanow, director, worldwide customer knowledge management and analytics, Hewlett-Packard Company. For more information visit www.webanalyticsassociation.org.

Awards/rankings

The 2005 Service Industry Advertising Awards Committee presented Carefree, Ariz.-based name development firm NameQuest with a Professional Services Website Merit Award based on execution, style, creativity, quality, appeal and overall breakthrough content.

New accounts/projects

The state of Minnesota has selected Davidson-Peterson Associates (DPA) to estimate the economic impact of tourism on the state, as well as to provide a profile of travelers. Currently, the state has contracted for a single four-season study that straddles the 2005 and 2006 calendar years. It is likely that Davidson-Peterson Associates will repeat this program during 2007 and again in 2009. DPA is the travel and tourism division of Digital Research, Inc., Kennebunk, Maine.

20/20 Research, Inc., Nashville, has added market research firms MarketWise and Kathryn Coriell Market Research to its list of online software subscribers. Both firms will use 20/20’s Qualboard application for client research projects.

Informa Research Services, Inc., Calabasas, Calif., will provide Metro Mortgage Guide with a real-time feed of mortgage lending product data for its www.rateupdate.com site. Under the agreement, Informa Research Services will create and host a turnkey portal solution for Metro Mortgage Guide with live rate and product information on mortgage loans, less-than-perfect-credit loans, home equity loans, and home equity lines of credit.

Separately, Informa Research Services announced an agreement to provide The Motley Fool, Inc., with a real-time mortgage and home equity loan search feed for its www.fool.com site.

U.K.-based research firm ESA has been appointed by Warwick Castle to conduct a program of customer interviews for the seventh consecutive year. The research will run for the duration of 2005 and provide insight on the opinions and satisfaction of visitors to the popular tourist attraction.

New companies/new divisions/ relocations/expansions

Research firm NOP World has opened a Roper Public Affairs regional office located in downtown Washington, D.C., at 601 13th St., N.W. The office will be led by Annie Weber, senior vice president, Roper Public Affairs.

Eve Zukergood has opened a new research firm, InTouch Resource Group Inc. Phone 845-357-5205. Fax 800-349-6849. E-mail elz@intouchrg.com.

Susan Rogers has opened a new research firm, Rogers International, in the U.K. at 1st Floor, Well House, Buckland, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP22 5HY. Phone 01296 630680. E-mail susan@rogers-international.com.

A new research firm, Marketing Data Management Associates, Ltd., has opened in Snellville, Ga. Company president Leonard Murphy can be reached at 866-545-3216 or at lmurphy@mdm-associates.com.

A new Millward Brown office has opened in Beijing. It will be managed by Praveen Ramnachandra, previously based at the Shanghai office.

Company earnings reports

Opinion Research Corporation, Princeton, N.J., announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2004. Net income totaled $2.4 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, in 2004 versus a net loss of ($8.9 million), or ($1.47) per diluted share, in 2003. Net income in 2003 was impacted by $11.5 million, net of tax benefits, for a goodwill impairment charge.

Revenues for the fourth quarter were $49.3 million versus $46.0 million in the prior year’s fourth quarter. Social research revenues were $32.3 million versus $28.5 million in last year’s fourth quarter. Market research revenues totaled $14.4 million versus $13.2 million in the prior year’s fourth quarter. Teleservices revenues were $2.6 million versus $4.4 million in last year’s fourth quarter.

Revenues for the full year 2004 were $195.6 million versus $179.6 million for the full year 2003. Social research revenues were $128.2 million versus $115.6 million last year. Market research revenues totaled $54.6 million versus $49.1 million in the prior year. Teleservices revenues were $12.7 million versus $14.9 million last year.

Net income for the fourth quarter was $0.7 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, versus a net loss of ($11.3 million), or ($1.85) per diluted share, in last year’s fourth quarter. Net income for the full year 2004 was $2.4 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, versus a net loss of ($8.9 million), or ($1.47) per diluted share, for the full year 2003. Results for the fourth quarter and full year 2003 were impacted by $11.5 million, net of tax benefits, for a goodwill impairment charge.

The income tax provision in 2004 is higher than statutory rates and the income tax benefit in 2003 is lower than statutory rates due to the fact that the company is not providing tax benefits on non-U.S. and state losses and the non-deductibility of certain goodwill impairment charges in 2003.

The company expects revenues in 2005 to be between $200 and $205 million, net income to be between $4.4 and $4.9 million and diluted earnings per share to be between $0.65 and $0.73. These net income and earnings per share expectations do not include the impact of a potential common stock offering in 2005.

Invoke Solutions, a Wellesley, Mass., research firm, announced its revenue was up 70 percent in 2004 compared to the prior year. This improvement was coupled with strong margin growth over the same period, sparked by increased partner transactions and streamlined operations. Invoke anticipates its 2005 revenue will at least double that of 2004.

Preliminary figures for financial year 2004 indicate that Germany-based GfK Group achieved an increase in sales of 12.7 percent from EUR 595.3 to EUR 671.0 million. With earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) including income from participations up by 31.0 percent from EUR 69.5 to EUR 91.0 million, GfK extended its margin by almost 2 percentage points from 11.7 percent to 13.6 percent.

The consumer tracking division achieved an increase in sales of 5.3 percent. Currency effects reduced sales growth by 0.2 percentage points. The health care division achieved an increase in sales of 38.2 percent. Of this, 7.8 percentage points are attributable to organic growth. Growth resulting from new company acquisitions amounting to 33.7 percentage points relates mainly to the 51 percent stake in V2 GfK in the U.S., acquired on July 1, 2003, and, to a lesser extent, to the takeover of French company m2A, which has been wholly owned by GfK since January 1, 2004. The retail and technology division saw an increase of 12.2 percent. Growth through acquisitions related to the majority shareholding acquired in GfK International, Germany, as of July 1, 2003, contributed 1.7 percentage points to overall sales growth. The media division saw organic sales growth of 7.1 percent. This represents a rise on the previous year, when organic growth was -3.8 percent. In the custom research division, the 14.2 percent growth in the division was above the figure for the previous year. Organic growth accounts for 4.6 percentage points and sales growth on the basis of newly acquired companies for 10.7 percentage points, reflecting the takeover of GfK Arbor in the U.S.

Media and information firm WPP released its results for the year ended December 31, 2004, reporting that constant currency basis revenues in its information, insight and consultancy division grew over 11 percent. Like-for-like revenues were up over 4 percent. Overall margins improved by 2.7 margin points to almost 10 percent. Strong performances were recorded by Millward Brown (in the U.S., Greenfield Consulting Group and MaPs in the U.S., Sadek Wynberg and Precis in the U.K., IMS in Ireland, Ulster, Italy, Germany, China, Firefly in Thailand, Australia and Mexico); BMRB International in the U.K., KMR Group, AGB, Research International (in the U.S., Simon Godfrey in the U.K., Germany, Greece, France, the Netherlands, Spain, SIFO in Sweden, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia); Lightspeed Research, Da Vinci in the U.S., icon/DRI, Glendinning in the U.K., Added Value/icon in France and pFour.