UK marketing services and print group St. Ives has continued its recent buying spree, with the acquisition of London and Leeds-based digital agency Branded3 from co-founders Vin Chinnaraja and Patrick Altoft. The deal is valued at up to �10.7m. 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

WPP brand and media specialist Millward Brown has opened an office in Dhaka, Bangladesh, headed by Samina Afrin, who recently joined the company from Nielsen. More

US media network ABC is participating in Nielsen�s �first-ever� trial expanding its Online Campaign Ratings (OCR) solution to the measurement of ads on mobile devices. More

Online customer experience specialist Foresee has launched an SaaS tool called �SessionReplay for Mobile�, to help organisations see how mobile users are interacting with their sites and apps. More

Radio ratings giant Arbitron has reported a 5.1% increase in Q1 revenue to $111.8m, compared with $106.4m in the prior year period. Earnings are slightly down - Q1 EBITDA was to $34.7m vs $36.6m a year earlier - due the firm says to the costs associated with the planned Nielsen merger. More

Nielsen is selling its �non-core� tradeshow business Nielsen Expositions to Canadian private equity firm Onex in a cash deal worth $950m, in order to provide funds for its planned $1.3 billion acquisition of radio ratings giant Arbitron. More

The Audited Media Association of Australia (AMAA) has put out to tender a contract to measure a new range of metrics to be included in its Web Audit Service. The organisation�s existing service has been audited by Nielsen for the past four years. More

Digital measurement specialist comScore has reported �record revenues�, with first quarter figures up 11% to $68.8m compared with $62.3m a year ago, driven by its Audience Analytics business and mobile and multi-platform products. More

GfK has acquired the remainder of subsidiaries GfK Etilize in the US, media control GfK International in Germany, and GfK UK Entertainments in the UK. More

AOL has partnered with Nielsen to develop a tool to measure those audiences viewing the former�s library of more than 620,000 videos. More

Global information giant Experian has launched a platform integrating real-time data and customer insight to help marketers create materials for campaigns across on and off-line channels. More

Nielsen is piloting a new solution, �Nielsen Digital Program Ratings�, designed to measure audiences who view TV content online. More

Israeli web user experience specialist ClickTale has secured a $17m Series B round of investment, which it will use to fund product development and accelerate its global growth. More

Protagonists in the US debate about the protection of online consumer data appear to be pursuing at least three conflicting strategies, with ad industry trade group the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) deflecting criticism from senators onto browser makers Microsoft and Mozilla (Firefox). More

Emerging market digital audience specialist Effective Measure has officially launched in Pakistan, after more than a year sounding out this �booming online media market�. More

Google has announced that its viewability measurement tool Active View has won accreditation from the Media Rating Council, and has released stats revealing that - perhaps predictably - viewers are considerably more likely to click on an ad if they can see it. More

Nielsen has reported a 3% increase in Q1 revenues to $1.38 billion, despite performance in Europe which CFO Brian West said in a conference call continues to be a �pretty big drag� on the company. More

US-based online / off-line purchasing data firm Datalogix has closed a $25m Series B round of funding, and says it will help to accelerate the adoption of its audience and measurement solutions across display, mobile, video, social media and search channels. More

In the US, online behavioral marketing technology specialist Silverpop has raised $25m in venture debt funding, for use in accelerating growth globally. More

Digital analytics specialist Webtrends is relocating its headquarters to downtown Portland next February, consolidating its operations onto a single floor in the skyscraper known as �Big Pink�. More

Nielsen has integrated its Online Campaign Ratings service with the Velocity measurement solution of digital video specialist SET Media, allowing advertisers to forecast Gross Rating Points (GRPs) by program type and by individual video, while also delivering post-impression analytics. More

Arbitron�s shareholders approved the company�s acquisition by Nielsen at a special meeting held yesterday. 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

IAB Australia has extended its national online audience measurement contract with Nielsen, without going out to tender. More

Digital measurement specialist comScore has promoted Victor Cheng and Yosuke Maekawa to head its China and Japan regions respectively. More

Online analytics pioneer Webtrends has launched a platform called �Action Center�, through which users can integrate in-session and historical customer data into their marketing systems. More

Liz Musch has been appointed CEO of ad, brand and communications research division Ipsos ASI, succeeding Alex Gronberger who moves to the new role of regional CEO of Ipsos Latin America. She joins the Ipsos Management Board and will report to founder and CEO Didier Truchot. More

Online targeting specialist BlueKai has teamed up with mobile marketing and ad technology company Velti to give clients of the former�s Data Activation System access to the latter�s data and allow targeting of consumers on mobile devices. More

US-based business intelligence company HG Data has appointed former JupiterResearch CEO Tim Baskerville as President, with a remit to scale its data science operation. More

In the US, audience targeting specialist eXelate has appointed former WPP Xaxis digital data and analytics specialist Eugene Becker as Senior Vice President of Product Management. More

US consultancy Web Analytics Demystified has appointed former Omniture exec Josh West as a Partner, to manage the firm�s tag management, core technology, and custom development practice. More

eBay has hired Zoher Karu, formerly VP of Marketing Analytics at Sears, for the new position of Vice President, Customer Optimization & Data, tasked with using analytics to target customers. More

Shopper marketing specialists Jim Cusson and Jared Meisel have set up a new agency called Theory House in Charlotte, North Carolina. More

Multi-screen measurement firm Rentrak has partnered with SintecMedia to integrate a performance tracking and revenue management solution for TV and movies into its Digital Download Essentials service. More

WPP�s digital investment arm has joined a third round of funding for Leading Smart Holdings, giving it further involvement in Chinese digital advertising measurement company Miaozhen Systems. More

In the US, Arbitron�s one-time critic the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) has told the FTC it is �cautiously optimistic� about the potential for improvements in audience measurement for television and radio if the Arbitron-Nielsen merger goes ahead. More

Digital audience specialist comScore has suffered a legal setback in Illinois, where a federal judge has ruled it could be open to a class action suit over claims of privacy violations. More

App measurement and advertising platform Flurry is to make its Flurry Analytics service available for apps and mobile-optimized web sites, in the next few weeks. More

New York-based online audience targeting firm [x+1] has signed a new $17m debt facility with Ares Capital Corporation, and says it will use the funds to further its growth strategy including targeted acquisitions and overall market expansion. More

In New York, ad and marketing effectiveness specialist Dynamic Logic has upgraded its AdIndex for Mobile solution, to enable clients to identify ad exposure across the entire mobile �ecosystem�. More

Nielsen has rolled out its ad measurement service Online Campaign Ratings to four new markets - Germany, Italy, Australia and Canada. More

B2B targeting and personalization platform Demandbase has closed a $15m round of funding, which it plans to use to fuel �triple figure growth�. More

Down Under, the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) and Circulations Audit Board (CAB) have merged into a unified legal entity known as the Audited Media Association of Australia. More

UK-based web management software firm Decibel Technology has introduced an analytics tool called Decibel Insight, to provide information on the value and behaviour of clients� web site visitors. More

Digital audience measurement giant comScore has officially launched its MMX Multi-Platform service in the USA, combining and deduping audience across PCs, smartphones and tablets. More

San Francisco-based Internet ratings firm Quantcast has introduced an app to provide insights into cross-platform usage by digital audiences. More

Otto Hellwig, CEO of sample and panel provider respondi, has been elected Chairman of The German Society for Online Research (Deutsche Gesellschaft f�r Online Forschung - DGOF), replacing Christoph Irmer who has stepped down after a two-year term in office. More

US ad measurement specialist MSW Research has acquired the non-health copy-testing and non-health equity tracking assets of comScore�fs ad research arm ARS for an undisclosed sum. comScore will retain the health-based copy-testing/equity tracking assets following the divestiture. More

Global PR consultancy Porter Novelli has introduced a monitoring and analytics system called PN Sonar, which it claims captures the entire conversation taking place about a brand or organization - across print, broadcast and digital media. More

Gayle Fuguitt, formerly research chief at grocer General Mills, has emerged from a short retirement to take the post of President and CEO at US-based advertising research organisation the ARF. More

Venture capital firm Spectral Capital Corporation has acquired an 8% minority stake in Canadian firm Kontexto, which provides real-time data collection and analysis services for digital media and data intelligence teams. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More

IAB Turkey has awarded online measurement agency Gemius the country�s official Internet audience metrics contract for a further two years. More

US newspaper and Internet publisher The McClatchy Company is to acquire media measurement and analytics firm Tru Measure. Financial terms were not disclosed. More

A new agency called Wess Digital has been set up in the UK, to offer political parties and campaign groups access to data on people�s political voting preferences and their support for specific issues-driven campaigns. More

German online ad visibility measurement specialist Meetrics has opened an office in the UK, and appointed Eyeblaster founder Anant Joshi to lead it. The firm is also opening a South East Asia HQ in Thailand, led by recently appointed Nutchsara Cayir. More

The Federal Trade Commission has asked Nielsen for additional information regarding its proposed $1.3 billion takeover of radio ratings giant Arbitron, postponing a possible deal still further. Meanwhile Nielsen may also be looking to offload its trade show business. More

With the planned acquisition by Nielsen approaching, Arbitron has set out details of remuneration packages for its senior execs including recently appointed President and CEO Sean Creamer. More

Retail data specialist dunnhumby has hired long-time Arbitron exec Lung Huang for its newly created role of Vice President of Digital Advertising, Global Partnerships. More

New York-based digital marketing agency Resolute Digital, whose services include web measurement, consumer insight and media analysis, has opened a new office in Los Angeles. More

Online video analytics specialist Innovid has raised $11m in Series C funding, which it will use to extend its service for PC, mobile and tablet platforms, while also developing offers for new formats such as gaming consoles, connected TV and video-on-demand. More

Media and ad research exec Lauren Bronchtein has been named SVP, Research and Insights at MPA - the Association of Magazine Media, replacing Wayne Eadie who is retiring after 40 years in the magazine sector. More

US-based Media Economics Group - which provides competitive intelligence on online ads targeted at the Hispanic and African-American markets - has launched a new service called ArgentinaWebMonitor, to provide coverage of online ad activity across Argentina. More

The Ukraine Television Industry Committee (TIC) has awarded Nielsen a new audience measurement contract, apparently cutting short an agreement with previous incumbent GfK Ukraine after unproven allegations that the latter had bribed panellists. More

US-based WhatRunsWhere - which offers a competitive intelligence service for online media buying - has expanded to Latin America with the addition of data from Brazil and Mexico. More

Experian Marketing Services has announced the launch of Hitwise Mobile, which will provide clients with �comprehensive data and insights� about mobile consumer behaviour. More

Emerging market digital audience analyst Effective Measure has appointed John Davis in the new role of Global Measurement Scientist, based in its Australian office in Melbourne. More

Real-time marketing analytics provider Anametrix has launched a cloud-based mobile app giving access to its data via iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices. More

...as bad as you fear, or as good as you hope *. Wise words, or at least a good starting point for a feature on threats and opportunities for the research profession, overwhelmed as we sometimes are by hype and alarmism. This is the last of our seven features celebrating job ad no.100,000. More

comScore has announced a partnership with video ad measurement and verification specialist VideoHub, which will see the latter�s service integrated into comScore metrics. More

The UK�s National Readership Survey (NRS) has awarded comScore the online audience measurement contract for its print and digital data product NRS PADD. More

In Stockholm, Hans Gieskes has stepped down as President and Group CEO of comms monitoring firm Cision, with a SEK 8 million reward for completing a successful turnaround programme for the formerly flagging group. He is replaced by North America CEO Peter Granat. More

In New York, online ad verification service DoubleVerify has received accreditation from the Media Rating Council (MRC) for its suite of verification and viewability products. More

San Francisco-based audience measurement and digital advertising firm Quantcast has opened a new EMEA Operations Centre in Dublin, Ireland, to support the expansion of the firm�s advertising business across Europe. More

New York-based online audience targeting firm [x+1] has acquired tag management company UberTags, in order to expand its Origin data management platform (DMP). Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More

Jeffrey Graham, formerly Director of Advertising Research, Americas at Google, has joined Twitter as its Director of Ad Research. More

In Australia, Nielsen says it will retire its monthly Unique Browser (UB) metrics at the end of this month, following recent announcements from advertising bodies in the country that the figure is no longer meaningful. More

comScore has reported record fourth quarter revenue of $68.4m, up 9% over the prior year period. This was driven by growth across its Media Metrix suite of audience measurement tools, which offset declines in its copy testing business. More

Launchpad Digital Media - which delivers more than 90 million podcast downloads a month - has partnered with media specialist Edison Research to launch what it describes as �standard metrics� to measure podcast audiences. More

According to reports in the press, Facebook is in talks with Microsoft to buy the latter�s Atlas Solutions media measurement platform, for something under $100m. More

Is it possible to talk about the mass of new skills and techniques bombarding the profession without feeling depressed about the traditional skills of the market researcher? Most definitely, says MrWeb co-founder Nick Thomas, continuing our celebration of 100,000 MR job ads. More

London-based online research specialist DigitalMR has launched a solution called eViewer, to enable any company with an online presence to observe how customers interact with and react to their web sites, video clips, online games, mobile apps and adverts. More

Nielsen has reported a 1% rise in revenue to $5.6 billion for the full year 2012, compared with the 8% increase it posted the previous year. Revenue in the firm�s Buy retail measurement division was flat while the Watch media analytics arm saw a 3% increase. More

TV and box office measurement firm Rentrak has announced a multi-year contract with analytics-driven direct response agency Havas Edge, which will link data from TV Essentials and Station View Essentials to its own databases to optimise client campaigns. More

Digital ad tech firm Videology is to integrate Nielsen�s Online Campaign Ratings into a predictive targeting solution for advertisers. More

Multi-screen measurement firm Rentrak has reported a 12% increase in consolidated revenue to $24.9m for the third quarter of fiscal 2013, driven by a 32% hike in its Advanced Media and Information (AMI) business. More

Boston-based customer intelligence analytics specialist DataXu has raised $27m in new funding, which it plans to use to support ongoing global expansion and accelerate development of its technology. More

US online research and analytics company InsightExpress has added auto specialist Polk�s census of vehicle registration data to its own Ignite Auto research solution, to provide marketers with an understanding of how ad exposure drives buying behavior. More

Retail and pricing intelligence firm Upstream Commerce has raised $3m in funding, which it plans to use to strengthen its core technology, big data analytics, and recommendation and prediction capabilities. More

Google has acquired retail sales tracking firm Channel Intelligence (CI) for $125m in cash, from holding company ICG Group. The transaction is expected to close this quarter. 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

Nielsen and Arbitron have voluntarily agreed to provide the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with additional time to review Nielsen�s proposed takeover of the radio ratings giant. More

Digital audience analyst comScore has expanded its mobile measurement offering, to include unduplicated data on more than one million smartphone users, 400,000 tablet owners, and 150,000 households with connected home devices such as games consoles and smart TVs. More

Video advertising platform Adap.tv has introduced a tool to verify the �viewability� of video ads in real-time, allowing ad measurement to discount those impressions that do not appear to the user. More

UK MP Maria Miller says that advertising should be regarded as the �oil in the machinery� of a recovering market, following the release of an Advertising Association/Deloitte report that has highlighted the sector�s �100bn contribution to the UK economy. More

Digital audience specialist Effective Measure has appointed Sammy Elazab as Country Managing Director for Singapore, to lead business development efforts across the country. More

US-based digital media buying platform MediaMath has acquired the Advertising Decision Solutions (ADS) business of online management and measurement firm Akamai, including its data co-operative, staff and other assets, for an undisclosed sum. More

In New York, Ipsos MediaCT has appointed former WPP MIG exec Paul Wallace as Vice President, responsible for both new business activity and managing and overseeing operations on active business. More

Marketing services agency Havas Worldwide New York has brought execs from analytics, community management and content strategy functions together in a new Shared Owned & Earned media practice (SOE), and hired four new staff to add to seventeen joining from within the group. More

UK-based consumer insight agency Join the Dots has appointed former TNS director Mark Walton and former Buzzback manager Ed Wheeler to drive new business across all areas of the company, from its newly established office in London. More

New York-based Innovid has received Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for its measurement of digital video and display ad impressions. More

Omnicom Media Group (OMG) has appointed ITV�s Director of Media Jenny Bullis for the newly created role of Director of its data and analytics business Annalect. 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

US-based cross-platform ad measurement agency Adometry has raised $8m in Series D financing, which it plans to use to extend its product �roadmap�, hire more staff, and expand into new markets. More

US-based e-mail marketing specialist Yesmail Interactive has launched an enhanced version of its Market Intelligence tool, to enable the collection of data from e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+, as well as display ad networks, and the web in general. More

GfK MRI Chief Executive Kathi Love is stepping down from her role on 15th February, in order to pursue her interest in psychology and sociology. More

President Obama�s former Director of Digital Analytics Amelia Showalter has launched her own digital and quant consultancy, promising to bring what she describes as Obama�s campaign�s culture of �rigorous testing and data analysis� to campaigns, organizations and companies. More

In the US, online video advertising firm YuMe has acquired audience targeting technology specialist Crowd Science, in a bid to extend its own Audience Amplifier targeting solution. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More

Online measurement firms Web Analytics Demystified and Webtrends have paired up to promote the latter�s digital intelligence solution, Webtrends Streams, across North America. More

Marketing performance measurement firm Ebiquity Plc has announced interim Results for the six months ended 31 October 2012, including revenues up 27% to �30.5m and �underlying� profit before tax up from �2.2m to �2.7m. In organic terms, however, revenues grew at a more modest 2%. More

Internet and mobile cloud testing and monitoring firm Keynote has appointed Nick Halsey as CMO, succeeding Ren Bloom, VP of Marketing since May 2008, who is leaving to pursue a new venture. More

Global technology and marketing services company Sapient has acquired cross-media marketing analytics firm (m)PHASIZE. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More

IXI Services, a division of consumer information provider Equifax, has launched an online tool called AudienceIntel, which helps clients evaluate who is actually viewing and responding to their ads. More

London and New York-based media and creative agency Essence Digital has acquired Seattle-based mobile ad company Point Reach, which delivers campaigns backed by �strong analytics�. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More

Internet ratings firm Quantcast has acquired MakeGood Software, which specializes in the reconciliation and reporting of data from digital ad campaigns. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More

Steve Garton, the former MD of Ipsos MediaCT Asia Pacific, has left to set up his own consultancy. The new firm will base its services around �holistic communication� and ROI measures, supported by technology �not previously available in Asia�. More

Online audience measurement agency Gemius has partnered with media research firm Marktest to provide measurement in the latter�s native Portugal. More

In the US, audience measurement firm Rentrak has announced a deal to provide local market mobile broadcast TV ratings to twelve major broadcast networks operating the Dyle mobile television service. More

San Diego, California-based digital analytics company Anametrix has promoted CMO Pelin Thorogood to CEO, replacing co-founder and Chairman Blaise Barrelet who will focus more energy on his investment firm Analytics Ventures. More

US research body the MRA has filed comments with the FTC objecting to proposals from the privacy group EPIC over a settlement with data firm Compete, Inc regarding web tracking violations. MRA says the proposals could seriously impact the whole research profession. More

In accordance with plans announced in November and ratified by shareholders last month, WPP has returned its tax headquarters to the UK. The group also announced it has taken a twenty percent stake in Buenos Aires-based digital marketing specialist Globant. More

Nielsen has begun a five-year contract to operate a new Television Audience Measurement (TAM) service in Hong Kong. More

A new study by the Nielsen-funded Council for Research Excellence (CRE) highlights the difficulties posed for audience researchers by the growing variety of video consumption devices such as tablets, smart TVs and gaming consoles. More

123 articles found.