Lightspeed Unveils Panel Network for Large Projects

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.

Lightspeed says it has put the network together over a number of years, seeking to meet growing demand for high quality, globally consistent sample for programmatic, on-demand and price-sensitive insights projects. Partners also include WPP sister companies Kantar Millward Brown Ignite, Wunderman Data Products' Zipline, and GroupM's [m]PLATFORM more patnerships are planned.

In conjunction with the launch and 'in recognition of the enhanced role that programmatic sample plays in research', Lightspeed says it has promoted Tom Ottersburg to VP of Programmatic and Acquisition. Ottersburg has played a key role in the network's 85% growth in yield year over year.

CEO Caroline Frankum (pictured) comments: 'Along with our clients, Lightspeed sees opportunities in the billions of profiles in diverse pools of people and so we are proactively expanding our reach and connections through the Gravity Network. To find the quality in the quantity of data out there, we will leverage our first party panel relationships, testing and extending through trusted partners, and validating through comparison work and our patented Honesty Detector service'.

Lightspeed says it is also investing in further development of its core first party DOI panels and has achieved a 20% increase in their capacity in the last quarter - it believes both Programmatic Supply and DOI panels have 'an important role in the future of marketing research'.

The company has 700 employees working in fourteen countries and is headquartered in Warren, New Jersey. Lightspeed is part of Kantar, within WPP and is online at www.lightspeedresearch.com .