Macromill Start-Up to Offer Commodity Purchase Data

In Japan, online research firm Macromill has partnered with ad and marketing services agencies Hakuhodo and Tokyu to form a new subsidiary which will collect and sell data on consumer commodity buying in Tokyo.

Macromill, led by founder and Chairman Tetsuya Sugimoto (pictured), offers a proprietary automatic online research system which instantly collects consumer response on products and services, as well as its own Japanese panel, comprising around 861,000 panellists.

In addition, the firm has acquired a brand data bank company that analyzes the correlation between consumers and the brands they purchase.

Last summer, Macromill took over Yahoo! Japan's market research business Yahoo Japan Value Insight (YVI), which taps in to research panels and Internet data from its original parent firm.

Macromill will hold an 82% stake in the latest venture, while Hakuhodo takes a 15% share, and Tokyu the remaining 3%.

Last year, Hakuhodo partnered with US-based analytics firm MarketShare to offer marketing effectiveness solutions to clients in Japan and other key Asian markets.

Web sites: www.macromill.com , www.hakuhodody-holdings.co.jp and www.tokyu-agc.co.jp .