News notes
Warren, N.J., researcher Lightspeed Health has been awarded ISO 20252 and 26362 certifications by CIRQ, a subsidiary of the Insights Association. ISO 20252 is designated for market, opinion and social research and suitable for both qualitative and quantitative project management. ISO 26362 is designated for access panels in market, opinion and social research and suitable for panel management.
Nuremberg, Germany, researcher GfK announced a transformation and investment program in an attempt to become a more client-centric organization and improve its ability to adapt to new market conditions. The company plans to invest about €100 million and to finance the program by generating about €200 million in cost synergies globally over the next two years. GfK says it will also move away from the previous set up of consumer experiences and consumer choices business units, with the two teams instead driving the business of GfK Digital and GfK Research. The company also plans to move to one office per country.
The University of Texas at Arlington MSMR Alumni Association is accepting speaker applications for its marketing research conference being held on April 12, 2018. The application deadline is Nov. 17, with speakers being officially notified of acceptance by Dec. 1.
Philadelphia-based research firm TRC is celebrating 30 years in the marketing research business.
Acquisitions/transactions
Canada-based technology company Iversoft has acquired digital marketing agency ReSoMe Inc. ReSoMe Co-Founder Shawna Tregunna and her team will join Iversoft’s new digital marketing and analytics division.
Burlington, Mass., health care researcher Decision Resources Group (DRG) has completed the acquisition of data technology start-up Context Matters. The acquisition will combine the Context Matters data model, which links global regulatory and health technology assessment data to clinical trial data, with DRG’s suite of products and services.
Baltimore-based digital agency Enradius has acquired Changeup Marketing, a digital marketing consultancy based in Frederick, Md. Changeup Marketing Owner Kelly Jarvis will be chief revenue officer at Enradius. The acquisition will add two employees and Changeup’s existing client base to the Enradius roster.
Canada-based customer intelligence platform Vision Critical has acquired Toronto-based software company Pressly. Pressly’s technology will be added to the Vision Critical portfolio, giving its customers a solution they can use to curate, present and share insight with internal stakeholders and community members.
Westport, Conn., firm Imperium, which provides anti-fraud solutions for the market research and e-commerce industries, has entered into an agreement to lead a merger with data validation and identity verification solutions firm TrueSample. The two companies will operate as separate entities during an integration period under the leadership of Imperium Founder and CEO Marshall C. Harrison.
Macromill Inc., a research company headquartered in Tokyo and Rotterdam, Netherlands, has acquired Farmington, Conn., research agency Acturus. The transaction was made through MetrixLab US Inc., Macromill’s consolidated subsidiary in the U.S. Acturus will be fully integrated into MetrixLab. The acquisition will bolster Macromill and MetrixLab’s offer in the U.S. and U.K. by adding 80 research specialists to the company, including Acturus Principals Dale Lersch, Gigi Ryan and Kevin Moran.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Needham, Mass., marketing intelligence software company Visual IQ has formed a partnership with data connectivity services provider LiveRamp. The partnership will provide Visual IQ customers with a people-based view of the consumer journey across digital and offline marketing channels and allow them to measure and optimize marketing and media tactics based on their online and offline impact.
L&E Research, Raleigh, N.C., has formed partnerships with technology companies Aha!, IDG (Informed Decisions Group), Isobar and LivingLens. The partnerships will provide clients with methodologies in virtual reality, video analytics, online emotional measurement tools, in-the-moment online tools and L&E’s 360° streaming.
Market research platform AYTM (Ask Your Target Market), San Francisco, has become an advisory board member and partner of the Master of Marketing Research (MMR) program at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. The partnership will focus on providing AYTM’s research tools and access to over 25 million respondents to UGA MMR students.
U.K. health and beauty retailer Boots UK has partnered with Chicago-based researcher IRI to develop and operate a range of customer insight tools for its product brands.
Wilton, Conn., consumer insights firm Toluna has formed a strategic partnership with reward-U, a loyalty program founded by Hong Kong airline HK Express. Through the partnership, reward-U members can join Toluna.com and participate in surveys that are available via Toluna’s integrated survey platform.
Denmark-based advertising technology company Adform and Plano, Texas, firm Research Now have formed a partnership that will allow Research Now’s first-party data to be integrated with Adform’s advertising platform Advertiser Edge. Adform clients will also have access to Research Now’s Audience Validation solution to view the actual exposed audience to a digital campaign to assess effectiveness in reaching their intended universe.
Shelton, Conn., researcher SSI has formed a partnership with omnichannel identity resolution company LiveRamp. The partnership allows marketers to combine survey-based research with people-based marketing initiatives, giving them access to: targeted surveys based on commercially-available segments or other data activated through LiveRamp for people-based marketing; the ability to create segments by directly collecting data for a seed list and making these segments available via LiveRamp’s IdentityLink Data Store feature; and access to audience profiles for improved measurement and reporting.
El Segundo, Calif., research company ProdegeMR is partnering with consumer insights platform Lucid to access its Fulcrum distribution channel in the European market. The partnership allows Lucid to enhance its scale and capabilities in the European market and allows ProdegeMR to expand its sample supply throughout Europe from its offices in London and Berlin.
U.K. video insights company LivingLens and U.K. research company Cello Health Insight have expanded their partnership with a two-year agreement. The partnership will allow LivingLens to provide Cello Health Insight with video capture and analytics capabilities.
Oslo, Norway, research solutions firm Confirmit has partnered with mobile messaging firm Infobip. Through the partnership, Infobip’s SMS technology will be integrated with Confirmit’s SMS Flex extension, which offers a streamlined process for the design and deployment of SMS surveys.
Jersey City, N.J., firm Fractal Analytics has formed a partnership with Chicago-based behavior architecture firm Final Mile Consulting. The partnership will combine data sciences and behavioral sciences to improve decision-making.
Association/organization news
The Insights Association, Washington, D.C., has filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission, urging for the establishment of a database of reassigned cell phone numbers to improve TCPA compliance by dialers and telephone sample providers as well as a safe harbor to protect legitimate businesses that access the database.
The council of the Alliance of International Market Research Institutes (AIMRI) has agreed on a resolution to dissolve AIMRI and for members to be transferred to the new international chapter of the Insights Association.
Awards/rankings
Los Angeles-based nonprofit Women in Research has launched the MRX Diversity Champion Award, a new award program in collaboration with Knect365. The award recognizes someone in the research field who has made a commitment to supporting a diverse workforce and who is a proponent for value systems that support equality and inclusion.
GfK, New York, is holding its 2017-2018 Next Generation Competition for undergraduates. The competition calls for students to identify a marketing issue to study and propose a self-funded research project to provide answers to that problem. Finalists will be chosen to conduct their research and report on their findings and implications. The winning team receives $1,000 and a visit with GfK experts to learn more about consumer insights as a career. The deadline for initial entries is Dec. 1, with finalists being notified on Dec. 15.
Shelton, Conn., researcher SSI has announced the winners of its QUEST Awards for survey excellence at ESOMAR’s Congress in Amsterdam. The companies earning Best in QUEST awards include: Givaudan France SAS in the consumer category; Schlesinger Interactive in the B2B category; WeddingWire in the trackers category; and SurveyUSA in the mobile category. A complete list of winners can be found on SSI’s Web site.
Alexandra Chirilov, senior marketing scientist for Nuremberg, Germany, researcher GfK, has received the ESOMAR Corporate Young Professional Award for her presentation, “Virtual reality meets traditional research. Or the reality behind virtual reality enhanced interviews.” The award was presented at the ESMOAR Congress in Amsterdam.
U.K. research solutions firm E-Tabs’ Dashboard Design Service has received the Best Support Services Award at the 2017 MRS Operations Awards.
Jared Feldman, CEO of New York-based emotional measurement firm Canvs, has been selected as the 2017 Advertising Research Foundation Great Minds Award Winner in the Young Pro category.
New accounts/projects
Stamford, Conn., researcher SmartRevenue has renewed its Professional Consumer Research Services contract with the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport for a second year. SmartRevenue provides on-site multilingual and English-speaking ethnographers to conduct quantitative and qualitative surveys for the airport’s marketing services department.
The Memphis Grizzlies NBA team has selected Kansas City, Mo., marketing analytics firm Alight Analytics to provide analysis and measurement of the team’s marketing performance. The team will be partnering with Alight’s Insight Analytics Group, its professional services division.
New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions
NBCUniversal, New York, has created a unified research group that will focus on aligning all of the company’s sales research, insights and data capabilities across every platform and partnership offered by the company. The group will be led by Kavita Vazirani as executive vice president, strategic insights and analytics.
Research company Vital Findings has announced a fully redesigned brand identity, company Web site and downtown Culver City, Calif., office space.
Location intelligence company Cuebiq has moved its headquarters in New York City to a new, larger office space in Manhattan. The company has also promoted Michael Della Penna to chief revenue and growth officer. Cuebiq will continue to expand its New York-based team this year, with plans to hire 13 positions for the rest of 2017 in sales, marketing, product and customer success.
Sprylytics, a Toronto-based boutique research and data firm, has been launched by Vlad Plouts and Mel Fernandes.
Portsmouth, N.H.-based research technology firm Sentient Decision Science has opened a new office in London. Joe Sauer will oversee the company’s European expansion.
San Francisco-based researcher InfoScout will begin offering services in the U.K. market beginning Jan. 1, 2018. New services include shopper surveys, Buy & Why studies and an insights platform.
Assistance in Marketing’s Los Angeles location has moved to 1640 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 500.
Outra, a U.K. data and insights firm, has been launched. The company says it combines its qualitative and quantitative data with clients’ company data using modeling, analytics and opinions to help companies better understand customers. Outra was founded by Giles Mackay and the leadership team will include Simon Hay as CEO, Jim Messina as executive chairman and Lynton Crosby.
Research company earnings/financial news
San Antonio-based marketing services firm Harte Hanks reported revenues of $94.9 million for first-quarter 2017, compared to $99.6 million during the same quarter last year, representing a 4.7 percent decline.
U.K. health care and consumer marketing firm Cello Group plc reported revenue of £78.7 million for the six-month period to June 30, 2017, compared to £80.7 million during the same period last year.
Boston-based marketing technology firm WEVO has raised $1.6 million in seed funding. The company is launching a platform for digital marketers to test and improve Web site conversion before going live. The platform predicts conversion testing outcomes, provides audience insight and helps marketers build a more effective Web site.