Kantar Media is to provide Netflix with a cross-platform view of its performance in Spain, according to reports. The data will allow the streaming service to compare its audience with those for linear and on-demand networks and platforms. 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
WPP is examining a possible sale of its remaining stake in Kantar, according to sources quoted by Bloomberg. More
Kantar Media may be up for sale in 2024 for 'as much as £1bn', according to reports on Sky News. 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
Kantar Australia has promoted Mark Kennedy and Colin MacArthur to the joint role of Managing Partner, Consulting, replacing Dennis Wong who is leaving the company after fifteen years to pursue his own freelance consulting business. More
Kantar has announced the launch in Spain of its Campaign Audience Validation solution, which helps guide strategic decision-making for ad campaigns. More
Public policy research, evidence, evaluation and comms agency Verian, until recently known as Kantar Public, has partnered with 'human-first AI solutions' provider Faculty, to support decision-making in government across the public sector. 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
Kantar has promoted Mark Standley to the role of Managing Director of its UK Analytics practice, overseeing its growth and development, including investment in AI. 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 Australia, official television audience measurement body OzTAM has responded to Foxtel's launch last week of its own ad currency service, saying it 'poses the risk of confusion in the market' and that 'the industry has clearly stated that it wants one service to measure Total TV'. 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
Divested government policy and comms advisory business Kantar Public will be rebranding globally as 'Verian' from November. More
Kantar Public has teamed up with AI-based performance consultancy Faculty AI to launch a tool to improve the data synthesis stage of qualitative research studies. More
Origin, the cross-media measurement initiative of the UK's advertising trade group ISBA, is to work with US-based cross-screen analytics provider Samba TV, to test television data from the latter's proprietary automated content recognition (ACR) technology. More
Kantar Media has signed an agreement with Romanian industry TV measurement body ARMA, to continue providing broadcast TV ratings to the market until the end of 2027. 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
Audience measurement division Kantar Media has launched its Campaign Audience Validation product in Chile. More
In Australia, full service media agency This is Flow has appointed long-time Kantar exec Straford Rodrigues as Chief Data Officer. More
Kantar Australia has promoted Allan Breiland and Sharon Hilton to serve as Joint Heads of Media Effectiveness. They replace Straford Rodrigues, who is leaving the business at the end of September after more than fourteen years in Australia, the US, the UK and Singapore. 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
In India, Kantar has launched a solution called Sensory eValuate, which uses research to help evaluate consumer products using the five human senses. More
Kantar has promoted Mary George Parayil to the position of Principal of Kantar Analytics, India. She is based in Bengaluru. More
Kantar has expanded its Worldpanel Central America (CAM) consumer panel to cover the Dominican Republic. The newly enlarged panel measures consumer behaviour across 63% more households in the CariCAM (Caribbean and Central American) region. More
In the UK, former Lifestream CEO Sam Curtis has returned to Kantar as Head of the Digital Analytics practice. More
Public policy evidence and advisory business Kantar Public has acquired European policy research and consultancy company PPMI, which is based in Vilnius, Lithuania. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. More
In London, Kantar has hired former eBay / Amazon exec Bérengère Chaintreau-Fuchs for the newly created role of Global Panel Director in its Profiles division. 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
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
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
Kantar Public UK has appointed Vicky Petrie and Donna Phillips as Senior Directors in Population Studies. More
Kantar has launched an 'always-on' brand performance tracker called BrandNow, delivering daily benchmarks and short-term forecasts for 25 product and service categories. The solution is initially available for tracking US and UK markets. More
Former Kantar Health Global CEO Lynnette Cooke has joined the Strategic Advisory Board of Apollo Intelligence, which provides data and insights to the healthcare and life science industries. 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
Kantar Public, the division recently sold to investor Trilantic Europe, has added two Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) to its Global Management Board, including former British Labour Party politician David Miliband. More
Kantar has appointed long-time Merkle exec Erin Hutchinson as Chief Marketing Officer, Insights, North America. 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
In Ireland, RED C has hired long-time Kantar exec Robin McGhee as a Director, to focus on qual research and further developing the group's strategic planning offer. Meanwhile two other former Kantar execs, Aya Sako and Patrick McHugh, are also joining the team. More
Kantar has made three senior promotions in the Middle East and Africa Region (MEA), including Ndeye Diagne to the role of Managing Director, West, East & Central Africa, and a seat on the MEA Leadership team. 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
In New York, Kantar's recently formed ad intelligence business Vivvix has appointed Matt Young as Chief Commercial Officer, responsible for all global revenue, customer success and commercial operations. 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
Kantar has appointed former Interbrand CEO Simon Bailey as Senior Partner in its Consulting practice, advising clients on commercial and creative strategy. More
Kantar has acquired Copenhagen, Denmark-based shopper data specialist Kauza, for an undisclosed sum. More
In the UK, Kantar has launched a Marketing Effectiveness practice, promising to help brands refine their marketing strategy and measure return on investment. 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
Shopper behaviour specialist Kantar Worldpanel has promoted Francisco Luna to Country Manager, leading the division in Mexico. More
Kantar has promoted Jane Ng and Paromeeta (Paro) Mathur Banerjee to General Managers of its Insights division in Singapore and Malaysia, respectively. More
Finnish commercial broadcasters MTV Oy and Sanoma Media Finland have signed a contract with data integration and research consultancy services provider dataBreeders to develop Total TV advertising measurement and currency, which will launch in 2023. More
In Australia, Kantar has expanded its Commercial and Sustainability leadership teams with four senior appointments. Ryan France is increasing his brand strategy role to lead the company's Sustainability practice, while Kim Ruyten will implement the company's ESG capability. More
Kantar has brought together syndicated media coverage from Kantar Media with the ad creative intelligence platform from its Numerator division to form an independent brand called Vivvix, led by former Nielsen CRO Andrew Feigenson as CEO. More
In Belgium, Kantar has appointed long-time Nielsen exec Sabine Vermeulen as Innovation Director. 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
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
Kantar Public, the division recently sold to investor Trilantic Europe, has announced the appointment of former VMLY&R exec Mark Hinton-Jones as its new Global CFO. More
Chicago-based consumer insight specialist Numerator has added LGBTQ+ demographic attributes to its Numerator Insights platform, which provides access to a further 2,500 demographic, psychographic and media consumption attributes that consumers share directly with Numerator. More
In the UK, Kantar Public has appointed former ONS exec Ed Dunn as Senior Director in Population Studies. More
In New York, Kantar has partnered with data-driven TV ad firm Blockgraph, to advance convergent TV measurement capabilities through privacy-first technology. More
Kantar has hired Barbara Yacuzzi as Chief Financial Officer, Americas, while for North America, Paul Evers has been named Chief Client Officer; Henry Tam, EVP Sales; David Boyd COO; and James Potter, Chief Brand Solutions Officer. More
Kantar has launched its Sustainable Transformation Practice in New Zealand, led by Executive Director Jason Cate. 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
Kantar has appointed Steve Silvers to lead its newly combined Creative & Media Solutions business, with responsibility for growth strategy and product innovation for the division. He is based in the US. More
In the UK, specialist research, evidence and advisory business Kantar Public has appointed Zarina Ward as Chief People Officer, and as a member of the Global Management Board. More
Kantar's TGI consumer data team has partnered with location intelligence company Adsquare to help brands build targeted, cookieless and ID-free localised ad campaigns in Great Britain and France. More
Long-time Kantar group CEO Eric Salama has been appointed as Global Chair of recently divested unit Kantar Public. More
Kantar has expanded its YouTube measurement services, allowing marketers to assess ad effectiveness in both single channel and multi-channel campaigns. More
In London, Kantar has given Genpact CEO Tiger Tyagarajan a seat on its Board of Directors. 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
Kantar has appointed Natalie Vander Vorst to lead its UK Consulting practice, which advises brands on commercial and marketing strategies. More
Kantar has completed the sale of Kantar Public to pan-European private equity firm Trilantic Europe. Financial terms have not been disclosed. More
In India, Ipsos has appointed long-time Kantar exec Chhavi Bhargava as a Senior Consultant. 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
Kantar has appointed Erinn Taylor as Senior Vice President, leading Media Product Management & Strategy for the firm's North America Insights business. More
In London, government and public sector evidence and advisory business Kantar Public has appointed long-time PwC exec Lucy Birch as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer and as a member of the global Board. More
Kantar and China-based consumption and media research company Sinomonitor have announced a data sharing partnership, to improve access to the former firm's TGI consumer insight data and help their respective clients better understand their growth markets. More
Kantar has launched a fast-turnaround solution called Brand Equity Evaluation, to help users quickly answer questions about brand equity strength in a competitive environment, and how to improve it. More
PR and comms monitoring group Onclusive has acquired AI-powered social media listening and intelligence platform Digimind. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. More
Kantar is partnering with tech-focused private equity firm SilverTree Equity to acquire Belgium-based Revenue Growth Management (RGM) software and big data solutions vendor StepUp RGM. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. More
Kantar has launched an FMCG panel that tracks and reports out-of-home (OOH) purchases in India, in thirteen categories. Within the 'QSR' categories (pizzas and burgers), in-home orders / consumption will also be captured. More
Kantar Australia has appointed Bethan Hockey in the newly created role of Head of Sustainability in its Insights Division. More
Kantar has launched a cross-category search prediction tool called Emerging Trends; added a suite of products and enhancements to its creative testing portfolio on Kantar Marketplace; and opened the iLab innovation centre. More
Former Kantar CEO Alexis Nasard has been named as the first person from outside the Swarovski family to lead the crystal jewellery brand in its 127-year history. He will join the firm on 4th July. More
Kantar has hired long-time Merkle exec Will Bordelon as Chief Executive Officer of its Insights business in the Americas. He will join on July 11th. More
Marcoms giant WPP has promoted Michael Houston to the role of President of its business in the US, the group's largest market. More
Kantar has announced an industry-wide cross-media planning initiative for Brazil, bringing together representatives from the country's media groups and platforms to help design an upgraded measurement solution. Kantar then plans to launch the solution before the end of the year. More
In London, Kantar has hired former SAP exec Ashruti Singh for a newly created role, leading product marketing for its Insights division. More
Irish MR industry body AIMRO has appointed David Berry, Commercial Director of Kantar Worldpanel, as its New Chair. More
Kantar has announced unaudited results for the first quarter of calendar 2022, including pro forma, currency-adjusted gross revenue up 6% to $911m, and adjusted EBITDA of $144m, up 16% from a year earlier and almost twice the pre-Covid Q1 2019 figure. More
Recently-formed PR and comms monitoring group Onclusive has announced the acquisition of US-based media monitoring platform Critical Mention, for an undisclosed sum. More
Kantar has launched Link AI for Digital, an artificial intelligence-powered ad testing solution designed specifically for digital ad formats. More
Kantar has agreed to acquire Reading, UK-based app survey platform and fraud prevention technology provider Qmee, majority owned by private equity firm capital D. Qmee will become a part of Kantar's primary research division Profiles. More
Kantar Australia has formally combined its Insights and Consulting divisions, a move it says will 'turbocharge' its innovation and brand strategy offerings. More
Kantar has sold its Kantar Public business to private equity firm Trilantic Europe for an undisclosed sum. Following the sale Kantar Public will establish itself as an independent evidence and advisory company for government and public sector organisations. More
In London, Kantar Public has appointed Alex Hurrell as Head of Evaluation, leading the continuing growth of its evaluation offer with UK government and public sector clients. More
Kantar has appointed Patrick Moriarty as Senior Vice President of its Analytics Practice in North America. He is based in Dallas. More
London-based data science-led communications management and measurement company Onclusive has hired Matthew Piercy for the newly created role of Chief Financial Officer. More
Kantar is opening its first Global Technology & Innovation (GTI) Hub, in Porto in the north of Portugal, where it plans to fill 150 data and software engineering roles this year, extending this to 400 during the next four years. More
Kantar has agreed to acquire Copenhagen, Denmark-based marketing measurement and optimisation company Blackwood Seven, for an undisclosed sum. More
In London, Kantar Public has hired former Alan Turing Institute exec Christine Foster for the newly created role of Global Chief Product Officer, Data Science. More
Kantar Public, the global group's evidence and advisory business for governments and the public sector, has appointed current WPP exec Kathryn Cooper in the new role of Global Head of Behavioural and Communications Advisory. More
Despite suspending its business in Ukraine, Kantar has decided to continue paying salaries to employees there until the end of the war. More
In the UK, Kantar has appointed Michael Uzielli as Group Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Ian Griffiths, who is stepping down to take a new role as a Senior Advisor with private equity firm Bain Capital, Kantar's majority shareholder. Uzielli will take up his new post in June. More
Long-time Kantar exec Richard McLeod is re-joining the business as Head of Media, leading its work for brands and agencies looking at how consumers engage with media and advertising. More
Kantar Public has appointed three senior policy evaluation experts - Richard Lloyd as Senior Director in its Evaluation practice in London, Leong Chan-Hoong as Head of Policy Evaluation and Data Analytics in Singapore, and Laetitia Dansou as Director of Policy Evaluation in France. More
In Singapore, Kantar has promoted Katie McClintock to Managing Director, South-East Asia (Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam), while Emma Eichbaum moves from Kantar Thailand to take up the position of Head of Client Growth. More
Kantar has integrated Sytel's Contact Centre as a Service (CCaas) cloud platform into its CATI centres, to deal with an expected load of more than 3,500 concurrent telephone interviews across over 25 countries. More
Kantar has announced senior appointments to strengthen its team in Australia. Straford Rodrigues returns from NA as Head of Media and Marketing Effectiveness; Lee Catlin joins as Senior Director, CX; and Head of Creative Irene Joshy has moved back to Melbourne from Singapore. More
Kantar is doubling the frequency of its Republic of Ireland TGI survey data release, which will now be issued twice a year. More
Kantar Public has appointed four new members to its UK Qualitative Practice - Matthew Holt as Qualitative Research Director, Jo Bolton as Qualitative Director, Milo Warby as Associate Director, and Samantha Outhwaite as Research Manager. More
In Brazil, Kantar has launched its new Video Streaming Report service, through which subscribers can access daily viewing data across all broadcast TV and video on demand (VOD) platforms including Globoplay, Netflix and YouTube. More
Kantar Public has added three execs to its Development practice in Washington DC - Amy Kracker-Selzer as Vice President of Technical Leadership; Gael O'Sullivan as Social and Behavior Change Director; and Anshikka Singh Larsson as Director of New Program and Business Development. More
STG's newly formed media monitoring and measurement business Onclusive has appointed Manuel Moerbach as Chief Executive Officer. More
Former Added Value UK Deputy MD Paul Cowper is returning to the Kantar Group, as Senior Partner in the Consulting practice. More
Kantar has made its Link AI ad testing solution available on the Kantar Marketplace on-demand research platform. More
Kantar has announced the acquisition of Bologna, Italy-based AI specialist MindIT, for an undisclosed sum. More
Kantar Public has hired long-time YouGov exec Tom Burgess for the newly created role of Global Panels Director, supporting its probability-based citizen panel, PUBLIC Voice. More
Origin, a joint industry initiative led by UK advertiser trade body ISBA, has completed the first stage of its cross-media measurement proof of concept (POC) evaluation. More
Software investor Symphony Technology Group has completed its acquisition of Kantar's Reputation Intelligence business, while also buying media management software provider PRgloo and data science company Onclusive. The three businesses will be merged and known as 'Onclusive'. More
Software giant Oracle has paid $28.3 billion to acquire healthcare technology provider Cerner, which itself recently acquired Kantar Health. More
Cross-screen advertising data platform Advocado, which recently acquired Kantar BVS, has announced $10m in new capital, including $7.5m from institutional investment firm Crescent Cove Advisors. It has also appointed Michael Beer as a Board Director. More
Kantar has been awarded a contract by the Azerbaijani television industry, to supply technology for the launch of a new TV audience measurement currency in the country. More
Kantar has reported revenue of $2,681m for the first three quarters of 2021, up 11% at constant currency although still down 5% from 2019 figures; and EBITDA of $445m, up 52% on 2020 and 39% (organic growth 33%) versus the same period in 2019. More
In the UK, former Kantar / Hall & Partners exec Jane Bloomfield has joined WPP-owned brand transformation specialist Landor & Fitch as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). More
US cross-screen advertising data platform Advocado has acquired Kantar's ad verification solution BVS. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. More
Kantar has appointed Duncan Houldsworth to lead its Brand & Marketing ROI Analytics practice in North America. More
In Turkey, local industry committee TIAK has awarded Kantar a new contract to provide TV audience measurement in the country until at least 2027. More
Kantar Health has been renamed Cerner Enviza, combining real-world healthcare data and technology from parent company Cerner with Kantar Health's decades of life sciences expertise. More
In London, marketing group MSQ has appointed former Kantar exec Bart Michels as Executive Director, and Executive Chairman of its data-driven consultancy, Freemavens. In this role, he is responsible for driving MSQ's client growth agenda and shaping the group's insight offer. More
In the UK, healthcare MR agency the Research Partnership has appointed former Kantar Health exec Richard Goosey as Head of Analytics. More
Kantar has launched a creative measurement tool called Digital Video AI, which can be used to predict the performance of online video ads in under fifteen minutes. More
Kantar has added creative and digital testing, concept and innovation testing solutions for users of its Marketplace platform in India. More
Kantar has announced a partnership combining its TGI consumer data with insights from out-of-home (OOH) audience measurement business Route, to launch a new ad buying platform promising highly targeted campaigns. More
Kantar Public, the global insights group's public policy evidence and advisory division, has appointed social scientist Issac Lim in the new role of Head of Policy Development, Evaluation & Data Analytics within its Singapore business. More
Kantar has been selected by Origin, a joint industry initiative led by UK advertiser trade body ISBA, to supply a single source panel for cross-media measurement; adding to the recent launch of a 'Cross Media Performance' solution in Latin America, with Unilever among the early adopters. More
Former dunnhumby CEO Guillaume Bacuvier has been hired as Global Chief Executive Officer of Kantar's consumer panel division Worldpanel. He succeeds Josep Montserrat, who takes on the role of Non-Executive Chairman. More
Kantar Chairman Adam Crozier is to add the Chairmanship of BT Group plc. He will join the Board in November and take up the role from 1st December, following the retirement of Jan du Plessis. More
In interim results, WPP has reported a 'strong' first half, with revenue returning to 2019 levels 'a year ahead of plan'. H1 2021 revenue of £6.13bn was up 9.8% on last year's Covid-hit figure, and the group returned to a profit before tax (£394m) after losses of £3.18bn a year earlier. More
In the US, Kantar has appointed former SurveyMonkey exec Chuck Brinker as Brand Guidance Product team Lead, starting next month; and Christoph Haschka as Group Director of Mergers and Acquisitions. More
Kantar has announced plans to sell its Reputation Intelligence business to software investor Symphony Technology Group (STG). Terms of the proposed deal, which is expected to conclude by the end of 2021, have not been disclosed. More
Kantar Americas CEO Reed Cundiff has made the decision to leave his role, after 're-evaluating his personal priorities'. More
Kantar has appointed Annie Ho as Chief Financial Officer, Insights Division, Asia Pacific, replacing Stephen Gardner who is retiring after almost 25 years with Kantar and the WPP Group. More
Kantar Public, the group's government and public sector practice, has announced a three-part investment strategy for its business in Germany. This includes the launch of a new Public Data Innovation Hub to support German data science, digital start-ups and micro businesses. More
Kantar has promoted Ilana Sanborn to the newly created role of Head of Kantar Marketplace, Asia Pacific. More
Kantar Public, the group's government and public sector practice, has hired Craig Donovan for the newly created role of National Director, Government Communications within its Australian business. More
Comscore has rolled out its Plan Metrix Multi-Platform service in India through its partnership with Kantar. The deal combines data on consumers' desktop and mobile behavior with information about their lifestyles, interests, attitudes and demographics. More
Kantar has completed its acquisition of consumer and market intelligence company Numerator from investment firm Vista Equity Partners, in a deal which it says will provide insights into the shopping habits of almost five billion consumers globally. Reuters' sources claim the deal is worth about $1.5 billion. More
Kantar has chosen a new Chief Executive - Chris Jansen, currently CEO of global schools group Cognita, starts in the role on 1st November. More
Kantar has announced the formal integration of New Zealand's Colmar Brunton into its business, with the Colmar Brunton name to be phased out by the end of this year. All 121 staff in the country will join one of two new NZ divisions, Kantar or Kantar Public. More
In the MENA region, Kantar has promoted Amol Ghate to Managing Director, MENAP and Nermeen Bedeir to Managing Director, Insights Division, Egypt. More
In the UK, Kantar has named Anoushka Adams and Martha Espley as Research Directors in its Profiles data collection and connection division. More
Kantar Public has rolled out its PUBLIC Hexis programme and policy evaluation approach to its hubs in Brussels and London. More
Kantar has partnered with data collaboration platform InfoSum to help advertisers ad TGI consumer insights to their own first-party data, improving targeting. More
Kantar has promoted long-time employee Irene Joshy to Head of Creative, leading its Creative Domain in Australia. She relocates from Singapore to Melbourne to take up the post. More
Mark Inskip, the CEO of Kantar's UK and Ireland Media Division, has left the business to join staffing procurement firm Matrix SCM as Chief Executive Officer. He will be replaced on a temporary basis by EMEA MD Louise Ainsworth. More
Kantar Public, the global group's government and public sector practice, has hired Damien Huang for the newly created role of Director for Policy Research, Development and Evaluation, in Singapore. More
Kantar's first quarter revenue was up 3% to $896m, with six of its seven divisions delivering growth. This includes double digit increases from the group's consumer and shopper behavior specialist Worldpanel, and public policy services provider Kantar Public. More
UK television audience measurement body BARB has awarded long-term contracts to Kantar and RSMB, beginning in January 2024. These include a deal for Kantar to increase BARB's panel from 5,150 to 7,000 homes - the largest increase in sample since BARB's launch in 1981. More
Kantar has acquired Amsterdam-based cross-media effectiveness tracking specialist MeMo2 for an undisclosed sum. More
Kantar Public, the global group's government and public sector practice, has hired research scientist Rhoune Ochako for a new role, Country Director of its Development Practice in Kenya. More
Kantar Public, the global group's government and public sector practice, has launched a data science platform and toolkit, 'PUBLIC Evidential', which promises advanced data blending and analytics to help 'build and enrich' the evidence base for public policy decisions. More
Kantar Public has appointed Ben Humberstone, a former Deputy Director at the Office for National Statistics in a newly created role, Head of Population Studies for the UK More
Kantar has appointed former London Stock Exchange exec Alex Cesar as its first Chief Technology Officer, responsible for defining and delivering the firm's future technology strategy. She will be based in London when she joins on 1st July. More
In New York, Kantar's Insights Division has hired former Ebiquity North America MD Jed Meyer and long-time Nielsen exec Susan Lauinger as 'Domain Leaders' in North America, for the Media and Content teams respectively. More
Kantar has launched what it says is South Africa's biggest ever consumer panel, measuring the FMCG purchasing behaviour of more than 6,500 local households at launch. More
Kantar Chief Executive Alexis Nasard has stepped down after just four months in the role. Deputy CEO Ian Griffiths will lead the company until a new appointment is made. More
Chicago-based consumer and market intelligence company Numerator has launched an omnichannel market share measurement system called TruView, for use by CPG brands and retailers. More
In Singapore, Kantar Public has hired Chor Mui for the newly created role of Head of Behavioural Insights, Communications and Experience Design. More
Kantar has been commissioned by the Association of Philippine Broadcasters (KBP - Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas) to conduct a series of radio surveys which will serve as currency for radio audience measurement in 2021. More
Kantar has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Chicago-based consumer and market intelligence company Numerator from investment firm Vista Equity Partners. Sources suggest the deal is worth about $1.5 billion. More
Kantar has partnered with video audience targeting and analytics platform Streamhub in a deal which the firms say offers new capabilities for the analysis and activation of online streaming audiences. More
Kantar Public has announced plans to roll out its Public Voice probabilistic panel to eighteen European countries, including France and Germany, during the year. More
US-based healthcare technology provider Cerner has completed its acquisition of Kantar Health for $375m in cash, subject to adjustment. More
Kantar and Ipsos have been awarded contracts to deliver what they say is the 'world's first true cross-media total audience measurement solution', in the Netherlands. The contracts combine measurement of viewing, listening, browsing and reading in a single, integrated system. More
Kantar has launched a new practice, Dx Analytics, focused on the analysis of unstructured data to provide clients with deeper insight, and help them measure and boost their digital marketing performance. More
In Sydney, Kantar Public has today announced the appointment of Kirsty Macmillan to head up its Australian business. More
Former Kantar TNS East Africa CEO Aggrey Maposa died last Tuesday, after battling a long-term illness. More
In Melbourne, Kantar has promoted Jon Foged to the newly created role of Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand, Insights arm - he was previously CEO of the division in Australia. Jason Shoebridge, CEO of Kantar New Zealand, will leave the business in April. More
Kantar Media's former Global CEO Andy Brown has joined cross-platform TV ad measurement specialist TVSquared as an Executive Advisor. More
In London, Kantar has hired former Neustar exec Ted Prince for a newly created role, Chief Product Officer, responsible for defining and delivering new offerings and real-time platforms. More
Kantar has promoted Deepender Rana to the role of General Manager of its Insights division (formerly Kantar IMRB, TNS and Millward Brown) in the South Asia region. He takes over from Preeti Reddy, who has been named Chairwoman of Kantar South Asia. More
Charles Foster, CEO of Kantar's Insights division in the Middle East and Africa region, is retiring in April after 35 years in the research industry. He is succeeded by Adeola Tejumola, who has most recently been responsible for Kantar Insights units in West, East and Central Africa. More
Data from Kantar's Great Britain TGI consumer survey will now be updated and released on a monthly basis, in response to what the firm says are evolving demands for consumer insight. More
Former Body Shop CEO Jeremy Schwartz has joined Kantar as Practice Chairman for Sustainable Transformation, with a remit to increase marketplace visibility for the division, along with C-suite engagement. More
Caroline Connolly has joined Kantar Public, the insights group's public policy evidence and advisory division, to take up the role of CEO, Development Practice, based in the Washington D.C. office. More
Kantar is to begin offering media monitoring services in Sri Lanka, following an agreement to acquire Nielsen's local media monitoring business in the country. The service will complement Kantar's existing TV audience measurement services. More
Kantar Public has appointed Gaurav Sabharwa as Chief Executive Officer of India and South Asia, based in New Delhi. He takes over from Surya AV, who left in October after nearly two decades with Kantar. More
In Belgium, Pieter Goossens has returned to Kantar as Senior Director, Technology and Digital Lead. More
Kantar has joined Google's Ads Data Hub (ADH), enabling marketers to assess YouTube ad performance across all devices and platforms without the use of pixels. More
Slovakian TV audience measurement steering committee PMT has awarded Kantar an eight-year extension to its existing contract to provide official TV audience measurement data for the country. This new contract runs until 2029. More
Kantar has hired former Mindshare exec Paul Sturgeon for a newly created role, leading its Brand and Marketing ROI offer in the UK. More
Kantar has today announced it is investing to double the size of its 'Public Voice' panel, launched just under a year ago. The move will create 'the largest random sample panel in the UK', according to the firm. More
In the US, Kantar has sold its paid search intelligence unit - formerly known as AdGooroo - to AI-powered search intelligence specialist Adthena. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. More
Kantar has expanded its TV Audience Measurement (TAM) panel in Georgia to 800 households - an increase of 45%. The firm will now measure 70 different channels, with ad monitoring for half of them. More
Kantar has announced an exclusive partnership AI-powered search intelligence company Adthena, whose worldwide search data will be integrated into the insights giant's Ad Intelligence platform. More
Kantar has agreed to sell its Health division to global healthcare technology provider Cerner, in a $375m all-cash transaction. Kantar Group Deputy CEO and CFO Ian Griffiths says the sell-off will enable the group to increase its focus on its previously identified growth priorities. More
In Canada, full-service agency Research Strategy Group has appointed long-time Kantar exec Paul Pacheco as Executive Vice President, working in its Quant team. More
Kantar and Oxford University's Saïd Business School have partnered to launch an analytics tool called Issue Radar, through which to map online conversation and forecast UK consumer sustainability trends. More
In Australia, Kantar has launched a cross-channel platform called Media+BOSS, to help brands and media agencies simulate media campaigns and forecast the expected impact on the brand. More
Kantar has promoted Chris Petranto to Global Head of Analytics, after sixteen years at the company. He replaces Gonzalo Fuentes who has moved to the role of COO of the group's Insights division. More
In London, Kantar has appointed long-time Procter & Gamble exec Alexis Nasard as Chief Executive Officer, effective 30th December. He replaces Eric Salama, who left the business in February. More
Kantar has launched its Kantar Reputation intelligence platform in the UK. The platform which helps communications and PR professionals manage and analyse brand reputation across all media channels, is already available in France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Ireland. More
In London, mobile-based customer insights platform Streetbees has hired former Kantar exec Rishi Raja as Head of Client Strategy. More
Kantar has reversed the decision to close its Philippines Media Division, made just a month ago. Its key client, TV and new media network ABS-CBN, had been set to close down but has now signed a new TAM contract with the agency. More
Kantar is to launch its BrandZ index in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, ranking the top 30 most valuable brands across the two countries combined in terms of dollar value. More
Kantar is planning to cut around ten percent of its US staff due to the impact of the pandemic, according to online reports. More
In the US, project management, survey fieldwork and tech provider Research for Good (RFG) has appointed long-time Kantar exec Rich Silva as Chief of Staff, charged with overseeing the firm's operational growth. More
US firm Syapse, which uses real-world evidence to improve the outcomes of cancer patients, has appointed former Kantar Health exec David Pomerantz as Chief Commercial Officer. More
Kantar is shutting down its Philippines TV ratings service at the end of the year, following the closure of its biggest client, commercial television and new media network ABS-CBN. The move will result in Kantar having to lay off around 50 employees. More
Kantar has launched a survey solution called Accelerated Answers, which promises to deliver 'real insights from real consumers' in as little as six hours. More
Kantar Health has expanded its National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS), a self-reported patient database covering some 200 medical conditions, to South Korea and Taiwan. More
Kantar has announced the launch of 'Project Moonshot', described as 'a major milestone' on the road to an advanced independent platform for measuring ad effectiveness. The initiative includes deals with Google, Pandora, in-game ad platform Anzu, Dish, Pinterest, Roku, Snap, Spotify and Twitter. More
Staff survey and people analytics platform Perceptyx has announced the acquisition of Kantar's Employee Insights business. Terms were not disclosed. More
Middle East-based full service agency 4SiGHT Research & Analytics has hired long-time Kantar exec Sukhdev Singh to launch its 4SiGHT Consulting practice in Dubai. Former Kantar researcher Siva Sankar has also joined the new division. More
Kantar has added the newly created role of Deputy Chief Executive to the role of Chief Financial Officer Ian Griffiths. More
Kantar has rolled out a suite of innovation and product development solutions on its Marketplace automated research platform. More
Kantar has launched Link AI, a fully-automated, artificial intelligence-powered tool to measure and predict the impact of creative. More
Kantar has been awarded a patent relating to Quantum Machine Learning, after work by its Brand Growth Lab in Singapore. Rather than bringing any immediate impact on its methods, the win helps Kantar stake a claim to be at the bleeding edge of AI in marketing. More
In India, Hansa Research has appointed former Kantar exec Piyali Chatterjee as Senior Vice President & National Head of its Customer Experience (CX) practice. More
Kantar and Comscore have announced the renewal of their partnership with Italian TV audience measurement body Auditel. The contract, ongoing since August 2017, will now run until December 31st 2023. More
Kantar Media's Global CEO Andy Brown has left the business, less than a year after WPP agreed to sell 60% of Kantar to private equity firm Bain Capital. Brown's next career move is not yet known, and his previous role has been filled on an interim basis by former Bain exec Serge Lupas. More
British charity Comic Relief has appointed former Kantar CEO Eric Salama as Chair of the Board of Trustees, replacing Tim Davie, BBC Studios CEO, who has served on the Board since September 2013. More
In Vietnam, Kantar has transferred David Anjoubault from Worldpanel to take up the role of CEO of its Insights division. He replaces Nitin Nishandar, who has been named Chairman of the Insights division in Vietnam and Chief Client Officer. More
Kantar has launched an online platform using anonymized and aggregated patient data to track changes, delays and modifications to cancer treatment decisions during the Covid-19 crisis. More
Long-time Nielsen / Kantar exec Terrance Kent has been appointed CEO of SRDS (Standard Rate & Data Service), which Kantar recently sold to French ad tech company Adwanted Group. More
In Tokyo, Kantar has appointed former Dynata exec Justin He to lead its Profiles division, and manage the already established Japanese team. More
Kantar has launched its Audiences service in Europe, with an initial roll-out in the UK, France and Germany. More
Private equity firm Bain Capital has sold Kantar's SRDS (Standard Rate & Data Service) to French ad tech company Adwanted Group. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. More
Kantar has launched a study to understand the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on citizens across the G7 nations. More
Kantar has acquired data-led, digital marketing and analytics consultancy Mavens of London for an undisclosed sum. This is Kantar's first acquisition since its takeover by private equity firm Bain Capital last year. More
In the US, Kantar has launched a service called 'Entertainment On Demand', to help the music industry and investors understand the consumer journey for digital video and music subscription services. The service will be rolled out in the UK, Germany, Australia and Japan in H2 2020. More
WPP has reported results for the fourth quarter and full year 2019. Improvements from Q3 were not maintained to the end of the year and shares tumbled around 14% on the news. Nevertheless CEO Mark Read said 'substantial progress' was made in the year the group sold a majority stake in Kantar. More
Kantar has moved Robert Jan d'Hond to the position of Managing Partner in North America, leading the consulting speciality practice for the continent and based in the New York office. More
Kantar has launched three sales and marketing tools, designed to offer South East Asia-based CPG companies a data-driven overview of the consumer journey. More
The Ministry of Information Technology and Communications of Colombia (MINTIC) has commissioned Kantar subsidiary Kantar IBOPE to measure digital audiences of eight regional TV channels, with initial data to be reported during the first half of 2020. More
Further to news of Eric Salama's intention to resign as CEO of Kantar during 2020, the firm has now announced that he has stepped down with immediate effect. However, according to FT.com, Salama has been 'abruptly ousted' after Bain Capital decided to cut short his remaining time at the company. More
Adam Crozier, former CEO of broadcaster ITV, the Football Association and Royal Mail, has been named Non-Executive Chairman of Kantar. More
Kantar has appointed Cam Baskey in the new role of Vice President, Client Leadership, responsible for growth in its CX and CX+ business in Canada. More
Kantar has rolled out a global study called eCommerce On, offering a shopper-centric understanding of eCommerce across various countries and categories. More
Following its acquisition of WPP AUNZ's Data Investment Management (DIM) division, Kantar has announced a number of steps which it says will help drive growth for its clients in Australia, including the retirement of the Colmar Brunton brand in the country. More
In the US, shopper targeting firm Valassis has partnered with Kantar to launch a new report called 'The Future of How People Shop', which promises an understanding of the behavior and attitudes of consumers and the catalysts driving their engagement. More
Adam Crozier, former CEO of broadcaster ITV, the Football Association and Royal Mail, is said to be discussing the role of Chairman at Kantar. More
US-based Internet radio service provider Pandora has beta launched a suite of in-campaign measurement capabilities called Test & Tune, to better understand the relationship between creative and its impact on ad effectiveness, and develop signals for advertisers to inform creative decisions. More
Kantar has appointed long-time Nielsen exec Chris Morley as Managing Director, UK, Ireland and USA for its Worldpanel division; while former Publicis behavioural economist and CX practitioner Dom Boyd joins as Managing Director, Offer for the UK Insights division. More
Kantar has appointed former ITV plc COO and CFO Ian Griffiths as its new Chief Financial Officer. He will join the company on January 16th. More
In India, Kantar has launched a study called #PlanetY, with the aim of providing an understanding of the attitudes, values and behaviour of the country's youth. More
Kantar has hired Pete Rumpel as Chief Executive Officer of its Media Division in North America. He succeeds Manish Bhatia, who has moved into the position of Chief Product Officer for the division. More
Non-profit organization the Israeli Audience Research Board (IARB) has awarded WPP's insight arm Kantar a seven-year contract to continue operating the country's TV trading currency, with the option of an extension until 2030. More
Kantar Chief Executive Eric Salama has decided to step down from his role at some point in 2020, after which he will serve as a non-executive Director and Consultant at the company. Kantar has already begun the process of recruiting a successor. More
Kantar and consumer data giant IRI have launched a solution to help CPG clients measure and optimize marketing programs against the drivers of long-term brand health and short-term sales. More
WPP says it has completed the sale of 60% of Kantar to Bain Capital Private Equity, 'with respect to approximately 90% of the Kantar business', with the proceeds received; and says it will complete the remainder in the first half of 2020. More
WPP has announced that Michelle Harrison will move from CEO to non-executive Chair of its Government Practice - which she has led since its inception in 2012 - so as to focus on her role as Global CEO of Kantar's Public division. Global MD Sean Howard steps up to the vacant CEO role. More
Ipsos,60318, Population Services International and Matchboxology won the inaugural Liz Nelson Award for Social Impact, at last night's annual MRS Awards ceremony in London; while Kantar Profiles Division won the overall Grand Prix Award for Greatest Impact. More
Kantar has expanded the portfolio of quick turnaround research available through its Marketplace, with the roll-out of a service called Express Surveys, initially in the US. More
WPP is to open a campus in the listed Marquette Building in downtown Detroit, where it will bring together a number of its agencies and locate up to 1,000 staff. More
South African cross-platform audience measure the Establishment Survey will produce its final data next month, after a review by operator Kantar TNS and industry bodies the PRC and BRC. More
Kantar has partnered with media consumption measurement specialist VTION, to roll out what the companies are calling 'India's first continuous OTT audience measurement solution'. More
Sri Lankan subsidiary Kantar Lanka has issued a statement countering stories on social media, which purported to share the results of polls for the country's forthcoming presidential election. The firm said it had conducted 'no election polls or analysis of any candidate and/or any political party'. More
In Madrid, WPP Chief Exec Mark Read has opened the marcoms group's latest co-location campus, La Matriz, which is its largest in Europe to date. More
In a trading update for the third quarter, WPP has reported its first like-for-like (LFL) revenue increase of the year - with insight division Kantar sharing in the improvement. Group reported revenue rose 1.9% LFL to £3.29bn. More
WPP shareholders have voted in favour of the company's proposal to sell 60% of its Kantar data, research, consulting and analytics business to private equity firm Bain Capital, in a deal which values the whole of Kantar at around £3.2bn ($4.0bn). More
Turkish radio industry body RIAK has commissioned Kantar to deliver the Turkish radio audience ratings service for the next five years. More
Kantar has named Doreen Wang Country Leader in China. She will return from New York to Beijing in January to take up her new appointment. More
Kantar has been awarded the contract to deliver national radio ratings currency in Sweden for the four years commencing on 1st August 2020. More
Kantar has expanded its audience activation offer to a broader range of verticals, helping marketers identify and engage the right consumers and deliver improved ROI for data-driven ad campaigns. More
In India, Kantar and artificial intelligence platform Frrole have partnered to launch a service called 'TGI Social+', which combines consumer profiles from Kantar's consumer survey TGI with social media analytics to provide a 'holistic' understanding of online consumers. More
Kantar has appointed Dolly DeNyse and Amy Fenton to its North American leadership team as Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Client Officer respectively. More
Kantar has appointed Chloe Woolger as Commercial Director in its Customer Experience (CX) team, based in its London headquarters and reporting to Tim Pritchard, MD of CX at Kantar UK. More
In the US, Kantar has partnered with voice app testing platform Pulse Labs, to understand the motivation behind consumers' usage of voice assistant technology. More
Long-time Kantar exec Graham Page has joined US emotion measurement specialist Affectiva as Global MD of Media Analytics, leading a unit focused on the application of emotion analytics to content, media testing and the customer experience. More
In India, WPP and its insights and data arm Kantar have rolled out not-for-profit, cross-industry organisation, the Institute for Real Growth (IRG), to offer senior business leaders in local companies help with their growth strategies. More
Kantar is launching the 'Great British Podcast Tracker', billed as the country's 'first longitudinal service' measuring consumer behaviour and attitudes to podcasts and providing a continuous, representative, single source of insight, from September. More
Marcoms group WPP AUNZ has agreed to sell its entire stake in insight and analytics arm Kantar in Australia and New Zealand, as part of the global sale of Kantar shares to Bain Capital. The deal values the ANZ business at $AUD 168m. More
In London, media researcher RSMB has appointed Chris Mundy as Chief Executive, following Steve Wilcox's decision to step aside from a full-time role at the company. More
Marcoms giant WPP has reported a 1.6% increase in H1 revenue to £7.62bn in its interim results, but after allowing allowing for currency effects revenue was flat. More
In New Zealand, WPP-owned market and social research company Colmar Brunton has appointed Kathryn Robinson as Behavioural Insights Director, based in its Wellington office. More
Kantar has launched a dedicated analytics practice in Australia, to help local clients solve business problems using a range of data sources. More
In Africa, marketing services network WPP ScanGroup is to meet an obligation to sell two of its subsidiaries, following parent company WPP's decision to sell 60% of Kantar to private equity firm Bain Capital. More
Kantar has expanded its Worldpanel ComTech smart speaker consumer panel, to measure purchasing and usage trends in the Australian market. More
Kantar has completed the integration of societal impact consultancy InterMedia into its Public division, thus expanding its Washington D.C. office and strengthening the division's growing Development Practice. More
Following Friday's announcement that WPP is to sell 60% of Kantar to private equity firm Bain Capital, more details are emerging of the firm's plans, including possible eCommerce acquisitions and expansion of services like Kantar Marketplace. More
WPP has agreed to sell 60% of its data, research, consulting and analytics business Kantar to private equity firm Bain Capital, in a deal which values the whole of Kantar at around £3.2bn ($4.0bn). More
WPP-owned Kantar has launched a number of services to help marketers directly integrate their own datasets with data from its TGI consumer survey, to give enhanced audience profiling for campaign planning and digital media activation. More
WPP has confirmed this evening it is now in exclusive talks with private equity firm Bain Capital, over the sale of a majority stake in Kantar. More
WPP-owned Kantar has launched four big data and artificial intelligence-based solutions, to help brands, ad agencies and media companies build and measure campaigns across the entire marketing lifecycle. More
BARB, the UK television audience measurement currency, has commissioned Kantar to install its 'Focal Meters' technology into the BARB panel of homes. More
In London, WPP-owned Kantar has promoted Nathalie Burdet to the role of Chief Marketing Officer, while Ignasi Fernández replaces her as Global Marketing Leader for the Insights division. Additionally, Dionne Aitken joins the company as Global Marketing Leader for the Profiles division. More
In Johannesburg, South Africa, Kantar TNS exec Pulane Moloi is suing the company for R90m (£4.8m) for what she describes as 'ill treatment', which she claims led to her suffering two mental breakdowns and an attempt to take her own life. More
Kantar has set up an International Election Team, to provide forecasting, research and commentary for elections across the world. More
In Australia, Kantar has promoted Leigh Mander and Jacqui Brandt to MD roles, leading the Sydney and Melbourne offices respectively. Meanwhile James Brown moves into the newly created position of National Head of Shopper. More
Vista Equity Partners, a firm co-founded by Robert F. Smith, the richest African-American in the United States, has joined the list of bidders competing to buy a majority stake in WPP's insight and analytics arm Kantar. More
Kantar has promoted Irvinder Kaur to the position of India Analytics Practice Lead, overseeing the delivery of analytics offerings. More
In the US, DVR and TV tech and audience insights provider TiVo has expanded its TV Viewership Data product to include Kantar ad occurrences data and Drawbridge's Identity Graph and demographic attributes. More
In the US, Kantar has partnered with healthcare market intelligence specialist Komodo Health, to develop data-driven artificial intelligence (AI) tools linking clinical encounter and patient reported outcomes data, and improve patient outcomes. More
Kantar has appointed Gregory Aston as Global Head of Research, Digital Advertising Intelligence, based in New York; while Petra Mašínová joins as Global Director for Reputation Intelligence, based in Paris. More
Reports from several sources suggest that WPP has shortlisted private equity investors Bain Capital, Apollo, Platinum and a fourth undisclosed company to submit bids to buy a majority stake in its insight and analytics arm Kantar. More
WPP's data, insights and consulting company Kantar has launched the 'Profiles Network', offering permission-based, GDPR compliant access to around 88 million people in 70 countries. The launch combines panel information from Kantar Profiles Division (formerly known as Lightspeed) with that from 28 additional organizations. More
Location intelligence tech company Ubimo has partnered with WPP's digital OOH ad network Kinetic, to provide real-time audience data for out-of-home campaigns. More
In New Zealand, Kantar has named Simon Munro Business Development Director, while Ian Wentworth moves to the post of Business Delivery Director and Stu Eagle is promoted to Technical Solutions Director. More
In Edinburgh, newly formed agency 56 Degree Insight has partnered with Kantar's omnibus team, to provide the local knowledge needed to ensure Kantar's Scottish Opinion Survey can continue. The new firm will also support Kantar's OnlineBus Scotland omnibus. More
WPP's Kantar division has appointed Rajani Athreya as HR Director, Insights & Country HR Services Leader for South Asia. She is based in Mumbai. More
Marcoms giant WPP has announced the formation of a not-for-profit, cross-industry organization called the Institute for Real Growth (IRG), to help Chief Marketing Officers and other senior business leaders drive more effective growth strategies. More
Kantar and content discovery platform Flipboard have partnered to offer brands a view into consumer engagement patterns across thousands of publishers and content creators. More
Bain Capital and Apollo Global Management LLC are among those moving into the next stage of bidding for Kantar, according to sources, quoted on Bloomberg; while private equity firms CVC Capital Partners and Apax Partners have dropped out. More
First quarter revenue less pass-through costs in WPP's Kantar (DIM) division was flat (up 0.1% like-for-like), while the rest of the marcoms group saw declines. Kantar, whose sale process is said to be 'progressing well', saw particularly strong growth in Asia Pacific, LatAm and the Middle East. More
WPP's data, insights and consulting company Kantar has appointed Microsoft exec Reed Cundiff as Chief Executive Officer, North America Region. He will join Kantar on May 1, replacing Wayne Levings, who is returning to the UK and continuing in his role as Head of Global Clients. More
Kantar has partnered with eCommerce performance analytics firm Profitero to create a suite of services to help clients manage their eCommerce and omnichannel investments. More
In the UK, the Market Research Society (MRS) has partnered with Kantar to launch a report which explains how 'Intelligence Capital' can drive business growth. More
Kantar is dispensing with brands including TNS, Millward Brown, Lightspeed, Worldpanel and IMRB, and from 2nd April will deliver 'all services and offerings under the Kantar brand name'. More
Kantar Media has expanded its BARB Client Service team with the appointment of Leo Weir, Claire Mitchell and Emma Holden. The firm says this expansion reflects the increasing breadth of the BARB (Broadcasters' Audience Research Board) audience measurement programme. More
In the UK, marcoms giant WPP has appointed Microsoft UK CEO Cindy Rose as a Non-Executive Director on its Board. Her appointment will be effective from 1 April 2019, when she will serve as a member of the Audit Committee. More
Kantar is preparing to close its TNS office in Edinburgh by the end of the month, as part of its review of 'strategic priorities'; but two of its former directors, Jim Eccleston and Duncan Stewart, have announced they will launch their own agency, 56 Degree Insight. More
Kantar has officially launched its 'Marketplace' on-demand research store, which combines a sample reaching 80 million consumers worldwide with the ability to deliver quick turnaround self-serve custom surveys, insight solutions and expert consulting. Will Galgey will lead it as CEO. More
WPP expects to announce a deal selling a majority stake in Kantar to an investor by the middle of the year, according to Chief Executive Mark Read. More
WPP has reported a 4.5% decline (1.8% in constant currency terms) in revenue for its Kantar data investment management (DIM) division, for the year 2018. Reported revenue was down from £2.7bn in 2017 to £2.56bn in 2018. More
Beth Ann Kaminkow, CEO of Kantar Consulting Americas, is moving across to WPP-owned sister agency Geometry as Global Chief Executive. She joins at the beginning of next month and replaces Steve Harding, who has decided to leave the business. More
WPP has hired Walmart exec Jacqui Canney as EVP, Global Chief People Officer, responsible for all aspects of employee strategy, including recruitment, talent management, leadership development and learning. She joins on June 1st and succeeds Mark Linaugh. More
Shopper behaviour specialist Kantar Worldpanel has partnered with research-based marketing consultancy Kantar MRB, to enhance the household panel running in Bangladesh since 2012. More
Kantar has named former InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) exec Kelley Baron as President of its North American qualitative practice. More
Kantar Media has partnered with media management software provider PRgloo, to provide access to the latter's cloud-based CRM platform and enable in-house communication teams to manage, record and analyse all aspects of their relations with journalists and influencers. More
Several private equity firms - including TPG, Apax, Bain Capital and Cinven - are considering making a bid to buy marcoms giant WPP's market research division Kantar, according to an article in yesterday's Sunday Times. More
TNS Australia's Chief Commercial Officer Alistair Leathwood has left the company to join consumer data giant IRI as Chief Commercial Officer (APAC), based in Sydney. More
WPP's specialist growth consultancy Kantar Consulting has opened a Retail, Sales & Shopper practice in Singapore, and has hired three new members for the team. More
WPP's Kantar has appointed Amy Cashman and Darren Bhattachary as Co-CEO's of its Kantar Insights Division, taking over from Will Galgey who has recently been named the division's Chief Operating Officer. More
In Brussels, WPP's government and public sector advisory business Kantar Public has appointed long-time Ecorys leader Roelof-Jan Molemaker as Chief Executive Officer Benelux. He will take up his role in March 2019. More
Erik du Plessis, former Chairman of Millward Brown South Africa and a pioneer in the field of neuroscience in advertising, died on Monday night after a long battle with cancer. He was 69 years old. More
Consumer goods giant Unilever has partnered with Kantar Media, Nielsen, Facebook, Google and Twitter to build a standardised cross-media brand measurement model. More
WPP's Kantar is launching an on-demand research and insights store called Kantar Marketplace, providing access to the company's portfolio of quick turnaround solutions. More
Shopper behaviour specialist Kantar Worldpanel has expanded its laptop and tablet consumer panel, to measure purchase and usage trends in the UK. More
Kantar CEO Eric Salama is said to be recovering well in hospital, his injuries 'neither life-changing nor life-threatening', after being stabbed 'near the heart' with an 'enormous knife' by a man attempting to steal his car in Kew, London on Sunday. More
In London, Kantar Media has appointed former Kantar Consulting exec Mark Inskip as UK and Ireland CEO, replacing Richard Poustie who stepped down from the role in November, to become MD Audience Intelligence UK. More
Shopper behaviour specialist Kantar Worldpanel has enhanced its FMCG consumer panel in Sri Lanka, expanding it to 4,500 households across the country. More
In Spain, Kantar Media has appointed former Nielsen MD Gustavo Nuñez as Chief Commercial Officer for the EMEA region. More
Kantar has moved James Brooks into a newly created role, Chief Operations Officer, while Scott Carter has been promoted to the position of Chief HR Officer. Both join the Kantar Board. More
WPP has hired long-time Digitas exec Laurent Ezekiel for a newly created role, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer, as part of its recently announced three-year turnaround plan. More
Kantar TNS has promoted Rowena Guerin to the position of Managing Director of its office in Myanmar. She will replace Jason Copeland, who is returning home to Australia at the end of the year. More
Pollsters predicted the correct outcome of every major national election held in 2017, according to research conducted by Kantar. More
Kantar has appointed Katie McClintock as Chief Executive Officer of its Insights division in Singapore - comprising Kantar TNS and Kantar Millward Brown. She will take up the position in January, replacing Nichola Rastrick who is leaving the business. More
Pakistan's recently established Broadcasters and Advertisers Council (BAC) has extended its official TV ratings deal with Medialogic until at least December 2021. Working with Kantar Media, the firm will expand its panel to cover urban and semi-urban Pakistan with 1,800 households in more than 40 cities. More
WPP's data investment management (DIM) arm Kantar has been accused of holding back payments to suppliers, in a bid to artificially boost its balance sheet in the fourth quarter. More
In New York, Kantar TNS has hired former Nielsen exec Rob Wengel to lead its Client Development team and Innovation practice in North America. More
WPP's Data Investment Management (DIM) arm has seen third quarter like-for-like revenue fall 2.9%. CEO Sir Martin Sorrell admitted to investors that it had been a 'tough quarter' as the group predicts a 'broadly flat' 2017. More
In New Zealand, sister agencies Colmar Brunton and Kantar TNS have moved into newly built premises on Sale Street in the Auckland central business district (CBD). The agencies will remain separate, but will come together to collaborate when required. More
Online competitive intelligence provider Hitwise has partnered with Kantar Media to enable marketers to combine data on their audiences' opinions and attitudes with their search and web site visiting behaviour. More
Kantar has been awarded the contract to provide television viewing ratings in Uzbekistan. More
Shopper insights firm Kantar Worldpanel has launched a household panel in the United Arab Emirates, driven by a mobile application. More
Kantar IBOPE Media is to launch its measurement tool for time-shift viewing and video-on-demand (VOD) platforms in Argentina - a first for Latin America. More
Kantar Media has teamed up with software firm TechEdge to create a dedicated audience analytics software unit, focused on bringing innovative products to market. Andreas Velter will lead the new business, reporting to Kantar Media CEO & Chairman Andy Brown. More
Media group Dentsu Aegis Network has signed a two-year licence to use YouGov's segmentation and media planning tool Profiles for its audience understanding, strategy and activation needs. The group previously used Kantar TGI. More
In London, Kantar Public has appointed Grant Fitzner as UK Chief Executive Officer and Michael Davis as Global Chief Operating Officer. More
In the UK, Kantar has launched Worldpanel Plus, promising its 'biggest sample yet' of smartphone users providing insight into their shopping motives and behaviour. More
WPP-owned digital data collection specialist Lightspeed has appointed Angie French as Chief Executive Officer, EMEA. She will join on 1st November, taking over from Caroline Frankum who was promoted to Global CEO in April. More
Kantar has named Karin Du Chenne as CEO of Insights in South Africa; Stephany Brewer as Chief Client Officer of Insights in Africa and the Middle East; Noeraan Hendricks as Transformation Director; and Gisela Seeley as Country Leader for Kantar Media South Africa. More
Kantar Media's purchase of Irish company Newsaccess has been cleared by the country's Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), following an extensive investigation and with Kantar required to make divestments and contract changes. More
WPP has slashed its full-year growth forecast for revenues and net sales to between zero and 1%, as clients cut their marketing budgets. For the second quarter, like-for-like revenue in the Data Investment Management (DIM) division fell 4.6% to £669m. More
Kantar has announced that Richard Ingleton will take over the role of Chief Executive Officer of its Insights Division, from Travyn Rhall who will be leaving the business in November. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment about Rhall's next career move. More
Lightspeed has launched the 'Gravity Network', a partnership arrangement between selected data companies to provide 'a vastly larger pool than traditionally sourced Double Opt-In (DOI) research panels alone'. Partners in the network include Cint, Lucid, Tap Research, P2Sample and Dalia. More
Kantar Media is to integrate Facebook data into its Twitter TV Ratings tool, which will be renamed the Kantar Social TV Ratings tool. More
WPP-owned digital data collection specialist Lightspeed has hired Christine Clark for a newly created position, Senior Vice President, Americas Sales. More
UK-based video insight specialist Voxpopme has partnered with Kantar to provide the latter's clients with access to its video feedback tools. More
WPP-owned digital data collection specialist Lightspeed has been granted a US patent for its 'Honesty Detector' online respondent validation product. More
Kantar Media has expanded its cross-platform ad intelligence capabilities with the addition of programmatic advertising data, initially available in the US and with roll-out planned for other key markets. More
Kantar has launched a new service integrating consumer insights and behavioral data from across its portfolio with shopper and media data, allowing clients to 'fully leverage the studies they run with Kantar for targeting purposes'. More
In the Republic of Ireland, PR industry body the PRII has asked competition regulators to intervene in Kantar Media's acquisition of family-owned Newsaccess, and compel the WPP firm to divest part of its Irish business. More
comScore has expanded its MMX Multi-Platform measurement and upgraded its Mobile Metrix offer, in both Germany and China - the latter in partnership with Kantar JV CTR Market Research. More
WPP-owned digital data collection specialist Lightspeed has partnered with youth media and broadcast company VICE Media to launch a panel called VICE Voices, through which to capture the opinions of US millennials and understand what drives their attitudes and behavior. More
In London, WPP digital data collection arm Lightspeed has promoted Leon De Koning to the newly created role of VP, Client Sales EMEA, overseeing strategic account planning and client services, and expanding the business development team. He will also oversee three new EMEA vertical divisions. More
In the US, WPP's advertising, marcoms, media and brand equity research specialist Kantar Millward Brown, has partnered with TV insights firm Samba TV, to launch what the pair describe as the 'most precise single-source measurement solution for television advertising effectiveness'. More
In the US, MFour Mobile Research and Kantar Added Value have partnered to launch a mobile ad testing solution for Facebook and other social media sites. More
Kantar Media has partnered with sports sponsorship intelligence provider Hookit, to provide social and digital media measurement capabilities for the sports industry. More
In the US, Kantar Health has partnered with tech giant Nokia to develop a longitudinal cohort study, to improve understanding of the impact of 'lifestyle therapy' on diabetes treatment and patient outcomes. More
Kantar TNS has promoted James Brown to the role of Executive Director, responsible for leading the business in Melbourne, Australia. More
Kantar Millward Brown has partnered with location data specialist Cuebiq, to create a new tool that helps marketers measure the off-line ROI of their advertising. More
WPP-owned growth and business strategy consulting firm Kantar Futures is launching a programme focusing all its analytical efforts on the topic of 'the future of consumption'. More
In Shanghai, former Kantar TNS exec Lynn Zhang has returned to the firm as Managing Director for China. More
WPP has reported a flat quarter, with group like-for-like revenue up 0.2%. In the Data Investment Management division, Kantar, like-for-like revenue once again trailed the rest of the group, down 3.4%, despite strong growth in net sales in the UK, Latin America and Africa. More
In the Philippines, Kantar Media has promoted Jay Bautista to the role of Managing Director, based in Manila. More
In the US, Kantar Public has appointed Susan Gigli as Global Director for International Development, based in its Washington DC office. She has also been appointed to the Kantar Public Global Board. More
Kantar TNS has launched a new concept test product called eValuateNow, on the ZappiStore research automation platform. More
Kantar Media and local audience data provider Eyeota have extended their TGI-based segmentation partnership to Germany and France. More
The Hong Kong TAM Founding Subscribers Committee (FSC) has awarded CSM Media Research the contract for the provision of TV ratings in Hong Kong, from January 2018 until 2023. The company is a joint venture between Kantar Media and CTR. More
In the US, Kantar Worldpanel's ad analytics and insight division Shopcom has teamed up with consumer purchasing analyst Affinity Solutions, to help clients predict spend predictions, measure overall sales lift and gauge revenue impact in-store and through online channels. More
In New York, Kantar has appointed former Affectiva CEO Nick Langeveld as EVP, Strategic Alliances, responsible for identifying, structuring and managing partnerships across the US. More
Kantar Millward Brown has appointed Pablo Gómez Martínez as Head of Media for Asia Pacific. He rejoins the firm to take up the Singapore-based role in May. More
WPP-owned digital data collection specialist Lightspeed has promoted Caroline Frankum to Chief Executive Officer, replacing David Day who is leaving for a role in the UK Foreign Office. Nick Nyhan becomes Chairman. More
Marcoms giant WPP has reported like-for-like falls in revenue for its Data Investment Management (DIM) arm Kantar, of 1.6% in the fourth quarter and 0.9% for the full year. However like-for-like net sales, which WPP has long said are a better indicator, rose 1.5% and 0.9% respectively. More
WPP-owned digital data collection firm Lightspeed has partnered with emotion measurement specialist Affectiva, to analyse its panellists' reactions to ads via their facial expressions. More
Link, the long-established ad copy testing solution developed by Kantar Millward Brown, has completed an audit by the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB), recognised in the industry for assessing connections between marketing activities, metrics and financial performance. More
In London, WPP insight arm Kantar has appointed former SABMiller Global Insights Director Julie Kollman as Chief Research Officer. She takes up her new post on 27th February. More
UK audience research body BARB has awarded its Dovetail Fusion cross-screen measurement contract to Kantar Media. The body began testing options from Kantar and Nielsen in late 2015. More
Lightspeed's QuestionArts team has announced a range of product enhancements under the banner of Intelligent Components. More
Kantar TNS has hired Caterpillar's former consumer insights exec Stephane Sanchez as Regional Head of Customer Strategies, Asia Pacific. He will take up his new role, based in Singapore, next month. More
In the UK, WPP-owned Lightspeed Health has promoted Mary Andrews to the role of Senior Vice President, Global Operations. More
WPP's government and public sector advisory business Kantar Public has opened an office in Singapore, where it has appointed Sandra Lim as Executive Director. More
WPP digital data collection specialist Lightspeed has extended its AmplifyR Appends data service to the UK, France, Germany and The Netherlands. More
In the US, cookie-less audience measurement specialist Tru Optik has partnered with Kantar Millward Brown, to help advertisers attribute brand sales to OTT ad campaigns. More
Kantar Media has acquired Dublin-based media monitoring specialist Newsaccess, for an undisclosed sum. More
Kantar is to roll out its Twitter TV Ratings service in Argentina and Colombia, from this week, giving clients there a variety of metrics on social media activity related to TV shows, events coverage and free-to-air networks. Launch in Peru should follow 'before the summer'. More
In the US, a judge has ruled that TiVo Research and Analytics cannot seek damages over claims that Kantar Media Audiences stole trade secrets relating to TiVo's audience/shopping data matching solution. More
Shopper behavior specialist Kantar Worldpanel has extended its out-of-home food and drink purchase and consumption panels to France, Brazil, Mexico and Thailand. More
Former comScore exec Manish Bhatia has joined Kantar Media as Chief Executive Officer of its North American business. More
Turkish TV audience measurement organisation TIAK Aª has awarded incumbent Kantar Media the contract to deliver official TV trading currency until at least 2020, with the option to extend until 2022. More
In the US, native advertising platform Sharethrough has partnered with Millward Brown to develop tools which will help analyse the impact of native ad campaigns, especially on mobile devices. More
Kantar TNS was one of the big winners at last night's MRS Awards, taking home the Grand Prix for Greatest Impact; the MRS/BIG Award for B2B Research, alongside digital data collection arm Lightspeed; and the awards for New Consumer Insights and Social Media Research (the latter with Unilever). More
Kantar Retail is partnering with Peopleway, a firm specialising in helping clients to measure and continuously improve the business impact of their people development activities. More
Netherlands online publisher group VINEX has awarded Kantar Media a contract to deliver a new 5,000-strong panel for Internet audience measurement, replacing a previous service operated by GfK. More
In the US, comScore is retiring its PRO online measurement service (previously known as Compete PRO), and partnering with digital intelligence specialist SimilarWeb to offer the latter's competitive intelligence platform to existing PRO clients. More
Shopper behaviour division Kantar Worldpanel has launched a consumer panel in the Ivory Coast - its fifth African panel after launches in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Egypt. More
WPP-owned digital data collection specialist Lightspeed has promoted Andrew Van Wezel to Vice President of Operations and Simon Buckley to Vice President of Sales, both within EMEA. More
Kantar Health has launched a new big data platform to help clients spot oncology drug opportunities and understand the competitive landscape. Web-based CancerLandscape lets users review more than 2,000 cancer drugs covering more than 175 tumor types. More
Kantar Media has unveiled a new cross-platform ad intelligence offering, including significantly enhanced digital monitoring to help advertising buyers and sellers analyze opportunities across channels in a more 'integrated and holistic manner'. More
Kantar-owned agency Lightspeed has launched eight research products in Asia, combining its proprietary fieldwork and panel management expertise with emerging technology offers from partner companies. More
In Germany, Kantar TNS veteran Peter Pirner has added the role of Head of Digital to his existing role as Practice Head, Customer Strategies. He replaces Dirk Steffen, who has taken up the role of Global Account Director for Google, at Kantar in Silicon Valley. More
Recently unveiled Kantar Public has launched a new research centre, bringing together a pan-European team of researchers with expertise in political and opinion polling, social and economic trends, and migration. More
Kantar Retail and Kantar TNS have partnered to launch an insights solution called the Canadian ShopperSpective, tracking shopper behavior and preferences in the Canadian retail market. More
Newly announced Kantar Public is to open a Behaviour Change Academy in Sydney early next year, and in Amsterdam in the spring. The new venture will be led by long-time TNS exec Kathy O'Donoghue. More
WPP's Kantar has unveiled a new global operating brand, pooling expertise to offer advice on the delivery of public policy, services and communications. More
WPP's healthcare panel and patient community solutions provider Lightspeed All Global has appointed industry veteran Jennifer Carrea as Chief Executive Officer. She also joins the Lightspeed Board of Directors. More
Shopper insight specialist Kantar Retail has partnered with eye tracking firm SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI), to create a virtual shopping experience that provides shopper data via a controlled environment. More
WPP-owned digital data collection specialist Lightspeed has rolled out ten new capabilities in the Australian market, combining emerging MR technologies such as facial coding and social media intelligence with its proprietary fieldwork and panel management expertise. More
WPP's data investment management division Kantar has re-branded its twelve operating businesses with a unifying prefix, for example 'Kantar TNS' and 'Kantar Millward Brown'. The exception is digital data collection specialist Lightspeed GMI, which now reverts to its original name Lightspeed. More
Kantar Media has promoted Steve Passwaiter to the role of Vice President and General Manager of its political ad monitoring unit Campaign Media Analysis Group (CMAG), based in Washington DC. He succeeds Elizabeth Wilner, who has left to join Airbnb as Managing Editor for Policy. More
Kantar's TNS Gallup team will continue to provide TV ratings for Norway for at least another seven years, after the firm won a competitive pitch against Ipsos. The new contract, running initially from 2018 to 2023, is billed by the partners as 'the most advanced hybrid model for TV and video measurement yet seen in the world'. More
WPP has reported Q2 revenue of £3.46bn, up 3.5% in like-for-like (LFL) terms. Net sales, the group's preferred measure, rose 4.3% on the same basis. As in previous quarters data investment management (DIM) lagged other divisions, with LFL revenue down -0.4% and net sales up 2.0%. More
Marcomms giant WPP has resumed its buying of comScore stock, with the purchase of a further 120,000 at c.$26 apiece last week. The measurement firm's share price has dropped by a third since January this year. More
WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell has once again topped the High Pay Centre index of FTSE 100 chief executives, after his remuneration package soared from £43m in 2014 to £70.4m. More
Around seventy staff are expected to lose their jobs at Boston-based web analyst Compete Inc., according to a statement from the company. More
In London, Kantar Media has updated its real-time ratings capabilities with new features to make it easier for broadcasters to interpret and analyse audience data on their smartphones, tablets and PCs, and to assess how programmes are being received by the audience. More
Kantar Health is expanding its presence in Israel, where it has named Kobi Sharon as Vice President, Client Consulting. The move reflects rapid growth in the country's hi-tech life sciences industry. More
In London, Kantar public sector division TNS BMRB has appointed YouthSight's former Director of Higher Education Research James MacGregor as a Director in its Qualitative team. More
WPP has acquired French consumer data specialist Conexance for an undisclosed sum, as it seeks to expand in continental Europe in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the European Union. More
Kantar has expanded to Iran through a partnership with Tehran-based full service agency Rahbar Bazaar. More
Shopper behaviour division Kantar Worldpanel has formed a global partnership with Facebook, integrating the latter's data on mobile ad exposure data with the former's Consumer Mix Model (CMM) service. More
Netherlands TV industry body Stichting KijkOnderzoek (SKO) and Kantar Media have rolled out what they describe as the 'first TV currency in the world' to deliver reach and GRPs (gross ratings points) for ad campaigns and commercials across all screens. More
Boston, MA-based Netra, Inc. has closed $1.85m in Series Seed financing, and has announced an agreement to license its IRIS image analysis software to Kantar. More
In a trading update, WPP says its Data Investment Management division Kantar returned to like-for-like growth in April, after a flat first quarter. Net sales were up 5.8 percent at constant currency, or 0.3 percent like-for-like. For the Group as a whole, the comparable figure was 3.1 percent. More
Audience research agencies GeoPoll, Kantar Media and Cuende have launched a product called 'Pan-African OOH', providing a regular measure of out-of-home (OOH) media consumption across the continent. More
In New York, Kantar Health has launched a mobile survey app that collects qual and quant insights from patients, to enable researchers to understand the associations between daily disease-related experiences and health-related outcomes. More
In Sydney, WPP AUNZ has appointed former Kantar Australia/New Zealand CEO Ben Dixon for the newly created role of CEO Data Investment Management. The business has also moved former Ogilvy PR Australia CEO Kieran Moore to CEO Public Relations and Public Affairs. More
Not-for-profit networking organization Women in Research (WIRe) has appointed Market Research Society CEO Jane Frost and Kantar Group CEO Eric Salama as new members of its Advisory Board. More
WPP digital data collection firm Lightspeed Group has hired former Hall & Partners EMEA CEO Caroline Frankum with the same title, plus a seat on the Board. She will replace Martin Filtz, who moved into the post of CEO, Asia Pacific in January. More
Kantar Retail has transferred Cédric Guyot to the CEO role in its Virtual Reality unit, replacing Jeremy Cohen who moves into the role of CEO Kantar Retail Europe. More
Kantar Health has appointed former Double Helix exec Diana Tan as General Manager, China, with a remit to introduce new approaches to physician and patient insights, based on the firm's proprietary digital and mobile methods. More
Kantar has entered into a partnership with Google Consumer Surveys, whose panels it will 'validate' by monitoring their accuracy, responsiveness and representativeness. More
comScore and media measurement specialist Kantar Media IBOPE have partnered to launch a series of cross-platform solutions in Latin America. More
Kantar and comScore have extended their behavioral data partnership to North America, in a deal which includes the transfer of a number of Millward Brown staff to comScore. More
WPP has reported first quarter revenue of £3.076bn, up 5.1% in like-for-like terms. Net sales - its preferred measure - rose 3.2%. As in recent quarters however, insight division Kantar performed less well than other units, with like-for-like revenue and net sales figures flat (up 0.5% and down 0.1% respectively). More
WPP digital data collection firm Lightspeed GMI has signed a multi-year panel building and maintenance contract with comScore, and hired Chris Fabber to lead it. The resulting 'Total Home Panel' will provide comScore with a window on cross-device Internet traffic in US households. More
In the UK, WPP firms Millward Brown and Kantar Worldpanel have partnered to develop a new solution called Sales Insights, which allows clients to evaluate digital marketing campaigns simultaneously on two measures: brand uplift and actual sales. More
Kantar Media has today announced a partnership with local audience data provider Eyeota. Beginning in the UK, the deal will give advertisers and media buyers access to pre-defined segments built from the research firm's TGI consumer and media study, for use in online ad targeting. More
WPP is linking the panels and other data sources of its Kantar / DIM division with the expertise and planning tools of its GroupM media investment management division, to launch LIVE Panel. The new consumer and media insight solution will help advertisers develop and measure 'precise and targeted' media plans. More
Kantar Media has enhanced its TGI Clickstream study with the addition of metered consumer mobile behaviour, including phones and tablets. More
WPP has reported total 2015 revenue up 5.3% on a like-for-like basis, with headline EBITDA of £2.002bn, up 7.7% at constant currency. Revenue in pounds was up 6.1% to £12.235 bn. The insight-focused 'data investment management' division (DIM) remained flat for the year, although slightly improved in Q4. More
Kantar has chosen Cross-Tab Group to be its outsourcing partner in India, in a four-year deal worth up to $25m. Ashwin Mittal, Cross-Tab Group President, described the contract as a 'significant milestone' in the firm's fifteen-year history. More
Millward Brown has agreed to acquire the business operations of marketing analytics company Analytics Quotient (AQ), which employs around 400 people and offers both data visualization tools and custom analytics solutions. More
Kantar Health has partnered with mobile survey tech firm Lumi to launch an app through which to conduct short surveys, collect picture and video content, and passively collect biometric and activity data from a wide range of mHealth (mobile health) and wearable devices. More
In India, TV rating body BARC and Nielsen/Kantar joint venture TAM India have formally launched their meter management company, Meterology Data Pvt Ltd. (MDL). BARC will have full control with a 51 percent stake in MDL, while TAM India will own 49 percent. More
Kantar has moved Adrian Gonzalez into a broader group role in charge of its Consumer Insights businesses - he was previously CEO of Millward Brown's Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific (AMAP) region. TNS APAC CEO Chris Riquier is among those leaving the business in the restructure. More
Data science and media tech firm 4C has hooked up with Kantar Media to launch a cross-screen solution which enables political advertisers to target messages to their key voters. More
Research industry body ESOMAR has teamed up with Kantar, comScore, GfK and Nielsen to launch an initiative called 'Research Choices', which aims to help the general public understand how their data is used for audience measurement research. More
Kantar Health has promoted Michel Murino to the newly created role of Chief Executive Officer for Europe. More
Netherlands TV industry body Stichting KijkOnderzoek (SKO) has announced that it is now working with data scientists from Kantar Media to deliver daily online TV ratings to the market. More
In Germany, Kantar-owned media research specialist TNS Infratest has moved former MD Dirk Steffen to the newly created position of Chief Digital Officer, and promoted company veteran Oliver Ecke to replace him. More
Kantar has acquired a majority stake in its partner in Denmark and Sweden, Millward Brown Denmark ApS, which has been a Millward Brown licensee since 1997. More
WPP has continued its large-scale purchase of comScore stock, adding around $7.2m worth in three purchases since the morning of 24th December. More
Long-time Kantar Media employee Nick Burfitt has re-located from London to Singapore, to serve as Managing Director for Asia Pacific. He takes charge of the firm's recently awarded contract to supply multi-platform TV ratings in Thailand. More
In Thailand, the Media Research Development Association has awarded Kantar Media a five-year contract to deliver the official multi-platform TV ratings for the country. The tender process also included GfK and Video Research. More
Kantar Health has acquired CEEOR, a specialist research and consulting company in the Czech Republic specialising in analytical services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare industries. More
The Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) has commissioned mobile survey specialist GeoPoll to provide media data to its members, who include TV, radio and web broadcasters across the country. More
New York-based mobile ad targeting specialist 4INFO has partnered with WPP's Kantar Shopcom to enable SKU-level targeting for retailers across more than fifteen categories. More
In the US, healthcare data provider CentraForce Health has partnered with Nielsen Scarborough and Kantar Media to add further patient-centric insights to its health intelligence platform. More
UK TV audience research body BARB has agreed 'fusion projects' with Kantar Media and Nielsen for its Project Dovetail initiative, which will combine panel data with census data for TV viewing through all computer devices. More
Czech Republic ratings body the Association of TV Organisations (ATO) has chosen Kantar Media and comScore to deliver a cross-platform measurement pilot of TV and video content. More
Kantar Media and TNS Gallup have won a continuation of their contract to provide the currency for measurement of TV audiences in Denmark. The new deal will run for five years from 2017, with the option to extend until 2024. More
WPP has reported like-for-like revenue up 4.6% for Q3 2015. The insight division, known as 'Data Investment Management', was among those 'improving versus the second quarter' but once again was the only one to report a slight decline in revenue. More
Ipsos MORI has appointed nineteen-year Kantar veteran Jeremy May as Senior Director in its face-to-face fieldwork operation. More
The hearing of Kantar Market Research Services' appeal against Indian government guidelines effectively banning its TAM joint venture with Nielsen has been postponed yet again, this time to February 9th 2016. More
Kantar Media has added brand social media engagement metrics to its advertising intelligence solutions in the US, to give clients 'a holistic view of brand messages and activity' across all types of media. More
Digital measurement specialist comScore has rolled out its syndicated Mobile Metrix solution in Indonesia, where it is also jointly developing mobile panels with Kantar. More
Kantar has added sentiment analysis to its Twitter TV ratings dashboard service 'Instar Social', to uncover further insights into the conversations taking place about TV programmes on Twitter. More
Kantar has moved Efrain Ribeiro into the role of company-wide Chief Research Officer, replacing Renee Smith who is leaving to join Colorado-based research company GutCheck (see today's DRNO). Ribeiro will take up the new role on November 1st. More
Former Kantar CRO Renee Smith has joined on-demand online community specialist GutCheck as Chief Research Officer. She will take up the role on October 19th. More
Online research 'app store' platform ZappiStore has appointed former Lightspeed GMI exec Roxan Toll as Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing in Singapore; while Eileen Rozic joins in the US as Vice President of Sales, West Coast. More
US-based business information and analysis specialist Neustar has partnered with Kantar Shopcom, to help marketers measure the impact of their off-line and online marketing initiatives. More
Latin American media measurement specialist IBOPE Media is to be rebranded in the region as Kantar IBOPE Media, following the WPP division's recent investment. More
Nearly two decades on from its US launch, Kantar Retail has rolled out its PoweRanking study in the UK. The study probes manufacturers' views of the major retail chains, and flags up key areas for performance improvement. More
In India, IMRB International has appointed marketer K Ramkrishnan as General Manager of its IMRB | Kantar Worldpanel business. More
WPP has reported that revenue in its Data Investment Management (DIM) arm fell slightly (0.3%) to £1.173bn during the first half of the year, from £1.176bn in last year's first six months; while DIM headline profit before tax rose 11.7% to £100.6m from £88.1m a year earlier. More
WPP-owned digital research specialist Lightspeed GMI has opened an office in Gurgaon, India, with a team led by Ashish Pandey, Client Development Manager and Siddhartha Dutta, General Manager. More
Partners Kantar Media and mobile survey platform GeoPoll have announced the launch of a joint service bringing 'reliable, real-time audience measurement' to a swathe of African states. The service is currently available across Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. More
Kantar Health has partnered with Tel Aviv-based technology company Data2Life, to mine big data sources and deliver better information on drug safety. More
'Tis only a rumour at this stage, but an Indian online publication suggests that long-time rating agency and Nielsen / Kantar joint venture TAM Media Research is talking to new audience body BARC about a 'merger' - which considering their previous relations would be some turnaround. More
WPP's digital data collection arm Lightspeed GMI has appointed Susanne Goller and Johannes Van Lochem as Key Account Directors in its London office. More
WPP's Kantar Media has acquired a stake in digital media intelligence specialist BIScience, which specialises in cross-channel and global digital media monitoring, planning and optimization. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
UK audience research body BARB has announced that the beta version of its TV Player Report will be released in September, to provide official figures on the level of viewing of on-demand and live-streamed content through online TV Player apps. More
Mobile and technology panel division Kantar Worldpanel ComTech has launched a new consumer panel in India, consisting of more than 20,000 individual members and said to represent more than five hundred million people. More
WPP-owned Kantar is consolidating its activities in Israel by transferring Millward Brown's country license to TNS. The group says this will help it expand its presence in the market and provide better service both for local and global clients. More
Kantar Media has launched an app called 'TGI Target Snapshot', to enable agency execs to access and understand insights into a range of consumer behaviour, including brand usage, consumption levels, shopper type, demographics and media consumption. More
In London, Kantar Media has hired Nathalie Zimmerman-Nénon for the newly created position of Managing Director of its global sports business. More
In the Netherlands, online publishing industry group VINEX and its partner Stichting KijkOnderzoek, (SKO) the body responsible for the reporting and monitoring of viewing behaviour, have expanded their contract with Kantar Media to include measurement of all online viewing behaviour. More
Kantar Media has launched a tool called TGI Digital Planner, which taps into off- and online behavioural data from its TGI consumer insight study, to help identify the most appropriate target for advertisers. More
Luca Belloni, a twenty-year veteran of Millward Brown Italy and currently the firm's Managing Director, is to move to the position of Chairman of Kantar Italy from 1st July. More
A number of research organisations have come together to lead a new industry initiative called 'Insights 2020 - Driving Customer-Centric Growth', with the aim of studying the future of market research, insights and analytics strategy, structure and capability. More
WPP sister agencies TNS and Kantar Media have partnered with emerging markets mobile survey platform GeoPoll, to deploy a new range of research products and services across Africa. More
Indian TV audience measurement body BARC has launched its measurement service, and rolled out the first set of results. More
Sir Martin Sorrell, the CEO of marcoms giant WPP, received a 44% increase in 2014 pay, bringing his salary package to almost £43m. This makes Sorrell the highest-paid FTSE 100 CEO, with a pay package more than twice the size of the second highest earner*. More
Kantar Media has launched a solution to help clients promote media inventory, using insights from its TGI consumer study. More
comScore and Kantar Media are rolling out their first joint offering for cross-media audience measurement, to key clients. More
WPP has reported like-for-like first quarter revenue growth across all its business sectors except for the Data Investment Management (DIM) division, where revenue fell 1.4% to £558m from £566m in the prior year period. More
WPP's Data Alliance practice and Facebook have linked up, to provide the former's clients with access to new data-driven personalization solutions across the latter's networking platform. More
In India, broadcast audience measurement body BARC has appointed Dr Sumit Chowdhury as Technical Advisor, as it prepares for the launch its new audience measurement system next month. More
Kantar Worldpanel has increased the size of its panel in Saudi Arabia from 2,000 to 3,000 households. More
In London, Kantar public sector division TNS BMRB has promoted Bruce Hayward to the position of Head of Research. More
WPP has announced preliminary results for 2014 including like-for-like revenue up 8.2%, like-for-like net sales up 3.3%, and good profits - EBITDA grew 7.5% at constant currency. However like-for-like revenue in the firm's insight or 'Data Investment Management' division (DIM) was up just 0.6%. More
In the US, Kantar Shopcom has teamed up with retail data giant IRI to create a portfolio of solutions for all-outlet, multi-channel media planning, targeting and measurement, based on a traceable view of more than 95% of total US consumer packaged goods spending. More
In London, Kantar public sector division TNS BMRB has promoted Ben Toombs to the role of Head of Qualitative and Communications Research, while making Caitlin Connors his deputy. More
In London, Kantar public sector division TNS BMRB has promoted Mark Peters to the position of Managing Director, and Sarah Cheesbrough to Head of Policy. More
The Israeli Audience Research Board (IARB) has extended Kantar Media's contract for television measurement until 2019. More
The BBC's weather forecasts have come on quite a bit since they stopped putting magnets on their maps 30 years ago this week, Eric Salama told IIeX Europe this afternoon. Our own industry needs to change as well, but the Kantar CEO only gives it five years. DRNO's Nick Thomas reports. More
Five months on from its last adjournment and more than a year after the announcement which triggered it, Kantar Media Research's appeal against Indian government guidelines affecting its TAM TV audience measurement service has been postponed once more, this time until May 12th. More
In a deal with some similarities to the recent US tie-in with Rentrak, WPP is to take a 15% to 20% stake in comScore through its Kantar data and insight arm, while comScore acquires a number of Kantar assets in Europe. More
Kantar Worldpanel has launched an out-of-home (OoH) panel in China, to gather data about consumer purchasing and consumption of snacks and beverages across the country. More
In the UK, Sainsbury's veteran Kirstin Knight has joined Kantar Worldpanel, to manage the Grocery Retail division. More
Kantar Media has extended its contract providing TV audience measurement in Romania, until the end of 2019. The win follows a competitive tender process by ARMA, the country's television joint industry committee, and comes three years to the month after the current contract began. More
Film and television measurement specialist Rentrak has partnered with Kantar's data integration, analytics and insights division Kantar Shopcom, to integrate retail purchase data with TV viewing information. More
In London, Kantar Media has hired former BBC director Margo Swadley for the new role of Managing Director, UK TV & Video Measurement. More
WPP's Kantar has acquired the majority interest in IBOPE Media, which comprises IBOPE Pesquisa de Midia e Participações, IBOPE Latinoamericana, and IMI.com. It has also bought the remainder of Millward Brown do Brasil and a minority share in IBOPE's political and social subsidiary. More
Kantar has announced that Mark Inskip, will take the role of Global CEO of its consulting business The Futures Company, from February. He replaces Will Galgey who is moving to the role of CEO of TNS UK. More
Kantar Media and CSM Media Research - a joint venture firm between CTR Market Research and Kantar Media - have partnered with Hong Kong's largest TV broadcaster Now TV, to roll out the region's first cross-platform television audience measurement system using return path data (RPD) technology. More
Kantar Media has launched its Twitter TV Ratings service in Spain. The move follows the UK launch of the tool in October and the acquisition of Barcelona-based TV and social media analytics agency The Data Republic in April. More
Multi-screen measurement specialist Rentrak has completed its acquisition of the US-based TV measurement assets of Kantar Media, in an all-stock deal worth about $128m - c.$30m more than was initially anticipated. More
In the UK, Kantar Media has admitted to a problem with its published BARB viewing data for July-September, requiring it to reissue certain audience data files. More
UK TV broadcaster Channel 4 has identified a new demographic it calls the 'Proactives', an audience segment said to have more money, more influence and a higher propensity to trial. More
US start-up agency Mizzouri has hired Procter & Gamble veteran Kim Dedeker as Principal and Chief Research Officer. More
UK audience research body BARB has extended Kantar Media's TV measurement panel contract and RSMB's contract for survey design and methodology until the end of 2018. The organisation will also combine two of its main research contracts from January 2016. More
Marketing services network WPP has reported a slower than expected 3.1% rise in third quarter revenue to £2.76bn. Reported revenue in its Data Investment Management division fell 4.7% to £588m, but allowing for currency effects and acquisitions, like-for-like revenue growth was 0.5%. More
Kantar Retail has invested an undisclosed sum in Paris-based image recognition tech company Planorama Group. More
In London, Kantar Media has appointed Alex Kuhnel as Chief Operating Officer of its TGI global online / off-line consumer behaviour and media consumption study. More
In the UK, Kantar Health has recruited five new members of staff for its Epsom, Surrey-based team, including former TNS exec Hazel Haskayne as Group Director. More
Kantar Media has agreed to acquire the audio watermarking unit of digital tech firm Civolution, whose products are used by broadcast channels across the world to track their media content and audiences. Financial details were not disclosed. More
Film and television measurement specialist Rentrak is to acquire the US TV measurement business of WPP's Kantar Media for $98m in Rentrak common stock. WPP will then spend a further $56m to bring its overall share of the US-based firm to 16.7%. The deal gives WPP's GroupM agencies full access to Rentrak audience data. More
Kantar Media is to provide a proprietary audience measurement service for Malaysian Pay TV and radio group Astro. Launched next year, the new service will make use of Kantar Worldpanel's Malaysian household FMCG panel. More
Kantar's telecoms purchasing and usage trend analysis division, Worldpanel ComTech has launched a new consumer panel in Russia; and has announced it is increasing its panel in China by 50% to 22,000 individuals. More
Kantar Media says it will launch the UK's first official metric for measuring Twitter TV audience engagement in mid-October. More
WPP division Kantar Health has acquired Brazilian healthcare research company Evidências, for an undisclosed sum. More
Multi-screen measurement company Specific Media has added Kantar Media and Rentrak set top box (STB) data to its TV Audience Segments (TVAS) solution, to help advertisers with their audience targeting. More
Millward Brown has promoted Doreen Wang to the role of Global Head of BrandZ, its high profile brand equity measure. More
UK television audience body BARB has announced the launch of a new measurement technique, developed with Kantar Media, for panellists' viewing on iPad and Android tablets. More
Kantar has partnered with US non-profit agency disABILITYincites to create what is described as the country's largest panel of consumers with disabilities. More
WPP's data investment management division (DIM) has reported Q2 net sales of £436m and revenue of £611m, the latter up 2.6% in like-for-like terms but well below the overall group growth of 10.2%. More
Audience research specialist Kantar Media has appointed Carlos Sanchez for a newly created role, Director of Social TV. More
UK based consultancy The Futures Company is opening an office in Shanghai, its second Asia-Pacific location after Singapore - and appointed former Ogilvy & Mather exec Kunal Sinha to lead it. More
Slovakian TV audience measurement steering committee PMT has renewed its contract with Kantar Media for the provision of audience measurement services. Kantar-owned TNS will manage the service until 2021. More
In London, Kantar has invested an undisclosed amount in self-service online research 'app store' platform ZappiStore. More
WPP, Kantar and TRA have jointly agreed not to go to court over the last outstanding claim in their three-year legal wrangle. A case which began with allegations of stealing trade secrets and deterring potential investors was concluded with the payment of one dollar in nominal damages over breach of contract. More
Kantar Worldpanel has added to its new presence in Africa with the launch of a consumer panel in Egypt, covering both urban and rural areas and with the first data available in January 2015. More
The High Court in Delhi has once again adjourned Kantar Media Research's appeal against new government guidelines imposed on its TAM TV audience measurement service. The case will now be heard on 26th August. More
In the UK, WPP-owned Kantar Media has segmented data from its TGI consumer insight tool to make available a new range of pre-defined groups of consumers called TGI Standard Audiences, which can be used by advertisers to inform the programmatic trading and delivery of online advertising. More
Kantar Media has rolled out its FishEye social media monitoring and analytics solutions to the Irish market. More
Chinese microblogging service Weibo has announced a partnership with Kantar-backed TV and radio audience measurement firm CSM Media Research, to develop a system for evaluating the impact of social media on TV audiences. More
Kantar has acquired data visualization and interactive specialist Guardian Digital Agency from its parent company Guardian News & Media. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Netherlands audience measurement association SKO has announced a new contract with Kantar Media Audiences, allowing the measurement of commercials on a wide range of digital platforms and establishing 'a marketwide, transparent, manageable standard'. More
Kantar Health has launched PINNAKLE, billed as an integrated, holistic brand marketing solution helping pharma companies maximise the success of their brands and tap into 'unrealized brand opportunity'. More
WPP-owned firm The Data Alliance has partnered with location analytics specialist Factual, giving WPP group companies access to data that maps the known location of mobile phones to physical places, including more than 65 million businesses in 50 countries. More
WPP-owned Kantar Media has rolled out its TGI (Target Group Index) consumer insights business in the US. More
Kantar Media has acquired a majority stake in Precise Media Group Holdings Limited, which provides monitoring and evaluation services to the PR and communications industries. The price and details of the percentage of shares bought have not been disclosed. More
Strategic insight and innovation specialist The Futures Company has strengthened its Asia Pacific team, based in Singapore, moving Radha Patel from the London office to the role of Director of Consulting, and hiring Tara Hirebet as Senior Consultant. More
TNS has promoted Chaitanya Reddy to the newly created role of Political & Social Director, Mekong Region, adding Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar to his existing responsibility leading Political & Social research in Vietnam. More
Kantar is reportedly working with London-based software firm Onzo Ltd to investigate ways of gathering and analysing smart meter data on household energy use. More
Kantar has completed its upgrade of the Indian MarketPulse consumer panel, first announced last year, and have rebranded it as Kantar Worldpanel. The panel is operated jointly by the Kantar Worldpanel division and sister agency IMRB International. More
WPP's data investment management (DIM) arm has sold off its US call center business, Center Partners, to Mexico-based business process outsourcing (BPO) and call centre service provider Qualfon. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
In London, Kantar Media has hired former Ipsos MORI Marketing Director Anna Reeves for the newly created Board-level role of Global Commercial Director, in charge of its marketing and business development teams, and the shaping of new offerings. More
WPP's Data Investment Management (DIM) division saw revenues fall 3.8% to £566m in the first quarter of 2014, while net sales dropped 4.5% to £406m. More
WPP's shopper data and analytics consultancy Kantar Retail has acquired sales automation software company XTEL, in Italy. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
In the US, WPP's Kantar Media has launched an initiative which uses its subscription-only media planning platform, SRDS.com, to help advertisers find and buy suitable digital media slots for their campaigns. More
Audience measurement specialist Kantar Media has acquired Barcelona-based TV and social media analytics agency The Data Republic. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Kantar and Twitter have strengthened their global partnership with a five-year agreement under the program name 'Data of Now', and will collaborate on new research products. In addition, the firms' 'social TV' ratings and analytics will be extended to new regions in Asia, Africa and Europe. More
Twitter has announced two further acquisitions in the field of 'social TV', French startup Mesagraph and UK firm SecondSync, both of which provide analysis of social media chat concerning TV programmes. Terms were not disclosed. More
The High Court in Delhi has given further breathing space to TAM and to the Indian ad industry, previously threatened with a ratings blackout for much of the year, by adjourning until July the hearing of the appeal brought by Kantar Media against new government guidelines. More
WPP Chief Exec Sir Martin Sorrell has received 1.78m shares, worth around £22.7m, under the company's now-discontinued long-term incentive plan, LEAP. More
TNS Baltic has announced plans to enhance its existing Television Audience Measurement services in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania over the next four years. They include new measurement technology to replace the current Eurometers; larger panels; and enhanced processing systems. More
Millward Brown has promoted Mark Henning to Head of Media and Digital, Africa, Middle East & Asia Pacific (AMAP), responsible for driving the practice across the region. More
WPP's Data Investment Management Division (DIM) has reported a 3.6% increase in annual revenue for 2013. More
Kantar has promoted Hidehiko Otake to the role of Chief Executive of its wholly-owned subsidiary Kantar Japan, replacing Masanori Miyajima who is leaving the business. More
In the UK, WPP-owned Kantar Media has promoted Richard Poustie to the position of Chief Executive Officer of its TGI & Custom division, which has recently been expanded to include the Kantar Sport business. More
An Indian court has given ratings agency TAM a lifeline, postponing some provisions of the government's recent policy guidelines which would have left the company in breach and the country without audience currency for most of the year. More
Kantar Worldpanel has expanded into Africa with the launch of new consumer panels in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana. More
Consumer mobile phone tracking specialist Kantar Worldpanel ComTech has hired former gartner VP Carolina Milanesi as Director of its US business. More
The Indian government has announced it will regulate television ratings agencies in the country, requiring them to register with the I&B Ministry within 30 days, and raise sample size to a minimum of 20,000 panel homes - potentially a blow to Nielsen/Kantar joint venture TAM. More
China-based brand development and marketing insight consultancy Oracle Added Value is to adopt the global brand name and logo of Added Value. More
WPP-owned Kantar is to combine the resources of Kantar Retail with its TNS Retailer & Shopper practice, to form a new organisation offering a single source of retail and shopper expertise. More
Kantar Media has announced the acquisition of Singapore-based social media listening firm FishEye Analytics. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Ratings provider Medialogic Pakistan has announced a partnership with global group Kantar Media which it says will enhance the TV audience measurement service available in the country. More
US District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin has thrown out TRA's patent infringement claims against Kantar for the second time in less than two months. More
UK-based insight and innovation consultancy The Futures Company has opened an office in Singapore, which will act as a hub for clients across Asia Pacific. More
WPP-owned Kantar Media is extending its partnership with Twitter to Spain, where it will develop a suite of TV analytics tools bringing together social media TV data from Twitter with its own audience research expertise. More
WPP has reported third quarter revenue growth of 3.2% in its 'Data Investment Management' (DIM) businesses, to £617m, and growth of 2.6% to £1.8 billion for the first nine months of the year. More
In the US, the judge who threw out TRA's patent infringement lawsuit against Kantar has now ordered that decision to be withdrawn from the record. More
In the US, TRA has asked the judge who threw out the patent infringement part of its claim against Kantar to reconsider, claiming that she had granted its earlier request for an oral argument but then issued last week's summary judgment ruling before it had taken place. More
WPP firms Kantar Worldpanel and IMRB have formed a partnership to run a joint consumer panel service across India, providing insight on purchasing habits across a broad range of products. More
A US judge has thrown out the patent infringement part of TRA's claim against WPP firms including Kantar, over the companies' abortive merger talks and the subsequent launch of competing product RapidView. However, TRA's claims over breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty continue. More
Kantar Media is launching Audience Advisor, which will use Return Path Data (RPD) from more than 1 million multichannel television subscribers to give second-by-second data on audiences, projectable to a national footprint of nearly 100 million households. More
Mansoor Khan has been promoted to the new role of Director of MENA and South Asia, Kantar Media Audiences, as the company looks to build on existing operations in the UAE, Egypt and Turkey. More
TNS has made a further substantial investment in automotive customer experience specialist Enprecis Inc., which will now become the key technology provider underpinning its own automotive data management. More
Kantar Media is rolling out an app version of its InfoSys+ TV audience analysis service, allowing broadcast audience data to be viewed on mobile devices. More
TNS BMRB, the division of Kantar providing specialist social research and insight on public policy for government and not-for-profit clients, has expanded its qualitative practice with a number of recent senior level appointments, following a year of growth. More
Kantar Media has teamed up with audience targeting specialist I-Behavior to develop a service called Ad-Vantage, allowing advertisers to reach specifically defined consumer groups online. More
Kantar Media has given Andy Brown the role of Chief Executive Officer, replacing Jean-Michel Portier who retired earlier this year. More
In the UK, WPP-owned Kantar Media has promoted Sarah Sanderson to the position of Managing Director of its Custom research unit. She replaces Liz McMahon, who is transferring to sister agency TNS UK as Managing Director, Consumer. More
In Africa, Kantar has teamed up with fellow WPP agency TNS RMS to form a joint consumer panel, for use in shopper and product research studies. More
Marcoms giant WPP has reported a 2.1% increase in second quarter revenue in its 'Data Investment Management' (DIM) arm, previously known as the Consumer Insight division. The total figure of £651m reflects growth in all regions except the UK and Western Europe. More
WPP's research and insight arm Kantar has acquired US research and consulting firm the Benenson Strategy Group (BSG). Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Kantar's US call center business Center Partners has appointed Jim Dunn as Chief Executive Officer, and Tom Maddux as President, while Chris Kneeland remains in post as Chief Operating Officer. The team takes over from Bob Meyers, who has been interim CEO since April. More
According to reports, India's Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has shortlisted five bidders for the technology section of its soon-to-be-launched television ratings system. TAM Media Research is not said to be amongst them, although both its backers, Nielsen and Kantar, are. More
In the UK, audience measurement and analysis specialist Kantar Media has acquired a minority stake in social media TV analytics company SecondSync. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Audience measurement giant Kantar Media is to work with Twitter to develop a suite of planning and analytics tools for UK broadcasters, media agencies and the wider television industry. More
WPP's consumer insight and data arm Kantar has acquired Bangladesh-based full service agency Sirius Marketing & Social Research, which specialises in customised social, media and consumer research. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP's insights, information and consultancy group Kantar has combined its digital insights firms Dynamic Logic and Compete, in a bid to help advertisers, agencies and publishers increase marketing effectiveness and drive brand growth. More
India's fair trade regulator the CCI has asked the country's broadcasters, media buying and ad agencies to send feedback in the next two weeks on their views of audience measurement agency TAM Media Research, as it investigates claims of unfair practices. More
From August, UK TV ratings body BARB will begin measuring catch-up viewing in addition to traditional screen viewing. The former includes services such as the BBC iPlayer, 4oD, ITV Player and Sky Go. More
WPP insight arm Kantar has filed a request in the US District Court in Manhattan to dismiss patent infringement claims made by media measurement firm TRA before they go to tribunal. More
Kantar companies Dynamic Logic and Compete have teamed up with online media viewability firm Double Verify to launch a tool called Advance, which combines exposure metrics and effectiveness measures in a unified reporting and optimization system. More
Kantar Media has won a multi-year contract to measure subscriber behaviour for Indian Direct to Home (DTH) TV provider Tata Sky. The service, launching later this year, is billed as the first Return Path Data audience research service in India. More
WPP-owned Kantar Health has launched a new solution called 'CancerMPact Future Trends and Insights', which can be used to explore the potential changes in oncology treatment practices in the US, Western Europe and Japan. More
In France, Denis Gaucher has been promoted to the position of Managing Director Europe for Kantar Media's recently formed Ad Intelligence arm. More
Panel and research software firm GMI has launched a consultative service called Re-Track, to enable clients to determine areas for improvement in the structure and design of their tracking surveys. More
TNS has appointed former Ernst & Young Partner Richard Ingleton as its new Global Chief Executive Officer, replacing Eric Salama who previously combined the role with his leadership of Kantar. More
TNS BMRB has appointed Gerry Harrison as Director, to lead its Qual practice in Edinburgh. More
The Cambodian Broadcasting Service has awarded Kantar Media a two year contract to conduct television audience research, which will include recording the viewing habits of more than 500 homes in urban areas such as Phnom Penh, Siem Riep and Battambang. More
Audience measurement specialist Kantar Media has announced a data sharing agreement with 'social TV' analytics company SecondSync. More
Kantar is to integrate youth research unit TRU into another of its subsidiaries, insight and innovation consultancy The Futures Company. More
US-based online video ad targeting specialist Videology has extended its partnership with Kantar Shopcom, which helps clients link consumer purchases with campaign exposure. More
India's Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has issued an invitation for agencies to submit tenders for a new approach to television audience measurement. The contract is currently held by Nielsen/Kantar joint venture TAM Media Research. More
Kantar Health has hired former Holden Pearmain execs Theano Anasta, Ph.D. and Svetlana Gogolina, for senior positions in its UK team. More
WPP-owned Kantar has acquired digital marketing intelligence specialist AdGooroo, which provides market research services for search engine advertisers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Indian TV network New Delhi Television (NDTV) has set out its reasons for wanting a US trial for its case against Nielsen and WPP, urging the Supreme Court of the State of New York to reject the two companies' recent requests to have it thrown out. More
Digital TV solutions provider NAGRA is to collaborate with Kantar Media to offer clients subscriber data from in-home devices. The service will be pre-integrated with NAGRA's OpenTV 5 media convergence platform. More
WPP has announced further details of its proposal to return its headquarters from Ireland to the UK, including a timetable which sees shares in 'New WPP' trading on the LSE at the start of 2013. More
Hettie Han has rejoined Kantar Health China as Director in Beijing, from where she will work alongside the global team to grow the firm's multi-client and consultancy business across the region. More
Kantar has appointed Walter Patanella as Chief Executive of Media Monitoring and Evaluation at its Media Intelligence Europe subsidiary, following its recent acquisition of an 87% stake in media monitoring specialist Press Index, where he served as MD. More
WPP-owned online behavioural measurement firm Kantar Media Compete has settled charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission that it 'deceived consumers' by not disclosing the extent of the personal data it was gathering about them. More
Kantar Retail is to open its first South American office, in Brazil, where it will team up with WPP sister company TNS to use the latter's primary shopper research capabilities. Former Mars and LVMH executive Eric Debarnot will head up the new office as MD. More
Indian television measurement body TAM is suspending publication of its viewing data from week 41 (October 7th) onwards, for 8 weeks while four of the country's biggest cities switch over from analogue to DAS. More
Kantar Media TGI has launched a new initiative called 'The WHY Code', which offers to help clients understand every stage of the consumer decision-making journey, both conscious and subconscious. More
The Emirates Media Measurement Company (EMMC) has officially launched its tview television ratings and audience measurement system in the UAE, following approval by external TAM auditors and consultants Hulks & Ruud. More
Denmark's National TV Steering Committee and Kantar Media have announced plans to enhance the country's existing TV Audience Measurement (TAM) service with the inclusion of TV viewing on PCs, smartphones, and tablets from 2013. More
In the UK, Louise Tamblin has re-joined Kantar Health as Group Director, after a stint serving as Head of Research at the now closed Strata Research. More
Kantar's telecoms purchasing and usage trends analysis division – Worldpanel ComTech – has launched a new mobile and tablet-focussed panel in Japan, to provide insight into the country's mobile phone market. More
Online behavioural measurement firm Kantar Media Compete has partnered with online ad verification service DoubleVerify to develop a system called 'Ad VRF', which helps advertisers find out if the specific audiences they target have actually seen their online ads. More
Kantar Health has promoted Graeme Jacombs to the position of Managing Director of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA), responsible for regional strategy, local business planning and client support. More
WPP has reported revenue up just 1.2% to £1.19bn in its consumer insight division in the first half of the year, while headline operating profit fell slightly to £84m. The group has also confirmed that following tax changes, it plans to move its HQ back to the UK from Ireland. More
WPP has filed a petition in the New York Supreme Court for dismissal of the lawsuit brought by broadcaster New Delhi Television (NDTV), which accuses Kantar and Nielsen of violating anti-bribery laws through their TAM joint venture in India. More
Indian broadcaster NDTV has hit out against a statement issued by WPP yesterday, and its use of the word 'hypothetical' to describe NDTV's claims of ratings fixing at the TAM Media Research joint venture. More
Kantar Media has bought AGB Nielsen's 50% stake in the TGI (Target Group Index) service operating in Turkey. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
Following Indian broadcaster NDTV's legal action against Nielsen and Kantar Media Research over bribery claims, the Indian government has now stepped in with its own investigation. More
TV and video ad analytics provider Ace Metrix has launched a real-time measure of the effectiveness of campaign, issue and advocacy ads, in the run-up to the US Presidential election. Twitter, meanwhile, has unveiled its own Political Index, weighing up the sentiment of Tweets that mention Obama or Romney. More
Indian broadcaster NDTV is suing Nielsen and Kantar Media Research over claims that staff at the firms' joint venture TAM took bribes in exchange for overstating ratings. According to the suit, this practice has damaged NDTV's business to the tune of around $810m in the past eight years. More
Kantar subsidiary Added Value Saffron Hill has appointed former FutureBrand exec Carol Mok as Brand Development Director in its Singapore office. More
Kantar Media TGI has launched a new service called 'TGI Clickstream', allowing marketers, communications agencies and media owners to gain a picture of web sites and sections visited by specific, 'complex' target groups of consumers. More
In the UK, Kantar Media Audiences CEO Richard Marks is leaving the firm in August to set up his own consultancy business. He will be replaced by Richard Asquith, who currently leads the firm's TGI and Custom division. More
Kantar Media TGI and Nielsen have teamed up to launch a new media analysis tool in Ireland, combining Nielsen's TV data with the TGI survey of consumers' brand and product use, attitudes and media habits. More
WPP shareholders have voted against a proposed 60% increase in CEO Sir Martin Sorrell's pay package. Separately, WPP says its Consumer Insight arm has been 'stable' in the first four months of 2012, with a 3.3% revenue rise adding to the group's £3.2 billion turnover. More
In the US, online behavioural measurement firm Kantar Media Compete has appointed former MediaVest digital research specialist Dr Yaakov Kimelfeld as its new Chief Research Officer (CRO), succeeding John Bremer who left the company last year. More
Kantar has today announced the appointment of Matthias Hartl as Managing Director of Kantar Media Audiences Switzerland, based in Bern and reporting to Regional Director Eitan Kassif. More
In New York, Kantar Health has partnered with online physician community provider Sermo to offer research services to life sciences companies. More
Kantar Worldpanel ComTech is launching what it bills as 'the first continuous panel to gather representative mobile phone data in China'. More
Jon Swallen has been promoted to the position of Chief Research Officer of Kantar Media Intelligence North America, in which he will lead the development of measurement methods for online video, social media and mobile advertising, while also spearheading data integration programs. More
US-based sports broadcast measurement specialist Repucom has hooked up with Grupo IBOPE and Kantar Media joint venture IBOPE Media, to launch a sports research business in Latin America, excluding Brazil. More
Kantar has paid around $1.2 million for a minority stake in online automotive customer feedback specialist Enprecis Inc. More
WPP has reported first quarter revenues up 7.4% at constant currencies, to £2.39 bn. Organic revenue growth was 4.0%. However the consumer insight division once again lagged behind with revenues up 3.3% on a constant currency basis, or 1.3% excluding acquisitions. More
Kantar Health has launched its self-reported patient database, National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS), in Russia, where it will collect information representative of the adult urban population. More
In Belgium, the Centre for Information on the Media (CIM) has awarded Kantar Media-owned TNS its new National Internet Measurement contract, with traffic from mobile devices and online TV viewing figures included for the first time. More
Kantar Retail is to acquire a minority interest in Dubai-based retail consultancy GME, its franchise partner in the emirate since being formed in 2007. More
Martin Filz has been appointed as Managing Director for the EMEA Region at panel and research software company GMI, recently acquired by Lightspeed Research. He was previously MD for EMEA and APAC at Research Now. More
Kantar Health has announced two senior promotions in its Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region (APMEA). Graeme Jacombs becomes Deputy MD for the region while Dr. Vince Grillo is promoted to General Manager, Singapore and Malaysia. More
In London, online research specialist DigitalMR has appointed former Kantar Worldpanel exec Tom Hogg as Commercial Director, responsible for implementing global sales and marketing strategies to promote awareness and drive uptake of the firm's research portfolio. More
Kantar Media has expanded its Global Target Group Index (TGI) network of syndicated marketing and media studies through the addition of TNS Media Belgium's Brand Media Monitor (BMM) study. More
Marcoms giant WPP has reported a 1.1% revenue increase in its Consumer Insight division; up from £2.43m in 2010 to £2.46m last year. Meanwhile, the group's pre-tax profits increased 18.5% to a record £1.01bn, as revenues climbed 7.4% to £10.02bn. More
Brand specialist Added Value has combined the new role of Head of Global Clients with Bart Michels' existing position as UK Managing Director. The firm has also promoted Paul Cowper to the post of UK Deputy MD. More
Three firms - researcher Kantar Shopcom, ad platform provider Videology and targeting specialist I-Behavior - are teaming up to help marketers to target online video advertising and measure the actual off-line purchases that result. More
Kantar Media has acquired Chinese social media research, monitoring and analysis firm CIC, to complement its own range of social media capabilities in the country. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP-owned Kantar is buying a majority stake in Oasis Insights - a full service market research consultancy based in Karachi, Pakistan. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
In New York, Kantar Health has appointed Debbie Warner as Vice President in charge of its Oncology Commercial Strategies team, which provides information and analysis on the influence of sector stakeholders. More
In the US, data and analytics company InsightExpress has followed up last week's deal with SymphonyIRI by announcing a partnership with Kantar Shopcom, further expanding its Ignite CPG product. More
In Switzerland, joint industry committee Mediapulse has awarded Kantar Media the country's Television Audience Measurement contract for a period of six years, starting in 2013. More
WPP Chief Exec Sir Martin Sorrrell has told the UK government that its proposed tax reforms do not go far enough to lure his business back from Ireland to its original UK headquarters. More
Digital broadcaster UKTV has appointed former Kantar Retail director Simon Michaelides as Head of Marketing for its 10-channel network, which includes Dave, Gold, and Good Food. He will take up his new post in early 2012. More
In New York, WPP-owned sister firms Millward Brown and data integration / analytics specialist Kantar Shopcom have partnered to create a single-source panel combining consumer attitudes with actual purchase behaviors. More
In London, Kantar has announced a deal with app software firm Lumi Mobile, whose mobile phone-based consumer insight technology it will help to commercialise. Kantar also takes a minority equity stake in the business. More
TNS has announced that Maureen Duffy, until this month CEO of the Newspaper Marketing Agency, will take over from Andrew Czarnowski as UK CEO from January next year. More
WPP firms Kantar Media and media operations unit GroupM have announced a partnership aimed at uncovering the links between exposure to TV ads and purchase decisions. Viewers of Hispanic programming will be the first group studied. More
JD Power and Associates and Kantar Media have partnered to integrate auto buyer data with stats on television viewing behavior, promising clients the ability to identify the most-watched shows among buyers of particular vehicle types. More
Kantar Media has won a six-year contract, beginning in August 2012, for the provision of a new electronic radio measurement service in Sweden, using PPM technology licensed from Arbitron. More
WPP has reported third quarter revenue of £2.46bn, representing like-for-like growth of 4.7%, but says its insight division grew much slower than any other, revenues rising less than 1%. More
Kantar Health has added five new tumor types to its CancerMPact Treatment Architecture China platform, to provide analysis of the current clinical management of cancer across the country. More
WPP's consumer insight group Kantar has acquired the remaining shares in Lanka Market Research Bureau (LMRB), in which it already had a 49% stake. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP is launching its social and traditional media listening arm Kantar Media Cymfony in Europe, with the opening of a new office in London servicing clients this side of The Pond. More
Despite a New York court's rejection of TRA's attempt to block the roll-out of Kantar's RapidView solution on the grounds of patent infringement, TRA has asked the courts to consider a further claim that WPP/Kantar 'improperly used' its trade secrets during development of the tool. More
A New York federal judge has rejected TRA's attempt to block the roll-out of Kantar Media's RapidView media planning tool, which TRA claimed was a direct 'rip-off' of its own Media TRAnalytics tool. More
WPP's salary body is to consider a fifty percent rise in the basic salary of CEO Sir Martin Sorrell, who in November 2008 rejected a scheduled review as 'inappropriate' for the economic climate. Sorrell's £1m basic, unchanged since January 2007, is a smallish part of his total income from the firm. More
Kantar Media has announced the promotion of Antonio Carvalho to Chief Research Officer, heading up a new London-based Audiences Central Research Unit. He reports to Global Head of Products and Services, John Gill. More
Kantar Video has appointed Leigh Newsome as Senior Vice President, Technology, reporting directly to CEO Bill Lederer and tasked with overseeing engineering for the Kantar Videolytics platform. More
TNS Gallup, part of the Kantar Media network, has won a continuation of its contract to provide the currency for measurement of TV audiences in Denmark, taking it up to the end of 2015. More
WPP social media specialist Kantar Media Cymfony has introduced the first of a series of syndicated solutions, focusing on the automotive sector. More
Kantar Health has rolled out its international self-reported patient database - the National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS) - in Brazil. More
Kantar has acquired research technology and panels firm GMI (Global Market Insite), which it will combine with own online panel specialist Lightspeed Research. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
WPP-owned Lightspeed Research has launched new online panels in Poland and Greece, with more than 12,000 and 5,000 panellists respectively. More
In New York, Kantar Media has promoted George Carens to the role of President of Kantar Media Intelligence North America and Steve Davis to that of President of Kantar Media SRDS. In addition, the firm has hired former Nielsen exec David Hamric as General Manager of its Marx solution. More
Sister agencies Millward Brown and Kantar Media Cymfony have launched a suite of online listening tools, which merge the former's brand and communications research with the latter's analysis of social media and online discussion. More
In the US, Kantar Video has appointed media veteran Arthur McKinley as Vice President, Business Development, to build relationships with agencies and brands around its Videolytics platform. Lyle Freedman also joins the company, as Director, Business Intelligence. More
In the US, digital measurement specialist Compete - now part of Kantar Media - has appointed former Crimson Hexagon CEO Scott Centurino as Chief Operating Officer, to help manage the firm's growth. More
In the US, Nielsen has signed a multi-year agreement with Kantar Media to access set-top box (STB) data from the latter's DIRECTView audience measurement panel, for use in its local TV audience measures. More
US-based facial expression technology firm Affectiva has raised a further $2.7m in funding, following yesterday's announcement by WPP-owned Kantar that it had invested $3m in the firm. More
European online market research agency MetrixLab has appointed former Millward Brown leaders Graham Kerr and Michelle de Montigny as consultants in its US operation in New York. More
Kantar has invested $3m in a minority stake in US-based facial recognition technology specialist Affectiva. More
In the UK, the BBC has named 37 agencies which have been selected to become part of the BBC's audience research roster. The firms are now preferred suppliers and can pitch for research projects designed to uncover what the corporation's audiences want and value. More
Google has partnered with Kantar to establish a 3,000-strong opt-in panel which will measure TV and online media consumption in the UK. More
Kantar Health has promoted Werner Guminski to the position of CEO, Commercial Strategy, a role including responsibility for innovation. He most recently served as the firm's CEO, Global Practices. More
In the US, media measurement and analytics firm TRA has filed a counterclaim to WPP's recent lawsuit, started over claims that Kantar Media Audiences' RapidView product 'rips off' TRA's Media TRAnalytics solution. More
TNS has hired Martin Lambie-Nairn as Creative Director, a new position with a remit to improve the look and feel of the company's deliverables and work with local and global management to develop their creative capabilities. More
Kantar Media has announced the European launch of its online behavioural measurement firm Compete, with the opening of a new office in London. More
In the US, Kantar Video has promoted digital media strategist and entrepreneur Andrew Chang to the role of Chief of Staff. The firm has also transferred Brian Schorr from sister WPP agency CommonHealth to the post of Director of Finance. More
Kantar is to roll out MarketTools' TrueSample quality solution across its network, following the breakdown of the Promedius Group, the not-for-profit quality consortium it launched with GfK and Ipsos less than a year ago. More
WPP companies Millward Brown and Kantar Media are to measure the relative impact of creative and of media placement in causing TV viewers to change channel or otherwise tune away from watching an ad. More
Marcoms giant WPP has filed a lawsuit against media measurement and analytics firm TRA, reportedly over claims by the latter that its Media TRAnalytics tool has been 'ripped off' by WPP subsidiary Kantar Media Audiences. More
Data and analytics giant Experian Marketing Services has partnered with Kantar Media to provide clients with analysis of their audiences by household attributes such as income levels. More
Brand equity management and research-based consultancy Icon Added Value (IAV), part of WPP's Kantar division, has opened a second German office near Hamburg. Its German headquarters are in Nuremberg. More
In New York, Kantar Health has promoted Jade Cusick to lead its US Marketing Insights practice, of which he was previously COO. More
In the UK, Kantar Media has promoted Allister Nixon from CFO to the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer, Kantar Media Audiences, charged with maintaining and enhancing the performance of the firm's metered measurement services. More
WPP Digital has bought a $5m minority stake in US data analytics firm nPario, a move which it says will boost its plans to integrate online and offline data from its Kantar and Media Innovation Group units. More
Kantar Health has appointed former IMS Health researcher Simon Li as General Manager, China, based in Shanghai. More
Kantar has today announced a partnership with online facilities company ActiveGroup Ventures, giving the research giant worldwide access to facility based research via video streaming. More
TNS-BMRB, the social research arm of Kantar, today announced the appointment of Ben Toombs, previously a Director at independent qual specialists Cragg Ross Dawson, as Qualitative Director. More
In the US, Kantar Video has partnered with semantic web service OpenAmplify to enable marketers to track online and mobile video ads and content, while analyzing the social discussion around specific client video during and after its airing. More
Consumer insight revenues at WPP have risen 3.4% on a constant currency basis, to £552.8m in the first quarter of 2011, compared with £542.5m in the prior year period. More
Netherlands-based online market research agency MetrixLab has appointed former Kantar Worldpanel director Chris Kingsland to lead its NPD & Innovations division in the UK. More
Kantar Media has announced the launch of syndicated reporting on paid search advertising. Billed as an industry first, the service means Kantar now offers 'complete' online ad activity monitoring, including display, video and ad networks. More
Kantar Health has appointed Jim Needell as Managing Director for the UK. He joins from sister company Worldpanel, where he was most recently Commercial Director, UK and Ireland. More
Kantar Media has promoted John McCarthy to the post of Head of Marketing Communications UK, promoting the firm's customised media research, media monitoring and evaluation services to media agencies, media owners and brands. More
In the US, Kantar Media has launched a new planning tool called RapidView, combining consumer purchase data with return path data from set-top boxes (STBs), to enable media buyers and sellers to create and analyze TV audience profiles. More
In Dubai, Kantar-owned AMRB has opened a Stakeholder Research Practice, which will provide a range of consulting products and services to help clients manage their customer and employee loyalty programs. More
In the UK, media research veteran Roger Gane is to retire from his post as Research Director at RSMB in March, after a 40-year career in the market and media research sectors. More
Kantar Media has launched an Irish sponsorship division, complementing existing offerings in the UK, France, Spain and China. More
In New York, Kantar Health has appointed Susan Suponcic as Senior Vice President of Global Market Access. More
In France, WPP's brand development and marketing insight consultancy Added Value has appointed Thomas Fratacci Managing Director, as CEO Jonathan Hall leaves to become Executive Vice President, Managing Director of Cheskin Added Value (USA). More
In Germany, Kantar Media has acquired Internet audience measurement firm Spring Wirtz und Pischke, which was founded as a spin-off of the German Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) in 1995. More
After joining the Millward Brown Group last year, Athens-based Research International Greece is to rebrand as Millward Brown RI - offering consultancy and advice in branding and communications research. More
Kantar-owned global trend research consultancy The Futures Company (TFC) has partnered with sister firm TNS to serve multinational and local clients in India. More
Kantar Media has been awarded a four year TV audience measurement contract by ARMA, Romania's TV joint industry committee, from January 2012. The current service has been operated by GfK Romania since 2008. More
In London, Kantar Media has appointed Giselle Bodie for the new position of Chief Operations Officer for Media Monitoring and Evaluation in Europe. More
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a group of industry bodies have given Kantar Media a five-year contract to develop and implement the country's first PeopleMeter television audience measurement service. More
Kantar has increased the size of its Worldpanel in the UK by 20%, to include data from 30,000 households by the end of 2011. The firm has also announced other enhancements to the overall Worldpanel service. More
Online media agency MediaCorp has extended its TV audience measurement contract with Kantar Media to include VirtualMeter technology, which will enable it to view consolidated data across multiple platforms including linear TV and IPTV. More
Lightspeed Research has moved its global headquarters from Basking Ridge to Warren, also in New Jersey. More
In London, WPP-owned consulting business Kantar Retail has appointed Bryan Roberts as Director, Retail Insights for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). More
In India, Kantar-owned IMRB has launched the 'Web Audience Measurement' (WAM) system, which uses a panel of people issued with a new custom-built metering device. More
Healthcare specialist Kantar Health has expanded its online Epi Database platform, to enable users to access epidemiology data for commercial planning purposes in Mexico and Turkey. More
Like-for-like third quarter revenue in WPP's Consumer Insight division climbed 6.4% to £581.9m, continuing the stronger growth rate seen in the second quarter. These figures contributed to what the marketing services giant describes as the 'highest results in a decade'. More
In New York, WPP-owned Kantar Video has rolled out the beta release of its Videolytics online and mobile video tracking technology. More
WPP-owned Kantar Video has rolled out its Videolytics Platform to seventeen advertising platform providers, publishers and ad networks. More
Kantar Media has introduced DirectHEAT, a new subscription service delivering custommised multimedia ad intelligence to media sellers. More
Kantar has linked its Worldpanel scanned FMCG household purchase data with data from Kantar Media's TGI consumer insight survey. The resulting service, TGI Worldpanel, promises clients a detailed understanding of the link between media consumption, consumer attitudes and UK purchasing. More
In the UK, Kantar Media has rolled out a new approach to regional readership data collection, which it says offers a 'considerable cost saving' for publishers conducting regular readership research. More
WPP-owned Kantar Media - which specializes in providing TV, Internet and radio audience measurement services - has hired veteran media analyst Jeffrey Boehme to drive the development of new products and applications for set-top box (STB) data. More
Kantar Media is planning to add qualitative research to its futurePROOF quantitative study, to provide an understanding of how media behaviour changes among early adopters of the iPad. More
Revenue and profits in WPP's Consumer Insight division rose in the first six months of 2010: the former slowly, up 2.4% on a like-for-like basis from a low comparative, but the latter more rapidly with headline profit before interest and tax (PBIT) up 22% to £83.7m. More
WPP's insight division Kantar has appointed panel specialist Renee Smith as Chief Research Officer in the US, and has moved Tim Kelsall to the role of SVP, Client Strategy, Innovation and Delivery at its brand research division Millward Brown, in the UK. More
In the UK, Kantar Worldpanel has enhanced its syndicated mobile study, ComTech, adding information on usage, supplier and billing cross-referenced against the four channels of mobile, broadband, landline and pay TV. More
Kantar's online behavior analysis arm Compete has hired former Harris Interactive leader John Bremer as Chief Research Officer, to serve as the firm's primary expert on digital research approaches, models and techniques. More
In the UK, Kantar-owned TNS-BMRB, which offers insight for government and not-for-profit clients, has launched a mixed mode research programme to prompt new thinking and best practice for tracking social trends across multiple modes of research. More
WPP insight division Kantar has appointed former Yahoo! EMEA VP of Human Resources Helen Russell as its new Global Talent Director, reporting to Chief Executive Eric Salama. More
Two of the research industry's top four firms, Kantar and GfK, have announced an initiative aimed at promoting and assuring online data quality. The firms will seek 'broad industry participation' in their not-for-profit consortium, the Promedius Group. More
Rodney Fitch, the founder of WPP-owned design agency Fitch, has taken on the role of Chairman of The Hub, an informal consortium combing the skills of WPP-owned research and branding firms TNS, G2 and Kantar Retail. More
In New York, Kantar Video has partnered with video technology firm Anvato, to add syndication and copyright tracking to its Videolytics online and mobile video platform. More
WPP-owned Kantar Media has released 'Connect', a new solution that integrates a publisher's own web site metrics with survey data, to create a single-source database that links online behaviour to the attitudes that drive it. More
Kantar-owner WPP has reported improved results for the first five months of the year. Both Group revenues and those for the Insight division rose around 2% worldwide on a like-for-like basis while growth in May was well over 5%. More
Kantar Video has announced a number of senior hires in preparation for the global rollout of its Videolytics online and mobile video syndication, tracking and optimization platform. More
WPP is backing a 'hybrid' start-up ad agency, True Worldwide, which places 'a better understanding of consumers and their behavior' at the heart of its strategy. The ambitious new firm has reportedly been in talks with Kantar about linking its new technology with more traditional research tools. More
In the US, online behaviour measurement firm Compete has revamped its Referral Analytics digital intelligence tool, to help clients uncover how a competitor or partner web site is acquiring users, monitor changes in its strategy, and adjust their own marketing accordingly. More
In the UK, WPP-owned Kantar Media has developed a predictive tool to provide insights into how consumers will react to newspapers introducing paywalls on their web sites. More
WPP Group is gearing up to restart its acquisition strategy across the Asia-Pacific region, according to CEO Sir Martin Sorrell, speaking at The Financial Times and Marketing magazine event in Singapore on Tuesday. More
Kantar Health has announced the expansion of its Treatment Value Practice into Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and appointed Dr. Pali Kolláth as Regional Director, CEE and Treatment Value Practice, based in Budapest, Hungary. More
WPP-owned Kantar has introduced a suite of video measurement and tracking tools, rolling out three new initiatives. More
Kantar's web analytics firm Compete has appointed former AOL Insights Director Margaret Hung as International Managing Director, to oversee its services in international markets and facilitate partnerships with sister firms across the globe. More
In the UK, marcoms giant WPP has developed a dashboard which combines media spend and performance data from its GroupM media arm with research from insight division Kantar, together with information on social media content, web analytics and client CRM data. More
Kantar Media has merged its media measurement and evaluation agency Millward Brown Precis Europe/UK into its Intelligence Sector. The merger will be effective 1 May 2010. More
In the UK, GfK, Ipsos MORI, Kantar, Synovate and TNS have sponsored the launch of an online service, which allows developers and users of market research software to test that all exports they create are compliant with the Triple-S data standard. More
In the US, WPP-owned Kantar Media North America - which provides insights, analyses and audience measurement services - has hired former Starcom MediaVest research chief Richard Fielding for the newly created post of Chief Client Officer. More
Healthcare-focused consultancy Kantar Health has developed a new framework to help clients identify the optimal positioning for a new product, or to reposition an existing brand. More
In the US, Kantar Media's Intelligence sector has enhanced its online ad monitoring services, by adding access to new Internet ad occurrence and creative data on a daily basis. More
Kantar owned TNS and Compete have launched a web evaluation service, which identifies areas of a brand's web site that are underperforming, and goes on to recommend how the client can enhance the site for optimal performance. More
ACNielsen HCI - a firm researching pharmaceutical promotions which was transferred to WPP in a 2008 regulatory asset swap - has been added to Kantar Health's Marketing Insight practice. More
In its second rebrand of the week, Kantar has re-named the TNS Worldpanel network as Kantar Worldpanel. Earlier in the week the group rebranded its media assets. More
In the US, Millward Brown and its digital unit Dynamic Logic have partnered with Kantar sister-firm Cymfony, to integrate analysis of discussions on social media sites, blogs and message forums into their suite of digital, media and marketing solutions. More
WPP-owned insight consultancy Kantar has re-branded the media assets of TNS, KMR Group and BMRB Media as Kantar Media. More
Kantar's web analytics firm Compete and WPP's Media Innovation Group (MIG) have linked up to enhance the latter's B3 ad optimization product through the addition of the former's online consumer data. More
Kantar's market research agency Compete and its sales and marketing consultancy Cannondale Associates are combining their data to provide brands with new insight into consumers' shopping behavior, as they move from researching goods online to in-store purchasing. More
Kantar Media has expanded its Global Target Group Index (TGI) Network of syndicated single-source marketing and media studies, following parent WPP's acquisition of TNS. More
KantarHealth is expanding its CardioMonitor service into Japan and China, a major step towards its goal of providing a globally consistent cardiovascular and diabetes patient database. More
In the US, KantarHealth Joint CEO Elaine Riddell has decided to leave the company to 'pursue other opportunities': Joint CEO Lynnette Cooke assumes sole global CEO responsibilities with immediate effect. More
Consumer Health Sciences (CHS) has added more than 13,300 Chinese consumers to the database for its 'National Health and Wellness Survey' (NHWS). Plans are also in place to roll out the service further across Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. More
Today sees the official merger of TNS' UK Custom Division and Research International UK to become TNS Research International UK; and the merger of TNS Custom's UK Social sector with BMRB's social research team to become TNS-BMRB. More
UK marcoms giant and Kantar-owner WPP has reported a 47.9% drop in first-half net profit to £108.4m from £208.2m a year earlier, but predicts a brighter performance for the rest of 2009. Like-for-like consumer insight revenue was down 10%. More
WPP's insight arm Kantar has appointed Marita Carballo as President for Latam (Latin America) and Fiona Keyte as Global Account Director for client, Procter & Gamble (P&G), in a move designed to strengthen the firm's client relationships and regional capability in Latin and South America. More
WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell has extolled the virtues of organic growth; of helping ad budgets to follow consumers online; and of a balance between local and multinational clients, as he looks five years into the future of WPP. More
Preeti Reddy will replace Tissa de Alwis at the head of the Kantar-owned Lanka Market Research Bureau (LMRB) at the end of July. More
Kantar's web analytics division Compete has unveiled a new measure to analyse how exposure to online advertising impacts consumers' online behaviour. More
Kantar Health has hired Scott Davies as General Manager of China, to direct the group's growth strategy in the region. Kelly Wong has also been appointed as Business Leader and Head of Research, China. More
WPP's insight division Kantar is to merge Lightspeed Research's online panel business with the TNS 6th Dimension network of online managed access panels. More
David Day will become Global CEO of Kantar-owned online panel specialist Lightspeed Research, following the departure of Anne Hedde, who is leaving to pursue a different role with a competitor. More
At today's AGM, WPP shareholders gave the thumbs up to a scheme which could see CEO Sir Martin Sorrell receive a £60m bonus over the next five years. Meanwhile Sorrell announced a 6.7% dip in like-for-like revenues for the first four months of the year, which sent shares tumbling 4.8% to 456.25p. More
Marcoms giant WPP has sold Mediafax - its Puerto Rico-based media research agency - to Brazilian media, market and opinion research specialist IBOPE. In return, WPP has increased its shareholding in three IBOPE businesses. More
US web analytics firm Omniture and WPP's insight and consultancy division Kantar have created a new platform, which enables clients to see how their online and offline activities impact on one another. More
Procter & Gamble veteran Kim Dedeker is joining WPP's insight and consultancy division Kantar in a new role as Chair, Americas, where she will focus on the group's global research quality initiatives. More
Marcoms giant WPP, which eliminated 3,600 positions in Q1, is planning to make 6% of its global workforce redundant resulting in the loss of 7,200 posts in all this year. More
UK marcoms giant WPP has reported a 5.8% fall in Q1 revenues, excluding the impact of acquisitions and currency fluctuations. The firm says this reflects a cut in client spending in reaction to the global financial and economic crisis. More
TNS has beaten IPSOS, Gallup and Synovate in a pitch to win what it describes as 'one of the largest market research contracts ever commissioned' - a four year €65m EU project to provide a measure of public opinion in Europe. More
TNS has announced further changes to its senior management team, following its recent merger with Research International. The latest appointments cover global roles, North America and Europe. More
TNS has appointed a new Regional Operating Board for the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa (ALM) region, led by former TNS Regional MD Jamie Hall, who assumes overall responsibility for the region as ALM CEO. More
In response to what it describes as 'shifting trends in market research', Kantar Operations will be shutting a telephone centre in Warwick, UK, in June. Local reports say that up to 137 people could lose their jobs as a result of the closure. More
WPP has reported healthy results for the full year 2008. Like-for-like revenue growth of 2.7% came from a combination of a strong first half and slower second half. Insight division Kantar provided 17.1% of all WPP revenue and 12.8% of operating profit. More
Millward Brown has acquired Copenhagen-based qual agency Alsted Research for an undisclosed sum. More
The Kantar Group is streamlining its businesses after buying TNS. The TNS Custom business will merge with Research International and will be generally known as TNS. A new social research force for the UK is established in TNS-BMRB, while Kantar has four new vertical sector operating units: Media, Health, Retail and Worldpanel. More
In the UK, Kantar-owned brand and insight agency Added Value has transferred Paul McGowan to its newly created position of Chief Marketing Officer, to lead an investment programme across its network of international offices. More
Kantar Operations - the internal operations division for WPP's insight arm the Kantar Group - is to close its call center in Corpus Christi, Texas in June, resulting in 87 redundancies. More
In the US, Integrated Media Measurement Inc (IMMI) has named veteran media and ad measurement executive Bill McKenna as its new President and CEO. More
WPP's insight and consultancy division The Kantar Group has made what it claims is an industry first appointment, with the naming of George Pappachen in the newly-created role of Chief Privacy Officer. More
In the UK, Kantar-owned agency BMRB has appointed former Futures Company executive Dr Michelle Harrison as Managing Director for Government and Public Affairs. More
Nielsen and WPP have signed an asset swapping agreement. Nielsen will acquire WPP's half of AGBNielsen Media Research (AGBNMR), and in return, WPP will take over three of Nielsen's media services assets. More
In the US, web analytics unit TNS Compete, now part of Kantar, has launched a Retail and Consumer Products practice to provide retailers with insights into shoppers' online activities across rival sites, portals, search engines and aggregators. More
TNS CEO David Lowden has left after nine years with the firm, following the completion of WPP's takeover of the business. WPP's insight arm Kantar Group made no comment about Lowden's departure, but instead confirmed a series of senior management positions at TNS. More
WPP has reported a 16% increase in Q3 revenues to £1.7bn ($2.87bn), but experienced flat operating margin in the first nine months of the year. As a result of the disintegration in the financial markets, the group predicts that 2009 will be a 'very tough year'. More
Marketing communications group WPP and Internet giant Google have partnered to jointly fund a grant program to support research into how online media influences consumer behaviour, attitudes and decision making. More
IMRB International has been named 'MR Agency of the Year' by the Market Research Society of India (MRSI) for the third time since the award was introduced in 2005. More
In the UK, Clive Gibbins, a 19 year veteran of NOP, has died of cancer just weeks before his 50th birthday. More
WPP has announced its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30th June 2008, showing good revenue and profit figures in all regions and for all divisions including insight. While his own firm may be healthy however, CEO Sir Martin Sorrell says the current merger process is 'not doing [TNS] much good'. More
In the UK, Kantar-owned brand and insight agency Added Value has created an interactive board game, to enable marketers and brand managers to define true brand character and help them better inform the creative brief, and evaluate competitors' communications. More
In Paris, Research International (RI) has promoted Douwe Rademaker to the newly created position of Worldwide Director of Marketing. He was previously MD of Continental Europe. More
Kantar-owned pharma and biotech research firm MattsonJack has formed a 'co-operative agreement' with LifeScience Consulting Group (LCG), based in Karlsruhe, Germany. LCG becomes the firm's associate partner conducting research in the German-speaking countries. More
WPP has announced first quarter like-for-like revenue growth of just under 5%. Reported revenues were up 14.1% to £1.56bn for the group and up 11.3% to £227.1m for Kantar, the group's information, insight and consultancy arm. More
UK-based brand and insight agency Added Value has appointed Janine Hawkins as Global CEO, replacing Angus Porter who is leaving to take up the position of Group Strategy Director with Thomas Cook Group from 1 June. More
Kantar Operations – the internal operations division for the Kantar Group – has ditched its dedicated consumer interviewer panel due to the continuing advance of online data collection. More
Kantar Media Research (KMR) has introduced a syndicated study for B2B marketers which measures their brand's relative vitality among product category competitors. More
WPP Digital, the digital investment arm of marcoms giant WPP, has bought a stake in web engagement metrics firm NuConomy. While the sum was not disclosed, sources say that the amount totalled $3m. More
Global agency Millward Brown (MB) and fellow Kantar company IMRB are launching a Joint Venture. MB will take a majority share of the new business, to be known as Millward Brown India, which will start with offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. More
UK telecoms giant BT has selected WPP-owned Kantar Group to manage its consumer brand and customer tracking projects. More
In the US, Integrated Media Measurement Inc. (IMMI) has closed a $25m series c funding initiative, led by WPP's Kantar Media Research (KMR). More
Research International's UK Chairman Paul Edwards has swapped places with UK CEO Julian Bond, taking on the day-to-day running of the agency. More
In the US, The Council for Marketing and Opinion Research (CMOR) has announced the election of Diane Kosobud as Co-Chair of its Board of Directors, and Jane Moore as Co-Chair of its Government Affairs (GA) Committee. More
Kantar-owned pharma and biotech research consultancy MattsonJack has appointed Dr Pierre Anhoury as Senior Vice President and Business Leader, to support the expansion of the firm's cancer and non-cancer qual and quant services in Europe. More
WPP's brand development business Added Value has acquired US-based consultancy Cheskin. Cheskin Added Value will retain a high degree of autonomy with Darrel Rhea maintaining his leadership role as CEO. More
WPP's insight division the Kantar Group is restructuring its media businesses, in response to 'a rapidly changing media environment'. A newly formed Kantar Media Research (KMR) unit will bring together the media audience measurement assets and talent from across Kantar. More
In the US, Kantar Media's medical research unit MARS (multimedia audience research systems) has launched a media planning and buying system to provide competitor data, healthcare readership surveys and media publisher rates to the medical media services industry. More
MR veteran Alexander (Lex) Olivier has retired after 20 years with Kantar-owned firms Millward Brown (MB), Research International (RI) and Lightspeed. However, he remains Director General of EFAMRO – the European federation of research associations which he helped found. More
Kantar-owned pharma / biotech consultancy Mattson Jack Group has released a new syndicated study to help with decisions surrounding commercial opportunities in the field of oncology. More
Kantar firm AMRB has launched a new business-to-business and industrial research division (BIRD) in a move to strengthen its presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. More
Eight supervisory jobs at Kantar Operations' Leamington telephone centre in the UK have been lost after it was decided to relocate the unit to its existing Warwick site based two miles away. More
Mark Cranmer, who replaced Roger Banks as Global CEO of Research International only last year, will himself be leaving the post by the end of 2007. Bob Meyers, currently completing his term as CEO of Millward Brown, will replace him. More
Kantar, WPP's Information, Insight and Consultancy division, has appointed leading design consultant Aziz Cami as its first Creative Director. He takes up the position next week. More
Sister UK agencies BMRB and BPRI are to link two regular surveys, BMRB's face-to-face Omnibus survey and BPRI's Political Opinion Panel, to give clients the chance to put the same questions to MPs and the general public. More
MR specialist RPCushing Recruitment is launching an executive search and selection division, headed up by newly appointed Estelle Shepherd, former European Director of Recruitment at the Kantar Group. More
Kantar has confirmed that its Illinois-based MR call center will close on 23 June, making 252 people redundant. More
In the UK, Kantar has announced the launch of the 'Institute for Insight in the Public Services', a joint initiative between two of its companies, BMRB Social Research and Henley Centre HeadlightVision (HCHLV). More
Marketing giant WPP has reported first quarter revenue growth of 4.3% on a like-for-like basis, excluding acquisitions and currency. Due to an 11% decline in the US dollar against sterling, group revenue fell 0.7% to £1.366bn and that for the Information, Insight & Consultancy division fell c.5% to £204m. More
Kantar has announced the merging of its Japanese businesses into a single unit. The Japanese offices of Research International, Millward Brown, ICM/Added Value and Lightspeed Research will henceforth function as Japan Kantar Research (JKR). Kantar says it has no plans to replicate this approach elsewhere in the world. More
While more than 70% of British consumers own a credit card, consumers in other parts of Europe - particularly Eastern Europe - are far less likely to use plastic. However, around half of British card owners pay the full balance on their card each month, according to the latest Global TGI survey. More
In the US, healthcare and pharmaceutical specialist the Ziment Group has announced changes to its senior management. Current CEO Howard Ziment becomes Chairman and Lynnette Cooke steps up, adding the Group CEO title to her present role of CEO of the Custom Research division. More
Millward Brown has appointed Andy Greenfield, currently CEO of its North American qualitative division Greenfield Consulting Group, to oversee all its qual services worldwide. He also joins the firm's main Board. More
Research International has promoted Hilary Lee, previously a Client Team Director in its UK office, to become Director Client Services in Asia and Business Development Director for the Kantar Group for Asia. She will be based in Singapore. More
WPP Group has reported half yearly results. Headline profit before tax rose over 24% to $566m (£316m) and like-for-like revenue was up a respectable 5% year-on-year. The Group's Information, Insight and Consultancy companies performed well although slightly behind other sectors on some key measures. More
BMRB has launched TGI Europa Elite, a survey identifying upmarket European consumers, using a sample of 40,000 adults across France, Germany, Great Britain and Spain. Separately, the firm has also announced a new version of its Compose channel planning tool. More
Brand development and consulting firm Icon Added Value (IAV), part of WPP's Kantar division, has relaunched its offering in South India and appointed Praveen Ramachandra, Business Services Director, as head of the region based in Bangalore. More
Mandy Pooler and Lucy Gill have joined Rosi Ware in charge of developing WPP's research division, Kantar. The two new arrivals replace Fiona McAnena, who has joined PepsiCo in a senior innovation role. More
Millward Brown has signed a joint venture agreement with Chinese agency ACSR, to acquire the majority of its stock via parent company WPP. The resulting company, to be known as Millward Brown ACSR, will be one of China's five largest MR providers. More
The Operations Centre, Kantar's combined ops service organisation for its various research companies, has changed its name to Kantar Operations with immediate effect. Meanwhile Fieldwork International, the field division of the Synovate Healthcare, has unveiled a complete global re-brand. More
Research International (RI) has announced a number of senior appointments. Stefano Carlin joins from Ipsos to lead the company in Italy; Steve Mitchell becomes UK COO; and Annette Müller, David Walker, Dave Phillips and Mark Kingsbury also assume new senior Director roles. More
Baby boomer specialist consultancy Focalyst has recently announced the appointment of David van Nostrand as Senior VP and Chief Research Officer. More
MR provider Focalyst, a joint venture of AARP Services Inc. and The Kantar Group, is conducting 'the most comprehensive survey ever' of the US market among those aged 42 and over. More
Brand specialist D/R Added Value has launched a new approach to brand research, applying principles of neuroscience to marketing. Emotional Brand Connections (EBC) will examine the impact brands have on consumers, and help develop 'more effective, clutter-busting solutions'. More
Kantar has today appointed Ramona Liberoff to lead the group's Team Vodafone, the virtual team drawn from across several Kantar companies that works with Vodafone globally on many marketing issues including brand tracking, market segmentation, offer development and customer satisfaction. More
WPP has reported strong revenue growth for 2005, with organic growth healthy. Overall revenue was up 25% to $9.8 billion and like-for-like revenue up 5.5%. The group's information, insight & consultancy revenues - which include MR agencies such as Millward Brown and Research International - rose more than 7% on a constant currency basis. More
Mark Cranmer, the outgoing CEO of Starcom MediaVest EMEA, is to replace Roger Banks as Worldwide CEO of Research International. Banks is in discussions about another role within Kantar. More
Allan Bowditch, a former CEO of Global Healthcare for Martin Hamblin, has joined The Ziment Group in a Strategic Advisor role. He was with Martin Hamblin until May 2004, and was responsible for building the company's healthcare business over 30 years. More
The Kantar Group, whose companies include Research International and Millward Brown, has acquired the UK's Retail Marketing Services (RMS), a specialist shopper research agency. The company's services include the MultiTrack and IC Scan systems, which film shoppers' in-store behaviour. More
The Kantar Group and US over-50s advocacy organisation AARP have announced details of their new joint research venture, dedicated to understanding older consumers. The new organisation, called Focalyst and led by marketing industry veteran Mike Irwin, will conduct an annual lifestyle survey of 35,000 consumers. More
The Kantar Group has appointed Marc O'Regan to the new role of Director of Behavioural Insight. O'Regan, previously Head of Data at marketing agency Proximity London, is tasked with developing behavioural data analysis across the group's companies, which include Millward Brown and Research International. More
WPP saw a 23% rise in revenues over the first nine months of 2005. Revenues for its information and insight division (which includes Research International and Millward Brown) grew by 10%. Meanwhile, the company has been given less than a month to decide whether to bid for Aegis. More
WPP's Kantar Group has joined two venture capital companies, Prism Venture Partners and founding investor i-Hatch Ventures in a $7m Series B round of funding for mobile media measurement firm M:Metrics. More
Rumours about a possible sale of Synovate parent Aegis continue, with WPP the latest group said to be poised to make a bid. This week, Aegis has admitted that it has met with at least one other potential buyer in addition to Publicis, while Vincent Bolloré, Chairman of Havas, continues to increase his stake. More
Senior UK marketer Angus Porter today becomes Global CEO of the Added Value Group, WPP's marketing insight agency. Porter, who oversaw the rebrand of bank Abbey and has also worked for BT and Mars, will report to Eric Salama, Kantar's Chairman. He replaces Tamara Ingram, now CEO of ad agency Grey. More
Annette Nazaroff, formerly of Mindshare Asia Pacific, will join media research specialists the KMR Group next month in a new Executive VP position. Based in New York, she will help develop KMR in the Americas and expand its global TGI offering. More
The Kantar Group is joining forces with the over-50s advocacy organisation AARP to develop research and insight services to help businesses understand the fast-growing 50+ market. More
WPP, parent company of Millward Brown, Research International, The Kantar Group and The Henley Centre among many other companies worldwide, has reported robust revenues for the first five months of the year. Noting that revenue per head had increased, WPP's Chairman Philip Lader thanked the company's 84,000 staff worldwide for their 'outstanding efforts'. More
Tamara Ingram has left WPP-owned research group Added Value, of which she was Global CEO for the last 18 months, to head up WPP's ad agency Grey UK. Ingram was CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi from 1995 to 2002 and thereafter briefly of McCann-Erickson in the UK. More
VNU has announced that its subsidiary Nielsen Media Research International has successfully closed its 30-country joint venture TV ratings deal with WPP's AGB Group, announced on 5th August last year. More
The Kantar Group has recently agreed the acquisition of Oracle Market Research Holdings Ltd, one of Greater China's biggest independent MR suppliers, for an undisclosed sum. Oracle will join Kantar's Added Value group and be branded as Oracle Added Value. More
New York-based healthcare and pharmaceutical specialist The Ziment Group has launched IMAP Research, a new division specialising in multi-client studies. The Group also announced two senior appointments in Europe. More
The Kantar Group has acquired Cannondale Associates, which offers sales and marketing consultancy and software solutions and has offices in Wilton, CT, and Evanston, IL, USA. More
BMRB and Millward Brown have launched Enlightenment, a new UK-based customer intelligence service drawing on their combined expertise; and have appointed Sandy Livingstone, formerly of Key Note, to head it up. More
The AGB Group and Nielsen Media Research International have today announced a 50/50 joint venture that will offer television ratings in 30 countries. AGB Group's TV audience measurement services will merge with those wholly owned by Nielsen Media Research International. The deal does not include Nielsen's US TV ratings service. More
Ziment, the global healthcare research brand for The Kantar Group, has introduced a new research technique designed to improve the accuracy of drug sales and manufacturing forecasts. Customers traditionally overestimate potential demand and the new technique, 'Demand calibration', helps to adjust estimates. More
TGI is developing a new 'social grading' system, TGI Global SEL (Socio Economic Levels), according to the latest newsletter from Kantar. The system promises the grail of a consistent means of segmenting different populations into discrete groups based on social and economic status. More
The Kantar Group has relaunched its Web site, providing a clear and concise guide to the 19 research, insight and consultancy companies it now includes. More
Kantar is to consolidate its UK Operations capabilities – including quant field management, scripting questionnaires, data collection and DP - under a single management structure, headed by Mike Leigh. The new unit will be known as The Operations Centre. More
Jon Wilkinson, Chairman and CEO of Research International, has announced his intention to retire in June 2004. Roger Banks, currently CEO Mainland Europe, will become Group CEO and report in to Kantar CEO Eric Salama. Colin Buckingham moves to the new role of CEO, Global Business while Mark Penn, once President Clinton's pollster, becomes Non-Executive Chairman of the Group. More
Following the recent extension of its agreement with Nielsen Media Research to include Australia and New Zealand, KMR has announced that its TGI Network now covers over 50 countries worldwide, through wholly owned companies and partnerships. More
Millward Brown has appointed research agency MRB Hellas as its licensee in Greece. Established in 1969, MRB Hellas works across a broad range of clients including packaged goods, leisure, IT, telecoms, media, and government bodies, both Greek and European. More
Kantar has announced that Tamara Ingram, former CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi and of McCann-Erickson in the UK, is joining as president of 3 of its insight companies, Added Value, Fusion 5 and Henley Centre. Ingram will report in to Kantar CEO, Eric Salama and the CEOs of the three companies will report in to her. More
The Kantar Group has acquired The Mattson Jack Group (MJG), a leading US based healthcare consultancy focusing primarily on the pharmaceutical / biotech industry. MJG will operate as a stand-alone entity within Kantar with Bill Mattson and Bill Jack jointly reporting to Kantar CEO Eric Salama. More
Kantar Media Research has acquired a 40% stake in Portuguese based market research firm, Marktest Investimentos with the remaining 60% to be held by the current shareholders who will continue to be responsible for the group's management. More
Kantar, WPP's Information, Insight and Consultancy Division, has strengthened its management team with the additions of Fiona McAnena, as Development Director, and Rosi Ware as VP Development. More
David Jenkins, The Kantar Group CEO, is retiring from market research after leading Kantar for five years and doubling its size during that period. More
Reflecting the rapid international expansion of its business, KMR (Kantar Media Research) has appointed Richard Windle to the new role of Research Director, TGI and Media Research. More
The Kantar Group, the information and consultancy arm of the WPP Group, has just announced the merger in Canada of two of its major market research subsidiaries, Millward Brown and Goldfarb Consultants. More
BMRB International and Millward Brown are pleased to announce that BMRB's Consumer division will become part of Millward Brown UK with effect from August 1. BMRB Consumer will be given full access to the learning, tools and techniques of the Millward Brown organisation in order to expand and enhance offerings to existing and new clients. More
ACNielsen, Kantar Media Research (KMR) and the Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB) have announced their intention to form a new joint venture by the end of 2001. The undertaking will focus on a highly comprehensive measurement of TV audiences and advertising expenditures within the Indian region. More
Kantar Media Research, the specialist media research business of Millward Brown and part of Kantar, has expanded its network in recent weeks with the acquisition of two companies. More
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