Follow DRNO on...
WPP has issued a first quarter trading update, with like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs down 1.6% to £2.69bn. CEO Mark Read said the results were in line with expectations, reflecting tough comparatives, and that the firm 'remains on track to return to growth in the balance of the year'. More
Digital music pioneer Spotify has relinquished its membership of the IAB, according to reports. The company with the largest global audio ad-supported revenue is therefore no longer certified for podcast audience measurement, but says it is 'taking a pause' and 'remains committed to the IAB mission'. More
US-based customer experience software firm Sprinklr has appointed former Walt Disney exec Venke Sharma to a lead role driving its Sprinklr Insights product, which provides real-time consumer, competitor and market insights. He is based in Mumbai. More
Purchase transaction insights firm Behaviorally has partnered with China-based eCommerce giant Alibaba to offer the former's pack testing products on the latter's TMIC (Tmall Innovation Center) platform, allowing users to assess the impact of packaging design and eCommerce visuals in the country. More
California-based Dataplor, which collates data on business locations worldwide, has raised $10.6m in a Series A funding round, with which to accelerate its ongoing expansion and make a number of strategic hires. More
Ipsos has reported continued solid growth in the first quarter of the year, with revenue up 4.5% in organic terms, to EUR 557.5m. The EMEA and Asia Pacific regions led the way with revenue up more than 9% in each case (organic) while the Americas saw a 3.2% decline. More
DIY online survey pioneer SurveyMonkey has promoted Priya Gill to Global Head of Marketing, leading its marketing strategy and execution across all markets. More
Comscore has partnered with consumer engagement specialist Thece to track viewers' attention to livestreaming ads, and with marketing automation platform iZooto to deliver precise traffic and revenue insights to its publisher clients. More
Digital media measurement and analytics firm DoubleVerify (DV) has apologised to X, formerly known as Twitter, for an error which over a recent four-month period gave the microblogging site brand safety ratings as low as 70%, when actual scores were as high as 99.99%, according to reports. More
Panel company Intra Research has appointed Helle Raun Oddershede as its new CEO, taking over from Marina Moshenska who moves into the role of Chief Operating Officer. More
Insights technology and panel provider Toluna has appointed Lucia Moir as Chief Operations Officer and promoted Priyanka Sarkar to Chief Research Officer. More
Snap Inc, parent of photo sharing app Snapchat, has announced a partnership and integration with app marketplace Snowflake, promising its advertisers encrypted, privacy-safe and effective ad solutions and signal measurement. Snap also has a new measurement partnership with AppsFlyer. More
London-based marketing group Unlimited, parent of insight agency Walnut, is to join Accenture Song, the business services behemoth's 'tech-powered creative group'. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. More
Santa Monica, CA-based research tech firm Fuel Cycle has enhanced its Research Engine platform with the addition of Universal Connections, a feature allowing users to run projects from within insight communities using their preferred insights tools, whether or not they are fully integrated with the platform. More
Social media management software firm Hootsuite is to acquire listening specialist Talkwalker, for an undisclosed sum. More
Ipsos has announced senior role extensions for five employees in its qualitative division Ipsos UU, in India, as it gears up for product launches and 'ambitious growth targets'. The five are Sapna Parmar, Neha Dutta, Shelly Jain, Geetika Singh and Ashwini Sirsikar. More
UK-based consumer and B2B researcher 2CV has announced eleven promotions, including Chris Oatey and Jon Smetherham to Regional Directors, responsible for leading the Asia team based in Singapore; and in the UK Kar Hoo Lee to Associate Director of Data Services and Abigail Plank to Associate Director. More
Mumbai, India-based digital tech and customer experience solutions provider Datamatics has announced the acquisition of Salesforce services firm Dextara Digital. More
Experience Management (XM) company Qualtrics has appointed Juan Rodriguez as Chief Information Officer and Assaf Keren joins Qualtrics as Chief Security Officer. More
Kantar has promoted Amanjit Singh to Regional Marketing Director - APAC, after more than thirteen years at the company. More
MCI, a tech-enabled business services conglomerate headquartered in Miami Beach, FL, has agreed to acquire Atlanta, GA-based Market Force Information, whose range of CX solutions includes customer feedback surveys, mystery shopping, operational audits and competitive benchmarking. More
Anil Goel has joined Nielsen as Chief Engineering Officer, leading its technology and engineering teams to drive product innovation and advanced technology adoption. He is based in Bengaluru, India and will report to CEO Karthik Rao. More
Eponymous online survey firm SurveyMonkey has promoted Jing Huang to VP, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Katie Miserany to SVP and Chief Communications Officer, and Craik Pyke to VP, Infrastructure and Security Engineering. The firm now boasts gender equality at both the C-Suite and VP levels. More
Australian owned agency TKW Research Group has launched a new call centre in Suva, Fiji, promising 'CATI-quality data at online survey prices'. More
Insight and analytics group BVA BDRC has launched synthetic data product Pixel.AI, which it says accurately predicts responses from restricted segments by training on existing and representative data. More
Insights and experience tech company PG Forsta has appointed Mike Thompson as Chief Analytics Officer, and says he will drive the development of new AI-driven capabilities and products, following the company's commitment to invest $500 million in the area over five years. More
Southeast Asia-based qual and quant marketing intelligence and panels provider Divergent Insights has appointed Swagata Moitra Ghosh to its Leadership Team as VP Global Research and Insights. More
Ipsos has launched an Out of Home (OOH) advertising solution promising to help users assess and optimise OOH creative in as little as 24 hours. More
Mishcon de Reya (MDR Group), a business services group with a focus on legal advice, has launched a market insights and analytics business called MDRi, providing strategic advisory services to businesses worldwide. Simon Tye will lead the new division as Chief Executive Officer. More
Data science start-up QuantexAI has secured $1m in pre-seed funding, from undisclosed investors, as it moves its natural language query software into beta. More
US-based mobile app market intelligence and insights provider Sensor Tower has announced the acquisition of mobile marketing firm data.ai, formerly known as App Annie. Terms were not disclosed. More
Consumer and B2B research agency 2CV has promoted Sabine Cronick to the role of CEO of UK/EU, and James Redden to CEO of US and APAC. More
In the UK, Samsung's advertising division has become the first CTV backer of Origin, the ISBA's cross-media measurement programme. More
San Francisco-based predictive intelligence firm 6sense has appointed Jerome Levadoux as its first Chief Product Officer. More
In West Palm Beach, Florida, MR industry veterans Hugh Davis and Keith Price have launched ACKWEST Group, a holding company which will focus on buying and developing emerging tech-driven enterprises in the consumer insights and marketing services sector. More
Former Dynata Chief Gary Laben has joined retail and consumer goods analytics and inventory optimisation firm Trax, as CEO. More
Technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) has reported revenue for the full year 2023 of $291m, up 1.7% despite a very slow fourth quarter in which revenue dropped 11% to $66.2m. More
Miami-based PR platform Muck Rack has enhanced its measurement and reporting capabilities with new features for areas including media impact analysis, brand reputation insights and competitive analysis. More
Comscore has reported full year 2023 revenue of $371.3m, down 1.4%, but with FX-neutral adjusted EBITDA up 29% to $46.9m. CEO Jon Carpenter pointed to growth in local TV measurement and in the CCR and Proximic offerings as strong indicators for the future. More
In the US, research agency Shapiro+Raj has added an AI Innovation Group to its Technology Practice, with Scott Swigart still leading the enhanced unit. More
Singapore-based customer experience solutions firm TDCX is to be acquired and taken private by a team led by its CEO and founder Laurent Junique, via a merger valuing the nearly 18,000-strong company at around $1.037bn. More
NIQ, the consumer intelligence company previously part of Nielsen and now combined with GfK, has launched a Global Media Division, which it says is 'designed to enhance the value advertisers derive from their marketing efforts' - and has appointed Lana Busignani to lead it. More
Rakuten Insight Global has announced the integration of Singpass, Singapore's national digital identity, as part of its proprietary panel verification process. More
Ipsos has launched InnoExplorer, which uses generative and analytical AI to help clients accelerate innovation cycles 'from months to days' and improve success rates. More
Marcoms group Stagwell has reported full year 2023 revenue of $2.53bn, down 6% year on year, and adjusted EBITDA of $360m, down 20%. However the company reports strong new business, good growth in EMEA and for its Marketing Cloud suite, and is forecasting a return to growth in 2024. More
Marcoms group Stagwell, the owner of the Harris Poll and Harris X brands as well as Maru Group, has launched a new global research community called Unlock Surveys, with plans to add more than 200,000 high-quality, active survey members in 2024. More
Marcoms group Stagwell has agreed to acquire What's Next Partners (WNP), a French digital brand and marketing consultancy whose offer includes consumer intelligence, CRM and data analytics as well as strategic planning, ad creative and digital content production. More
WPP has reported preliminary results for the full year 2023, with revenue (less pass-through costs) of £11.86bn, up 0.9% on a like-for-like basis, and operating profit down more than 60% to £531m. More
Ipsos has reported organic, constant currency revenue growth of 8.8% for the fourth quarter of 2023, and 3% for the full year, with operating profit stable at an all-time high of 13.1%. More
The Market Research Society of India (MRSI) has launched a new Socio-Economic Classification System, ISEC, which it says is 'far more representative, stable and less volatile' than its predecessor, NCCS. More
Longtime Ipsos exec and current Global Head of Audience Measurement Liz Landy is to leave the company at the end of this month. Daniel Wong-Chi-Man will step up to Lead the Audience Measurement Service Line globally, while Ipsos iris leader James Oates will add responsibility for the business in the UK. More
Nielsen has announced that its Pacific Broadcaster & Publisher Lead Tony Boyte will be stepping down in April, to be replaced by eighteen-year company veteran Scott Gillham. More
Stamford, CT-based technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) has launched a new product providing market intelligence for the buy- and sell-side dynamics of the IT and business services industry. More
Packaging, NPD and shopper specialist PRS IN VIVO has appointed Richard Bordenave as global Chief Behavioral Officer. More
Kantar has announced a partnership with computer vision and attention measurement specialist Realeyes, integrating the latter's Verify identity recognition software into the former's anti-fraud software QubedAI. More
Ipsos India has expanded the role of Archana Gupta, adding responsibility for Shopper Research and for developing the firm's base of young talent; and has hired former NIQ exec Malavika Mani as Executive Director, servicing large accounts in the west zone. More
European consulting and digital services firm Sopra Steria has announced a partnership with media insights firm TRP Research to help broadcasters, advertisers and others understand the way television and VOD services are consumed across different devices and platforms by UK audiences. More
Nielsen is expanding its Connected TV (CTV) measurement of YouTube ads into eleven additional global markets, including Germany, India, Japan and the UK. More
In the US, technology researcher Forrester has reported full year 2023 revenue of $480.8m, down 11% on 2022. Adjusted net income was $36.6m, down from $47.2m a year earlier. More
PureSpectrum has appointed former Qualtrics and Dynata employee Mani Padmanabhan as Senior Client Director for Asia, based in Singapore. More
Customer and employee experience firm Medallia has announced four AI-based innovations - Ask Athena, Intelligent Summaries, Smart Response and Themes - geared to personalising customer and employee experience; and has launched a fully self-service MR tool, Medallia Agile Research. More
Consumer behavioral data firm Circana has launched Liquid Data Engage, which allows retailers to manage market performance, category management, loyalty, supply chain, and retail media data assets in one solution, and identify opportunities for growth. More
Technology consulting firm Gartner has reported full year revenue of $5.9bn, up 8%, and adjusted EBITDA of $1.5bn, up 2% after allowing for currency changes. Revenue growth slowed again and EBITDA fell slightly in the fourth quarter. More
Consumer intelligence provider NIQ has announced two key leadership changes in the Asia Pacific region. Pacific MD Megan Treston will transition to a regional role as APAC Consumer Panel Service (CPS) Product Lead, while recent arrival Pete Sheridan steps into her old role. More
Consumer data giant Circana has announced changes to its commercial organisation including the appointment of former CPG sector President Jeremy Allen as Chief Commercial Officer. Tim Bush, currently President, General Merchandise, will retire by the end of the year after two decades at Circana and NPD. More
First-party data provider Dynata has recently appointed long-time Toluna marketing leader Janice Caston as EVP of Marketing, and Rebecca Bello as VP Product. More
Food, facilities and hospitality services provider Sodexo has announced the global launch of an Accelerator Programme with categories for entrepreneurs in data analytics and customer experience. More
In the US, innovation and experience consultancy Bounteous is to merge with digital engineering, data and AI services provider Accolite Digital, creating a new end-to-end digital transformation services consultancy with a focus on 'co-innovation'. More
Former Ugam Solutions and Discuss exec Vinay Raj Rao has launched BioBrain, a platform which claims to 'seamlessly connect the entire research ecosystem' for improved efficiency and deeper insights. More
Comscore has promoted Alejandro Fosk, previously SVP for Latin America, to EVP International, overseeing its EMEA, APAC and LATAM regions. More
Agile and automated market research platform Zappi has appointed Nataly Kelly as Chief Marketing Officer and promoted Babita Earle from EVP of Global Enterprise Partnerships to International MD. The firm also recently hired Melissa Clucas as CFO. More
Human8 has promoted Amy Perifanos, previously VP of Commercial Solutions North America, to global Chief Portfolio Officer, with a seat on the Global Leadership Team. More
Automated in-home product testing platform Highlight has announced changes to its leadership team, with the appointments of Priyanka Carr as COO and President, and Deirdre Norris as VP of Product. More
Australia-based insights and data business Pureprofile has announced revenue up 8% to $AUD 24m for the half year ended 31st December, and EBITDA of $AUD 2.4m, up 6% or 21% on a like-for-like basis. More
Toluna has appointed Lucie Claire Vincent Ortiz to its Board of Directors. As a senior operating executive in multinational consumer product companies, including Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Philip Morris International, she will advise the Board with a particular focus on the needs of this sector. More
Healthcare specialist Research Partnership has launched a new Alzheimer's Disease tracker in Germany, Japan and the US, as part of of its syndicated Therapy Watch series. The firm plans to expand the service to other key European markets this year. More
Audience intelligence platform Pulsar has launched a product called SEARCH, promising instant, search engine-style discovery of news coverage on any topic, across media types and languages. More
Sir Martin Sorrell's digital marketing group S4 Capital has issued a trading update following a 'difficult year' in which revenue declined around 4%, and says it does not expect any improvement in macro-economic conditions this year. More
Ipsos India has appointed Shrutika More as Country Service Line Leader for the Creative Excellence vertical, with immediate effect. She joins from pharma firm Abbott Healthcare. More
MR and analytics group YouGov has promoted Tom Fisher to Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), aiming to deepen its relationships with blue-chip clients. More
Media measurement and ad currency giant Nielsen has appointed former Buzzfeed exec Carole Robinson as Chief Communications Officer. More
Data sharing and activation platform LiveRamp has agreed to acquire clean room software provider Habu, for cash and stock totalling around $200m. LiveRamp says the deal will 'unlock powerful measurement and analytics use cases' as well as more generally enhancing its collaboration offer. More
Dynata has appointed three senior directors: Derek Brown as VP Australia and New Zealand, based in Sydney; Michael Fegan as VP North Asia, based in Hong Kong; and Russell Carter as Country Manager in Singapore. More
New York-based customer engagement and CXM platform Emplifi, which grew out of the merger of Astute and Socialbakers, has appointed Ohad Hecht as its new CEO. More
Insights tech and panel provider Toluna has promoted Scott Axcell, formerly Head of Marketing for North America, to Chief Marketing Officer. He also joins the executive leadership team. More
Shanghai-based fieldwork and research services provider Holden Healthcare has welcomed a partner in Korea to its Asia Physician Panel Alliance (APPA). Seoul agency Nownfuture joins existing partners Seed Planning in Japan and The Owl Consulting Company in Taiwan. More
Marcoms group Interpublic has announced that Chad Engelgau, CEO of its data and marketing services company Acxiom, will leave at the end of this month, after a total of seventeen years with the company, to pursue an opportunity in the non-profit sector. A search for his successor is underway. More
GroupM, WPP's media investment group, has announced it will integrate behavioral data into its Choreograph insights platform via Google's Audience Insights API. More
UK-based b2b services group Informa Plc is combining part of its business with US-based b2b purchase intent specialist TechTarget to create a new company in which Informa will hold a majority stake. The British firm will also pay $350m in cash. More
WPP is examining a possible sale of its remaining stake in Kantar, according to sources quoted by Bloomberg. More
British-based consumer and sensory researcher MMR has appointed Evelyn Huang to head up its qual research in China. More
GfK has completed the sale of its European Consumer Panel Services business (CPS GfK) to YouGov, a divestment required under competition law as part of the German-based global group's merger with retail data giant NIQ. The deal has been valued at around EUR 315m. More
Community-centered CX and insights firm Alida has a new CEO: Efrem Ainsley is promoted from COO to succeed Ross Wainwright, who recently stepped down from the role. More
Kantar Media may be up for sale in 2024 for 'as much as £1bn', according to reports on Sky News. More
Founder Ross McCray is stepping down as CEO of VideoAmp, with former Discovery and Fox exec Peter Liguori joining as Executive Chairman and ex-Nielsen man Peter Bradbury as Chief Commercial and Growth Officer. The company will also cut almost 20% of its staff, according to reports. More
US-based research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) has launched a suite of advisory services to help clients with the adoption of AI at scale; and has appointed company President Steve Hall as its first Chief AI Officer. More
Consulting giant Accenture has agreed to acquire the business of media and marketing tech company Jixie, and will integrate it into the tech-powered creative division Accenture Song. Jixie is based in Singapore but focuses on clients in Indonesia. More
In Mumbai, professional body the Market Research Society of India (MRSI) says the country's market research and insights industry grew by 17.6% in 2023, reaching $US 2.9bn - the world's third largest, overtaking China. The Society expects further strong growth to $3.4bn in 2024. More
Insights group Human8 has announced a change of leadership at its cultural and creative consultancy Space Doctors. Co-founder and MD Fiona McNae will leave the company at the end of this year, after 22 years, to be replaced by Gareth Lewis and Cato Hunt. More
IBM has agreed to acquire two data management and integration platforms from Software AG, for EUR 2.13bn in cash. StreamSets is a cloud-native DataOps and data ingestion platform, while webMethods focuses on data integration and API management. More
Social media intelligence and analytics group Meltwater will benefit from a $65m investment from Norwegian private equity firm Verdane, which takes an 11% stake in the company as a result - valuing Meltwater at around $592m. More
Ipsos India has appointed former Nielsen exec Unni Hariharan as Executive Director leading its Tech and Ecommerce business. More
Tech markets insight firm Counterpoint Research has completed the acquisition of display industry specialist Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC). More
Consumer data and analytics firm NIQ has announced the launch of NIQ Labs, an innovation center which it says will 'harness the collective power of top-tier talent and capabilities acquired through strategic M&As'. More
DRNO's News Editor of seventeen years Mel Crowther passed away last week after a battle with cancer. Mel has been a wonderful colleague and the driving force in making this publication what it is today, as well as a well-loved figure in the industry, and I'm sorry I know her loss will come as a shock to a lot of you. More
Stockholm, Sweden-based eye tracking and attention computing pioneer Tobii has agreed to acquire FotoNation from audio, imaging and computing technology products firm Xperi, for a minimum consideration of $US 45m. The buy includes in-vehicle monitoring systems AutoSense and adds c.250 full-time staff. More
In Chicago, fast-growing agency QualSights has appointed Tod Johnson and Karyn Schoenbart to its Board of Directors. More
In Pasadena, California, behavioral and location insights specialist Near Intelligence, Inc. has announced it has entered Chapter 11 proceedings in a US Bankruptcy Court, which will supervise the attempted sale of its assets. More
London-based research operations platform Ayda has expanded its incentive payout capabilities to offer payments in USD and Euros - and its country coverage to 52 states worldwide. More
Consumer research platform GWI has appointed former OAG tech leader Nick Dearden as CTO, based in its UK headquarters in London. More
Customer and employee experience solutions provider Medallia has appointed Nick Martin as SVP International. More
AI data platform company VAST Data has secured $118m in Series E Funding, valuing the company at $9.1bn. The money will help it expand in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Europe, and support its mission to put data 'at the center of how systems think, react and discover'. More
Ipsos has appointed Eleni Nicholas as Chief Client Officer, with seats on the firm's Executive Committee and Group Management Committee. More
Insights technology and panel provider Toluna has confirmed key leadership positions including regional Managing Directors, following its summer acquisition of MetrixLab. More
Kantar has launched a research panel focusing on the beauty industry in India, continuously tracking and reporting purchases made by shoppers across four categories: face, eyes, lips and nails. More
US-based research consultancy Shapiro+Raj has appointed Geneva Taylor as Director, Data Analytics & Insights. More
We are 25! On 29th Nov 1998 the first job ad appeared on mrweb.com. We're celebrating with the relaunch of our directories, under a new brand and with an ambitious new approach; and with Thank You's to our regular advertisers and some special offers for new ones. More
In Bangok,, Accenture is to acquire digital customer experience agency Rabbit's Tale for an undisclosed sum. The move is designed to strengthen the brand and data capabilities of Accenture Song, the former's Interactive customer experience and analytics business. More
US-based, AI-powered sponsorship analytics platform Relo Metrics has expanded its broadcast viewing and valuation data into the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, as well as Asia Pacific. More
In Tokyo, Nielsen has appointed Naobumi Otaki as Sales Director for Japan, leading the Advertiser and Agency team in the country, driving sales, and developing long term strategic partnerships within the industry. More
SurveyMonkey has rolled out its new technology - 'Build with AI' - globally. The software is powered by OpenAI and more than twenty years' of the company's data, allowing users to draft a survey by just describing the desired survey or goal. More
Kantar has launched a proprietary attention framework, which uses facial coding and new gaze monitoring components to give advertisers measures of both active and passive attention, and uncover how well ad content captures the attention of viewers on a second-by-second basis. More
Digital media measurement and analytics platform DoubleVerify (DV) has launched its DV Publisher Suite in Japan, promising publishers and brands the tools and insights to improve ad delivery, enhance inventory quality and drive performance. More
Australia-based data and insights company Pureprofile has announced strong results for the third quarter of 2023, with revenue up 16% to $AUD 12.3m and continuing adjusted EBITDA of $AUD 1.5m, up 36%. More
Sir Martin Sorrell's S4 Capital has reported on a difficult third quarter, with net revenue down 15.4% (10% like-for-like) reflecting lower activity in its Content and Data&Digital media businesses. More
Mobile app measurement platform AppsFlyer has acquired devtodev, which helps developers analyze their games and apps, helping them to optimize user retention, maximize conversions and create personalized experiences. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. More
Ipsos has made a number of senior changes, including moving Balaji Pandiaraj to lead Customer Experience for its business in India. Apeksha Jain moves up to Pandiaraj's previous role as Country Service Line Leader, Automotive and Mobility Development (AMD). More
Asia-focused online MR specialist GMO Research has launched an API connection method called 'Organic Sampling', which it says will enhance targeting accuracy, improve user satisfaction and promote a 'significant uptick' in survey completion rates. More
London-based insights and analytics growth consultancy Freemavens has appointed former Black Swan Data exec Lauren Warnock as Analytics Director, while former Kantar Consulting exec Stephanie Holt joins as Senior Consultant. More
Comscore has reported a 1.9% drop in third quarter revenue to $91.0m; but also improved EBITDA, and net income of $2.6m, compared with a net loss of $52.4m in Q3 2022. More
Tiburon, California-based company Jon Peddie Research has launched a consulting division to be known as JPRi. The new unit will provide strategic advice on product pipeline, marketing roadmap, M&A opportunities, and internal efficiency for clients in the Game Tech market. More
Toluna has confirmed its senior team following the June acquisition of MetrixLab. The firm's Chief Sales, Research, Technology and Financial Officers will remain in role while former MetrixLab Global HR Director Hans Verhulst becomes Chief People Officer and Jolique Weelink Chief Insight Officer. More
Tech research and consulting group Gartner has announced third quarter revenue of $1.4bn, up 5.8% or 4.9% at constant currency. Profits were flat with adjusted EBITDA of $333m. More
Tech research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) has announced third quarter revenue up 4.2% to $71.8m (about half of this organic) and adjusted EBITDA flat at $10.6m. It has also announced the acquisition of Ventana Research, expanding its coverage into the software industry. More
Less than a year after setting up its ad intelligence unit Vivvix, Kantar has sold it to US-based MediaRadar, which now aims to become 'the definitive source of advertising data and insights'. More
In London, agile consumer insights platform aytm (Ask Your Target Market) has appointed research tech veteran Johnny Caldwell as Client Director, EMEA & APAC, supporting its continuing expansion into global markets. More
Marcoms group Stagwell, which owns the Harris Poll and Harris X brands as well as Maru Group, has announced a revenue decline of 7% to $618m, for the third quarter of 2023. It has also announced the acquisition of social media marketing solutions provider Movers and Shakers LLC, for c.$15m in cash. More
UK-based Ascential, the information and analytics company once known as EMAP, has announced it will sell its digital commerce and consumer research units for around £1.4bn, so as to focus on its events business. More
Palo Alto, CA-based data management company Scenera has agreed to acquire Korean firm TNM AI Co. Ltd., a long-term partner, for an undisclosed amount. More
PR group Hill+Knowlton Strategies has announced the formation of a global Intelligence + Technology capability; a partnership with Pendulum Intelligence; and the launch of a proactive analytics tool, H+K Sonar, which helps firms detect, predict and mitigate harmful narratives online. More
Tech consultancy Forrester Research has announced third quarter revenue of $113.4m, down 11.2% from $127.7m a year earlier. The Consulting division reported the biggest fall, down 24.5% to $28.2m. More
Ipsos has reported third quarter revenue of EUR 588m, representing organic growth of 4.3% and restoring year-to-date organic growth after shrinkage in the first half. All the group's global regions shared in the Q3 growth, with EMEA leading the way. More
Global data and insights company Pureprofile has announced two appointments to strengthen its UK operations. Samantha Cooke joins as Senior Partnerships Manager UK, and Tyrone S'ng as Client Development Manager. More
WPP has reported third quarter revenue less pass-through costs of $2.837bn, down 0.6% on a like-for-like basis and 5.0% on a reported basis. Declines in North America and China offset growth in the UK, Western Continental Europe and the firm's 'Rest of World' region. More
DIY online survey synonym SurveyMonkey has launched Build with AI, a survey creation feature powered by OpenAI's GPT-3 software. More
Inight platform and sample exchange Cint has enhanced its attitudinal measurement product, Lucid Impact Measurement, with the integration of social media platform measurement. More
Kantar has announced a 'broad expansion' of AI capabilities within its brand strategy and creative development portfolio. They include Link subscriptions, to help stretch ad testing budgets; celebrity recognition in Link AI testing; predictive eye tracking; big data for threat detection; and help with 'sonic branding'. More
Toluna has promoted Dixit Chanana to the role of MD for India, including MetrixLab India and with full responsibility for the development of the Indian business of both brands. More
Divested government policy and comms advisory business Kantar Public will be rebranding globally as 'Verian' from November. More
In the US, AI-powered sponsorship analytics platform Relo Metrics has announced a strategic partnership with SponsorPulse to offer asset-level validation of sponsorship performance for the National Hockey League (NHL). More
Singapore-based decision science firm Blackbox has partnered with Qualtrics to launch SensingSG, a platform giving real-time insights into community sentiments, attitudes and behaviour in Singapore. More
Today sees the launch of Ipsos RISE, which combines the group's corporate reputation and public affairs expertise with AI to provide 'a ground-breaking platform for modern brand, risk and reputation management'. More
Streaming service Netflix has made ad measurement a 'top priority', and will build on a recent partnership with Nielsen in the US to offer similar capabilities to partners in other countries, according to co-CEO Greg Peters. More
Customer and employee experience specialist Medallia has appointed Simonetta Turek as Chief Product Officer and a member of the executive leadership team. More
Nielsen has launched its ONE Content cross-media measurement solution in a first country, Denmark, with plans to roll out around the world over the coming months. Sister product Neilsen ONE Ads is already available in twenty markets. More
Technology markets research and consulting group Forrester has launched an AI tool called Izola, allowing users to query its knowledge base and receive 'a clear, synthesized answer' via a chat interface. More
Australia-based data and insights company Pureprofile has appointed former Brandwatch Chairman Mark Heeley as a Non-Executive Director. More
Neighborhood networking service Nextdoor has launched new solutions to help users measure and optimize ad performance, both on- and off-line. More
Research tech firm SightX has moved its VP Global Commercialization Daryl Maloney McCall to focus on regional growth in Europe and APAC, as its offering and client base in these regions expands. More
Cloud-based marketing platform Zeta Global has announced new AI-enabled features for marketers looking to improve results and upgrade the consumer experience. The new additions include forecasting, modeling and attribution capabilities, and a customer intelligence app. More
Nielsen has announced that CFO Warren Jenson, who joined the ratings giant just five months ago, will add the role of company President to his existing responsibilities. He will oversee the modernisation of operations and manage Nielsen's IT, Corporate Development and Global Strategy functions. More
In the UK, STRAT7-owned cultural insight and strategy consultancy Crowd DNA has appointed Elliot Pigram as its new Global MD. Pigram will take the reins on 1st January next year from founder and CEO Andy Crysell, who will move to the position of non-executive Chair. More
DIY online research pioneer and enterprise feedback platform SurveyMonkey has added MaxDiff Analysis features, using industry standard Best-Worst scaling methodology to assess respondent's preferences. Existing customers on Advantage or higher plans get the tools for free. More
Aampe, a user engagement platform with locations in Raleigh, NC and Singapore, has announced a Pre-Series A funding round totalling $7.5m, with which to support product development and fuel continued global expansion. More
Nielsen has rolled out its Nielsen Media Impact (NMI) solution in South Korea, offering clients there deduplicated media consumption metrics across multiple platforms, via a single planning interface. More
Boutique agency Intuit Research has partnered with Kantar's Profiles division to launch a syndicated survey called Media DOTS (Media Data on Target Segments), tracking the profile, mindset, media habits and product consumption of the general population (aged 12 to 64) in Hong Kong. More
Dentsu has launched a cookieless solution called Contextual Intelligence for Connected Television (CI for CTV), allowing advertisers to understand where their ads are being placed within CTV inventory, and offering keyword targeting at the video level. More
In France, former Cint COO JD Deitch has launched Passaggio, a company helping insight and analytics firms among others to achieve operational excellence. More
Global insights consultancy Human8 has announced that co-founder Kristof De Wulf is to step down from the CEO role, with Camille Nicita taking over from next Monday. Katherine Ephlin, currently North America Head of Operations, will replace Nicita as MD North America. More
The Board of not-for-profit the Media Research Users Council India (MRUCI) has elected Shailesh Gupta as Chairperson and Shashank Srivastava as Vice Chair. More
Online survey specialist SurveyMonkey has launched a solution called Forms, to help users create web forms with purpose-built templates, customizable fields and third-party integrations, as well as advanced features including data and workflow automation tools. More
Connectivity giant Cisco is to splash out $28bn in cash to acquire Splunk, which focuses on cybersecurity, data analytics and observability. More
In India, enterprise data observability specialist Acceldata has acquired artificial intelligence platform Bewgle, which gathers insights from user-generated content like reviews, social media, videos and images. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. More
London and China-based insights and analytics growth consultancy Freemavens has launched a machine learning model called 'TILT', to help businesses identify which real-world factors are impacting the performance of a category or brand. More
Agriculture and animal health specialist Kynetec has launched a tool which integrates crop protection market data, sourced from growers, with data sources such as macroeconomic indicators, climate data and demographic trends, to provide a multi-faceted view of the agricultural market. More
DIY online survey pioneer SurveyMonkey has appointed former Cloudflare and AWS exec Amit Prakash as Chief Marketing Officer. More
Ipsos India has appointed Shalini Sinha to lead two of its verticals: Brand Health Tracking (BHT) and Creative Excellence (CRE). She reports to Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India More
Long-time Nielsen exec Karthik Rao has been named as the company's new Chief Executive Officer, replacing David Kenny who moves to the role of Executive Chairman. More
First-party insights data company Dynata has appointed Brad Brockhaug for the newly created role of Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). He is based in New York. More
In Tokyo, GMO Research has launched a function to identify and exclude 'ghost completes' from its Asia Cloud Panel, which currently comprises 48.9 million consumers across sixteen countries and regions. More
Nielsen's entertainment data provider Gracenote has launched a program to help content publishers and broadcasters get their 'Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV' (FAST) channels and programming distributed by major streaming platforms. More
In the US, decision intelligence company Morning Consult has appointed Joseph DeVeny as Head of Research Solutions; Ryan Bien as Head of Analytics & Data Operations; and Alex Menendez as Head of Customer Success. All are based in the firm's Commercial division. More
Ipsos has appointed former Bureau Veritas Director Caroline Ponsi Khider as Chief Communications and Brand Officer; and Dr Bonnie Bain as Global Head of Healthcare. Bain replaces Michael Spedding, who retires at the end of the year. More
Indian healthcare and medical fieldwork specialist Krea eKnowledge has launched an agile research offering called 'Kyte', promising rapid turnaround research services to pharmaceutical, life sciences and health-tech companies. More
Nielsen is planning to lay off 9% of its global workforce, in order to cut costs and 'realign revenue'. Employees received the news in a statement issued on Wednesday, and the cuts are expected to affect around 1,000 members of staff. More
In India, Kantar has launched a solution called Sensory eValuate, which uses research to help evaluate consumer products using the five human senses. More
US-based analytics and advisory firm Escalent, formerly Market Strategies International-Morpace, has promoted Arundhati Mehrotra to the role of Executive Vice President of Global Delivery. She is based in India. More
In the US, connected TV and cross-screen advertising specialist LG Ad Solutions has appointed Michael Hudes as President and Chief Executive Officer. He replaces co-founder and CEO Raghu Kodige, who left last December and was replaced by Adam Sexton as acting CEO. More
In Singapore, sensory research specialist MMR has appointed former Reckitt Benckiser and Givaudan insights professional Wanni Xu Sensory Director in its Asian division. More
Indonesia-based music data analytics service Songstats has launched a digital marketing and audience engagement platform called Songshare, which automatically aggregates all music links across streaming services and social media platforms. More
Brand and marketing insights company Shapiro+Raj has promoted Chelsey Merker to the role of Senior Vice President, leading its Strategy and Research Excellence teams. More
In the US, cross-device targeting specialist Dstillery has received its nineteenth patent for its ID-free ad targeting technology. More
Kantar has promoted Mary George Parayil to the position of Principal of Kantar Analytics, India. She is based in Bengaluru. More
Marcoms giant Omnicom has announced an expansion of its partnership with corporate comms group Criteo to encompass digital shelf and other retail data; and a new deal between its OMG media services division and customer data science pioneer dunnhumby. More
US-based online news aggregation, content rating and discussion web site Reddit has launched two new tools to help advertisers measure campaign performance: Reddit Brand Lift and Reddit Conversion Lift. More
Singapore-based Go-to-Market intelligence company FlashIntel has raised $US 10m in a seed and angel investment round. Funds will be used to further develop its FlashInfo platform, which integrates sales intelligence with tools to engage customers. More
Corrected: contrary to initial statements by their agents, marcoms network Stagwell has not merged its experience and insights platform Maru into the Harris Poll. The two sister firms are merely collaborating on new tools which will go to market under The Harris Poll brand. More
Agile research solutions and panels firm Borderless Access has appointed James Robinson, Pradipta 'Paddy' Bhattacharjee, Ashok Veetal and Lauren Tuch as new members of its senior sales team in the US, UK and MENA regions. More
In India, survey programming and data processing platform Cursory Technologies has launched an AI-powered automation tool called 'Brisk', which provides do-it-yourself and 'do-it-for-me' solutions for survey programming, data tabulation, quality assurance and verbatim analysis. More
Social media intelligence and analytics specialist Meltwater has appointed Huixian Yang as Customer Experience Director (APAC), based in Singapore, while Sydney-based Jeff Piniros has been named Sales Development Director (APAC). More
CX and insights firm Alida and insights platform Discuss have deepened their partnership to extend the former's qualitative research solutions, adding Discuss's moderator capabilities to Alida's managed service offering in its Video Discussions product. More
WPP has partnered with DXP provider Optimizely, to help clients offer the best digital experience to each customer. More
Tech analyst Gartner has reported second quarter revenue growth of 10.0%, once adjusted for currency effects. Total revenue hit $1.503 billion, with profits stable (adjusted EBITDA of $384m, down 0.3%). More
Ipsos India has promoted Neha Munshi to the role of Country Lead, Ipsos Digital, with immediate effect. She joined the company as a Research Executive as recently as 2017. More
Rakuten Insight Global has appointed Darci Greco to its US Sales team as VP Client Development, Americas. More
Tech research and consulting firm Forrester has announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30th, showing total revenue down 8.5% to $135.6m, and for the first half down 8.8% to $249.3m. More
Australia-based global data and insights organisation Pureprofile has reported a 23% rise in full year revenue to $43.7m - with revenue for the ANZ market up 16% to $26.9m and for rest of the world up 35% to $16.8m. More
WPP's consumer data specialist Wavemaker has announced that its Consultancy, Fast Growth and B2B Practices will be led by the three of its Global Client Presidents - Anna Hickey, Alastair Bannerman and Alex Altman, respectively. More
Ipsos has announced results for the second quarter of 2023, returning to very modest organic revenue growth thanks to a strong performance in emerging markets. The group says its business is 'returning to a more usual pattern' after Covid and is on course for a good year. More
iGaming industry lead generation and performance marketing firm ENV Media has partnered with Ken Research, to conduct surveys and deliver case studies around Indian gambling behavior. More
First-party data company Dynata has appointed former SSI MD Mark Lepine to lead its APAC business. He is based in Hong Kong. More
Specialist B2B marketing consultancy Gravity Global has announced the acquisition of 9thWonder, a full-service marketing agency working in media, data analytics and creative execution. More
WPP's consumer data specialist Wavemaker has promoted Premjeet Sodhi, currently its Chief Strategy Officer for India, to Global Head of Measurement and Analytics, based in New York. More
Asia Pacific-based reputation and policy management specialist Sandpiper Group has launched a Research & Insights company, focused on supporting communications and public affairs practitioners and led by Craig Young as interim Managing Director. More
In London, video feedback platform Discuss has hired David Bailey for the newly created role of Sales Director, tasked with building business relationships in the EMEA and APAC regions. More
In India, customer lifecycle and user retention platform CleverTap has appointed Sidharth Pisharoti as Chief Revenue Officer, tasked with driving growth across India, META and Asia Pacific. More
Ipsos has launched a pack screening tool called FastPack, grounded in behavioural science and promising results in as little as four hours. The tool is currently available on the global group's self-service online MR platform Ipsos.Digital, in the US, the UK, Australia, India and South Africa. More
NielsenIQ (NIQ) and GfK have officially completed their merger, and the combined business will now be led by NIQ CEO, Jim Peck. More
Brand and marketing insights company Shapiro+Raj has opened a dedicated Technology practice, headed by long-time tech industry researcher Scott Swigart, with support from a team of eight tech-domain researchers. More
Global membership association ESOMAR has launched a task force to address the use of artificial intelligence in the research, insights and analytics sector. More
Ad tech firm Infomo has partnered with AI-based network traffic analyst Canopus Networks to provide telcos with an in-house platform for ad targeting. More
Automated insight-gathering and sample management platform Cint has launched a solution to enable businesses to license its verified audiences, built from more than 290 million consumers who have accessed the platform to qualify for participation in surveys. More
Global marcoms group Havas has acquired Mumbai-based digital marketing agency PivotRoots, which lists audience research and web and app analytics among its services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Australia-based mobile insights consultancy MDI has acquired a majority stake in Moroccan based research agency Insightek, for an undisclosed sum. More
dentsu has completed the $516m acquisition of digital marketing business Tag Group from previous owner Advent International. The buy was first announced in March and among things should boost the global marcoms group's CX and personalisation offerings. More
Experience management platform Qualtrics has received a $500m investment from venture capital firm Accel. More
CRM software giant Salesforce has partnered with consulting division Deloitte Digital to offer business clients help in deploying AI in CRM functions. More
Insights tech and panel provider Toluna has added four standalone MaxDiff solutions to its end-to-end platform, Toluna Start, allowing clients to integrate a MaxDiff question into their surveys and quickly identify which names, taglines, claims and varieties matter most to their target audiences. More
India-based global insights and analytics firm SG Analytics has opened an office in Wroclaw, Poland. More
Singapore-based automated location intelligence platform SpotQuest has partnered with hospitality agency The Cutting Edge to launch two services in the Middle East market: a tool called Food and Beverage Location Intelligence, and a Menu Price Benchmarking AI platform. More
In New York, cinema ad network National CineMedia (NCM) is working with attention-based media quality measurement specialist Adelaide, to bring the latter's attention transaction metric (AU) to the cinema advertising industry for what it says is the 'first time'. More
In Singapore, Kantar has hired long-time Nielsen exec Kartikeya (Kartik) Varma for the dual role of Head of Creative and Media, Singapore, and Head of Media, APAC. More
Austin, Texas-based MR software and services firm QuestionPro has acquired PathosAI, which analyses consumer emotions and motivations. More
Research panels and services company Bilendi & respondi has relaunched its Discuss tool with new qual research features based on ChatGPT. More
Ghent, Belgium-based insight consultancy Human8 has announced the appointment of eleven new partners - it now has 36 worldwide. Meanwhile the founders / co-founders of three companies it previously acquired - Join The Dots, Columinate and Direction First - are stepping down. More
Digital media measurement, data and analytics platform DoubleVerify (DV) is launching business operations in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, promising more local support for a growing client base across Southeast Asia. More
Consumer intelligence giant NielsenIQ (NIQ) has expanded its Brandbank solution into the UAE and the Philippines, strengthening its global retailer distribution network via collaborations with major omnichannel retailers including Spinneys and NCCC. More
Customer Engagement specialist Verint has launched a new Experience Management tool promising 'experience insights at scale across a brand's customer touchpoints'. Features include direct and 'inferred' feedback collection, advanced CX analysis, rich reporting and automated actions. More
MrWeb has partnered with insight sector organisation GreenBook, publisher of the GRIT Report and the GreenBook Directory, and organiser of IIEX events, to further expand the reach and appeal of its job board, currently in its 25th year. WIRe (Women in Research) and ESOMAR are already partners. More
Professional services giant Accenture has announced a $3 billion investment in its Data & AI practice over the next three years, to help clients across all industries use AI to achieve greater business growth. More
In India, martech platform Wondrlab has acquired a 51% stake in offshore software development company Cymetrix, which specializes in Salesforce consulting and data analytics. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP's consumer data specialist Wavemaker has appointed Sindhuja Rai as Chief Executive Officer in Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. She takes up the role in September, when she will also join the Wavemaker Global Executive team and the GroupM APAC Leadership team. More
Israel-based ad optimization company Tremor International is changing its name to Nexxen, with its Amobee, Tremor Video, Unruly and Spearad brands all to be replaced. More
Audience measurement solutions provider RSMB has announced a partnership with analytics and activation tech company Streamhub, promising a 'unique' service for cross-platform measurement of linear and streamed TV viewing. Both firms are UK-based but Japan will be an initial focus. More
Agricultural and animal health analytics and insights firm Kynetec has acquired software development and analytics business Systematics International, which reports on machinery volume statistics for worldwide closed and open data exchanges. More
Kantar has announced its intention to sell its remaining specialist healthcare businesses, Kantar Profiles' Health unit and Kantar Media Healthcare Research (KMHR), to fieldwork company M3 Global Research. More
In India, analytics and insights company Course5 Intelligence has raised a further $53m in funding, which will be added to a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) 'war chest' of around $80m. More
Tokyo's GMO Research has partnered with playtesting and games user research platform PlaytestCloud, to offer online user testing services for mobile games on GMO's ASIA Cloud Panel. More
Consumer behaviour specialist Circana, formed from the merger of IRI and The NPD Group, has appointed Anne Bramman as Chief Financial and Growth Officer and a member of its executive leadership team. She starts on June 20th. More
Kantar has launched an ad creative testing solution called LINK+, built on its LINK normative advertising database and integrating the firm's ad testing capabilities into one solution, with results available in as little as six hours. More
Ipsos has promoted Jyoti Malladi to the role of Managing Director, Research, in India, where she is responsible for business management, driving audience measurement business strategy. She will also oversee the setting up of a media analytics hub supporting the entire APAC region. More
First-party data platform Dynata has rolled out its proprietary inBrain survey-based monetization platform to the Asia Pacific region - specifically in Australia, India, Japan and New Zealand, with other Asian markets scheduled this year and next. More
Loyalty management and customer engagement tech business Capillary Technologies has raised $45m in a Series D round of funding, which it will use to expand its footprint in North America and Europe, and to pursue 'strategic acquisitions'. More
Research software and solutions firm Forsta has announced a partnership with automated insight-gathering and sample management platform Cint, to fight survey fraud and improve data quality and security for the MR industry. More
MR technology platform Glow has appointed Marc Chester and Yige Ma as Sales Directors in the UK and Hong Kong, respectively, while Adam Portner joins the firm's US Advisory Board. More
Ghent, Belgium-based consumer insight provider Human8, until recently known as InSites Consulting, has partnered with Japan-based SevenSeas Marketing Research, to help the latter develop communities for its clients in Japan. More
US-headquartered shopper and digital marketing consultancy Behaviorally has announced that Yolanda Yao has re-joined the company as Director, Customer Success, based in its office in Shanghai, China. More
TV audience rating body BARC India has appointed former Nielsen exec Dolly Jha as Chief of Product and Research. More
London-based advertising effectiveness specialist System1 has launched a new service called Test Your Ad Digital, which it says will predict and improve the commercial impact of digital advertising. More
Following the announcement on Friday of the imminent departure of CEO Parves Khan, ESOMAR says it will extend Joaquim Bretcha's interim tenure as Director General to September 2024, helping to provide continuity. More
In India, analytics and insights company Course5 Intelligence has raised $28m in a round of funding, which it will use to ramp up its investments in innovation and advanced AI technology including deep learning, computer vision, natural language and generative AI. More
Former Illuminas MD Frank Ma has launched a qualitative research business called One16 in Singapore, focusing on market / user exploratory studies, concept testing, post-launch tracking and UX research. More
Global trade association ESOMAR is to lose the services of CEO Parves Khan, who has announced she will leave at the end of June, and will focus on charitable and non-exec work before taking up a new as-yet unannounced role. She will also join a new ESOMAR AI Taskforce. More
B2B tech purchase intent data firm TechTarget has announced that its Enterprise Strategy Group has expanded to EMEA and APAC, welcoming Brian McKenna and Aaron Tan as Regional Directors of Analyst Services for the two territories, respectively. More
Ipsos has acquired Shanghai Focus RX Research, aiming to strengthen the expertise of its Pharma Insights business and support its Healthcare Insights division. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
In the US, enterprise data intelligence provider Alation has opened new offices in London, UK, and Chennai, India, while appointing Jill Woodworth as Chief Financial Officer and David Chao as Chief Marketing Officer. More
Customer and employee experience specialist Medallia has appointed Dan Madden as Chief Financial Officer and Robert Baca as Chief Technology Officer. More
Private equity-focused financial and tech consulting firm Accordion is to acquire Merilytics, which provides advanced analytics, data management and business intelligence. More
End-to-end insight platform provider Toluna has agreed to acquire research solutions provider MetrixLab from its Japan-based owner Macromill, Inc., for an undisclosed sum. Macromill will take a minority equity stake in Toluna and the two will work closely. More
Sir Martin Sorrell's S4Capital has reported first quarter revenue up 26.5% to £262m, representing like-for-like growth of 6.1%. Growth came mainly from the new Technology Services division and entirely from the Americas. More
Research software and solutions firm Forsta has added a self-serve visualization and data storytelling solution called Forsta Studio Canvas to its Human Experience (HX) Platform, combining data with imagery to illustrate the journey of customers and employees. More
Customer experience management (CXM) platform Sprinklr has expanded its presence in India, with the opening of an office in Gurgaon's business district. The firm plans to hire 400 new engineers for the new office by the end of the summer, and add more than 200 interns this month. More
SurveyMonkey parent Momentive has reported a GAAP loss of $23.8m in its first quarter, improving on a loss of $35.0m in the same period last year. Revenue was up 2% to $118.8m, from $116.9m in 2022 Q1. More
US-based tech research and consulting firm Gartner has reported an 11.6% increase in first quarter revenues to $1.4 billion, up 14.3% excluding the impact of foreign exchange. In the key Research division, revenue rose 7.1% on a reported basis to $1.2 billion (or 9.5% FX neutral). More
Sky Group's Chief Business Officer Patrick Béhar is joining Kantar Media in September as Global Chief Executive. He will take over from Chris Allen, who has led the exec team since 2022 and will now focus exclusively on his role as Global CFO. More
Australia-based consumer data company Pureprofile has expanded its research panel through a partnership with AsiaPacific shopping rewards and payments platform ShopBack. Shoppers can earn cashback by completing surveys. More
US-based international data collection and research tech company Sago has promoted Steve Mast to the newly created role of Chief Product Officer and Carlo Marcelino to Chief Technology Officer, replacing Troy Anderson who has left the company. The firm was previously known as the Schlesinger Group. More
Google has merged its artificial intelligence research units, DeepMind and Brain, to form a new unit called Google DeepMind. More
Ipsos has reported a 2.9% drop in Q1 revenues to EUR 532m, with organic decline of 2.8%. The firm had said when presenting its 2022 annual results that it anticipated a 'tougher first quarter'. The total is still 26% up on the figure for Q1 2019, pre-Covid, and Ipsos says it expects annual growth of c.5%. More
WPP has acquired 'sonic branding' agency amp, which employs a 'Sonic DNA' design approach and 'Sonic Hub' creative platform to analyse, create and manage clients' music and sound assets. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Dentsu Sports International has launched a 'sports analytics' division, which brings together the research, data and analytics capabilities of MKTG Sports + Entertainment, Sponsorship Research International (SRi) and Dentsu-owned Merkle. The initiative is led by Glenn Lovett as Global MD. More
Research software and solutions firm Forsta has launched a qual research tool called Forsta Discussions, allowing clients to plan, conduct and monitor video focus groups within its 'Human Experience' (HX) platform. More
Sir Martin Sorrell, founder and Executive Chairman of digital advertising, marketing and technology services company S4 Capital, is undergoing 'further preventative treatment' following keyhole surgery in February to remove a tumour. More
Social media intelligence and analytics specialist Meltwater has launched its Enterprise Intelligence suite of tools in the APAC region. The firm has also hired two senior execs as part of its 'enterprise push'. More
Brand and marketing insights company Shapiro+Raj has appointed Carrie McDowell as Director, Quant Operations; Adam Weil as Director, Life Sciences; Samantha DuBois as Director, Strategy; and Jaspal Singh as Director of People. Meanwhile Carol Tobler is promoted to Senor Director, Marcoms. More
Luxury markets specialist Altiant has expanded its Millionaire Media Consumption Subscription service to Hong Kong and Singapore. More
YouGov has appointed Meta Platforms exec Steve Hatch as Chief Executive Officer from 1st August. He will take over from co-founder Stephan Shakespeare, who will become Non-Executive Chair, replacing Roger Parry. More
Healthcare fieldwork specialist M3 Global Research has acquired Med Planet, which provides qual MR services to the healthcare industry. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Kantar Media has been commissioned by the Association of Philippine Broadcasters (KBP) to conduct a series of radio surveys which will serve as the country's currency for radio audience measurement. More
Ipsos-owned B2B researcher Xperiti has launched a solution called Vepp, which it says will flag fraudulent profiles and ensure that only genuine respondents can participate in online surveys and panels. More
Kantar has announced a new growth strategy for the APAC region; launched a tailored platform in China; and plans to quadruple the size of its Indian panel. More
GfK and price intelligence company Minderest have partnered to provide retailers and manufacturers with a 'comprehensive overview' of current prices in their markets, as well as recommendations for price adjustments, using the latter firm's smart updating online shelf price information. More
Consumer data science specialist dunnhumby has appointed Prithvesh Katoch as Head of dunnhumby India, where the company employs more than 730 professionals. He adds the role to his existing position as Global Head of Client Data Services. More
Mindshare UK has appointed Alexis Faulkner as Chief Transformation Officer, leading the group's Insights, Technology and Analytics and Digital Planning teams; and Richard Kelly as Chief Solutions Officer. Both are new roles. More
Sir Martin Sorrell's S4 Capital has reported full-year revenues of £1.07bn, representing like-for-like organic growth of 25.8%. Operational EBITDA was £124m, up sharply in H2 to over £90m versus £30m in H1. More
Data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company Merkle has promoted Steve Yurisich to the role of Chief Executive Officer for Australia and New Zealand, as John Riccio moves to the position of APAC CEO. More
Advertising and marketing network DDB Group Singapore has partnered with Temasek Polytechnic to launch the Behavioural Intelligence Group (BIG), which applies behavioural science to marketing, to examine an audience's abilities, motivations, and contextual influences on actions. More
Ipsos has launched a set of specialized, end to-end innovation solutions for Quick Service Restaurants (QSR), which it says will fuel development and optimization at any stage of the product life cycle. More
Data firm Near Intelligence, Inc. has completed its merger with special purpose acquisition company KludeIn, and commenced trading on the Nasdaq. The firm's SaaS platform provides intelligence on people, places and products. More
US-based emerging market intelligence platform Rwazi has raised $4m in a seed round of funding, which it will use to continue expanding its network of local consumers, with a focus on Africa, South Asia and LATAM. More
Swiss data service company Redslim and Singapore-based eCommerce marketplace data provider Digital Commerce Intelligence (DCI) have partnered to provide real-time eCommerce data for the Southeast Asia region to their clients. More
Global insights and media agency Hotspex has acquired a majority stake in Shanghai-based brand insight, strategy and innovation consultancy The Silk Initiative (TSI). Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. More
Comscore has launched a dedicated programmatic targeting division called 'Proximic by Comscore', which will provide end users with access to more than 2,600 predictive, ID-less audiences and content-level solutions across CTV, linear, digital, DOOH and audio. More
Five years after its acquisition, social media intelligence and AI-enabled consumer listening platform Synthesio has changed its brand name to Ipsos Synthesio. More
Global insight and data membership organisation ESOMAR has elected Ray Poynter as its 2023-2024 Council President, replacing Kristin Luck of ScaleHouse, who has completed her two-year term. More
SurveyMonkey parent Momentive has agreed to be acquired by a consortium led by insights sector investment firm Symphony Technology Group (STG), for approximately $1.5bn. More
Experience management firm Qualtrics is to be acquired by tech investor Silver Lake, in partnership with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), for around $12.5bn in cash; and will become an independent, privately held company. More
Consumer insight provider InSites Consulting has changed its name to Human8, defining itself as a 'human-driven consultancy, connecting brands with people and culture to drive positive change'. More
Kantar has launched an advanced analytics solution called Digital Mirror, using NLP and advanced graph and correspondence analysis to spot trends and map them to off-line consumer and product segmentations. More
Armenian product testing and validation platform Prelaunch.com has secured $1.5 million in seed funding, and says it will use the funds to expand in the US and elsewhere, and to develop its product. More
Industry bodies the Insights Association (IA), MRS and ESOMAR have announced they will collaborate, along with survey sampling conference SampleCon, to 'fight fraud' and address ongoing risks to data quality. More
In the US, recently merged consumer data and insights firms Information Resources Inc. (IRI) and The NPD Group have named the combined company 'Circana', which CEO Kirk Perry says conveys the business's 360-degree, full-circle understanding of the consumer and market. More
In the UK, subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) insight and data specialist Digital i has promoted Matt Ross to the role of Managing Director. He takes over from interim MD Emma Shelton, who is stepping back from daily operations to concentrate on chairing the firm's Board of Directors. More
China-based fieldwork and research agency Holden Healthcare has established a partnership alliance called the Asia Physician Panel Association (APPA), aiming to enhance physician panel access across APAC, inclusive of difficult to access markets. More
US-based International data collection and research tech company Schlesinger Group has been re-branded as 'Sago', which Executive Chairman Steve Schlesinger says is not merely a name change, but also a commitment to an 'inspiring new chapter' in optimizing the firm's offerings. More
Ipsos India is making three changes to its leadership team from the beginning of April, including moving Vincy Jathanna to the newly created role of Vice President of Operations. More
NielsenIQ, the consumer intelligence business which split away from its Media wing two years ago this month and is now combining with GfK, has rebranded as NIQ. Accompanying this, the firm says it is undergoing 'a significant transformation' and is committed to providing the 'Full View' of global consumers. More
MrWeb's RAIDAR real-time ranking of top companies operating in analytics, insight and data is now fully operational, and you'll see financial results, CEO changes and other items from tonight's Daily Research News reflected in tomorrow's top 40. More
Customer and employee experience specialist Medallia has appointed Joe Tyrrell as CEO, replacing Leslie Stretch who is retiring and transitioning into an advisory role at the company. More
Comscore has reported financial results for the fourth quarter and calendar year 2022, with annual revenue up 2.7% to $376.4m, and adjusted EBITDA up 16% to $37.0m. More
Shopper insights firm Behaviorally has appointed Francis He as Vice President, Market Development, based in Shanghai and servicing clients across Asia. More
US survey software and solutions firm QuestionPro has acquired Pundit Consultantz, a healthcare innovation and go-to-market commercialization consultancy based in Chicago. Pundit's founder and CEO Arti Bedi Pullins becomes QuestionPro's President and Chief Healthcare Officer. More
Omnicom-owned data and analytics firm Annalect has lost its ANZ CEO Clement Tsang and COO Matthew Nolan: both roles were reportedly cut as part of wider restructuring of the business. More
Marcoms giant Dentsu has acquired Madrid-based customer relationship management specialist Omega CRM Consulting, which it will add to its own CXM division Merkle. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. More
Communities specialist InSites Consulting has announced an expansion of its Executive Committee and the appointment of a first Chief Growth Officer - Managing Partner Tom De Ruyck. More
SurveyMonkey parent Momentive has reported revenue up 8% to $480.9m for full year 2022. The rise is the net effect of rapid growth in the 'sales-assisted' segment - up 27% to $181.3m - while self-serve business remained flat at $299.6m. However the firm says it will also cut 14% of its workforce. More
Ipsos has reported 2022 annual revenue up 12% to EUR 2.4 bn, representing organic growth of 5.6%. In the final quarter of the year, the business grew by 8.8%, including nearly 4% organic growth. More
In the US, research and advisory firm Forrester Research has reported a loss of $1.6m for the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to a profit of $8.0m for the same period a year earlier. Q4 revenue rose 2.4% to $136.9m, and over the whole of 2022 revenue was up 9% to $537.8m. More
In Bangkok, qual research and cultural insights specialist FUEL Research & Consulting has been renamed FUEL Asia, reflecting its growing presence and workload across the continent. More
GroupM's new data / audience planning agency EssenceMediacom has appointed Silas Ho as MD in Hong Kong and Anthony Lau as Managing Partner there, with a focus on formulating the agency's business development strategy. More
Ipsos has acquired business-to-business researcher Xperiti, which has operations across the US, Israel and the Philippines. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. More
Former Lightspeed, Ipsos and Schlesinger exec Matthew Seabrook has joined agile research solutions and panels firm Borderless Access, as its sales representative in the UK. More
US-based tech research and consulting firm Gartner has reported Q4 2022 revenue of $1.5 bn - up 15% reported, or 20% on a constant currency basis. The largest division, Research, saw revenues up 9% on a reported basis to $1.18 bn, up 13% at constant currency. More
Manchester, UK-based mobile data specialist RealityMine has launched a 'Data Marketplace', allowing clients to access digital behaviour data from real people via global, privacy-compliant datasets - including consumers' mobile search behaviour, web page visits, app usage, and ad and media exposure. More
Enterprise tech company Syncfusion has added its business data analysis tool Bold BI to the SurveyMonkey App Directory, enabling users to import data from SurveyMonkey to create, customize and share business dashboards. More
Australian market research technology platform Glow has opened an office in the US, where Chrissy Brogan has been hired for the newly created role of Director of Market Development. The firm has also made appointments and promotions at its headquarters. More
WPP's media investment wing GroupM has announced the long-awaited launch of its new agency EssenceMediacom, comprised of 10,000 people across 120 offices globally. More
Kantar has added a price sensitivity module to its Concept eValuate suite, to help brands identify the ideal price range for new products. More
German-based software giant SAP has announced plans to cut up to 3,000 jobs, and says it will explore the possible sale of its 71% stake in experience management firm Qualtrics. More
Australia-based consumer data firm Pureprofile has announced revenue up 21% to $AUD 12.8m for the quarter ended 31st December, the second of its fiscal year 2023. More
In Sydney, online sample marketplace PureSpectrum has appointed online research veteran Chris Mawn as ANZ Director of Clients. More
Ipsos India has promoted six members of its team, including Pallavi Mathur Lal to the role of Senior Director, Content and Communications; and Madhurima Bhatia to Media Engagement and Partnerships Lead for India and the Asia Pacific region (excluding Greater China). More
Kantar has promoted Jane Ng and Paromeeta (Paro) Mathur Banerjee to General Managers of its Insights division in Singapore and Malaysia, respectively. More
Singapore-based digital customer experience solutions provider TDCX has launched its first Digital CX Center of Excellence, which will pilot and validate new CX models. To support the center, TDCX has also set up a Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) arm to invest in CX technologies. More
Employee-owned user experience (UX) research and design company ReSight Global has acquired a controlling interest in India-based competitor PeepalDesign, for an undisclosed sum. More
In Tokyo, GMO Research has launched a service called Z.com Engagement Lab, through which consumers can receive rewards for participating in surveys. More
Southeast Asia-based qual and quant marketing intelligence and online panel service provider Divergent Insights has opened an office in Vietnam, where it has appointed Nguyen Cong Nhu Thuong as Head of Business Development and Operations. More
In the US, mobile survey platform GeoPoll has hired long-time RTI International exec Charles Lau as its first Chief Research Officer. More
Branding Science Group has promoted Jo Gryniewicz to the role of President of the company in the US. More
UK-based 'data creation' platform Walr has expanded in the Asia Pacific region with the appointment of Lamia Lee as General Manager, tasked with heading up its operations in the region. She is based in Sydney, Australia. More
As of today, you can filter MrWeb's recently-launched real-time ranking of top companies providing MR, insights, data and analytics activities, to include just one type (eg Full Service) or one headquarters country. Another ten firms have been assessed and added, making it a top 40. More
Structured and unstructured data and text analytics firm Lexalytics has expanded its capabilities for eleven of the languages it supports, to help global organizations better understand their customers. More
Following last month's news that Nielsen is restructuring its business into three global units, and the departure of five of the firm's senior managers, the company has confirmed it is reducing total headcount to 'roughly in line with where it was a year ago'. More
Long-time Unilever insights leader BV Pradeep has joined the global advisory team of digital MR products and solutions company Borderless Access, with a remit to help the company design strategies for acquiring and expanding its client base. More
In the US, J.D. Power has acquired electric vehicle (EV) data company ZappyRide for an undisclosed sum. More
Parenting platform Supermom, which offers its twenty million members price comparisons, networking communities, and the opportunity to earn money by completing surveys, has raised SG$ 8m ($6.01m) in a Series A round of funding, which it will use to expand its presence in Southeast Asia. More
Kantar has appointed Cheong Tai Leung as Chief Executive Officer of its Insights Asia Pacific business. She is based in Singapore and takes over from Wayne Levings, who will now focus exclusively on his role as Kantar's Chief Client Officer. More
Car manufacturing conglomerate and mobility provider Stellantis, whose brands include Citroën, Fiat, Chrysler and Maserati, has announced the launch of a unit dedicated to B2B products, applications and services based on its massive data sets. More
Former MRS President and ad industry leading light Jeremy Bullmore has died aged 93, shortly after retiring from WPP after 67 years at the group and its predecessor companies. More
Groupe Publicis has announced the acquisition of London-based Yieldify, which will form part of the global marcoms giant's advertising and marketing technology division Epsilon. More
Mobile marketing and ad tech platform InMobi has appointed three advertising industry veterans to its Global Ad Monetization team: Brian Slitt and Pamela Ibarra in VP roles and Christopher Damski as Director of Product Development for its Meson brand. More
Alchemer, the experience management and enterprise feedback tech company once known as SurveyGizmo, has announced the acquisition of mobile CX specialist Apptentive. More
CRM software giant Salesforce is to cut around 10% of its workforce. The firm says increasing its headcount by some 30% in 2021 (to around 73,500) was a mistake - 'too many... leading into this economic downturn'. More
Ipsos has announced two appointments to its global Executive Committee: Valerie Vezinhet as Chief People Officer and Michel Guidi as Chief Operating Officer. More
In the US, Meta, the parent of Facebook, has agreed to settle a lawsuit relating to the Cambridge Analytica data breach, and will pay $725m, reportedly the largest sum in a privacy-based class action. More
A judge in Amsterdam has ruled that ESOMAR's election misconduct allegations against its former CEO found 'no support in the facts whatsoever', and the organisation has written to members to say as much. More
That's it for another year from DRNO - our next issue will be for January 3rd 2023. Our very best wishes for a Merry Christmas to all those of you celebrating it, a Happy New Year to all readers, and a big Thank You as ever for your support and feedback in 2022. More
In India, telecoms services company Bharti Airtel has acquired an 8% stake in Lemnisk, which offers a real-time marketing automation and customer data platform (CDP) for one-to-one personalization and cross-channel customer journey management at scale. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Today we're launching RAIDAR. Like an industry top 30 companies list, but instead of publishing it once a year, we'll update it every day based on yesterday's DRNO stories and other company data; show our workings; include companies never before considered; and allow sorting by a long list of criteria. More
Nielsen is restructuring its business into three global business units, according to online publication AdAge: Nielsen Audience Measurement, Nielsen Analytics and Gracenote. Current COO Karthik Rao will become CEO of the first of these. More
Continuing our focus on Data Visualization, E-Tabs CEO Benjamin Rietti dispels the myth and discusses how automation can be a winning option for syndicated projects, omnibus reporting, copy and concept testing, multi-segment, and even customised and ad hoc work. More
Rumours of the demise of PowerPoint have been circulating for decades, but in numbers terms it's still king of the MR presentation, and you might be surprised what you can do with it. In another item from our special issue, OfficeReports' Torben Laustsen provides hints and tips for perfect.ppt. More
Kantar has launched a team called Global Connected Data Solutions, within its audience network Profiles division, to help advertisers maximise the value of their first-party data. More
In Australia, marcoms group dentsu has acquired data and analytics provider Aware Services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Consumer intelligence platform ProfitWheel has raised $1.2m in a pre-series A round of funding, building on a $3m seed round last year. The funding will be used to expand in the US and other global markets, and to hire for its sales and customer success teams. More
Automated consumer insights platform Zappi has raised $170m in growth capital, which it will use to expand data sets across new markets, verticals and categories; power its platform innovation with emerging technologies; and continue expanding its team globally. More
CEO Jami talks to MrWeb's Nick Thomas about how she came to be co-founding and growing a data collection business for the 21st century; embracing the tech, but keeping customer service front and center. Taken from the 'Data Visualization' special issue, out now. Available either to read or watch. More
Disney's Advertising division has announced an advanced integration with ad measurement, planning and optimization platform VideoAmp, using 'Clean Room' technology to offer clients ad metrics and privacy-compliant first-party data usage in the post-cookie world. More
Following last week's news that ESOMAR is to rerun its Council elections after uncovering 'serious misconduct', the industry body is to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to schedule the rerun, agree an extension to the sitting Council's term, and brief members on its investigation. More
Cynthia Pachovski has been formally named Chief Executive Officer of Ipsos Canada, following the retirement of Gary Bennewies earlier in the year. More
In San Francisco, video analytics company Twelve Labs has closed a $12m seed extension funding round, for use in adding product features, continuing R&D, and for further development of its foundation model for video understanding. More
Industry body ESOMAR is to rerun its elections for Council after uncovering what it calls 'serious misconduct'. The association has fired two members of staff, but stresses that no complaints have been made about the conduct of candidates. More
Australian customer insights and advisory consultancy Fiftyfive5 has been acquired by professional services giant Accenture for an undisclosed sum. More
Long-time Kantar CFO Olivier Lefranc has joined automated insight-gathering and sample management platform Cint, as Chief Financial Officer, based in Paris. More
Insight firm MetrixLab has opened an office in the Philippines, and has appointed Bernadette Verde as Senior Client Director, based in it. More
Continuing our month-long focus on Data Visualization Sandro Kaulartz, Chief Innovation and Product Development Officer at Ipsos Social Intelligence, talks to MrWeb's Nick Thomas about Topic Modelling, data hybridization and the democratization of data science. Available to read or watch. More
Our 2022 Data Visualization special issue is published today. In this featured article, Forsta's VP Global Sales Manny Rodriguez outlines a strategy for designing and implementing visualizations that 'reach audiences, tap into their mindset and encourage them to make a move'. More
Ipsos has announced the sale of its people-counting and footfall solution Retail Performance, to US-based RetailNext, in which it will take a minority stake. More
Private equity consortium Becketts Bidco has completed its £1.61bn acquisition of London-based B2B information services provider Euromoney Institutional Investor. More
Stagwell Group's global insights and strategy firm National Research Group (NRG) has appointed Sushma Panchawati as Senior Vice President, Content & Strategy, overseeing the firm's presence in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. She is based in Singapore. More
In the US, data analytics and customer intelligence specialist J.D. Power has launched a modular on-demand system called 'Modern Retailing as a Service' (MRaaS), to help the automotive industry adapt to changing consumer preferences and trends in vehicle shopping and purchasing behavior. More
Global online communities specialist InSites Consulting has appointed Els De Paepe as Chief People Officer (CPO). She succeeds former Join the Dots CEO Quentin Ashby, who has moved to the role of Global Head of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance). More
Continuing our month-long focus on Data Viz and with the special issue out tomorrow, Infotools CEO and co-founder Ant Franklin argues that industry leading data visualization involves a perfect blend of art and science, and explains how to achieve that balance. More
Research and CX tech provider Forsta has appointed long-time FinTech exec Henry Pooley as Managing Director for the Asia Pacific region. He is based in Sydney, Australia. More
US-based digital media measurement and analytics firm DoubleVerify (DV) and video hosting service TikTok have expanded their partnership, to offer advertisers post-campaign brand safety and suitability measurement. More
Consumer sensory insights specialist MMR Research has opened a new 'ASEAN sensory hub' facility in the Pasir Panjang area of Singapore. More
Beginning a month-long focus on data visualization, the Forsta CEO talks to MrWeb's Nick Thomas about empathy, athletes, M&A, investing in tech, and 'seeing the future through mountains of data'. Available to read or watch. More
Professional services business Accenture has acquired a major stake in Japanese data science company Albert Inc. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. More
Sir Martin Sorrell's S4 Capital has reported 26.5% like-for-like revenue growth, in a third quarter trading update. Reported revenue was up 68.2% to £300.1m, and the firm says operational EBITDA for 2022 is in line with a revised target of c.£120m. More
Consumer insights provider Toluna has acquired the qualitative research technology platform developed by online MR specialist Further, for an undisclosed sum. This technology will be integrated into the end-to-end solution Toluna Start, to launch a new service called 'Toluna Start Qual'. More
Customer experience management specialist Sprinklr has extended its partnership with Salesforce, promising clients a more complete view of their customers. More
Comscore has reported a third quarter revenue rise of just 0.3% - to $92.8m from $92.5m in last year's Q3. Adjusted EBITDA was little changed at $11.7m (up 3.5%) while one-off costs turned net income of $2m a year ago into a net loss of $52.4m. More
International data collection and research tech company Schlesinger Group has hired former Kantar Americas CEO Reed Cundiff as Chief Executive Officer, following Steve Schlesinger's move into the role of Executive Chairman. Meanwhile Isaac Rogers becomes company President. More
Australia-based consumer data company Pureprofile has promoted Anna Meiler to the newly created role of Managing Director, APAC Data & Insights, while former Dynata exec Martin Tomlinson joins as Country Manager for New Zealand. More
Marcoms giant WPP has announced that John Rogers has decided to step down as Chief Financial Officer, and will be succeeded by former dunnhumby CFO Joanne Wilson. More
In the US, research and advisory firm Forrester has reported third quarter revenue of $127.7m, up 8.1%, led by the Research division which saw growth of 10.3% to $87.0m. More
SurveyMonkey owner Momentive has reported a net loss of $20.3m during the third quarter, down from $22.9m a year earlier, while revenue rose 6% to $121.4m. More
Insurance and energy sectors analyst Verisk has sold its Edinburgh-based research and consulting company Wood Mackenzie to investor Veritas Capital for $3.1 billion in cash, with an additional 'contingent consideration' of up to $200m. More
ESOMAR has announced the election of Nikki Lavoie as its 2023-2024 Council President, replacing Kristin Luck who has completed her two-year term and will now serve an additional two years in an ex-officio capacity. MindSpark founder Lavoie is currently Council Vice President. More
MR and customer and employee experience tech firm Forsta has partnered with CX data specialist GemSeek to launch predictive net promoter scores (pNPS), through which clients can access predictions about 'silent customers' who don't respond to surveys or submit feedback. More
Nielsen has expanded its Total Ad Ratings (TAR) in Taiwan, with the incorporation of YouTube measurement for desktop and mobile, following its launch in three additional APAC markets two weeks ago. More
Dr David Theodore Bottomley AM, who has died aged 97, started one of the first market research consultancies in Australia, and convened the first meeting of what later became the country's national research association (now The Research Society). More
Insight firm MetrixLab has added a hybrid AI-powered tool called PACT Instant to its suite of packaging design testing solutions, promising in-depth evaluation of existing and new designs with results in as little as 48 hours. More
Dynata has appointed a new Chief Executive: former Dodge Data and Analytics head Mike Petrullo replaces longstanding leader Gary S. Laben. More
Video-based insight specialist UserTesting, Inc. is to be acquired by private equity firms Thoma Bravo - the owner of Medallia and J.D. Power - and Sunstone Partners, for around $1.3 billion in cash. The investors both have shares in UserZoom, and say they will combine the two companies. More
Ipsos has reported a 14.3% increase in reported third quarter revenue, to EUR 601.5m from EUR 526.3m a year earlier. Organic revenue growth was 5.3%, while 8.0% resulted from currency effects. More
A third (33%) of the global public personally trust market research companies, compared to 19% who don't, according to the latest GRBN Global Trust Survey. More
Consumer insights provider Toluna has acquired US-based 'agile market research' and analytics solutions company GutCheck, for an undisclosed sum. More
Ipsos has moved Hamish Munro into the position of APAC Chief Executive Officer, replacing Christophe Cambournac who will move into a global role with the business. Additionally, South East Asia CEO Suresh Ramalingam has been named Chief Client Officer for the APAC region. More
Australia-based consumer data company Pureprofile has announced record revenue of $12m (up 17%) and EBITDA of $1.0m for the quarter ending September 30th - despite a decision to shutter its Pure.amplify Media business in the UK. More
Experience management specialist Qualtrics has announced the launch of CrossXM, a new product line providing automated insights into how clients' employee, customer and brand experiences impact one another - and identifying actions to improve them. More
SurveyMonkey owner Momentive Global Inc has been approached regarding a possible sale and is discussing its options with advisors, according to Bloomberg. More
Nielsen has announced the addition of YouTube measurement for desktop and mobile to its Total Ad Ratings (TAR) cross-media measurement solution in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. More
SurveyMonkey parent company Momentive has made 11% of its workforce redundant, as part of what it calls a restructuring plan to improve operating margins and improve efficiency. More
Netflix has joined Disney+ in signing up with BARB, the UK's audience measurement body - a major move forward in measurement of streaming services and the first time Netflix has joined an industry-owned audience currency. More
Insights group MetrixLab is opening a second UK office, in Manchester, and appointed three people to work in it: Cecily Crawley joins as a Team Lead and Richard Lomax as an AD, while recent joiner Sam Smith will move from remote working. Three more positions are being recruited. More
Marcoms group Dentsu has launched new gaming data and insights capabilities across 21 markets globally, bringing together research panel data from its Consumer Connection System (CCS) with specialist gaming data from Global Web Index (GWI). More
Nielsen has announced the completion of its previously announced sale to a private equity consortium in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $16 billion, including the assumption of debt. More
Singapore-based digital customer experience solutions provider TDCX has expanded to Turkey, where its new campus will offer capabilities in Turkish and Arabic, in addition to European languages. The firm also plans to expand to Brazil, Indonesia and Vietnam in the next twelve months. More
Kantar has added three new brand metrics to its Link AI for Digital predictive tool - Aided Awareness, Consideration and Purchase Intent - which it says 'make it possible to forecast digital ad effectiveness and brand consideration in as little as 15 minutes'. More
Indian healthcare and medical fieldwork specialist Krea has re-appointed Sridhar Mani, this time as Chief Revenue Officer, based in the firm's Chennai headquarters. More
US entrepreneurs Alex Shamir, Jordan Shamir and Andrew Stetsenko have launched a platform called Yofi, to help brands and retailers understand their 'actual' customers, their motivations, and the best way to interact with them. The team has raised $1.5m in a pre-seed round of funding. More
Google has announced that its Surveys and Surveys 360 solutions will no longer be available after November 1st, as it believes in their current form they are no longer the best way to help businesses of all sizes run custom market research. More
Customer experience management specialist Sprinklr has announced plans to more than quadruple the size of its Singapore-based Research and Development (R&D) Center to up to 100 professionals, during the next 36 months. More
Research agency 2CV has added Matt Haydock as Research Director in its UK Qualitative team; Jonathan Smetherham in its Singapore team as Research Director; and Heath Gregory in the US as an Associate Director. More
Nielsen has appointed long-time Amway exec Deepak Mann as Director, Marketing Effectiveness, based in Mumbai, India. More
In the US, Comscore has set out a cost-cutting restructuring plan, which will see an undisclosed number of employees lose their jobs. More
Monnai, a consumer insight infrastructure for fintech businesses, has raised $3.15m in a seed round of funding, for use in further developing its platform, for new hires, and continued global expansion. The solution is used by clients in India, Asia and Latin America, with plans to expand into North America. More
India-based full service market research firm Market Xcel Data Matrix has appointed long-time Issues & Answers exec Mohit Gour as President Market Xcel (USA). Additionally, Shilpi Alagh joins the company as an Associate Director. More
Sampling and ResTech company InnovateMR has expanded its senior supply team with the appointment of Gaurav Sharma as Vice President of Global Sample in India, and Mark Rasmussen as Senior Director of Global Supply, based in the US. More
Singapore-based digital customer experience solutions provider TDCX has expanded in the Philippines, with the opening of an office in Iloilo. More
EssenceMediacom, which will combine digital strategy, data-driven creative, analytics, and tech capabilities with multichannel, audience planning and strategic media expertise, has appointed Benjamin Wei as China Chief Executive Officer. More
Cultural insights and strategy consultancy Crowd DNA has opened an office in Los Angeles, headed by recently appointed David Stewart. The firm has also hired Hina Hussain as Head of Agency in New York, and Radha Patel as a Director in Singapore. More
Hong Kong-based DOOH (digital out-of-home) performance marketing automatization tool Displayforce has raised EUR 500k in a pre-seed round of financing, which it will use to expand further into Europe and enhance its sales and marketing. More
Long-time Kantar group CEO Eric Salama has been appointed as Global Chair of recently divested unit Kantar Public. More
Ipsos has appointed 24-year company veteran Jean-Michel Mabon in the role of Head of Mergers and Acquisitions, responsible for overseeing buys in connection with a growth plan the group announced in June. More
Research and customer / employee experience technology provider Forsta has announced upgrades to its online focus group solution InterVu, integrating high quality video and audio for virtual experiences, enhancing sharing features, and adding quick polls and other features. More
YouGov has launched free 'Lite' versions of its BrandIndex and Profiles tools, allowing users to analyse their target audiences and track brand performance for no charge. More
Indian-owned consumer insights company Hansa Research has partnered with experience management platform Qualtrics, to help organizations monitor their brand health performance and build their brands in the country. More
In the US, marcoms network Stagwell has launched a Risk and Reputation business unit, to help business leaders audit the issues most important to their stakeholders, develop proactive and reactive strategies, and monitor and measure the impact of positions on business reputation. More
Kantar has expanded its YouTube measurement services, allowing marketers to assess ad effectiveness in both single channel and multi-channel campaigns. More
Global media agency network Mindshare has appointed former Kantar EVP Mausami Prasad as National Head of Strategy & Insights, based in Mumbai, India. More
Experience management (XM) platform Qualtrics has launched a system of XM Benchmarks, to help organizations compare their customer satisfaction, patient perceptions and employee engagement levels against industry peers and competitors. More
Marketing intelligence and programmatic media specialist MiQ has sold a majority stake to private equity firm Bridgepoint, in a deal said to value the company at up to $1 billion. More
Automotive giant General Motors will be the first advertiser to integrate its own first-party data with media group NBCUniversal's identity platform, NBCUnified. More
Shopper and digital marketing consultancy Behaviorally has opened an office in Hanoi, Vietnam, and appointed Tomas Emmers there as Vice President. More
Ipsos India has launched a new large sample, nationwide omnibus running multiple times per month and offering rapid turnaround research. More
Online survey and research services firm QuestionPro has expanded to Japan with the opening of a Tokyo office, and appointed MR veteran Satoshi Komatsuzaki to lead it as Country Director. More
US- and UK-based ReedPop, known for its pop-culture events and journalism, has launched an audience targeting platform called ENGAGE, promising in-depth user insights across its community of digital and in-person customers and accurate targeting of pop-culture fans worldwide. More
Community panels pioneer and culture expert Verve has launched ignite@VERVE, a new offer combining its heritage in communities and smart digital research with a range of proprietary tools including AI, a global network of 'cultural and creative individuals', and a new cultural values framework. More
In Singapore, government and public sector research and advisory business Kantar Public has appointed Cheryl Chung to lead its policy advisory business in Singapore. More
Melbourne, Australia-based specialist market research employment agency Flow Recruitment has expanded to Sydney, where it has appointed Amanda Cotesworth as Associate Director. More
M&C Saatchi Indonesia has launched a division called Shopex, to deliver omnichannel shopper and brand experience solutions to clients. More
UK-based product / consumer research agency Sensory Dimensions has been acquired by Eurofins-owned SAM Sensory and Consumer Research, for an undisclosed sum. More
In China, omnichannel marketing platform Yoyi Tech has acquired customer data and marketing automation platform LinkFlow for an undisclosed sum. Separately, Yoyi Tech has raised $20m in a Series D round of funding, which it will use to increase investment in R&D. More
Kantar has announced unaudited results for the first half of 2022, with 'gross revenue' up 5% (at constant currency rates) to $1.832bn and adjusted EBITDA up 6% to $310m. Unadjusted, revenue was down 1.8% to $1.566bn, while one-off events contributed to an operating loss of $88m. More
In the US, marketing software giant Adobe has launched a service called Primetime Account IQ, to enable video streaming services to identify and understand illegal account sharing activity ('credential sharing'), measure the impact of applying actions, and monetize subscriber behavior. More
Emerging markets business and point-of-interest (POI) data provider dataPlor has announced plans to extend its coverage from 100 to 150 countries by the end of 2022. More
London-based mobile research and sample specialist On Device Research has hired former Nielsen exec Simon Clarke for the newly created role of Commercial Lead for Singapore and the APAC region. More
Accenture's interactive customer experience and analytics business Accenture Song has hired former R/GA exec Tuomas Peltoniemi as Managing Director, Go-to-Market & Client Service, for Southeast Asia. More
Dynata has announced the formation of a Global Research and Data Sciences Center of Excellence (COE), led by Steven Millman and bringing together the expertise and methods of its Research Delivery, Panel Sciences and Data Sciences teams. More
Apple has launched two rankings of the top podcasts on its network: Top Subscriber Shows, which allows listeners to browse the top 100 shows individual included within a subscription; and Top Subscriber Channels, featuring the top 100 channels with a subscription and two or more shows. More
Zurich-based mobility analysis platform Teralytics has acquired the Streetlytics mobility data business from location infrastructure software firm Bentley Systems. Bentley is investing in Teralytics, but financial details have not been disclosed. More
Agriculture and animal health specialist Kynetec has promoted Colin Siren to the role of Chief Operating Officer for Animal Health. He replaces Jeff Gaidos, who is taking a step back from the business, but will continue on a part-time consultancy basis. More
Comscore has added connected TV (CTV) measurement, including YouTube traffic sharing data, to its Video Metrix Multi-Platform product in Indonesia and Malaysia. More
Nielsen has completed the first phase of its plan to expand television measurement in Indonesia, with viewer representation on Java island increasing from 58.9 million viewers to 96 million. Phase two, involving expanded coverage outside Java island, is due to complete in Q1 2023. More
Game and content creation platform Unity Software has rejected an unsolicited '$20 billion' bid from AppLovin, the parent of measurement company Adjust; and says it will continue with its own bid to buy ad tech and analytics firm ironSource. More
Nielsen has set out a timetable for the provision of cross-media audience measurement in Thailand, following its selection by broadcasting industry body ADTEB last year. The firm says it will deliver its full Cross-Platform Ratings service in the country in the first quarter of 2023. More
YouGov has promoted Laura Robbie, previously MD Australia, to the role of CEO of the Asia Pacific region, replacing Julien Chevignon who becomes CEO for Western Europe. More
AI-powered customer lifecycle and user retention platform CleverTap is raising $105m in a Series D round of funding, which it will use to support its global expansion plans and enhance its solutions and technology. More
Research software firm Forsta has acquired crowdsourcing and innovation platform HelloIgnite, which helps companies collect, share and manage innovation ideas from employees in order to improve experiences for customers. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. More
Professional services giant Accenture is to acquire Indonesia-based brand and experience agency Romp, for an undisclosed sum. More
WPP has reported interim results for the first half of 2022, with reported revenue up 10.2% to £6.755bn, equivalent to 8.7% growth like-for-like (LFL); and profit before tax up just over 6% to £419m. More
Ipsos Hong Kong has expanded its dedicated insights-based brand and marketing advisory unit Strategy3 with the appointment of Reza Nobar as a Partner. More
Consumer insight and sensory specialist MMR Research has hired former GfK and Nielsen exec Mihir Inamdar for a newly created role, Commercial Director, based in Singapore. More
Australian insight consultancy Fiftyfive5 has appointed former Kadence MD Phil Steggals as Head of Consulting for the APAC region. He is based in Singapore. More
Raymond Lo, the co-founder of boutique MR consultancy Picnic Customer Intelligence, is relocating from Singapore to set up an office in Sydney, Australia later this month. More
Usability testing specialist Sprig has raised $30m in a new round of funding, which it will use to accelerate the development of new products relating to research across the product development lifestyle, and to support its go-to-market activities. More
In India, strategy consulting firm Oncofocus Solutions has spun off its primary market research unit into a separate business within the group, called decodeMR. More
Interpublic-owned data-driven PR agency network Golin has launched 'The Executive Impact Matrix', to measure the business effect of 'thought leadership'. The matrix will be rolled out globally after a pilot period in Asia Pacific. More
Register (free) for Daily Research News
REGISTER FOR NEWS EMAILS
To receive (free) news headlines by email, please register online
