News notes
The Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO), Port Jefferson, N.Y., has submitted an official comment to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Washington, D.C., regarding the FTC’s December 1 preliminary staff report, Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: A Proposed Framework for Businesses and Policymakers. CASRO outlined its assertion that any comprehensive privacy standards adopted by the FTC should recognize that the research sector is bound by industry-specific, self-regulatory privacy regimes, such as the CASRO Code, that provide even greater levels of protection.
New York-based Interactive Advertising Bureau, the Mobile Marketing Association and the Media Rating Council have developed the Mobile Web Advertising Measurement Guidelines, a framework to govern how ad impressions are counted on the mobile Web.
Advertising trade groups the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association of Advertising Agencies have launched an initiative titled Making Measurement Make Sense to develop digital metrics and crossplatform measurement solutions.
Utica, N.Y., research company Zogby International has been rebranded as IBOPE Zogby International following Zogby’s acquisition by Brazilian research institute IBOPE in 2010. Kjell de Orr will serve as CEO, based in Miami.
Encino, Calif., research company uSamp dedicated its Surveyhead survey community to raise money for American Red Cross relief efforts in Japan. During March and April, Surveyhead matched 10 percent of the value of survey-takers’ rewards and donated the funds to the international relief organization.
Vancouver, B.C., research company Vision Critical has installed its 500th online community panel on its Sparq platform.
Acquisitions/transactions
London research company Cello Group PLC has acquired Yardley, Pa., communications consulting company Medergy HealthGroup Inc.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Research companies TRA Inc., New York, and MarketShare, Los Angeles, have partnered to jointly market their solutions to each other’s clients. Specifically, they will offer MarketShare’s crossmedia analytics and optimization software and TRA’s set-top box and single-source data and analytics.
Doctors.net.uk Limited, an Oxon, U.K., network of physicians, and coliquio, a Baden-Württemberg, Germany, network of physician communities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, have formed an alliance to increase peer collaboration among physicians across Europe and improve access to enhanced professional content and online learning.
Portland, Ore., research company Rentrak Corporation has entered into an agreement with Birmingham, Ala., software provider OneDomain Inc. to integrate Rentrak’s StationView Essentials TV ratings database with OneDomain’s software solutions.
Dublin, Ireland, research company Experian Simmons and the Latinum Network, a Bethesda, Md., Hispanic peer-to-peer business network, have partnered to combine Experian’s research with Latinum’s marketing to reach the Hispanic market.
Scottsdale, Ariz., research company Thumbspeak LLC has partnered with Locately, a Boston location analytics technology firm, so that Locately technology will be used for the GPS-based location analytics component of Thumbspeak’s Connect platform.
Stockholm, Sweden, research company Cint and Finland research company Zokem have collaborated to form multipurpose smartphone research panels. The partnership is intended to increase the reach of Zokem’s Mobile Life smartphone panels across Western markets using Cint’s smartphone technology Thumbspeak.
The Research Club, London, has partnered with Research Now, Plano, Texas. Research Now will sponsor Research Club events throughout 2011.
Awards/rankings
The Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), New York, awarded Domino’s Pizza the ARF Grand Ogilvy Award for demonstrating the most successful use of research in the creation of superior advertising that achieves a critical business objective. The ARF also gave the United States Census Bureau the Research Achievement Award for its 2010 United States Census campaign and Kimberly-Clark the Research Innovation Award for its Break the Cycle campaign for its Kotex brand. Awards were presented at the Re:think 2011 convention in March.
Denver research company GutCheck received the $1 million People’s Choice Award for its DIY research offering at the DEMO conference for emerging technologies and new product innovations. The prize is a free six-month advertising campaign worth $1 million to run across selected titles owned by conference organizer IDG, a Boston IT media, research and exposition company.
Liz Coyle of IMS Health, a Norwalk, Conn., research company; Gary Schwebach of G & S Research, Indianapolis; Kendall Gay of KGC, a Venice, Fla., research company; and Derek P. Jones of AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, Wilmington, Delaware, received the Circle of Excellence award from the Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Group (PMRG), Minneola, Fla., for their help advancing PMRG through participation in PMRG events, delivering quality results and advocating for the organization.
New accounts/projects
Stockholm, Sweden, research company Cint has integrated its Cint Direct Sample (CDS) solution with Sweden research software company Action Dialog Partner (ADP), allowing ADP users to access the Cint Panel Exchange through ADP’s online interface. Boulder, Colo., research company Survey Gizmo has also adopted CDS for its panels.
Separately, Cint has added panels from RED C Research, Dublin, Ireland; Delve Research, St. Louis; SensorPro, Limerick, Ireland; and W5, Durham, N.C., to the Cint Panel Exchange to expand its Irish sample base.
London Broadcasting Company, Dallas, has expanded its agreement with Rentrak Corporation, a Portland, Ore., research company, by adding two more markets to its StationView Essentials local market measurement contract. The contract includes a multi-year renewal with KBMT in Beaumont, Texas, and includes KYTX in Tyler, Texas, and KCEN in Waco, Texas.
Additionally, Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel, Studio City, Calif., have adopted Rentrak’s TV Essentials television ratings service.
The Digital Media and Marketing Association, South Africa, has selected Melbourne, Australia, research company Effective Measure as its measurement vendor.
The Natural Marketing Institute, a Harleysville, Pa., research company, has been selected by The Organic Center, a Boulder, Colo., nonprofit, to conduct an organic consumer research study.
The Salvation Army, Alexandria, Va., has chosen Vancouver, B.C., research company Vision Critical to conduct the Dignity Project, a research endeavor that seeks to engage Canadians about the reality of poverty in the 21st century.
GfK Custom Research North America, New York, has been awarded the General Services Administration Mission Oriented Business Integrated Services contract. The contract allows GfK to serve public-sector clients and perform work directly for federal government entities.
New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions
The Sound Research, New York, has opened its Diversity Unit, dedicated to conducting research with Millennials of color. Vanessa Anderson will lead the unit.
Research consultancy Jerry Henry and Associates and theme park corporation Herschend Family Entertainment have launched H2R Market Research, Springfield, Mo., which will focus on the travel, tourism and leisure sectors.
Researcher Richard Owen has partnered with Mat Mabe and Jim Willis of Leicester, U.K., Web site and app developer Bulb Studios to launch Crowdlab, a London mobile research company.
New York research company WorldOne has expanded its London offices to occupy three floors at Unity Wharf and two floors at the adjacent Dockhead Building.
Edentify, a New South Wales, Australia, research company, has opened an office in Auckland, New Zealand. Jane McKellar will lead the operation.
Manchester, U.K., research company B2B International has opened a sales office in Brussels, Belgium.
ActiveGroup Ventures Inc., a Norcross, Ga., research software company, has added new facilities across Europe, India, China, Russia and Singapore since the start of 2011.
Former researchers from The Nielsen Company, Lieberman Research Worldwide, Interpret, Nissan and Market Strategies have launched Vital Findings, a Culver City, Calif., research company. The firm is online at www.vitalfindings.com.
Irvine, Calif., focus group consortium First Choice Facilities announced several updates and expansions to its member facilities. Focuscope Inc., an Illinois research company, has opened its third Illinois facility in Oak Brook Terrace. Superior Research, Atlanta, has remodeled and upgraded its downtown Atlanta facility to include an in-house streaming system. Framingham, Mass., research company National Field and Focus has opened a 9,000-square-foot facility in Framingham.
Research company earnings/financial news
B2B International, Manchester, U.K., reported 2010 revenue of $6.15 million. The company has more than doubled in size since the end of 2006.
EasyInsites, Surrey, U.K., reported a sixteenfold increase in revenue in 2010 over 2009.
The GfK Group, Nuremberg, Germany, reported a 2010 annual sales increase of 11.1 percent over 2009 to approximately 1,294 million euros. Adjusted operating income for 2010 rose by 25.7 percent to approximately 185 million euros.
Synovate, Chicago, reported a 19.4 percent increase in operating profit to £45.6 million. Net revenue increased 9 percent to £350.7 million
The Nielsen Company, New York, announced results for fourth-quarter and full-year 2010. Revenue for the year grew 6.6 percent to $5,126 million. Revenues for the quarter increased 5.7 percent to $1,371 million.
Luth Research, San Diego, reported a 50 percent increase in revenues in 2010.
Vision Critical, Vancouver, B.C., announced operating results for 2010. Total revenues were up 36 percent over 2009 on a constant currency basis.