In the UK, WPP-owned Lightspeed Health has promoted Mary Andrews to the role of Senior Vice President, Global Operations. More
WPP has formed a new sub-holding company called WPP Health & Wellness, which will work with group companies such as Kantar, GroupM and Wunderman to use data to deliver behaviour change and better health outcomes. More
WPP's government and public sector advisory business Kantar Public has opened an office in Singapore, where it has appointed Sandra Lim as Executive Director. More
WPP digital data collection specialist Lightspeed has extended its AmplifyR Appends data service to the UK, France, Germany and The Netherlands. More
WPP's Data Alliance has partnered with South African marketing services provider P:Cubed, giving access to the latter's 2700 fields of data on more than 42.8m consumers to operating companies across the group. More
Newly rebranded Lightspeed Health has appointed Matt Titus as Vice President, Business Development, Americas, while promoting Franco Esposito to the role of Head of Business Development, EMEA. More
WPP's recently formed data, analytics and digital services business [m]PLATFORM has hired former Mindshare COO Paul Rowlinson to fill the role of UK Managing Director. More
Kantar Media has acquired Dublin-based media monitoring specialist Newsaccess, for an undisclosed sum. More
Kantar is to roll out its Twitter TV Ratings service in Argentina and Colombia, from this week, giving clients there a variety of metrics on social media activity related to TV shows, events coverage and free-to-air networks. Launch in Peru should follow 'before the summer'. More
WPP's Warren, New Jersey-based healthcare data company Lightspeed All Global has been renamed Lightspeed Health. More
WPP-owned marcoms network Ogilvy is setting up a Center for Behavioral Science, aiming to establish a new system for defining how audiences think, feel and behave; and to help clients improve their marketing and communications. More
In Miami, WPP's audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has promoted Erik Castillo to the role of President, Latin America. More
WPP audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has named John Wittesaele as President EMEA, while promoting Arshan Saha to the role of President Asia Pacific. More
In the US, a judge has ruled that TiVo Research and Analytics cannot seek damages over claims that Kantar Media Audiences stole trade secrets relating to TiVo's audience/shopping data matching solution. More
WPP-owned digital data collection specialist Lightspeed has partnered with mobile video MR specialist Voxpopme to launch a service called 'Video Answers', which captures and analyses open-ended video comment during the survey process. More
Former comScore exec Manish Bhatia has joined Kantar Media as Chief Executive Officer of its North American business. More
WPP's eCommerce business Salmon has acquired Netherlands-based digital and eCommerce consultancy Eperium. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. More
WPP digital agency Mirum has promoted Director of Client Services Julie Koepsell to the role of Minneapolis Managing Director, replacing Joyce Zincke who will now serve as Head of Operations for Mirum US. More
Turkish TV audience measurement organisation TIAK Aª has awarded incumbent Kantar Media the contract to deliver official TV trading currency until at least 2020, with the option to extend until 2022. More
In the UK, WPP agency MediaCom has acquired a majority stake in Manchester-based user experience studio Code Computer Love, which creates digital products, campaigns and capabilities. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP AUNZ has rolled out the group's integrated retail practice The Store to the Australia and New Zealand market, and named Rob Draper as its CEO. With existing offices in the UK and US, The Store brings together shopper marketing resources from WPP companies around the world. More
WPP's audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has promoted Nicolas Bidon to the role of Global President. More
Kantar TNS was one of the big winners at last night's MRS Awards, taking home the Grand Prix for Greatest Impact; the MRS/BIG Award for B2B Research, alongside digital data collection arm Lightspeed; and the awards for New Consumer Insights and Social Media Research (the latter with Unilever). More
WPP-owned digital data collection specialist Lightspeed has announced eight promotions in EMEA Operations, including Derek Gibson, who will become Director Operations, France and United Kingdom. More
WPP-owned digital data collection specialist Lightspeed has opened an office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where it has appointed Lindsay Dominguez as Client Development Lead. More
WPP's media investment arm GroupM has brought together all its data, analytics and digital services in a new suite of products, [m]PLATFORM, creating what it claims is the ad industry's 'most powerful collection of data, technology and expertise for audience addressability'. More
Kantar Retail is partnering with Peopleway, a firm specialising in helping clients to measure and continuously improve the business impact of their people development activities. More
WPP has announced the formation of a global multi-year partnership between its Data Alliance organisation and music streaming service Spotify. More
WPP media investment division GroupM has promoted researcher Lyle Schwartz to President of Investment, and moved former MediaCom NA CEO Phil Cowdell to head a new unit encompassing all the group's data-centric solutions. More
Marcoms giant WPP has signed an affiliation agreement with Iran-based digital marketing group PPG, which operates more than fifteen digital services companies in the country. More
WPP-owned creative digital agency POSSIBLE London has appointed Ben Bashford as Head of User Experience (UX), while Ilse Christiansen and Jules Spanou both join as UX Designers. More
Netherlands online publisher group VINEX has awarded Kantar Media a contract to deliver a new 5,000-strong panel for Internet audience measurement, replacing a previous service operated by GfK. More
The US Census Bureau has awarded its 2020 integrated communications contract to WPP subsidiary Young & Rubicam (Y&R), charging it with successful execution of the first-ever digital census. More
In the US, comScore is retiring its PRO online measurement service (previously known as Compete PRO), and partnering with digital intelligence specialist SimilarWeb to offer the latter's competitive intelligence platform to existing PRO clients. More
WPP's Data Investment Management arm has reported a 12.1% increase in third quarter revenue to £655m, reflecting the lower value of the pound. On a like-for-like basis, DIM revenue fell 2%, while other divisions averaged more than 4% growth. More
Shopper behaviour division Kantar Worldpanel has launched a consumer panel in the Ivory Coast - its fifth African panel after launches in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Egypt. More
WPP retail and brand consultancy FITCH has taken a majority stake in StartJG Hong Kong, which like its new owner has a focus on customer experience design. More
WPP-owned digital data collection specialist Lightspeed has promoted Andrew Van Wezel to Vice President of Operations and Simon Buckley to Vice President of Sales, both within EMEA. More
Kantar Media has unveiled a new cross-platform ad intelligence offering, including significantly enhanced digital monitoring to help advertising buyers and sellers analyze opportunities across channels in a more 'integrated and holistic manner'. More
Kantar-owned agency Lightspeed has launched eight research products in Asia, combining its proprietary fieldwork and panel management expertise with emerging technology offers from partner companies. More
In Germany, Kantar TNS veteran Peter Pirner has added the role of Head of Digital to his existing role as Practice Head, Customer Strategies. He replaces Dirk Steffen, who has taken up the role of Global Account Director for Google, at Kantar in Silicon Valley. More
Recently unveiled Kantar Public has launched a new research centre, bringing together a pan-European team of researchers with expertise in political and opinion polling, social and economic trends, and migration. More
Kantar Retail and Kantar TNS have partnered to launch an insights solution called the Canadian ShopperSpective, tracking shopper behavior and preferences in the Canadian retail market. More
New York-based ad targeting tech specialist AppNexus has closed a $31m investment round, including $10m from Rupert Murdoch's media group News Corp, which will now have access to AppNexus' full suite of technology products. More
Newly announced Kantar Public is to open a Behaviour Change Academy in Sydney early next year, and in Amsterdam in the spring. The new venture will be led by long-time TNS exec Kathy O'Donoghue. More
WPP-owned digital data collection specialist Lightspeed has launched a proprietary engagement assessment metric called the Survey Health Score (SHS), which captures real-time panelist feedback and satisfaction levels post-survey. More
WPP's Kantar has unveiled a new global operating brand, pooling expertise to offer advice on the delivery of public policy, services and communications. More
WPP's healthcare panel and patient community solutions provider Lightspeed All Global has appointed industry veteran Jennifer Carrea as Chief Executive Officer. She also joins the Lightspeed Board of Directors. More
Shopper insight specialist Kantar Retail has partnered with eye tracking firm SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI), to create a virtual shopping experience that provides shopper data via a controlled environment. More
Marcoms giant WPP has launched its Government & Public Sector Practice in Singapore, to be led by Executive Director Cecilia Wong. More
WPP-owned digital data collection specialist Lightspeed has rolled out ten new capabilities in the Australian market, combining emerging MR technologies such as facial coding and social media intelligence with its proprietary fieldwork and panel management expertise. More
WPP's data investment management division Kantar has re-branded its twelve operating businesses with a unifying prefix, for example 'Kantar TNS' and 'Kantar Millward Brown'. The exception is digital data collection specialist Lightspeed GMI, which now reverts to its original name Lightspeed. More
WPP's digital ad targeting specialist plista has acquired Oslo, Norway-based real-time content analytics company Linkpulse. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. More
Kantar Media has promoted Steve Passwaiter to the role of Vice President and General Manager of its political ad monitoring unit Campaign Media Analysis Group (CMAG), based in Washington DC. He succeeds Elizabeth Wilner, who has left to join Airbnb as Managing Editor for Policy. More
WPP continues to buy comScore shares, with another 120,000 purchased this week at an average cost of $28.39 per share. More
Kantar's TNS Gallup team will continue to provide TV ratings for Norway for at least another seven years, after the firm won a competitive pitch against Ipsos. The new contract, running initially from 2018 to 2023, is billed by the partners as 'the most advanced hybrid model for TV and video measurement yet seen in the world'. More
WPP has reported Q2 revenue of £3.46bn, up 3.5% in like-for-like (LFL) terms. Net sales, the group's preferred measure, rose 4.3% on the same basis. As in previous quarters data investment management (DIM) lagged other divisions, with LFL revenue down -0.4% and net sales up 2.0%. More
WPP has acquired a further 120,000 shares in comScore, split evenly between Friday and Monday, for around $27.25 apiece. More
Marcomms giant WPP has resumed its buying of comScore stock, with the purchase of a further 120,000 at c.$26 apiece last week. The measurement firm's share price has dropped by a third since January this year. More
WPP's digital ad targeting specialist plista has appointed Elizabeth Harrington as Head of North America, responsible for driving the division's growth in the US and Canada. More
WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell has once again topped the High Pay Centre index of FTSE 100 chief executives, after his remuneration package soared from £43m in 2014 to £70.4m. More
Ogilvy's London-based R&D and innovation unit Ogilvy Labs has been closed as part of a cost-saving exercise. More
WPP audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has promoted Lucas Mentasti to the role of Chief Executive Officer, Latin America. More
WPP division J. Walter Thompson has acquired full service digital agency iStrategyLabs (ISL) for an undisclosed sum. More
WPP's audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has promoted Nicolas Bidon to the role of Chief Executive Officer, EMEA, with Jana Kusick taking his old role as Global CEO of ad targeting subsidiary plista. More
In the US, WPP-owned digital agency POSSIBLE has promoted Jason Carmel for the newly created role of Chief Data Officer. More
Around seventy staff are expected to lose their jobs at Boston-based web analyst Compete Inc., according to a statement from the company. More
In London, Kantar Media has updated its real-time ratings capabilities with new features to make it easier for broadcasters to interpret and analyse audience data on their smartphones, tablets and PCs, and to assess how programmes are being received by the audience. More
WPP Chief Executive Sir Martin Sorrell, 71, and his wife Cristiana are expecting their first child together in November. More
In London, Kantar public sector division TNS BMRB has appointed YouthSight's former Director of Higher Education Research James MacGregor as a Director in its Qualitative team. More
WPP's marketing foresight consultancy Gain Theory has promoted Alan Bloodworth to the role of Chief Executive Officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa. More
WPP-owned ad network Grey Group has acquired a majority stake in the holding company of Brussels-based creative agency Famous, whose big data services include web analytics, customer segmentation, A/B testing and social media measurement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP-owned media agency network Mindshare has partnered with video big data analytics startup Vidooly, to co-create and launch a platform called 'Kyve' for advertisers to track online video viewing in India. More
WPP has acquired French consumer data specialist Conexance for an undisclosed sum, as it seeks to expand in continental Europe in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the European Union. More
Former Xaxis leader Caspar Schlickum has joined creative and data-driven digital agency network Wunderman as Chief Executive for the Asia Pacific region. He succeeds Martin Conneen who is leaving the company to 'pursue new opportunities'. More
Kantar has expanded to Iran through a partnership with Tehran-based full service agency Rahbar Bazaar. More
WPP has partnered with Chinese Internet services company Tencent to set up a 'social innovation and ideation lab', which will combine the firms' technology, analytics and creative input to build social media ideas and campaigns for the latter's instant messaging platforms. More
WPP-owned communications consultancy Hill+Knowlton Strategies has partnered with social media intelligence specialist Brandwatch to launch a real-time dashboard called Sherlock+, which ranks the influencers with the most impact across eight different industries and 45 topics. More
Shopper behaviour division Kantar Worldpanel has formed a global partnership with Facebook, integrating the latter's data on mobile ad exposure data with the former's Consumer Mix Model (CMM) service. More
Year-old WPP consultancy Gain Theory has promoted Manjiry Tamhane to the role of Worldwide CEO. She succeeds Jason Harrison, who is moving to lead the new GroupM agency Team Arrow Partners. More
Netherlands TV industry body Stichting KijkOnderzoek (SKO) and Kantar Media have rolled out what they describe as the 'first TV currency in the world' to deliver reach and GRPs (gross ratings points) for ad campaigns and commercials across all screens. More
WPP-owned media agency network Mindshare has appointed former Nielsen EVP Cheryl Idell to run its West Coast operations. More
Mobile measurement and attribution specialist Medialets has opened an APAC headquarters in Singapore and announced senior appointments in North America and London. More
In Minneapolis, WPP's GroupM has set up Team Arrow Partners, an agency combining analytics with creative media thinking and focused on servicing retailer Target. Jason Harrison moves across from Gain Theory to take the CEO role, while Nicole Pomerleau becomes Chief Client Officer. More
Research-based consultancy Penn Schoen Berland (PSB) has appointed Jack MacKenzie as Executive Vice President, leading its Global Media and Entertainment practice based in Los Angeles. More
Boston, MA-based Netra, Inc. has closed $1.85m in Series Seed financing, and has announced an agreement to license its IRIS image analysis software to Kantar. More
In a trading update, WPP says its Data Investment Management division Kantar returned to like-for-like growth in April, after a flat first quarter. Net sales were up 5.8 percent at constant currency, or 0.3 percent like-for-like. For the Group as a whole, the comparable figure was 3.1 percent. More
Around a third of WPP shareholders voted against CEO Sir Martin Sorrell's proposed £70m pay package at yesterday's annual general meeting in London. More
In India, GroupM media agency Motivator has hired Upali Nag as National Head - Insights and Innovation, based in its Bangalore office. More
Audience research agencies GeoPoll, Kantar Media and Cuende have launched a product called 'Pan-African OOH', providing a regular measure of out-of-home (OOH) media consumption across the continent. More
After three - relatively - quiet years, City of London analysts believe WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell will face increased shareholder opposition to his £70m salary and shares package at next Wednesday's Annual General Meeting. More
In the US, WPP-owned digital data collection specialist Lightspeed has appointed Darren Magot as West Region Sales Vice President, while Mauricio Vasquez and Abbey Banegas join as Account Executives. More
WPP-owned digital ad targeting specialist plista has appointed long-time GroupM exec Serina Tsou as Head of its Asia Pacific region. More
WPP audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has opened an office in Montreal to support its ongoing expansion into the French-Canadian market. The new operation is led by Jason Cobbler as Director of Account Services. More
In Singapore, WPP-owned digital data collection specialist Lightspeed GMI has promoted Neha Jindal to the role of Regional Operations Lead for the Asia Pacific region. More
In Sydney, WPP AUNZ has appointed former Kantar Australia/New Zealand CEO Ben Dixon for the newly created role of CEO Data Investment Management. The business has also moved former Ogilvy PR Australia CEO Kieran Moore to CEO Public Relations and Public Affairs. More
WPP has moved strategic consulting company Benenson Strategy Group (BSG) into the Burson-Marsteller PR and communications network. More
WPP's audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has launched its digital ad targeting specialist plista in the US and Canada. More
WPP digital data collection firm Lightspeed Group has hired former Hall & Partners EMEA CEO Caroline Frankum with the same title, plus a seat on the Board. She will replace Martin Filtz, who moved into the post of CEO, Asia Pacific in January. More
WPP's out-of-home (OOH) media planning and buying agency Kinetic has partnered with analytics specialist Fuel Intelligence to launch the 'Social Amplification Score' (SAS), which aims to attribute consumers' social media interactions directly to OOH media spend. More
Lightspeed GMI has announced the US launch of a service called AmplifyR Appends, consisting of consumer datasets tied to an online survey panel. More
In New York, WPP / GroupM company Maxus has hired Kevin McCarthy as Head of Effectiveness for North America, part of the senior leadership team, and with a remit to build out the agency's data and analytics capabilities. More
WPP-owned online specialist Lightspeed GMI has rolled out is tracker design review service 'Re-Track', and its QuickTurn Insights and Fast Track Service solutions in the Asia Pacific region. More
Kantar Retail has transferred Cédric Guyot to the CEO role in its Virtual Reality unit, replacing Jeremy Cohen who moves into the role of CEO Kantar Retail Europe. More
Kantar has entered into a partnership with Google Consumer Surveys, whose panels it will 'validate' by monitoring their accuracy, responsiveness and representativeness. More
comScore and media measurement specialist Kantar Media IBOPE have partnered to launch a series of cross-platform solutions in Latin America. More
There may be no timescale set, but WPP has confirmed that it is beginning to think about who may eventually replace CEO Sir Martin Sorrell, including internal and external candidates. More
Kantar and comScore have extended their behavioral data partnership to North America, in a deal which includes the transfer of a number of Millward Brown staff to comScore. More
WPP has reported first quarter revenue of £3.076bn, up 5.1% in like-for-like terms. Net sales - its preferred measure - rose 3.2%. As in recent quarters however, insight division Kantar performed less well than other units, with like-for-like revenue and net sales figures flat (up 0.5% and down 0.1% respectively). More
WPP digital data collection firm Lightspeed GMI has signed a multi-year panel building and maintenance contract with comScore, and hired Chris Fabber to lead it. The resulting 'Total Home Panel' will provide comScore with a window on cross-device Internet traffic in US households. More
In the UK, WPP firms Millward Brown and Kantar Worldpanel have partnered to develop a new solution called Sales Insights, which allows clients to evaluate digital marketing campaigns simultaneously on two measures: brand uplift and actual sales. More
In Australia, research consultancy AMR has hired Dorothy Dudley as Qualitative Director and Nick Deverson as Group Account Director. More
WPP's audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has appointed former GroupM exec Harry Harcus as Managing Director, UK. More
WPP has acquired the remaining 49% stake in Taylor Nelson Sofres ICAP Market Research (TNS ICAP) in Greece. More
Kantar Media has today announced a partnership with local audience data provider Eyeota. Beginning in the UK, the deal will give advertisers and media buyers access to pre-defined segments built from the research firm's TGI consumer and media study, for use in online ad targeting. More
WPP division MEC has launched a specialist content division, MEC Wavemaker, pulling together its diverse existing services in the area into one unit. The insight- and data-driven unit will operate initially in ten markets across Europe, Asia and the Americas, and will be led by MEC's global COO Alastair Aird. More
In the US, WPP has acquired healthcare and life science services firm Communications Media Inc. (CMI), for an undisclosed sum. The firm provides media investment management and non-sales force promotional strategy, planning, customer insights and data solutions. More
WPP is linking the panels and other data sources of its Kantar / DIM division with the expertise and planning tools of its GroupM media investment management division, to launch LIVE Panel. The new consumer and media insight solution will help advertisers develop and measure 'precise and targeted' media plans. More
Kantar Media has enhanced its TGI Clickstream study with the addition of metered consumer mobile behaviour, including phones and tablets. More
WPP's Data Alliance has expanded its reach to Jakarta, Indonesia, to meet demand from local agencies and clients - and has appointed Wijaya Santoso to lead it. More
WPP Chief Executive Sir Martin Sorrell has received shares worth £60m, according to reports. With salary and annual bonuses the figure is 'likely to approach £70m'. The share award is triggered by the group's success in outperforming both its peers and the FTSE 100 over five years. More
WPP has reported total 2015 revenue up 5.3% on a like-for-like basis, with headline EBITDA of £2.002bn, up 7.7% at constant currency. Revenue in pounds was up 6.1% to £12.235 bn. The insight-focused 'data investment management' division (DIM) remained flat for the year, although slightly improved in Q4. More
Kantar has chosen Cross-Tab Group to be its outsourcing partner in India, in a four-year deal worth up to $25m. Ashwin Mittal, Cross-Tab Group President, described the contract as a 'significant milestone' in the firm's fifteen-year history. More
WPP-owned brand development and insight consultancy Added Value has launched a self-service version of its brand measurement product SNAPSHOT, which is now available through online research 'app store' platform ZappiStore. More
In the Netherlands, WPP-owned digital data collection specialist Lightspeed GMI is relocating its 's-Hertogenbosch-based office to a larger facility, to facilitate growth of the company's European operations. More
In the US, audience measurement specialist Tru Optik has partnered with WPP-owned media agency Mindshare to break down TV and movie content into behavior-based 'micro-genre' graphs, and help firms target consumers with relevant content. More
In India, TV rating body BARC and Nielsen/Kantar joint venture TAM India have formally launched their meter management company, Meterology Data Pvt Ltd. (MDL). BARC will have full control with a 51 percent stake in MDL, while TAM India will own 49 percent. More
In the US, marketing software and solutions firms Marketo has partnered with ad agency Wunderman to launch a solution called 'insight-driven engagement'. More
Kantar has moved Adrian Gonzalez into a broader group role in charge of its Consumer Insights businesses - he was previously CEO of Millward Brown's Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific (AMAP) region. TNS APAC CEO Chris Riquier is among those leaving the business in the restructure. More
In the US, WPP's audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has appointed former NBCUniversal exec Jason Webby as Senior Vice President, Client Engagement, replacing Matt Sweeney who was recently promoted to the post of CEO, North America. More
Data science and media tech firm 4C has hooked up with Kantar Media to launch a cross-screen solution which enables political advertisers to target messages to their key voters. More
Research industry body ESOMAR has teamed up with Kantar, comScore, GfK and Nielsen to launch an initiative called 'Research Choices', which aims to help the general public understand how their data is used for audience measurement research. More
WPP-owned digital agency POSSIBLE has acquired German full-service digital agency Conrad Caine. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Netherlands TV industry body Stichting KijkOnderzoek (SKO) has announced that it is now working with data scientists from Kantar Media to deliver daily online TV ratings to the market. More
WPP-owned online specialist Lightspeed GMI has expanded its B2B sample with the addition of a panel of US-based IT professionals, profiled on primary job function and role, industry, department / function area, and company size. More
WPP audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has promoted Nicolle Pangis to the role of Global Chief Operating Officer, overseeing business operations, HR, partnerships, product management, and tech development across the Americas, Europe and AsiaPac. More
WPP has acquired a minority interest in Hispanic media and tech company Mitú, which creates original content, and analyses its Latino audience's consumption of that content across social media. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Kantar has acquired a majority stake in its partner in Denmark and Sweden, Millward Brown Denmark ApS, which has been a Millward Brown licensee since 1997. More
WPP's comms network Grey Group has acquired a majority stake in Seoul, South Korea-based creative digital agency Vinyl I-Co. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP's media investment arm GroupM has partnered with youth media company Fullscreen to launch a new influencer marketing partnership called Playa. More
WPP is integrating the Servo mobile ad trafficking platform of its Medialets subsidiary with Millward Brown Digital's Ignite Network, promising clients the ability to serve mobile ads across all ad formats including video and to accurately measure campaign effectiveness. More
Online gaming giant Tencent has struck separate deals with WPP's GroupM and with Dentsu Aegis Network, giving access to data from the Chinese firm's huge customer base of c.860m active monthly users. More
WPP has continued its large-scale purchase of comScore stock, adding around $7.2m worth in three purchases since the morning of 24th December. More
WPP has upped its stake in comScore through the purchase of 120,000 comScore shares at an average cost of $38.56 each and a value of $4.62m, and a second purchase of 84,913 shares at an average price of $38.57 each, and a total of $3.27m. More
WPP-owned brand activation agency Geometry Global has acquired Cacto Arte e Ideas, a digital customer relationship management company based in Mexico. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP's global media investment arm GroupM has acquired programmatic digital media specialist The Exchange Lab, which offers a range of targeting and retargeting solutions, including device-based and geotargeting. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
In New York, WPP audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has promoted Brian Gleason to Global Chief Executive Officer, and Matt Sweeney to replace him as CEO, North America. More
Long-time Kantar Media employee Nick Burfitt has re-located from London to Singapore, to serve as Managing Director for Asia Pacific. He takes charge of the firm's recently awarded contract to supply multi-platform TV ratings in Thailand. More
In Thailand, the Media Research Development Association has awarded Kantar Media a five-year contract to deliver the official multi-platform TV ratings for the country. The tender process also included GfK and Video Research. More
WPP-owned healthcare communications firm Sudler Hennessey has acquired a majority stake in London-based System Analytic, which helps clients engage with opinion leaders in the sector. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP-owned online panel provider Lightspeed has announced the promotion of Martin Filz to Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific, effective January 1st, 2016. President and Global CEO David Day will temporarily take over Filz's former role as CEO for EMEA. More
Following months of rumours, WPP has agreed to merge its Australian and New Zealand businesses with struggling Australia-based STW Communications Group Ltd, increasing its shareholding from 23.6% to 61.5%. STW's name will be changed 'to align it with WPP'. More
In the US, WPP-owned digital research specialist Lightspeed GMI has introduced a tool called the Political Profiler, which enables targeting by political party affiliation, voter preferences and voting frequency. More
In New York, WPP-owned media agency MediaCom has promoted Andy Littlewood to the newly created role of Managing Partner, Head of Knowledge, to provide North American clients with access to data tools, systems and products from across the agency, GroupM and WPP. More
The Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) has commissioned mobile survey specialist GeoPoll to provide media data to its members, who include TV, radio and web broadcasters across the country. More
WPP's audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has expanded to New Zealand, where the new market will be overseen by Australia Managing Director, Esther Carlsen. More
New York-based mobile ad targeting specialist 4INFO has partnered with WPP's Kantar Shopcom to enable SKU-level targeting for retailers across more than fifteen categories. More
In the US, healthcare data provider CentraForce Health has partnered with Nielsen Scarborough and Kantar Media to add further patient-centric insights to its health intelligence platform. More
WPP's J. Walter Thompson Company is to take a majority stake in Lebanon-based creative digital agency Cleartag, whose services include social media analysis, curation of online communities and user experience research. More
Media agency Maxus, part of WPP's GroupM, is to acquire Dutch media buying agency Helder Marketing & Communicatie B.V. More
UK TV audience research body BARB has agreed 'fusion projects' with Kantar Media and Nielsen for its Project Dovetail initiative, which will combine panel data with census data for TV viewing through all computer devices. More
WPP's audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has teamed up with big data and predictive analytics firm Haystaq DNA to launch a targeted political advertising solution for reaching US voters across digital channels. More
Czech Republic ratings body the Association of TV Organisations (ATO) has chosen Kantar Media and comScore to deliver a cross-platform measurement pilot of TV and video content. More
WPP division Mindshare is rolling out its Shop+ real-time retail data unit globally. The unit works with a range of methods from beacons in physical stores to real-time response technologies used by online retailers. More
Kantar Media and TNS Gallup have won a continuation of their contract to provide the currency for measurement of TV audiences in Denmark. The new deal will run for five years from 2017, with the option to extend until 2024. More
WPP has agreed to buy a majority stake in digital agency Essence, which claims to be the world's largest independent buyer of digital media. Following the deal, whose precise terms have not been disclosed, Essence will become part of WPP's media investment arm GroupM. More
WPP has reported like-for-like revenue up 4.6% for Q3 2015. The insight division, known as 'Data Investment Management', was among those 'improving versus the second quarter' but once again was the only one to report a slight decline in revenue. More
The hearing of Kantar Market Research Services' appeal against Indian government guidelines effectively banning its TAM joint venture with Nielsen has been postponed yet again, this time to February 9th 2016. More
Kantar Media has added brand social media engagement metrics to its advertising intelligence solutions in the US, to give clients 'a holistic view of brand messages and activity' across all types of media. More
In India, Nielsen / Kantar joint venture TAM Media Research and WPP agency IMRB International have jointly launched a cross-media consumption data service called TeleWeb Audience Measurement, covering TV and online platforms. More
Digital measurement specialist comScore has rolled out its syndicated Mobile Metrix solution in Indonesia, where it is also jointly developing mobile panels with Kantar. More
WPP has increased its holding in struggling Australian group STW Communications, owner of a number of data and MR agencies. More
WPP has appointed the UK government's Deputy Director of Communications Sean Larkins as Director of Consulting and Capability, leading a new consultancy offer within its Government & Public Sector Practice. More
Kantar has added sentiment analysis to its Twitter TV ratings dashboard service 'Instar Social', to uncover further insights into the conversations taking place about TV programmes on Twitter. More
WPP's Data Alliance has expanded its reach to Mumbai, India, where it will draw on expertise from group companies to help clients activate eCommerce, mobile and social media data strategies. More
UK supermarket Tesco has decided to abandon the sale of its customer data business dunnhumby, after its price tag dropped from an initial £2bn to around £700m. More
WPP's audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has rolled out its 'moment' marketing solution Xaxis Triggers in the MENA region. The system allows advertisers to use external factors such as a weather forecast, TV ads or stock prices to trigger complementary programmatic campaigns. More
Kantar has moved Efrain Ribeiro into the role of company-wide Chief Research Officer, replacing Renee Smith who is leaving to join Colorado-based research company GutCheck (see today's DRNO). Ribeiro will take up the new role on November 1st. More
WPP's Government & Public Sector practice has launched a 'hub' in Sydney, Australia, offering communications and research services for public sector clients in the ANZ region. More
Millward Brown Digital has introduced a mobile solution through which to evaluate the effectiveness of ads on Facebook and Instagram. More
UK supermarket Tesco is reportedly close to giving up on the sale of its customer data business dunnhumby, which has seen bidders withdraw and its potential price plummet in recent weeks. Instead it is said to be discussing the sale of its businesses in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. More
WPP audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has announced a partnership with six major Chinese firms in the digital and data arena, bringing their audience data into Xaxis' data management platform (DMP). More
According to reports in the press, WPP is the last remaining bidder for Tesco's data business dunnhumby. More
US-based business information and analysis specialist Neustar has partnered with Kantar Shopcom, to help marketers measure the impact of their off-line and online marketing initiatives. More
Latin American media measurement specialist IBOPE Media is to be rebranded in the region as Kantar IBOPE Media, following the WPP division's recent investment. More
WPP has extended its strategic partnership with marketing software giant Adobe, to provide solutions to clients through six specialist WPP agencies called 'the WPP-Adobe Alliance'. Separately, WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell has spoken about the 'very low standards' of some online audience measures, including Facebook's. More
Nearly two decades on from its US launch, Kantar Retail has rolled out its PoweRanking study in the UK. The study probes manufacturers' views of the major retail chains, and flags up key areas for performance improvement. More
Online research company Lightspeed GMI has announced a global roll-out for its survey programming platform, QuestionArts, backed by a newly strengthened leadership team. More
WPP media agency Mindshare North America has launched a tool called Counting Words, which examines online consumer conversations on a brand-by-brand basis via a visual dashboard, in order to explore the relationships of target words and messages with brands within a category. More
Kerry Sette has joined Ogilvy Public Relations (Ogilvy PR) as EVP / Research Director of its Research Group, based in New York. More
In India, IMRB International has appointed marketer K Ramkrishnan as General Manager of its IMRB | Kantar Worldpanel business. More
In Australia, WPP firm MediaCom has acquired a minority stake in full-service media communications agency Rapid Media Services, whose offer includes media strategy development, media buying, PR and market research. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell is urging Rentrak and comScore to join forces and find a solution to what he describes as 'faulty measurement' of digital ad views and viewability. More
WPP has reported that revenue in its Data Investment Management (DIM) arm fell slightly (0.3%) to £1.173bn during the first half of the year, from £1.176bn in last year's first six months; while DIM headline profit before tax rose 11.7% to £100.6m from £88.1m a year earlier. More
WPP's audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has rolled out a solution called Viewpoint, in Asia Pacific, and says it is the first fully programmatic product to guarantee 100% viewability in the region. More
WPP-owned digital research specialist Lightspeed GMI has opened an office in Gurgaon, India, with a team led by Ashish Pandey, Client Development Manager and Siddhartha Dutta, General Manager. More
Partners Kantar Media and mobile survey platform GeoPoll have announced the launch of a joint service bringing 'reliable, real-time audience measurement' to a swathe of African states. The service is currently available across Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. More
WPP and it subsidiary Millward Brown (MB) have conducted their inaugural BrandZ brand equity study in Indonesia, uncovering the country's top 50 most valuable brands. More
'Tis only a rumour at this stage, but an Indian online publication suggests that long-time rating agency and Nielsen / Kantar joint venture TAM Media Research is talking to new audience body BARC about a 'merger' - which considering their previous relations would be some turnaround. More
Marcoms giant WPP is planning to bring together its agencies in eleven locations in Madrid, Spain, into the former Telefonica headquarters in the Chamberi neighbourhood of the city. The move brings more than 40 companies and around 2,500 people under one roof. More
In the US, WPP-owned online specialist Lightspeed GMI has appointed Michael Krameisen as Director of Business Development. He joins with more than 25 years' business development experience gained in the marketing research industry. More
WPP-owned media agency Mindshare APAC has launched a regional team called FAST, to provide services to brands looking to make sense of their marcoms data. More
WPP and buyout specialist Provident Equity Partners have agreed to buy UK marcoms group Chime Communications for approximately £374m, just a day after announcing that the bid was being discussed. More
WPP's Wunderman Health business has acquired a majority stake in Brussels-based full service digital healthcare agency ABS Creative, whose services include strategy, user experience, creative, design and data analytics. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP's digital data collection arm Lightspeed GMI has appointed Susanne Goller and Johannes Van Lochem as Key Account Directors in its London office. More
WPP and buyout specialist Provident Equity Partners are in 'advanced discussions' to buy UK marcoms group Chime Communications for around £350m. More
WPP's Kantar Media has acquired a stake in digital media intelligence specialist BIScience, which specialises in cross-channel and global digital media monitoring, planning and optimization. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
UK audience research body BARB has announced that the beta version of its TV Player Report will be released in September, to provide official figures on the level of viewing of on-demand and live-streamed content through online TV Player apps. More
GroupM has partnered with Networked Insights, giving execs from the WPP firm access to real-time social media consumer data via the 'Kairos' marketing analytics platform. More
Mobile and technology panel division Kantar Worldpanel ComTech has launched a new consumer panel in India, consisting of more than 20,000 individual members and said to represent more than five hundred million people. More
WPP-owned Kantar is consolidating its activities in Israel by transferring Millward Brown's country license to TNS. The group says this will help it expand its presence in the market and provide better service both for local and global clients. More
In Thailand, GroupM digital unit mInteraction has launched a Research & Consumer Insights division, and appointed Pan Jroongtanapibarn as Manager, Strategy Resources & Insights. More
Kantar Media has launched an app called 'TGI Target Snapshot', to enable agency execs to access and understand insights into a range of consumer behaviour, including brand usage, consumption levels, shopper type, demographics and media consumption. More
Long-time WPP exec Karen Kaufman has moved to a senior role in the group's new marketing foresight consultancy Gain Theory, launched in April. She takes the new title of Managing Partner, Client Development for NA and LATAM. More
WPP has taken steps to become the first international marcoms group to conduct business on the island of Cuba. More
WPP's GroupM has acquired Netherlands-based firm Greenhouse Group, which provides digital media and marketing services through four operating companies. Among these is Source Republic, whose services include insight and analysis. More
Kenya-based marketing services firm Scangroup Limited has prefixed its name with WPP, reflecting its majority ownership by the group, and signifying the 'shared vision and values' of the two firms. More
WPP has increased its shareholding in Denmark-based TAM analysis software company TechEdge, from 20 to 49 percent. More
Mark Pejic, the CEO of Australia's second largest media agency MediaCom has left after four years leading the WPP firm, which was recently embroiled in a controversy over faked campaign reports for three major clients. The departure adds to a number of key roles already vacant at the company. More
New York-based ad tech company AppNexus has agreed to acquire RealMedia Latin America (RMLA) - its fifth company buy in twelve months - giving it a strong foothold in the continent. Separately, AppNexus has joined comScore's 'Trust' initiative and launched a new tool. More
In London, Kantar Media has hired Nathalie Zimmerman-Nénon for the newly created position of Managing Director of its global sports business. More
Around 20% of WPP's investors refused to endorse CEO Sir Martin Sorrell's £43m pay package at this afternoon's Annual General Meeting - quite a lot, 'though quite a lot fewer than in some previous years. More
In the Netherlands, online publishing industry group VINEX and its partner Stichting KijkOnderzoek, (SKO) the body responsible for the reporting and monitoring of viewing behaviour, have expanded their contract with Kantar Media to include measurement of all online viewing behaviour. More
According to reports in the UK press, marcoms giant WPP will face a shareholder rebellion over CEO Sir Martin Sorrell's £43m pay package at tomorrow's AGM. More
WPP-owned marcoms network J. Walter Thompson Company has acquired a minority stake in full service agency WANDA Digital in Turkey. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP's audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has launched a new 'mobile-first' performance ad business called Light Reaction, which will combine Xaxis data with scientific insight into how audiences perceive, relate and react to ads. More
Kantar Media has launched a tool called TGI Digital Planner, which taps into off- and online behavioural data from its TGI consumer insight study, to help identify the most appropriate target for advertisers. More
Luca Belloni, a twenty-year veteran of Millward Brown Italy and currently the firm's Managing Director, is to move to the position of Chairman of Kantar Italy from 1st July. More
WPP companies Kinetic and GroupM are to acquire a majority stake in French out-of-home (OOH) specialist Poster Conseil. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP has promoted Tamara Ingram to the new position of Chief Client Officer, overseeing more than 50 client teams and all the marcoms giant's global accounts. More
WPP digital agency Mirum has acquired a majority stake in German full-service digital marketing agency RSK Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP is acquiring Singapore-based marketing agency 3ree through its field marketing, retail audit and mystery shopper specialist firm Always Marketing Services. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. More
In India, the Board of the Media Research Users' Council (MRUC) has elected GroupM South Asia CEO CVL Srinivas as its new Chairman for 2015-16. He replaces Ravi Rao who has moved to Dubai to take up the role of Chief Client Officer of Mindshare MENA. More
WPP has acquired a majority stake in London-based and data-driven sports marketing agency Two Circles Ltd, and will immediately incorporate it into ESP, a new global agency within GroupM serving rightsholders from the worlds of sports and entertainment. More
A number of research organisations have come together to lead a new industry initiative called 'Insights 2020 - Driving Customer-Centric Growth', with the aim of studying the future of market research, insights and analytics strategy, structure and capability. More
WPP sister agencies TNS and Kantar Media have partnered with emerging markets mobile survey platform GeoPoll, to deploy a new range of research products and services across Africa. More
WPP-owned direct and interactive marketing network OgilvyOne has appointed Yi Lin as its first Chief Data Officer in China. More
Indian TV audience measurement body BARC has launched its measurement service, and rolled out the first set of results. More
Sir Martin Sorrell, the CEO of marcoms giant WPP, received a 44% increase in 2014 pay, bringing his salary package to almost £43m. This makes Sorrell the highest-paid FTSE 100 CEO, with a pay package more than twice the size of the second highest earner*. More
WPP-owned marcoms network J.Walter Thompson has launched a global business intelligence practice, offering a combination of research, innovation and data analytics across its global network. More
Kantar Media has launched a solution to help clients promote media inventory, using insights from its TGI consumer study. More
comScore and Kantar Media are rolling out their first joint offering for cross-media audience measurement, to key clients. More
WPP has reported like-for-like first quarter revenue growth across all its business sectors except for the Data Investment Management (DIM) division, where revenue fell 1.4% to £558m from £566m in the prior year period. More
WPP's Data Alliance has expanded its reach to Sub-Saharan Africa, with the opening of an office in Cape Town led by former VP of Strategy and Operations Devon Tighe. More
In the US, WPP-owned digital agency network Wunderman has hired former Merkle exec Yannis Kotziagkiaouridis as Global Chief Analytics Officer. More
WPP has acquired New York-based mobile ad serving and measurement platform Medialets, for an undisclosed sum. More
Marcoms giant WPP has launched a consultancy called Gain Theory, which brings together analytics, technology solutions, and consumer research and insight capabilities from around the group. More
WPP's Data Alliance practice and Facebook have linked up, to provide the former's clients with access to new data-driven personalization solutions across the latter's networking platform. More
In India, broadcast audience measurement body BARC has appointed Dr Sumit Chowdhury as Technical Advisor, as it prepares for the launch its new audience measurement system next month. More
WPP-owned media agency MEC South Africa has appointed former Effective Measure MD Alan Morrissey as Head of Analytics & Insights. More
WPP's audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis is to acquire Action Exchange, Inc. (ActionX), a US-based multi-screen targeting business, with terms not disclosed. More
In the US, WPP-owned online specialist Lightspeed GMI has launched Quick Turn Insights, a solution it claims can provide 'authentic feedback' in 24 hours. More
In the US, digital agency network Wunderman has given Gary Laben the role of Global Chief Data Officer, responsible for expanding its data assets, data management and analytics practices. More
New York-based ad targeting tech specialist AppNexus, in which WPP is an investor, is to acquire rival firm Yieldex, in a cash and stock deal said to be worth about $100m. More
Reports say WPP has now made a bid for a majority stake in retail data powerhouse dunnhumby, with current owner Tesco apparently keen to retain a minority share. Separately, the media giant's CEO Sir Martin Sorrell is said to be 'in line for a £36m bonus'. More
Kantar Worldpanel has increased the size of its panel in Saudi Arabia from 2,000 to 3,000 households. More
WPP has announced preliminary results for 2014 including like-for-like revenue up 8.2%, like-for-like net sales up 3.3%, and good profits - EBITDA grew 7.5% at constant currency. However like-for-like revenue in the firm's insight or 'Data Investment Management' division (DIM) was up just 0.6%. More
Staff at WPP agency Mediacom in Australia deliberately faked campaign reports for three major clients for at least two years, according to conclusions from an audit started in the autumn by consultants EY, and published today. More
In the US, Kantar Shopcom has teamed up with retail data giant IRI to create a portfolio of solutions for all-outlet, multi-channel media planning, targeting and measurement, based on a traceable view of more than 95% of total US consumer packaged goods spending. More
The Israeli Audience Research Board (IARB) has extended Kantar Media's contract for television measurement until 2019. More
Five months on from its last adjournment and more than a year after the announcement which triggered it, Kantar Media Research's appeal against Indian government guidelines affecting its TAM TV audience measurement service has been postponed once more, this time until May 12th. More
In a deal with some similarities to the recent US tie-in with Rentrak, WPP is to take a 15% to 20% stake in comScore through its Kantar data and insight arm, while comScore acquires a number of Kantar assets in Europe. More
WPP's global Government & Public Sector practice has introduced a team tasked with driving excellence in communications and research for European Union institutional clients. More
Kantar Worldpanel has launched an out-of-home (OoH) panel in China, to gather data about consumer purchasing and consumption of snacks and beverages across the country. More
In the UK, Sainsbury's veteran Kirstin Knight has joined Kantar Worldpanel, to manage the Grocery Retail division. More
Kantar Media has extended its contract providing TV audience measurement in Romania, until the end of 2019. The win follows a competitive tender process by ARMA, the country's television joint industry committee, and comes three years to the month after the current contract began. More
Film and television measurement specialist Rentrak has partnered with Kantar's data integration, analytics and insights division Kantar Shopcom, to integrate retail purchase data with TV viewing information. More
In London, Kantar Media has hired former BBC director Margo Swadley for the new role of Managing Director, UK TV & Video Measurement. More
WPP-owned Lightspeed GMI has expanded its online respondent validation product Honesty Detector to 27 markets across the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. More
In India, Kantar-owned IMRB International has announced that SVP Preeti Reddy will take over as President from Thomas Puliyel, when he retires in August. The firm has also announced a number of other changes to its management team. More
Ogilvy & Mather's social media commerce, online listening and impact analysis practice has appointed Samson Choi as General Manager in Hong Kong. More
WPP's marcoms network Wunderman has acquired a majority stake in digital marketing agency Phantasia, in Peru. Terms were not disclosed. More
WPP is preparing a bid for retail data giant dunnhumby, according to reports. Troubled current owner Tesco is said to be considering the sale of the Clubcard operator, valued by analysts at up to £2bn. Separately, WPP has invested $250m in new sports marketing firm Bruin. More
New York-based ad targeting tech specialist AppNexus has acquired cross-device technology firm MediaGlu, bringing new capabilities for ad serving, audience targeting and in-app retargeting. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
In Mexico, WPP has acquired digital agency Clarus, which lists research and digital consumer insights among its services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP's Kantar has acquired the majority interest in IBOPE Media, which comprises IBOPE Pesquisa de Midia e Participações, IBOPE Latinoamericana, and IMI.com. It has also bought the remainder of Millward Brown do Brasil and a minority share in IBOPE's political and social subsidiary. More
Kantar has announced that Mark Inskip, will take the role of Global CEO of its consulting business The Futures Company, from February. He replaces Will Galgey who is moving to the role of CEO of TNS UK. More
WPP marcoms group JWT has acquired a majority stake in Wellington, New Zealand-based digital agency Heyday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Kantar Media and CSM Media Research - a joint venture firm between CTR Market Research and Kantar Media - have partnered with Hong Kong's largest TV broadcaster Now TV, to roll out the region's first cross-platform television audience measurement system using return path data (RPD) technology. More
Kantar Media has launched its Twitter TV Ratings service in Spain. The move follows the UK launch of the tool in October and the acquisition of Barcelona-based TV and social media analytics agency The Data Republic in April. More
WPP has extended its relationship with IBM, to expand its use of big data and analytics, and develop new digital services that will be run and managed within a global hybrid cloud infrastructure. More
WPP digital agency Possible has acquired The Swift Collective, which offers a range of services including user research, business analysis and forecasting. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Multi-screen measurement specialist Rentrak has completed its acquisition of the US-based TV measurement assets of Kantar Media, in an all-stock deal worth about $128m - c.$30m more than was initially anticipated. More
A number of execs have left WPP agency Mediacom in Australia after the discovery that ratings figures for campaigns for two clients, Foxtel and KFC / Yum Brands, had been overstated - according to press reports. More
WPP's audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has named Mickey Zhang as Managing Director in China. More
In the UK, Kantar Media has admitted to a problem with its published BARB viewing data for July-September, requiring it to reissue certain audience data files. More
UK TV broadcaster Channel 4 has identified a new demographic it calls the 'Proactives', an audience segment said to have more money, more influence and a higher propensity to trial. More
New York-based social media intelligence firm Unmetric has partnered with Ogilvy & Mather's social media arm Social[at]Ogilvy, to bring analysis and competitive benchmarking to clients' social media campaigns. More
UK audience research body BARB has extended Kantar Media's TV measurement panel contract and RSMB's contract for survey design and methodology until the end of 2018. The organisation will also combine two of its main research contracts from January 2016. More
Marketing services network WPP has reported a slower than expected 3.1% rise in third quarter revenue to £2.76bn. Reported revenue in its Data Investment Management division fell 4.7% to £588m, but allowing for currency effects and acquisitions, like-for-like revenue growth was 0.5%. More
Kantar Retail has invested an undisclosed sum in Paris-based image recognition tech company Planorama Group. More
In London, Kantar Media has appointed Alex Kuhnel as Chief Operating Officer of its TGI global online / off-line consumer behaviour and media consumption study. More
WPP-owned media agency Mindshare has partnered with beacon technology firm Footmarks to improve how retail consumers are targeted on their mobile devices across Southeast Asia. More
WPP firm Ogilvy & Mather has launched a Global Center of Data Excellence it calls 'OgilvyAmp', to help clients develop innovative approaches for using their data. More
WPP's audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis has appointed Sawato (Stephan) Yoshii as Country Manager for Japan, with responsibility for business development, partnerships and publisher relations. More
Kantar Media has agreed to acquire the audio watermarking unit of digital tech firm Civolution, whose products are used by broadcast channels across the world to track their media content and audiences. Financial details were not disclosed. More
Film and television measurement specialist Rentrak is to acquire the US TV measurement business of WPP's Kantar Media for $98m in Rentrak common stock. WPP will then spend a further $56m to bring its overall share of the US-based firm to 16.7%. The deal gives WPP's GroupM agencies full access to Rentrak audience data. More
Kantar Media is to provide a proprietary audience measurement service for Malaysian Pay TV and radio group Astro. Launched next year, the new service will make use of Kantar Worldpanel's Malaysian household FMCG panel. More
Kantar Media says it will launch the UK's first official metric for measuring Twitter TV audience engagement in mid-October. More
New York-based ad technology firm AppNexus has received $25m in funding from WPP, and in turn, has agreed to acquire the Open AdStream (OAS) ad serving platform from the marcoms giant's audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis. More
WPP's digital network VML has agreed to acquire Shanghai-based social media monitoring specialist Teein. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
According to a number of reports in the media, WPP is in 'advanced talks' regarding the possible acquisition of some divisions of Brazilian research agency IBOPE Group by its Kantar arm. More
TNS is to move into the Mongolian market in partnership with sister WPP agency Y&R Advertising, with the latter acquiring a majority stake in the Creative and Research Agency (CRA) from conglomerate MCS Holding LLC. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP division Kantar Health has acquired Brazilian healthcare research company Evidências, for an undisclosed sum. More
Multi-screen measurement company Specific Media has added Kantar Media and Rentrak set top box (STB) data to its TV Audience Segments (TVAS) solution, to help advertisers with their audience targeting. More
WPP marcoms agency JWT has acquired a majority stake in Sao Paulo-based user experience agency Try, also known as Cairos Usabilidade Eireli. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
In South Africa, WPP's majority-owned digital agency Aqua has acquired marketing and ecommerce tech company Applogix, whose design and development services are based on UX and user needs research, and web analytics. More
Kantar has partnered with US non-profit agency disABILITYincites to create what is described as the country's largest panel of consumers with disabilities. More
WPP division GroupM has acquired data-driven digital media agency Keyade, whose proprietary software Madmetrics Analytics will be integrated into GroupM France's data, research and planning offerings. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP's data investment management division (DIM) has reported Q2 net sales of £436m and revenue of £611m, the latter up 2.6% in like-for-like terms but well below the overall group growth of 10.2%. More
WPP's healthcare data company All Global has been integrated into the group's online panels specialist Lightspeed Research, allowing combined access to general population panels and physician and payor panels. More
Audience research specialist Kantar Media has appointed Carlos Sanchez for a newly created role, Director of Social TV. More
India-based GroupM agency Maxus has launched a comms planning tool called Resolve, which uses a bespoke proprietary consumer survey called Compose to examine consumer sentiment towards media channels and their content. More
GroupM, the global media investment management operation within WPP, has promoted Harvey Goldhersz to the new role of Chief Data Officer and CEO of GroupM Analytics, and Phil Cowdell to replace him North America CEO of its MediaCom subsidiary. More
Slovakian TV audience measurement steering committee PMT has renewed its contract with Kantar Media for the provision of audience measurement services. Kantar-owned TNS will manage the service until 2021. More
In London, Kantar has invested an undisclosed amount in self-service online research 'app store' platform ZappiStore. More
In India, Nielsen/Kantar joint venture TAM Media Research has launched a mobile app called 'TAM India', which will provide subscribers with access to weekly top line television audience measurement (TAM) data on their iPhone, Android and Blackberry devices. More
WPP, Kantar and TRA have jointly agreed not to go to court over the last outstanding claim in their three-year legal wrangle. A case which began with allegations of stealing trade secrets and deterring potential investors was concluded with the payment of one dollar in nominal damages over breach of contract. More
Kantar Worldpanel has added to its new presence in Africa with the launch of a consumer panel in Egypt, covering both urban and rural areas and with the first data available in January 2015. More
Ogilvy & Mather has opened a third office for its behavioural sciences practice #ogilvychange, this time in Singapore. More
The High Court in Delhi has once again adjourned Kantar Media Research's appeal against new government guidelines imposed on its TAM TV audience measurement service. The case will now be heard on 26th August. More
In the UK, WPP-owned Kantar Media has segmented data from its TGI consumer insight tool to make available a new range of pre-defined groups of consumers called TGI Standard Audiences, which can be used by advertisers to inform the programmatic trading and delivery of online advertising. More
Stichting KijkOnderzoek (SKO), the industry body responsible for the reporting and monitoring of viewing behaviour in the Netherlands, has awarded WPP firms Kantar Media and TNS NIPO a four-year contract for the provision of cross platform ratings across the country. More
Kantar Media has rolled out its FishEye social media monitoring and analytics solutions to the Irish market. More
Chinese microblogging service Weibo has announced a partnership with Kantar-backed TV and radio audience measurement firm CSM Media Research, to develop a system for evaluating the impact of social media on TV audiences. More
Ogilvy Public Relations Australia has launched a proprietary measurement system called Impact4, which combines predictive analytics, statistical outcome modelling, and integrated search optimisation. More
Kantar has acquired data visualization and interactive specialist Guardian Digital Agency from its parent company Guardian News & Media. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Netherlands audience measurement association SKO has announced a new contract with Kantar Media Audiences, allowing the measurement of commercials on a wide range of digital platforms and establishing 'a marketwide, transparent, manageable standard'. More
Kantar Health has launched PINNAKLE, billed as an integrated, holistic brand marketing solution helping pharma companies maximise the success of their brands and tap into 'unrealized brand opportunity'. More
WPP-owned firm The Data Alliance has partnered with location analytics specialist Factual, giving WPP group companies access to data that maps the known location of mobile phones to physical places, including more than 65 million businesses in 50 countries. More
WPP-owned Kantar Media has rolled out its TGI (Target Group Index) consumer insights business in the US. More
Kantar Media has acquired a majority stake in Precise Media Group Holdings Limited, which provides monitoring and evaluation services to the PR and communications industries. The price and details of the percentage of shares bought have not been disclosed. More
WPP-owned marcoms group Young & Rubicam (Y&R) has promoted Michael Sussman to the position of President of its research arm BAV Worldwide. More
Kantar Media-owned digital marketing intelligence specialist AdGooroo has opened an office in London, adding to support for its client base of advertisers and agencies across the UK. More
WPP-owned direct and interactive marketing network OgilvyOne has appointed Olivier Janus as Head of Data UK, in charge of the Data Services team in the country. More
WPP's marketing communications agency Grey has agreed to acquire a majority stake in South African advertising and communications company The Volcano Group, whose services include insight generation in addition to advertising, PR, digital and social media consultancy. More
Kantar is reportedly working with London-based software firm Onzo Ltd to investigate ways of gathering and analysing smart meter data on household energy use. More
Kantar has completed its upgrade of the Indian MarketPulse consumer panel, first announced last year, and have rebranded it as Kantar Worldpanel. The panel is operated jointly by the Kantar Worldpanel division and sister agency IMRB International. More
The Omnicom-Publicis merger has been called off. Unforeseen complexities had slowed the progress of the $35bn deal (£20.65bn) to the point where the two parties apparently felt it was distracting and unsettling their businesses. Publicis CEO Maurice Lévy has also suggested it was becoming an Omnicom takeover. More
WPP's data investment management (DIM) arm has sold off its US call center business, Center Partners, to Mexico-based business process outsourcing (BPO) and call centre service provider Qualfon. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
In London, Kantar Media has hired former Ipsos MORI Marketing Director Anna Reeves for the newly created Board-level role of Global Commercial Director, in charge of its marketing and business development teams, and the shaping of new offerings. More
Marcoms giant WPP has acquired a controlling interest in South Africa and London-based digital marketing agency Quirk Group, for an undisclosed sum. More
WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell saw his annual pay package rise by nearly two-thirds to £29.8m in 2013, from £17.5m the previous year, boosted by a plan linked to the company's share price and performance. More
WPP Chief Exec Sir Martin Sorrell, whose marcoms group would no longer be the world's largest if the planned Publicis-Omnicom merger goes ahead, has told analysts he believes there is a '30% to 50% chance' the merger process will collapse. More
WPP's Data Investment Management (DIM) division saw revenues fall 3.8% to £566m in the first quarter of 2014, while net sales dropped 4.5% to £406m. More
WPP's shopper data and analytics consultancy Kantar Retail has acquired sales automation software company XTEL, in Italy. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
In the US, WPP's Kantar Media has launched an initiative which uses its subscription-only media planning platform, SRDS.com, to help advertisers find and buy suitable digital media slots for their campaigns. More
WPP's Data Alliance practice has partnered with publisher eMarketer, to provide all WPP operating companies with access to the latter's global database of digital marketing research data. More
Marcoms giant WPP has launched a global Government & Public Sector Practice to drive 'excellence' in government communications. The new initiative is led by Dr Michelle Harrison, who is also CEO of the group's TNS BMRB agency. More
Kantar's online specialist Lightspeed GMI has launched a service called Survey Cycle, which combines its research design and project management skills with Google Consumer Surveys, to deliver 'micro surveys' comprising ten questions or fewer. More
Audience measurement specialist Kantar Media has acquired Barcelona-based TV and social media analytics agency The Data Republic. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Kantar and Twitter have strengthened their global partnership with a five-year agreement under the program name 'Data of Now', and will collaborate on new research products. In addition, the firms' 'social TV' ratings and analytics will be extended to new regions in Asia, Africa and Europe. More
WPP's digital agency network Wunderman has acquired London-based product data specialist FusePump for an undisclosed sum. More
Marcoms giant WPP has acquired a majority stake in Mumbai-based social media marketing agency Social Wavelength, which offers a range of brand communication, social media outreach, and social media monitoring solutions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
In the US, WPP-owned online specialist Lightspeed GMI has introduced a social media intelligence solution called Context, allowing clients to profile and survey existing consumer segments 'through a social lens'. More
Digital marketing solutions firm IgnitionOne has completed the acquisition of marketing tech firm Knotice, adding data management and multi-channel digital messaging to its suite of solutions. Separately, WPP is to acquire a majority stake in UK-based digital tech consultancy Cognifide Ltd. More
New York-based social media management specialist Percolate has raised $24m in funding in a series B round led by Sequoia Capital and including WPP, which had already invested a month ago in an interim round. Percolate says the funds will help it expand headcount and develop its software. More
WPP's audience profiling and targeting arm Xaxis has appointed former Sony exec Marcus Siddons as Managing Director for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), overseeing operations, account management and publisher relationships across the region. More
The High Court in Delhi has given further breathing space to TAM and to the Indian ad industry, previously threatened with a ratings blackout for much of the year, by adjourning until July the hearing of the appeal brought by Kantar Media against new government guidelines. More
WPP Chief Exec Sir Martin Sorrell has received 1.78m shares, worth around £22.7m, under the company's now-discontinued long-term incentive plan, LEAP. More
WPP's Data Investment Management Division (DIM) has reported a 3.6% increase in annual revenue for 2013. More
Kantar has promoted Hidehiko Otake to the role of Chief Executive of its wholly-owned subsidiary Kantar Japan, replacing Masanori Miyajima who is leaving the business. More
TAM Media Research has applied to the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) for registration as a television ratings service provider, in accordance with stipulations made when a court postponed the implementation of new government guidelines just over a week ago. More
In the UK, WPP-owned Kantar Media has promoted Richard Poustie to the position of Chief Executive Officer of its TGI & Custom division, which has recently been expanded to include the Kantar Sport business. More
WPP digital agency Possible has appointed Mikhail Goldgaber as Head of Experience, with a remit to build the firm's User Experience (UX) team in London, and introduce UX, digital psychology and consumer neuroscience techniques across all departments. More
An Indian court has given ratings agency TAM a lifeline, postponing some provisions of the government's recent policy guidelines which would have left the company in breach and the country without audience currency for most of the year. More
Kantar Worldpanel has expanded into Africa with the launch of new consumer panels in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana. More
Ogilvy Public Relations has launched an Insight & Strategy (I&S) division, led by EVP and Director of Insight & Strategy Michael Briggs. His new team will comprise senior staff across North America, who will enhance the agency's capabilities to generate research-based insights. More
WPP has announced that Xaxis, its audience profiling and targeting division, has agreed to acquire Netherlands-based media trading firm Bannerconnect, whose offer includes real-time campaign optimisation platform Bright. More
WPP company tenthavenue has acquired a majority stake in South African mobile activation firm Jupicorp Proprietary Ltd (trading as TMARC), which offers a consumer profiling, segmentation and targeting tool. More
WPP-owned media investment management company GroupM has opened a new division called Multicultural Marketing Analytics, focused on examining the performance of marketing initiatives targeting multicultural audience segments. More
In India, TV ratings regulator BARC has confirmed rumours that French company Médiamétrie is its official technology partner, and will provide licences to BARC to use its TV metering system. Meanwhile the country faces the prospect of having no audience ratings at all until October this year. More
The Indian government has announced it will regulate television ratings agencies in the country, requiring them to register with the I&B Ministry within 30 days, and raise sample size to a minimum of 20,000 panel homes - potentially a blow to Nielsen/Kantar joint venture TAM. More
WPP's media investment management unit GroupM has acquired Berlin-based digital ad targeting specialist plista, for an undisclosed sum. More
WPP's media investment management arm GroupM has launched a TV audience targeting division called Modi Media, tapping into the group's TV implementation, optimization, research and data capabilities. More
WPP-owned media investment management company GroupM is set to acquire a majority stake in Vietnam-based full service social media marketing agency ClickMedia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP-owned Kantar is to combine the resources of Kantar Retail with its TNS Retailer & Shopper practice, to form a new organisation offering a single source of retail and shopper expertise. More
Kantar Media has announced the acquisition of Singapore-based social media listening firm FishEye Analytics. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Ratings provider Medialogic Pakistan has announced a partnership with global group Kantar Media which it says will enhance the TV audience measurement service available in the country. More
WPP audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis is launching in Indonesia and the Philippines, and appointed Arshad Rahman to lead its efforts in the two new markets. More
WPP-owned communications network Ogilvy & Mather has agreed to acquire a majority stake in social media marketing agency Social Lab, based in Brussels, Belgium. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP research and ad agencies Millward Brown and Ogilvy & Mather have partnered to launch a syndicated tool called The Brand Cross-Cultural Index (BCCI), designed to help understand a brand's value across racial or ethnic segments. More
WPP has merged audience profiling and targeting division Xaxis with its digital marketing tech specialist 24/7 Media, to form what it says is the world's largest programmatic media and technology platform. The merged firm will keep the Xaxis name. More
US District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin has thrown out TRA's patent infringement claims against Kantar for the second time in less than two months. More
WPP has taken a majority stake in Johannesburg, South Africa-based strategic comms agency Cerebra Communications, whose services focus around building and running brand communities. More
WPP-owned marcoms network Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) has opened a 'Marketing Analytics Centre of Excellence' in Singapore, which it says will turn Pan-Asian consumer insights into customised, targeted and measurable marketing strategies. More
WPP-owned global marcoms network Y&R has acquired a majority stake in Turkish social media specialist Plasenta Conversation Agency, for an undisclosed sum. More
WPP-owned Kantar Media is extending its partnership with Twitter to Spain, where it will develop a suite of TV analytics tools bringing together social media TV data from Twitter with its own audience research expertise. More
WPP is exploring the sale of its 20% stake in Chime Communications, after the latter announced it is to acquire motorsports marketing firm Just Marketing International (JMI) for £43.7m, and partly finance the deal through the sale of 8.5 million new shares to financial institutions. More
WPP has reported third quarter revenue growth of 3.2% in its 'Data Investment Management' (DIM) businesses, to £617m, and growth of 2.6% to £1.8 billion for the first nine months of the year. More
In the US, the judge who threw out TRA's patent infringement lawsuit against Kantar has now ordered that decision to be withdrawn from the record. More
In the US, TRA has asked the judge who threw out the patent infringement part of its claim against Kantar to reconsider, claiming that she had granted its earlier request for an oral argument but then issued last week's summary judgment ruling before it had taken place. More
WPP firms Kantar Worldpanel and IMRB have formed a partnership to run a joint consumer panel service across India, providing insight on purchasing habits across a broad range of products. More
A US judge has thrown out the patent infringement part of TRA's claim against WPP firms including Kantar, over the companies' abortive merger talks and the subsequent launch of competing product RapidView. However, TRA's claims over breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty continue. More
Kantar Media is launching Audience Advisor, which will use Return Path Data (RPD) from more than 1 million multichannel television subscribers to give second-by-second data on audiences, projectable to a national footprint of nearly 100 million households. More
Digital ad intelligence specialist Exponential Interactive has teamed up with WPP-owned behavioural targeting services firm I-Behavior, to help advertisers target consumers online based on their high street purchasing habits. More
Mansoor Khan has been promoted to the new role of Director of MENA and South Asia, Kantar Media Audiences, as the company looks to build on existing operations in the UAE, Egypt and Turkey. More
Kantar Media is rolling out an app version of its InfoSys+ TV audience analysis service, allowing broadcast audience data to be viewed on mobile devices. More
WPP-owned Xaxis - which links the group's ad buying technologies with a proprietary database containing 'the world's largest pool of audience profiles' - has appointed former Microsoft leader Christian Wilkens as Managing Director for Germany. More
Kantar Media has teamed up with audience targeting specialist I-Behavior to develop a service called Ad-Vantage, allowing advertisers to reach specifically defined consumer groups online. More
Kantar Media has given Andy Brown the role of Chief Executive Officer, replacing Jean-Michel Portier who retired earlier this year. More
WPP-owned marcoms network Ogilvy & Mather is to acquire a majority stake in Indian digital tech firm PennyWise, which offers a range of software and services for mobile app development; social media monitoring; SEO; analytics and business intelligence. More
WPP-owned marketing and technology company Digitaria has appointed Eden Tsehaye to lead the Analytics team at its Minneapolis office. More
In the UK, WPP-owned Kantar Media has promoted Sarah Sanderson to the position of Managing Director of its Custom research unit. She replaces Liz McMahon, who is transferring to sister agency TNS UK as Managing Director, Consumer. More
In the US, WPP-owned full-service digital agency Rockfish has launched a Digital CRM practice, offering clients help in using big data to respond to customers with relevant content via the most appropriate device. More
In Africa, Kantar has teamed up with fellow WPP agency TNS RMS to form a joint consumer panel, for use in shopper and product research studies. More
WPP subsidiary tenthavenue has acquired a minority interest in UK-based multi-platform agency Candyspace Media Ltd, whose services include user experience, testing, analytics and project management. More
WPP's research and insight arm Kantar has acquired US research and consulting firm the Benenson Strategy Group (BSG). Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
In the US, WPP-owned marcoms network Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) has promoted Todd Cullen to the role of Global Chief Data Officer, responsible for expanding the Data and Analytics Practice from its current total of 1,000 professionals worldwide. More
Kantar's US call center business Center Partners has appointed Jim Dunn as Chief Executive Officer, and Tom Maddux as President, while Chris Kneeland remains in post as Chief Operating Officer. The team takes over from Bob Meyers, who has been interim CEO since April. More
According to reports, India's Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has shortlisted five bidders for the technology section of its soon-to-be-launched television ratings system. TAM Media Research is not said to be amongst them, although both its backers, Nielsen and Kantar, are. More
WPP is to accelerate its move towards digital sources and fast-growth markets, raising longstanding targets for the proportion of business from each, according to a LinkedIn post by CEO Sir Martin Sorrell. He also appears to be phasing out the words 'research' and 'insight' in favour of a catchy new expression... More
WPP is increasing its stake in Kenya-based marketing services firm Scangroup Limited, JV partner of its subsidiary Millward Brown, and will now hold a majority (50.1 percent of shares). More
In the UK, audience measurement and analysis specialist Kantar Media has acquired a minority stake in social media TV analytics company SecondSync. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Audience measurement giant Kantar Media is to work with Twitter to develop a suite of planning and analytics tools for UK broadcasters, media agencies and the wider television industry. More
In India, advertisers, agencies and broadcasters have settled a dispute over TV ratings measurement supplied by TAM Media Research. Tam will now issue data in the 'television viewership in thousands' (TVT) format, rather than focusing on percentage of audience share. More
WPP's consumer insight and data arm Kantar has acquired Bangladesh-based full service agency Sirius Marketing & Social Research, which specialises in customised social, media and consumer research. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP's insights, information and consultancy group Kantar has combined its digital insights firms Dynamic Logic and Compete, in a bid to help advertisers, agencies and publishers increase marketing effectiveness and drive brand growth. More
India's fair trade regulator the CCI has asked the country's broadcasters, media buying and ad agencies to send feedback in the next two weeks on their views of audience measurement agency TAM Media Research, as it investigates claims of unfair practices. More
WPP-owned marketing, technology and data company Digitaria has appointed Shawn Kardell as User Experience (UX) Director in its Minneapolis office. More
WPP-owned digital agency VML has agreed to acquire a majority stake in South African full service digital marketing specialist NATIVE. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP-owned Xaxis - which links the group's ad-buying technologies with a proprietary database containing what the firm describes as the 'world's largest pool of audience profiles' - has opened an office in Taiwan, led by former Yahoo! exec K.C. Pan. More
The legal and commercial ramifications of NDTV's suing of Indian ratings venture TAM continue: in India, two more networks are reported to have withdrawn subscriptions to the ratings firm, while in New York, law firm Sabharwal & Finkel is now fighting both Sir Martin Sorrell and its former client NDTV. More
WPP insight arm Kantar has filed a request in the US District Court in Manhattan to dismiss patent infringement claims made by media measurement firm TRA before they go to tribunal. More
Marcoms giant WPP has agreed a global partnership with Twitter and will use its data to give clients 'more effective campaigns, enhanced targeting, and more real-time insight'. More
WPP's digital marketing agency VML is to acquire a 49% stake in Polish full-service interactive agency Heureka Group, which has its own proprietary social media analytics arm called Brand Fibres. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Indian network New Delhi Television (NDTV) has appealed against a ruling by the New York State Supreme Court that its $1 billion ratings manipulation lawsuit against Nielsen and WPP should be heard in India. However, NDTV has only named Nielsen in the appeal. More
In India, Nielsen / WPP joint venture TAM Media Research has set up a 'vigilance desk', headed by a former senior policeman, and a 'transparency panel' of regulation experts, aiming to guarantee the impartiality of its methods and ratings. More
Kantar companies Dynamic Logic and Compete have teamed up with online media viewability firm Double Verify to launch a tool called Advance, which combines exposure metrics and effectiveness measures in a unified reporting and optimization system. More
Kantar Media has won a multi-year contract to measure subscriber behaviour for Indian Direct to Home (DTH) TV provider Tata Sky. The service, launching later this year, is billed as the first Return Path Data audience research service in India. More
WPP-owned Kantar Health has launched a new solution called 'CancerMPact Future Trends and Insights', which can be used to explore the potential changes in oncology treatment practices in the US, Western Europe and Japan. More
WPP's digital investment arm has joined a third round of funding for Leading Smart Holdings, giving it further involvement in Chinese digital advertising measurement company Miaozhen Systems. More
WPP-owned healthcare panel and data collection agency All Global has appointed former Schlesinger Associates exec BJ Kirschner as Director, Research Operations - Qualitative. More
New York's Supreme Court has ruled that the $1 billion lawsuit brought by New Delhi Television (NDTV) against Nielsen and WPP should be heard in India. The broadcaster alleges that staff at the firms' TAM joint venture took bribes in exchange for overstating ratings. More
WPP has announced preliminary results for 2012. Group revenues rose 3.5% to around £10.4bn, and headline EBITDA rose 7% to £1.76bn; but in the Consumer Insight division, like-for-like revenues rose just 0.8%, with gross margin down 1.1%. More
The Cambodian Broadcasting Service has awarded Kantar Media a two year contract to conduct television audience research, which will include recording the viewing habits of more than 500 homes in urban areas such as Phnom Penh, Siem Riep and Battambang. More
Audience measurement specialist Kantar Media has announced a data sharing agreement with 'social TV' analytics company SecondSync. More
Kantar is to integrate youth research unit TRU into another of its subsidiaries, insight and innovation consultancy The Futures Company. More
India's Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has issued an invitation for agencies to submit tenders for a new approach to television audience measurement. The contract is currently held by Nielsen/Kantar joint venture TAM Media Research. More
Brazilian football legend Ronaldo has joined comms giant WPP as an intern, apparently in a bid to learn about the world of advertising. More
In accordance with plans announced in November and ratified by shareholders last month, WPP has returned its tax headquarters to the UK. The group also announced it has taken a twenty percent stake in Buenos Aires-based digital marketing specialist Globant. More
WPP-owned Kantar has acquired digital marketing intelligence specialist AdGooroo, which provides market research services for search engine advertisers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP-owned marcoms network Wunderman has acquired a majority stake in Bienalto, a digital marketing agency based in Sydney, Australia, which specialises in online analytics, user experience and 'customer dialogue' programmes. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Indian TV network New Delhi Television (NDTV) has set out its reasons for wanting a US trial for its case against Nielsen and WPP, urging the Supreme Court of the State of New York to reject the two companies' recent requests to have it thrown out. More
Digital TV solutions provider NAGRA is to collaborate with Kantar Media to offer clients subscriber data from in-home devices. The service will be pre-integrated with NAGRA's OpenTV 5 media convergence platform. More
In India, the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has formed a three-member Technical Committee (TechComm), tasked with drawing up a roadmap for the establishment of an audience metrics system. More
WPP has announced further details of its proposal to return its headquarters from Ireland to the UK, including a timetable which sees shares in 'New WPP' trading on the LSE at the start of 2013. More
Marcoms giant WPP has agreed to buy a majority stake in digital marketing agency Netbooster Asia, which offers a full range of online services including web research and benchmarking, and social media monitoring. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Kantar has appointed Walter Patanella as Chief Executive of Media Monitoring and Evaluation at its Media Intelligence Europe subsidiary, following its recent acquisition of an 87% stake in media monitoring specialist Press Index, where he served as MD. More
WPP has reported third quarter consumer insight revenue of £591m, down from £593m in the prior year period and up just a fraction ( 0.8%) on a like-for-like basis. More
WPP-owned online behavioural measurement firm Kantar Media Compete has settled charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission that it 'deceived consumers' by not disclosing the extent of the personal data it was gathering about them. More
Indian television measurement body TAM is suspending publication of its viewing data from week 41 (October 7th) onwards, for 8 weeks while four of the country's biggest cities switch over from analogue to DAS. More
Kantar Media TGI has launched a new initiative called 'The WHY Code', which offers to help clients understand every stage of the consumer decision-making journey, both conscious and subconscious. More
Denmark's National TV Steering Committee and Kantar Media have announced plans to enhance the country's existing TV Audience Measurement (TAM) service with the inclusion of TV viewing on PCs, smartphones, and tablets from 2013. More
Online behavioural measurement firm Kantar Media Compete has partnered with online ad verification service DoubleVerify to develop a system called 'Ad VRF', which helps advertisers find out if the specific audiences they target have actually seen their online ads. More
WPP has reported revenue up just 1.2% to £1.19bn in its consumer insight division in the first half of the year, while headline operating profit fell slightly to £84m. The group has also confirmed that following tax changes, it plans to move its HQ back to the UK from Ireland. More
Kantar Media has bought AGB Nielsen's 50% stake in the TGI (Target Group Index) service operating in Turkey. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Following Indian broadcaster NDTV's legal action against Nielsen and Kantar Media Research over bribery claims, the Indian government has now stepped in with its own investigation. More
TV and video ad analytics provider Ace Metrix has launched a real-time measure of the effectiveness of campaign, issue and advocacy ads, in the run-up to the US Presidential election. Twitter, meanwhile, has unveiled its own Political Index, weighing up the sentiment of Tweets that mention Obama or Romney. More
Indian broadcaster NDTV is suing Nielsen and Kantar Media Research over claims that staff at the firms' joint venture TAM took bribes in exchange for overstating ratings. According to the suit, this practice has damaged NDTV's business to the tune of around $810m in the past eight years. More
Kantar Media TGI has launched a new service called 'TGI Clickstream', allowing marketers, communications agencies and media owners to gain a picture of web sites and sections visited by specific, 'complex' target groups of consumers. More
In the UK, Kantar Media Audiences CEO Richard Marks is leaving the firm in August to set up his own consultancy business. He will be replaced by Richard Asquith, who currently leads the firm's TGI and Custom division. More
WPP shareholders have voted against a proposed 60% increase in CEO Sir Martin Sorrell's pay package. Separately, WPP says its Consumer Insight arm has been 'stable' in the first four months of 2012, with a 3.3% revenue rise adding to the group's £3.2 billion turnover. More
Kantar has today announced the appointment of Matthias Hartl as Managing Director of Kantar Media Audiences Switzerland, based in Bern and reporting to Regional Director Eitan Kassif. More
Jon Swallen has been promoted to the position of Chief Research Officer of Kantar Media Intelligence North America, in which he will lead the development of measurement methods for online video, social media and mobile advertising, while also spearheading data integration programs. More
WPP has reported first quarter revenues up 7.4% at constant currencies, to £2.39 bn. Organic revenue growth was 4.0%. However the consumer insight division once again lagged behind with revenues up 3.3% on a constant currency basis, or 1.3% excluding acquisitions. More
In Belgium, the Centre for Information on the Media (CIM) has awarded Kantar Media-owned TNS its new National Internet Measurement contract, with traffic from mobile devices and online TV viewing figures included for the first time. More
Kantar Media has expanded its Global Target Group Index (TGI) network of syndicated marketing and media studies through the addition of TNS Media Belgium's Brand Media Monitor (BMM) study. More
Kantar Media has acquired Chinese social media research, monitoring and analysis firm CIC, to complement its own range of social media capabilities in the country. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
In Switzerland, joint industry committee Mediapulse has awarded Kantar Media the country's Television Audience Measurement contract for a period of six years, starting in 2013. More
In London, Kantar has announced a deal with app software firm Lumi Mobile, whose mobile phone-based consumer insight technology it will help to commercialise. Kantar also takes a minority equity stake in the business. More
WPP firms Kantar Media and media operations unit GroupM have announced a partnership aimed at uncovering the links between exposure to TV ads and purchase decisions. Viewers of Hispanic programming will be the first group studied. More
JD Power and Associates and Kantar Media have partnered to integrate auto buyer data with stats on television viewing behavior, promising clients the ability to identify the most-watched shows among buyers of particular vehicle types. More
Kantar Media has won a six-year contract, beginning in August 2012, for the provision of a new electronic radio measurement service in Sweden, using PPM technology licensed from Arbitron. More
WPP has reported third quarter revenue of £2.46bn, representing like-for-like growth of 4.7%, but says its insight division grew much slower than any other, revenues rising less than 1%. More
Despite a New York court's rejection of TRA's attempt to block the roll-out of Kantar's RapidView solution on the grounds of patent infringement, TRA has asked the courts to consider a further claim that WPP/Kantar 'improperly used' its trade secrets during development of the tool. More
A New York federal judge has rejected TRA's attempt to block the roll-out of Kantar Media's RapidView media planning tool, which TRA claimed was a direct 'rip-off' of its own Media TRAnalytics tool. More
Kantar Media has announced the promotion of Antonio Carvalho to Chief Research Officer, heading up a new London-based Audiences Central Research Unit. He reports to Global Head of Products and Services, John Gill. More
In New York, Kantar Media has promoted George Carens to the role of President of Kantar Media Intelligence North America and Steve Davis to that of President of Kantar Media SRDS. In addition, the firm has hired former Nielsen exec David Hamric as General Manager of its Marx solution. More
A US judge has ordered media measurement firm TRA and WPP to settle their differences through mediation, following their row over alleged patent infringement. More
In the US, Nielsen has signed a multi-year agreement with Kantar Media to access set-top box (STB) data from the latter's DIRECTView audience measurement panel, for use in its local TV audience measures. More
Kantar has invested $3m in a minority stake in US-based facial recognition technology specialist Affectiva. More
Google has partnered with Kantar to establish a 3,000-strong opt-in panel which will measure TV and online media consumption in the UK. More
In the US, media measurement and analytics firm TRA has filed a counterclaim to WPP's recent lawsuit, started over claims that Kantar Media Audiences' RapidView product 'rips off' TRA's Media TRAnalytics solution. More
WPP companies Millward Brown and Kantar Media are to measure the relative impact of creative and of media placement in causing TV viewers to change channel or otherwise tune away from watching an ad. More
Marcoms giant WPP has filed a lawsuit against media measurement and analytics firm TRA, reportedly over claims by the latter that its Media TRAnalytics tool has been 'ripped off' by WPP subsidiary Kantar Media Audiences. More
Data and analytics giant Experian Marketing Services has partnered with Kantar Media to provide clients with analysis of their audiences by household attributes such as income levels. More
In the UK, Kantar Media has promoted Allister Nixon from CFO to the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer, Kantar Media Audiences, charged with maintaining and enhancing the performance of the firm's metered measurement services. More
Kantar Media has announced the launch of syndicated reporting on paid search advertising. Billed as an industry first, the service means Kantar now offers 'complete' online ad activity monitoring, including display, video and ad networks. More
Kantar Media has promoted John McCarthy to the post of Head of Marketing Communications UK, promoting the firm's customised media research, media monitoring and evaluation services to media agencies, media owners and brands. More
In the US, Kantar Media has launched a new planning tool called RapidView, combining consumer purchase data with return path data from set-top boxes (STBs), to enable media buyers and sellers to create and analyze TV audience profiles. More
Kantar Media has launched an Irish sponsorship division, complementing existing offerings in the UK, France, Spain and China. More
In Germany, Kantar Media has acquired Internet audience measurement firm Spring Wirtz und Pischke, which was founded as a spin-off of the German Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in 1995. More
Kantar Media has been awarded a four year TV audience measurement contract by ARMA, Romania's TV joint industry committee, from January 2012. The current service has been operated by GfK Romania since 2008. More
In London, Kantar Media has appointed Giselle Bodie for the new position of Chief Operations Officer for Media Monitoring and Evaluation in Europe. More
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a group of industry bodies have given Kantar Media a five-year contract to develop and implement the country's first PeopleMeter television audience measurement service. More
Online media agency MediaCorp has extended its TV audience measurement contract with Kantar Media to include VirtualMeter technology, which will enable it to view consolidated data across multiple platforms including linear TV and IPTV. More
Kantar Media has introduced DirectHEAT, a new subscription service delivering custommised multimedia ad intelligence to media sellers. More
Kantar has linked its Worldpanel scanned FMCG household purchase data with data from Kantar Media's TGI consumer insight survey. The resulting service, TGI Worldpanel, promises clients a detailed understanding of the link between media consumption, consumer attitudes and UK purchasing. More
In the UK, Kantar Media has rolled out a new approach to regional readership data collection, which it says offers a 'considerable cost saving' for publishers conducting regular readership research. More
WPP-owned Kantar Media - which specializes in providing TV, Internet and radio audience measurement services - has hired veteran media analyst Jeffrey Boehme to drive the development of new products and applications for set-top box (STB) data. More
Kantar Media is planning to add qualitative research to its futurePROOF quantitative study, to provide an understanding of how media behaviour changes among early adopters of the iPad. More
WPP-owned Kantar Media has released 'Connect', a new solution that integrates a publisher's own web site metrics with survey data, to create a single-source database that links online behaviour to the attitudes that drive it. More
In the UK, WPP-owned Kantar Media has developed a predictive tool to provide insights into how consumers will react to newspapers introducing paywalls on their web sites. More
Kantar Media has merged its media measurement and evaluation agency Millward Brown Precis Europe/UK into its Intelligence Sector. The merger will be effective 1 May 2010. More
In the US, WPP-owned Kantar Media North America - which provides insights, analyses and audience measurement services - has hired former Starcom MediaVest research chief Richard Fielding for the newly created post of Chief Client Officer. More
In the US, Kantar Media's Intelligence sector has enhanced its online ad monitoring services, by adding access to new Internet ad occurrence and creative data on a daily basis. More
WPP-owned insight consultancy Kantar has re-branded the media assets of TNS, KMR Group and BMRB Media as Kantar Media. More
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