April Jeffries has been promoted to the role of President of Ipsos UU, Ipsos Marketing’s qualitative research arm in the US. She is based in the firm’s office in Mahwah, NJ. More

Millward Brown has appointed Travyn Rhall as Global CEO, succeeding Eileen Campbell who is stepping down in mid-July for personal reasons. More

Retail and healthcare data giant IRI has partnered with health and wellness consumer insights agency SPINS, to create a new segmentation offer in the natural/organic sector. More

GfK has issued an ad hoc statement on preliminary figures for the first quarter, showing organic sales growth of only 0.6 percent, and adjusted operating income and margin down on Q1 2012. However the global group says order levels are good and it should meet annual forecasts of 3-4 percent sales growth. More

Minneapolis-based custom qual provider Gordon Weiss Research has rebranded as Sivo Insights with immediate effect. More

In Australia, supermarket giant Woolworths has taken a 50% non-controlling stake in customer data analytics firm Quantium, which in return will gain access to Woolworth’s customer data and provide insights to the retailer’s packaged goods suppliers. More

In the US, RetailNext has completed a $15m Series C round of financing, which it will use to expand its engineering team, deliver new detection and predictive analytics capabilities, and grow its operations in Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. 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, Silicon Valley-based social media intelligence platform Swipp has raised $2m in investment funding, while also launching a product called Swipp Plus to provide real-time customer insight around products, brands and offers. More

In the UK, shopper and leisure sector research consultancy Touchstone Partners has appointed former Johnson & Jonson director Sarah Lacey as Head of its Shopper Consultancy division. More

In the US, the company known for the last three years as SymphonyIRI is now once again just IRI (Information Resources Inc.). More

Retail and healthcare specialist SymphonyIRI has added the title of Chief Client Strategy Officer to former P&G exec Beverly Grant’s existing role as President of Retail Solutions. More

UK-based consumer insight and strategic consulting firm The Future Foundation has expanded to the US with the opening of an office in New York, where it has relocated Heather Corker in the role of VP, Consumer Trends, North America. More

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

WPP's media investment management group GroupM has expanded its line-up of multicultural insights services and brought them together in one until called GroupM Multicultural, led by Hispanic media specialist Gonzalo Del Fa. More

UK consumer specialist Incite has launched a dedicated Behaviour Change practice, which will use multiple disciplines - including behavioural economics, neuroscience, health psychology and CRM - to help brands influence the behaviour of consumers. More

GfK has fully integrated its custom research division GfK Blue Moon into its global structure, and renamed it GfK Australia, Consumer Experiences. More

Online research and polling firm YouGov has reported strong results for the 6 months ending January 31st, the first half of its financial year, with like-for-like revenue growth of 5% and adjusted profit before tax up by 16% to £2.6m. More

London-based Realeyes, which measures facial expressions and quantifies people’s emotional reactions through standard video devices such as webcams and in-store cameras, has completed a $3.2m round of investment. More

GfK has confirmed a 10.2% increase in 2012 sales to EUR 1.5 billion, exceeding its target of 9%. ‘Strong’ organic growth of 3.1% is cited as a key reason for beating the target. More

Ipsos Marketing has announced a strategic partnership with Bounty, the UK’s largest parenting club. The deal gives Ipsos clients access to Bounty’s 37,000 strong Word of Mum Panel, comprising mums-to-be, new mums and those with pre-school age children. More

Ipsos has reported 2012 revenues of EUR 1.8bn, up from EUR 1.4bn in 2011, but disappointing given the addition of Synovate. Accustomed to rapid growth, the group blamed the stall on politicians, the integration process and competitor poaching of senior staff. Profits however remained solid. More

Aimia, owner of the Nectar loyalty scheme, has promoted David Johnston to the newly created role of Group Chief Operating Officer, with a remit to further develop its global operating model. Separately, the firm has reported a flat year, propped up by strong EMEA performance based around Nectar UK. More

Lauren Demar has been promoted to the role of Deputy Chief Executive Officer, with responsibility for two Ipsos Marketing divisions: InnoQuest and MarketQuest. More

Consumer specialist The NPD Group has reorganized its senior management team as part of its strategy to ‘accelerate growth and innovation’. More

US provider Strategy Analytics, which focuses on clients in the technology sector, has opened a new Consumer Insights Practice (CIP) led by Motorola Mobility’s former Head of Consumer Insights Joy Ganvik. More

Shopper analytics specialist Euclid has closed a $17.3m round of financing, which it will use to further service its growing customer base. More

Central London-based qual/quant agency Vision One has opened an office in Liverpool from which it will service clients in northern England and Scotland. More

Here are the best set of mean salary stats for the UK MR industry you’re ever likely to see. Best as in good, solid bases and careful compilation; and the average rise is not bad either. But there’s one shocker, and it doesn’t take a great analyst to spot it. MrWeb's Nick Thomas continues our celebrations for job no. 100,000. More

In Dubai, Yahoo! has confirmed that from 1 April, its online research business Yahoo! Maktoob Research will no longer offer external support to clients, but instead focus on providing research services to the group’s own advertising clients. More

Millward Brown has developed a model which it claims ‘cracks the code’ for how brands drive financial growth for their organisations. 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

Market research was once said to be ‘recession-proof’, but we don’t hear that quite so often these days. Are we in a ‘double-dip’? And in our new, more cautious mode, who are we recruiting and how many of them? Nick Thomas looks at the stats for 2005-12 as we celebrate our 100,000th job ad this week. More

MasterCard’s insights arm MasterCard Advisors has acquired a stake in decision science and data analytics firm Mu Sigma, and will work to combine its anonymous purchase behavior data with Mu Sigma’s advanced analytics. More

GfK has named four senior leaders for its operations in the CEE-META (Central and Eastern Europe Middle East, Turkey and Africa) and APAC (Asia and the Pacific) regions. 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

Bob Shullman, the former President of affluent consumer measurement business Ipsos Mendelsohn, has set up his own consultancy called the Shullman Research Center, which offers a ‘Luxury and Affluence Monthly Pulse’ of future purchasing intentions of the US marketplace. More

US-based product innovation specialist InsightsNow has appointed former NPD Group LatAm President Mark Turim as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer. More

Preliminary results indicate that GfK’s full-year revenue rose 10.2% in 2012, to approximately EUR 1.5bn, with organic growth of 3.1%. More

London-based Purple Market Research has announced a partnership with US consumer insights specialist Kelton, as part of the latter’s Global Group alliance of international partner firms. More

Heineken UK is restructuring its London/Edinburgh-based marketing team to reflect what it describes as the increasing importance of ‘innovation, media, and digital communications’. DRNO sources say that up to 60 posts will be affected by the changes, including some in the Insights team. More

Consumer, retail and healthcare specialist SymphonyIRI has promoted Piyush Chaudhari to the newly created role of President of the Americas, with a focus on driving performance and growth for domestic and select global clients. More

Millward Brown has announced a major expansion of its Link and Facial Coding technology, and says two of its biggest clients, Unilever and The Coca-Cola Company, will use the technique for all their ad testing in 2013. More

Consumer insights specialists Cristina de Balanzó, Siemon Scamell-Katz and Rafal Ohme have set up a new London-based neuroscience consultancy called The Walnut Group. More

Miami-based sales performance agency The Retail Outsource Companies has launched a new sister company called ‘The Consumer Insight’ (TCI), which will offer a range of mystery shopping, customer surveys, compliance audits and competitive intelligence services. More

UK supermarket chain Morrisons has promoted Marketing and Operations Director Nick Collard to the new role of Group Marketing and Customer Director. He will join the management board in June. More

Japanese researcher INTAGE Inc. and Cairo-based ConField MENA have announced a non-exclusive alliance agreement to provide customized research services in their respective regions. More

GfK NOP, ABA and Research Bods scooped three of the major categories at this year’s MRS Awards ceremony held in London last night, while mobile crowdsourcing innovator Nathan Eagle received the inaugural MRS President’s Medal. More

Global wine and spirit brand Pernod Ricard has launched an internal social network called Chatter, through which employees will be encouraged to generate and share new ideas for the business. More

London-based consumer agency Firefish has expanded its quant team with four new appointments, including Paul Harvey as a Director, plus Jen Culby, Tom Birch and Louise Dinesen. More

Chicago-based Insights in Marketing (IIM) has launched a new division called ‘i on Women’, dedicated to understanding female consumers. More

UK-based agency MMR Research Worldwide, which focuses on the food, drink, personal and household care sectors, has announced seven new appointments including Client Services Director Janine Gamon and ADs Dan Hibbs, Tim Button and Tom Pile. More

UK store group The John Lewis Partnership has announced that current Lloyds Banking Group Customer Value chief Paul de Laat will move to the retailer in January to become its first Customer Insight Director. More

In the UK, former AQR Chair Peter Lovett has announced the closure of Consumer Profile Ltd, the Oxfordshire based full-service agency he founded in 1986. He will remain in the industry via a new consultancy, Bespoke Qualitative Research. More

GfK has reported ‘a significant sales increase’ of 9.8% to EUR 1,096.8m in the first nine months of 2012, with much of the rise however due to currency effects and acquisitions. Q3 revenue was up 11.3% to EUR 376.7m. EBITDA fell 18.5% to EUR 50.6m. More

Local market specialist Scarborough Research has formally announced its entry into Puerto Rico with a new insights service combining extensive attitudinal data and consumer behavior-based measures. More

In the UK, Lloyds Banking Group Head of Retail Strategy Alex Owens is leaving to take up the role of Head of Insight at supermarket chain Sainsbury’s. He starts the new job in January. More

Ipsos has reported 9-month revenues of just under EUR 1.28bn, up 45.1% on a constant currency basis since gobbling up Synovate a year ago. The firm says now that the integration is complete, it will ‘resume its focus on growth’ and on meeting its service quality and profitability targets. More

Consumer and retail specialist The NPD Group has restructured its European management team in response to what it describes as the ‘changing needs’ of clients and retail partners. As part of the reshuffle, David Pritchard has been named General Manager of Commercial Activity. More

Nielsen has announced third quarter revenue up 5% year-on-year, on a constant currency basis, to $1.423bn, with its Buy (4%) and Watch (5%) segments both contributing. Adjusted EBITDA rose 7% on the same basis to $424m. 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

Retail data specialist dunnhumbyUSA is to extend its presence in Chicago by taking the entire twenty-second floor of the city’s Merchandise Mart, where it has plans to add 30 or more new members of staff in the next eighteen months. More

Broadband and telecoms giant Telefónica has partnered with GfK to open a big data business unit called Telefónica Dynamic Insights, which will sell anonymised and aggregated mobile network data to companies and public sector organisations worldwide. More

UK-based agency 2CV has promoted Mark Bagnall to Managing Director of its UK office, following Doug Edmonds’ relocation to San Francisco, where he now serves as Group CEO. More

A year after returning to TNS Jan Hofmeyr has refined his ConversionModel, to help clients identify how people feel about their brand and determine how external barriers like price and availability affect consumer spending. More

UK-based supermarket giant Tesco is planning a new Clubcard scheme which will provide consumers with products and games offering ‘simple, useful, and fun’ personalised access to their own shopping data. More

In the UK, marketing services and print group St. Ives Plc has invested around £1m in additional staff to support future growth plans at its recently acquired market research agency Incite and consumer consultancy Pragma; and says it has plans to finance these businesses further. More

Ad intelligence provider Exponential Interactive has partnered with MasterCard’s analytics arm to incorporate retail-level consumer spending behavior data into its online audience targeting services. More

Point-of-sale data giant Catalina is planning to triple the size of its Boston,US-based team and relocate it to a 75,000 square foot office in the city’s ‘Innovation District’ in November. More

GfK has appointed seven leaders in China, Korea, Malaysia and Japan, as part of a strategy to expand its global research solutions across the Asia Pacific region. More

Online specialist BrainJuicer has opened a ‘client-facing’ practice in India, where it has appointed Pooja Haldea as Managing Director – India, based in New Delhi, and Sarah Cowell-Thomas as Head of Juice Generation – India, based in Mumbai. More

London-based communications research agency MESH Planning has expanded to the US with the opening of an office in Manhattan, New York, led by Experience Director Nathan Evans. More

Consumer research agency rdsi has promoted ten members of staff, including Research Directors Emma O’Connell and Tim Gowing (pictured) who join the Senior Management team. More

Asian agency ABN Research has opened an office in Hong Kong, from which it plans to expand beyond the FMCG and white good sectors to supporting service industries such as finance and telecoms. The firm has also been re-named as ‘ABN Impact’. More

New York-based consumer behavior research and consulting firm Envirosell has opened an office in Istanbul, Turkey, led by recently appointed telecoms specialists Melik Karabiyikoglu and Burc Tutanc. More

Digital agency XM Asia Pacific has opened a Consumer Experience Lab in Singapore. The facility will use Tobii eye-tracking technology, heuristic techniques and usability metrics to examine how Asian consumers absorb the information they see in digital ads and traditional media. More

GfK has reported a 9.1% increase in sales to EUR 720.1m for the first half of 2012, most of which comes from currency effects and acquisitions. Organic growth of just 1.7% results from a healthy 4.2% rise in the Consumer Choices business combined with flat performance from Consumer Experiences. More

In the US, former MarketQuest CEO Mary Beth Lake and Chief Research Officer Paul Holtzman have joined Chicago-based full service marketing and sensory research firm Peryam & Kroll Research (P&K) as Senior Vice Presidents. More

Multi-screen measurement specialist Rentrak has partnered with product placement analysis firm iTVX, to help brands and programmers understand the impact on audiences when a TV show uses a brand in a story line. More

In South Africa two former employees of RI and GlobalEDGE Marketing Consultants, Andrew Johnson and Catherine Read-Fletcher, have set up a new agency, Beyond Insights. More

US-based predictive analytics and consulting services firm Intalytics has announced an exclusive partnership with forecasting and analytics expert Jim Stone, principal consultant of Chain Store Advisors. More

Nielsen/Arbitron joint venture Scarborough Research has hooked up with GfK MRI to offer a service exploring the links between the attitudes of American consumers and their shopping and media consumption patterns. More

Ipsos has reported a 53.4% increase in first half revenues to EUR 837.0m, reflecting the integration of Synovate into its financial statements. More

Nielsen has reported a 1% fall in second quarter revenue to $1.39 billion as a result of weak foreign currency exchange rates - but on a constant currency basis, revenue was up 4%. More

Shopper research specialist PRS (Perception Research Services) has opened a new office in Rome, Italy, led by Account Manager Roberto Fois and Project Director Gianluca Sacchet. More

Finnish shopper and visitor analytics specialist RapidBlue Solutions has been granted an EU-wide patent for profiling consumers based on their historical and current movements, gathered anonymously using radio frequency technologies. More

In the US, Georgetown University has established a new Institute for Consumer Research, centred around technology-focused consumers and how to market to them. More

US-based agency Food Insights has been re-named 'Research Between the Lines' (RBTL), reflecting a shift in the company towards more integrated qual/quant methodologies. More

Research group Cello has revealed that it has spent £600k in the last year on consolidating operations and reducing headcount in its Research and Consulting division; and is now splitting its business into two new divisions. More

New York-based Affinity Solutions - which analyzes consumer spending data to help clients with their targeted marketing initiatives - has completed a $14.5m round of funding, which it will use to finance product and technology innovation, and business development. More

Nielsen has promoted Mathias Bernhardt to Managing Director in Germany, responsible for developing the firm's Buy consumer purchase behavior segment. More

The fifty largest research firms reported a 5.1% increase in US-based aggregated revenues to $9.2 billion in 2011, according to the 39th annual report by industry authority Jack Honomichl. 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

In the UK, consumer specialist Leapfrog Research has closed its Windsor-based headquarters and moved into sister agency RS Consulting's offices in London. Parent company Cello says the move follows an agreement between the two agencies to form an 'alliance'. More

UK-based behavioral insights firm Beyond Analysis has opened an office in the US, led by Hunter Albright, who has been appointed CEO for North America and Global Head of Consulting. More

In the US, Scarborough Research is adding nationwide voter data from political data provider TargetSmart Communications to its own consumer database, to enable agencies, politicians and lobbyists to examine consumer behavior relevant to specific election issues. More

Research consultancy Kadence India has appointed former Hansa Research General Manager Maninder Khurana as Vice President - Consumer Insights. More

Retail analysis giant SymphonyIRI Group has appointed former Aon COO Andrew Appel as its new President and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding John Freeland who plans to retire later in the year. More

US-based kiosk firm smartDIGITAL has raised $2.7m in Series A funding, which it plans to use to expand its presence in Chicago with the launch of a new product line. The company makes interactive display units that store and analyse consumer behavioral data. More

In the US, the Missouri School of Journalism has partnered with HCD Research to conduct studies combining biometric and eye tracking measures to further understanding of consumer choices. More

Multi-screen measurement firm Rentrak Corporation has agreed a deal with MasterCard, combining the former's TV Essentials viewing data from US homes with the latter's consumer trends insights derived from billions of payment transactions. More

Swedish firm EyeTrackShop has closed a $3m funding round, which it will use to accelerate its international expansion plans. More

GfK has reported an 11.3% increase in sales to EUR 345.1m for the first three months of 2012, with organic growth of 4.9%. Adjusted operating income rose 10.2% to EUR 33.5m. The firm says its new 'Own the Future' corporate strategy has contributed to the healthy figures. 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

In Australia, Roy Morgan Research has announced a partnership with local trade body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) with an eye to using their complementary experience to provide clients with insight on the retail process. More

In Singapore, Nielsen has launched an Asian 'innovation hub' incorporating divisions for neuroscience (NeuroLAB), virtual, mobile and eye-tracking technologies (ShopperLAB) and market measurement and consumer information (MSciLAB). More

UK-based qual and quant agency Marketing Sciences has promoted Jane Rudling to the position of Managing Director, replacing Keith Bates who takes on the role of Executive Chairman. More

In the US, full service food testing company Northland Laboratories has launched a sensory insights division, to offer sensory research services to manufacturers, developers and marketers of food and beverage products. More

Ipsos has reported a 46% increase in first quarter revenues to EUR 379.9m, reflecting the addition of Synovate's business. However, it admits the need to integrate the two businesses has slowed expansion: volume of sales was down slightly on Q1 2011, and organic growth of just 2% is expected this year. More

Nielsen has reported a 3% rise in revenue to $1.3 billion for the first quarter ended March 31. Growth was fairly even in its Buy consumer purchase behavior segment (up 2.7% to $800m)and its Watch media research division (up 2.6% to $480m). More

Web-based consumer researcher BuzzBack has partnered with Swedish eye tracking solutions firm MRC international, to offer new ways for marketers to evaluate their packaging and communications. More

Quratulain Ibrahim has been promoted from COO to Chief Executive Officer of full service agency TNS-Aftab, the global agency's affiliate company in Pakistan and Afghanistan. More

Nielsen has partnered with The University of Chicago Booth School of Business to offer a historical perspective on consumer purchases to all US-based academic researchers. More

In Canada, research firm Hotspex has partnered with strategy specialist LEVEL5 to design BrandMap, an online tool that quantifies and links the emotional and rational drivers of brand usage. More

Consumer specialist The NPD Group has appointed Mike Leahy President in Canada, overseeing all aspects of its technology, home, fashion, food and custom market research business in the country. More

Online sampling and panel exchange firm Cint has announced a new partnership with UK online parenting community Netmums Ltd, giving its clients access to an 'unrivalled' number of individuals in the 'Mothers of Babies' category in the UK. More

In the UK, the Market Research Society (MRS) has announced that former GfK NOP Head Phyllis Macfarlane will become its new Chairman in April, following the completion of Vanella Jackson's two-year term. More

UK firm Progressive Digital Media (PDM) has reported 'disappointing' 2011 results in its B2C division, revenues falling to £6.2m from £8.5m and contribution from £2.3m to £1.4m. However, the group said research agencies The iD Factor and ICD Research, which sit within the division, stood up well. More

In the US, research software and services firm MarketTools has partnered with new product forecasting specialist Top Box Associates, to provide a 'one-stop approach' to forecasting for new product launches, line extensions and re-launched products. More

Manchester, UK-based B2B International is gearing up for the April launch of a new consumer-focused agency called 'deep see', which aims to 'get to the bottom of what customers really think'. More

Bertram ('Bert') Russick, the former owner of Minneapolis-based polling specialist Mid-Continent Surveys, died on Thursday January 26th at the age of 90. More

In the US, consumer research company the NPD Group has decided to stay in its current headquarters in Port Washington, NY and expand the premises rather than move to a bigger alternative location. The company will also site its expanded data center at its headquarters and create ten new jobs. More

Nielsen has reported good growth and profit with full year 2011 revenues up 8% (6% at constant currencies) to $5.53bn and adjusted EBITDA up 10% (8%) to $1.546 bn. More

In the US, NPD Group has announced an agreement with Walmart to process its point of sale data. The firm has also appointed four new analysts, plus Raj Misra as Director of Marketing. More

Retail and mall foot-traffic counting specialist ShopperTrak Corporation has boosted its planned expansion in Europe with the appointment of a European CEO. Former company COO Todd Starcevich moves from the Chicago headquarters. More

In the US, retail performance consultancy Claris Solutions has joined forces with data analytics start-up Euclid Elements, to offer a solution that uses mobile sensors to map shopper traffic patterns in retail spaces. More

North of England-based Dipsticks Research has opened two new divisions - travel and tourism specialist 'explore research', and bespoke consumer solutions unit 'fmcg insights'; and appointed Katie Bryan-Brown and John Vincent to lead them. More

GfK has announced revenue up 6.2% to EUR 1.374 billion in 2011, in preliminary figures released today. Almost all (5.8%) was organic growth. Operating income grew relatively little due to specific items including write-downs and recruitment of a new CEO. More

Millward Brown has partnered with emotional measurement company Affectiva to offer clients deeper insight into the emotional impact of their TV advertising. Affectiva's facial expression analysis technology Affdex will be integrated with MB's LINK copy testing and optimization solution. More

In Germany, Bernd Wachter has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer of qual specialist The Psyma Group, succeeding Fargel Matthias who is retiring after ten years in the role. More

Retail analysis giant SymphonyIRI has partnered with UK independent grocery comparison web site mySupermarket, to provide what the firms describe as 'the first' multi-channel view of shoppers' behaviour in the UK - both online and in-store. More

UK supermarket Sainsbury's has finally filled the vacant role of Marketing Director, appointing Heineken's UK Marketing Director and former Innovation Director Sarah Warby. More

In the UK, former JRA Research Associate Director Stuart Green has launched a new consultancy, fresh research. The company will specialize in integrated qual-quant projects. More

In the US, e-commerce media solutions firm HookLogic has appointed Jeff Griffin, the co-founder of Interpublic's Shopper Sciences arm, as President of Retail. More

UK-based insight and research consultancy The Behavioural Architects (TBA) has expanded into China by merging with Shanghai-based agency Research Essentials, which will now be known as The Behavioural Architects, China. More

In the US, dunnhumby - the data firm behind the Tesco Clubcard loyalty scheme - has appointed Yael Cosset as Global Chief Information Officer (CIO), alongside his existing role as CEO of the company's price modeling and customer insight firm KSS Retail. More

Consumer and sensory specialist MMR Research is expanding into Asia, with the opening of an office in Singapore, where it has appointed former TNS sector CEO Clive Little to lead the operation; and a Sensory Science Centre in Shanghai. More

In Chicago, web based 3-D virtual store research specialist InContext Solutions has received $1.5m in venture capital investment from a consortium co-led by newly launched Hyde Park Venture Partners (HPVP) and Hyde Park Angels, and including graphics and computing company AMD. More

UK agency Holden Pearmain has appointed former TNS MD Dr Tacis Gavoyannis as head of its Consumer Division. Also joining the firm are FMCG specialist David Beech, methodologist Svetlana Gogolina and qual researcher Wei Wei Yang. More

In the US, research veterans Sanjay Vrudhula, Lyle Durbin and Tod Higginbotham have set up a new firm, Reconnaissance Market Research (ReconMR), targeting Texas-based companies with $1 billion or more in revenue. More

The team at MrWeb would like to wish all our readers and friends around the world a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 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 the US, InsightExpress has partnered with SymphonyIRI to launch a tool which combines digital ad measurement capabilities with off-line consumer data, helping to link online ad exposure and in-store buying behavior. More

In the US, digital specialist Specific Media has partnered with ad performance specialist Nielsen Catalina Solutions to launch 'Shopper Access', a service which combines off-line purchase behavior with online ad data to provide insights into how advertising influences consumer purchases. More

German market research agency Dialego has launched a new social media division, and appointed Unilever research veteran Annette Stucken to lead it. More

New York-based Insight Research Group has changed its name to Insight Strategy Group, reflecting its 'evolution and expanding scope of services'. More

Following its acquisition of Synovate, Ipsos has promoted Grant Bertoli to the position of CEO for South East Asia (SEA), and confirmed the appointment of Synovate's Singapore MD Miranda Cheung as MD of Ipsos in Singapore and SEA. Senior European and US roles have also been finalised. More

IBM veteran Matthias Hartmann has officially taken up the post of Chief Executive Officer of GfK, replacing Professor Dr. Klaus L. Wübbenhorst who has stepped down. More

US-based Objective Logistics - whose software analyses all the data produced during a restaurant's daily trading - has raised $1.5m for further development and commercialisation of its MUSE product. More

In the UK, full service consultancy FreshMinds Research has expanded in London with ten new staff appointments. More

Synovate Retail Performance (SRP) has partnered with Norwegian shopper tracking specialist Track & Trace, to provide retailers and brand owners with a behavioural solution for monitoring customer experience and satisfaction. More

In Italy, sports research specialist Immagine & Sport has re-organised, with Nevio Devidè assuming the role of CEO, replacing Marco Nazzari who becomes Managing Director. More

In New York, trade organization the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau (CAB) has partnered with BigInsight parent firm Prosper Business Development, to launch a new resource to provide advertisers and publishers with insights on African-American consumers. More

Retail research firm The NPD Group has moved Mark Turim, previously President and General Manager for its Asia Pacific business, to the same role in Latin America as part of a drive to expand its business in the latter region. More

US social media research firm Feedback has launched in the UK, with the opening of an office in Islington, London, led by co-founders President and CEO Jeff Thompson and Executive Vice President Dean Browell. More

In the UK, Visa Europe has taken a minority stake in customer insight group Beyond Analysis, with the aim of strengthening its data analytics capabilities. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More

GfK has reported a good performance for the third quarter and first nine months of 2011. Q3 organic sales growth was 5.2% and the adjusted margin was up slightly on Q3 the previous year to 15.7%. Sales in the first 9 months of the year totalled EUR 999m - up 7.1% (7.0% organic). More

Sensory and consumer specialist product perceptions has announced a partnership with qual brand developer Deep Blue Research, promising clients richer concept insights and FMCG brand development. More

In the US, a team including Google Analytics co-founder Scott Crosby has launched a new analytics platform called Euclid Elements, with a $5.8m Series A round of financing. More

Following its recent acquisition of Synovate and in line with plans to withdraw the Synovate brand in January, Ipsos has restructured its team in China. Five 'Combined Country Managers' will ready the businesses for integration while ensuring they run separately until the end of the year. More

Brand and communications research specialist Hall & Partners has opened a mobile market research lab in the back of a London taxi cab. More

In the US, retail analysis giant SymphonyIRI has partnered with online ad marketplace Legolas Media to enable marketers to buy online ads based on user-level in-store purchase behavior, and then use actual product sales data for ongoing ROI measurement. More

Ipsos - now the world's third largest market research company - has reported organic growth of 6.0% for the first nine months of the year, with revenue rising to EUR 845.8m. Growth slowed slightly in the third quarter and the firm is hunkering down for tough economic times ahead. More

UK supermarket Waitrose is to introduce a loyalty card, almost two decades after rival Tesco. The up-market grocer will send cards to members of its myWaitrose online club, which has been gathering insights for around two years; and will also offer them in stores. More

In New York, Ipsos Loyalty Research has introduced the 'Wallet Allocation Rule' (WAR); a new research model to help businesses track their share of consumer spending. More

Synovate Retail Performance (SRP) has partnered with face recognition specialist Firs Technology in Greater China, to provide retailers and brand owners in the region with access to technology and data reporting for stores. More

In the UK, consumer insight specialist Engage Research has reported a 13% increase in sales for the year ended 31 March 2011, with turnover up to £2.7m. More

Maritz Research has moved into its new offices in High Wycombe, UK, making room as it continues rapid European growth. More

Japanese consulting services specialist Nomura Research Institute (NRI) has acquired a 25.1% stake in New Delhi-based Market Xcel Data Matrix, through which it plans to expand its research and consulting business activities to India. More

US-based customer intelligence firm Market Force Information has raised $15m, which it plans to use to grow both organically and through acquisitions. This follows last week's acquisition of UK-based mystery shopping specialist Retail Eyes. More

In the US, six shopper research specialists have formed an alliance to offer marketers an integrated resource for shopper insights. The new organization will be called Mindtap Insight Network. More

Gloucestershire-based medical data collection specialist Gillian Kenny Associates (GKA) has branched into consumer and b2b research with the launch of a new company, Angelfish. More

The market research industry has returned to growth following two 'very challenging years', according to ESOMAR's Global Market Research 2011 report. Global turnover rose to US $31.2 billion in 2010, representing a total year-on-year growth of 5.2%, or 2.8% allowing for inflation. More

Australian-based agency The Leading Edge has moved Andrew Povolny, formerly MD of its Sydney-based Digital Edge division, to New York in the role of Managing Partner. He will also serve as the firm's first 'Global Client Partner' for a key client, in this case KFC-owner Yum! Restaurants. More

Ipsos is planning to issue around EUR 200m worth of new shares, to part-fund its acquisition of Synovate. More

US-based merchandising and marketing services company SPAR Group, Inc. is to launch a Mexican subsidiary, SPAR Todopromo. More

In the US, CPG, retail and healthcare specialist SymphonyIRI has promoted Rob Holston as Executive Vice President, leading its Analytics practice in North America. More

The UK's largest mutual retailer, the Co-operative Group, has appointed former MasterCard Advisors chief Neil Carden to the new role of Director of Insight and Planning. More

US-based packaging research and eye-tracking specialist Perception Research Services International (PRS) has announced a strategic partnership with Latin American firm Provokers, which has offices in Buenos Aires, São Paulo and Mexico City. More

Synovate has reported an 8.4% rise in revenue to £269.7m for the first half of the year, ahead of its forthcoming sale to Ipsos for an agreed £525m. Organic gross revenue growth was 6.6% and operating profit rose 14.9% to £5.4m despite a ten percent rise in headcount. More

In the UK, international specialist River Research has reported a £1m increase in sales to c.£2.5m for the last 12 months. The firm says it is also considering expanding overseas, with the US being the most likely location. More

The world's 25 largest research firms had revenues of $18.8 billion in 2010, up 4.9% on the previous 'dismal' year - a 'very healthy turnaround' according to industry authority Jack Honomichl. However, 'real' revenues were not quite back to their 2008 levels, and some companies continued to shrink. More

GfK has reported sales of EUR 660.1m in sales for the first half of 2011, reflecting 8.0% organic growth year-on-year. Adjusted operating income rose 16.8% (organic 18.0%) to EUR 83.9m. The Group has also announced the acquisition of a 25% stake in US firm MBI. More

WPP agency MediaCom Worldwide has launched a new division focused on global sports sponsorship, MediaCom Sport, and appointed former IMG Consulting exec Marcus John to lead it. More

In the US, in-store monitoring specialist BVI Networks has closed an $8m funding round, which it will use to support further development of its analytics technology. More

The co-founders of North of England-based Dipsticks Research, John and Fiona Raglan, have announced they are stepping back from the day-to-day management of the business, which will now be run by their former Operations Director Ivor Knox. More

Consumer and retail tracking provider The NPD Group has promoted Tim Bush to the post of Group President for the Asia Pacific region, working out of its offices in Hong Kong. More

US-based agency Zpryme Research & Consulting has opened a China Insights Practice, a market research division focused on the Chinese consumer and business market. More

Ipsos has agreed to acquire Synovate for £525m (EUR 595m), creating the world's third largest market research company. The deal is to be funded with cash, new debt financing, and a rights offering to Ipsos shareholders. More

Retail market intelligence provider SymphonyIRI Group is to work with Wal-Mart to introduce an online shopper insights and collaborative planning platform called 'Customer Advantage'. More

Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has agreed to resume sharing consumer data from its Walmart and Sam's Club stores with Nielsen, after a ten-year break. More

In the UK, it has been revealed that Doughty Hanson - which owns the Vue cinema chain - is the mystery company interested in buying Aegis' market research arm Synovate. More

Whisky producer William Grant & Sons has appointed Damien Heary as Global Planning and Innovation Director in its Dublin office, with responsibility for generating and applying consumer insights to drive brand marketing activity for the firm's entire portfolio. More

UK insight and marketing group Cello has reported that its research and consulting division has continued to 'show good like-for-like revenue growth' despite the loss of two significant retail research contracts, but has meanwhile made a number of staff redundancies. More

Oxfordshire-based consumer insight and sensory specialist MMR Research Worldwide is planning to open a new office in London in September. More

GfK is to restructure its business following a major review, and from next January will operate through two new divisions, 'Consumer Choices' and 'Customer Experiences', under the new tagline: 'Own the Future'. More

Nielsen has launched a new approach to helping companies with their product innovation strategies, which it claims will increase the likelihood of new products succeeding to 75%. More

In the US, Nielsen has formed an alliance with grocery media network and software firm MyWebGrocer, to develop what it says is the 'First Comprehensive View of US Online Supermarket Purchases.' More

Publicis-owned agency MediaVest has opened a 'Human Experience' practice in New York, through which it will aim to explore the drivers of human behavior to create 'greater consumer experiences' for clients' brands. More

US joint venture company Nielsen Catalina Solutions has appointed advertising analytics veteran Leslie Wood for the newly created position of Chief Research Officer, based near New York and reporting to CEO Mike Nazzaro. More

Neuromarketing firm EmSense has partnered with store-based shopper research specialist Fifth Dimension, to measure shoppers' emotional and cognitive engagement when making buying decisions. More

In the UK, foods giant Nestlé has opened a £1m extension to its Insight and Learning Centre in York, featuring an Imax cinema, replica living room and working kitchen, full size convenience store, and digital media area. More

London-based qual agency Firefish has launched a specialist children and families research consultancy, 'The Pineapple Lounge'. The service will be led by Emma Worrollo, who specialises in kids, teens and mother-and-baby research. More

In Germany, Heiko Leipold and Peter Mahn have set up a new agency called mafowerk, based in Nuremberg, which will offer on-demand market research services, trend studies and consumer behavioural analysis. Both men have worked for GfK and for Information Resources (IRI). More

UK retail stalwart Marks & Spencer is reportedly working on a radical redesign of stores based on analysis of its customer base in each locality, including affluence and demographics. More

UK-based consumer understanding specialist Spring Research has hired John Griffiths as Creative Director and Catalina Cernica as Managing Director. More

GfK has reported a strong first quarter in its 2011 financial year, with consolidated sales up 10.4% to EUR 310.2 million and organic growth of 8.0%. More

Consumer and retail tracking provider The NPD Group has opened a new facility in Athlone, Ireland, for development as a Global IT/Operations Centre. Over the next three years, the firm plans to add another 80 employees to the twenty already based there. More

In the UK, full service agency FreshMinds has made nine new appointments on the back of what it describes as 'record results' with turnover growing by more than 20% in the past six months. More

Mark Stevens, formerly Research Director at Australian agency SensoMetrics, has set up his own sensory research agency, Sensory Insights, based in New South Wales. More

In the UK, take-away brand Domino's Pizza is the first to use Arena Media's newly launched 'Architect' tool, which uses the principles of behavioural economics to identify the social, cognitive and emotional factors behind individual purchasing decisions. More

In the US, Scarborough Research has partnered with multicultural consumer intelligence provider Geoscape to offer in-depth information about Hispanic consumers' buying power, brand loyalty and media preferences. More

In the UK, herb and spice firm McCormick has invested £1.5m in a new Technical Innovation Centre (TIC), which will feature a sensory lab for product evaluation. More

In the US, former ARF leader Joel Rubinson has partnered with product development specialist InsightsNow to develop research tools to help consumer packaged goods (CPG) clients with product innovation. More

In the UK, Leapfrog Research & Planning has hired former GlaxoSmithKline marketer Tim Brooks for the new role of Managing Director, with responsibility for helping drive the firm through a period of anticipated growth and expansion. More

Shopper marketing consultancy DCActiv has launched a new division in Dubai and named Hugo Mills, previously Diageo's GTME General Manager for the Gulf, as MD of its Global Travel Retail division (DCActiv GTR). More

For the financial year 2010, GfK has reported an 11.1% rise in income to a record EUR 1.29 billion. Adjusted operating income climbed from EUR 147.2m to EUR 185.0m with operating margin also at a historical high, 14.3%. More

TNS has appointed Ivan Browne as Head of its Retail & Shopper Sector, based in London. He leaves GfK NOP, where he served as Business Development Director for the consumer products and retail division. More

French financier Vincent Bolloré has indicated that he may be willing to sell his 26.5% stake in Synovate's parent firm Aegis, according to a report in the UK's Guardian newspaper. More

In the UK, consumer insight and sensory specialist MMR Research Worldwide has promoted Mark Sismey to the newly created role of Innovation Director, tasked with identifying, evaluating and delivering the latest technology and data collection tools. More

US-based Omnicom has integrated its Whybin TBWA Tequila ad agency into its shopper marketing agency brand Integer, which it has launched in Australia with branches in both Sydney and Melbourne. More

Supermarket giant Tesco has refused to pass on its Clubcard data to the UK Government, which is requesting companies hand over their customer data as part of a plan to help compile the national census. More

In the US, consumer research specialist Experian Simmons has partnered with the Latinum Network to tap its understanding of Hispanic consumers. More

In the US, media measurement and analytics firm TRA has hired former Arbitron sales leader Pierre Bouvard as SVP of Media Sales. The company has also appointed Kelly Mead and Susan Cuccinello as Vice Presidents. More

Manhattan-based quant market research specialist Eric Marder Associates (EMA) is to close after more than 50 years in business. Founder Eric Marder, who is now in his 80s, has decided it's time to 'pursue other interests'. More

German-based customer insight firm Emnos has opened a new office in Chicago, led by Adam Holyk who was previously Vice President Client Solutions at dunnhumbyUSA. More

US retail giant Wal-Mart Stores has promoted Cindy Davis to the position of Executive Vice President of Global Consumer Insights, leading a newly created team which will analyze broad consumer trends and provide insight into customer needs. More

Market Probe has announced a major push into key developing countries with the launch of strategic partnerships around the globe; a new office in Hong Kong; senior hires for brand equity and customer research; and development of a new customer advocacy model. More

GfK CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) has expanded its use of shopper specific technology by investing in Tobii Technology's entire range of eye tracking tools to perform projection, on-screen and real world studies in lab and shopping environments. More

In the US, retail specialist SymphonyIRI has partnered with Synovate to create HispanicLink - a report that provides a view of Hispanic shoppers and their current $950 billion spending power. More

Kantar Media has launched an Irish sponsorship division, complementing existing offerings in the UK, France, Spain and China. More

Consumer insight and sensory specialist MMR Research Worldwide has appointed nine new recruits for its UK and US operations, since the start of the year. 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 the US, fast food giant McDonald's has promoted Kevin Newell to the new position of Executive Vice President - Global Chief Brand Officer, responsible for marketing, consumer insights, menu innovation and restaurant design. More

Manufacturing giant Kraft Foods has partnered with chip maker Intel to develop a self-service kiosk housing digital signage, which scans shoppers' faces and then (wait for it...) recommends what they should cook for dinner. 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

Synovate has opened an office in Geneva, Switzerland to house a team of twelve. They include existing sales and account management staff based in the city, as well as staff who have relocated from the firm's offices in France and the Netherlands. More

Retail behaviour research specialist Shoppercentric has appointed former Marks & Spencer Head of Customer Insight Susie Spencer as a Director. More

Database marketing solutions firm MBS, a subsidiary of GSI Commerce, is partnering with luxury market research and consulting group the Luxury Institute to help clients with enterprise-wide cultural CRM initiatives in the sector. More

In the UK, branding specialists Simon Coker and Nick Burrows have launched Brand Spirit - a new agency which will connect internal and external brand building, while profiling customers' attitudes, motivations and behaviours. More

US confectionery giant Hershey's is joining forces with the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology to develop a sensory science and consumer research program including a consumer taste test laboratory. More

Ipsos MORI has appointed Lindsay Cowan, formerly TNS Research International's Global Director of Shopper Insight, as Head of UK Retail and Shopper. More

In the US comScore, dunnhumbyUSA and Accenture have partnered to study the link between consumers' usage of brand web sites and their in-store brand buying behavior. More

In the UK, sponsorship research specialist IFM Sports Marketing Surveys has sold its sports goods business to one of its directors - John Bushell - and the firm's original founder Stephen Proctor. Terms were not disclosed. More

In the UK, former TNS Healthcare colleagues Steve Lowery and Philippa Hammerton have launched Red Leaf Research - a full service MR consultancy with specialist expertise in the healthcare and consumer sectors. More

UK consultancy Simpson Carpenter has launched a new healthcare and pharmaceutical research division, headed by Anna Sawka who joins from Aequus Research. Further appointments are planned for early 2011. More

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. More

Consumer specialist Knowledge Networks (KN) is to more than double the number of young adults (ages 18 to 24) on its online KnowledgePanel, and increase its representation of Hispanics by more than 40% during the year. More

In the US, Synovate has partnered with Duke University to create the 'Duke/Synovate Shopper Insights Center for Leadership and Innovation', which will focus on advancing research into shopper insights and marketing. More

In the US, media strategy and measurement agency Geomentum has appointed former Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) leader Sean Finnegan as CEO, and Tony Bombacino as President/Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). More

In the US, the NPD Group has launched a suite of advanced analytics products which tap into its proprietary item-level tracking information. It has also hired former SymphonyIRI exec John Deputato for the newly created role of Senior Vice President for Advanced Analytics. More

In Australia, shopper activation agencies Evocatif and iCRE8 have joined forces to expand parent firm STW Group's retail capabilities. More

In the US, Coca-Cola has created an integrated business intelligence data warehouse, to provide its marketing, sales and supply chain execs with immediate access to point-of-sale (POS) and scanner data. More

In the US, Nielsen/Arbitron joint venture Scarborough Research has hired Nielsen veteran Tom Drouillard as President and CEO, succeeding Gregg Lindner who has moved to Arbitron as Chief Research Officer. 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

In the US, Management Science Associates (MSA) and Paradigm Sample have launched the Convenience Consumer Insights Panel (cci Panel), which gathers consumer information from convenience store (C-store) shoppers. More

GfK has announced third quarter organic sales growth of 9.2%, up from an already strong 8.0% in the second quarter and 5.3% in the first quarter; and adjusted operating income up 27% to EUR 48.5m. More

Customer engagement technology specialist Alterian has announced a multi-year partnership with Experian Marketing Services to provide clients with a solution integrating data from multiple channels into a centralized database. More

In Windsor, UK, Leapfrog Research & Planning has announced 11% revenue growth over the past year, and says it aims for another ten percent over the next 12 months by extending its research programmes in the UK, the US and across Europe and Asia Pacific. More

Ahead of its official financial report which will be published on 15th November, GfK has announced a 10.8% revenue increase to EUR 931m for the first nine months of 2010 (prior year: EUR 840.2m), of which 7.4% is attributable to organic sales growth. More

In the UK, dunnhumby founders Edwina Dunn and Clive Humby are to step down as Chairman and CEO and take on non-exec roles, as company veteran Simon Hay takes on leadership of the firm next March. More

In the UK, Peter Luff has been appointed as Managing Director of Synovate Retail Performance (formerly SPSL), whose founders Paul Tombs and Dominic McGuiness will be leaving at the end of the year to 'pursue their entrepreneurial careers'. More

In the UK, consumer insight and market research specialist Engage Research has doubled its sales for the year ending 31 March 2010, with turnover up from £1.2m in 2008 to £2.5m in 2009. More

Research Panel Asia (RPA) has opened its first office in the US in Los Angeles, to support clients based in North America. More

Newly merged agencies SPA and Future Thinking have expanded in Europe with the appointment of Adeline Baret to head a new Paris office. More

In the UK, full service agency JRA Research has appointed Andy Grout and Matt Coggan as Joint Managing Partners, joining Terry Wagstaff and Paul Summers on the Board. More

UK-based supermarket Tesco is Thailand's biggest grocery chain and is now one of four companies bidding for the Thai assets of Carrefour, after the French giant took the tough decision to pull out of a number of Asian markets. In part, Tesco's success is a victory for market research. More

Minneapolis, USA-based consumer research and consultancy firm Iconoculture has launched an Indian advisory service. More

In New York, global brand and communications research agency Hall & Partners has launched a Shopper Insights and Shopper Engager division, headed by industry specialist Vanessa Hartnoll. More

Harris Interactive has introduced the Body Mass Index (BMI) Speciality Panel, to provide clients with information about underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese US adults. More

UK-based consultancy Nunwood has hired former Asda consumer specialist Craig Ryder as Global Head of Shopper Insight, Analytics and Activation. More

Retail analytics solutions provider Manthan Systems has opened a new office in Melbourne, which will support demand for the firm's ARC Retail Business Intelligence products in Australia and New Zealand. More

Fast food giant McDonald's has promoted UK President and CEO Steve Easterbrook to the newly-created position of Executive Vice President and Global Chief Brand Officer, responsible for marketing, menu innovation, consumer insights and other global brand assets. 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

Market Insight Corporation - which captures real-time shopper preferences through its consumer web site MyProductAdvisor.com - has formed an Asian-based company, Market Insight (Asia) Limited, through which it plans to extend its services in the region. More

Communispace - which creates online customer insight communities - has reported a 29% increase in revenue for the first half of 2010, with sales up to $22.5m from $17.4m in the prior year period. The company has also added several new tools to its product portfolio. More

UK-based Dunnhumby - the data firm behind the Tesco Clubcard loyalty scheme - has paid a £17.5m dividend to Edwina Dunn and Clive Humby, the husband and wife team who founded the business back in 1989. More

GfK has raised its 2010 sales and income expectations following a 12.3% rise in second quarter sales to EUR 328.7m, and a 9.4% rise in first half sales to EUR 609.6m. The firm now expects a 6% rise in sales for the year, which is double its original projection. More

Caroline Osborne has been appointed Director of GfK NOP Consumer Products & Retail, with a particular remit to enhance the company's shopper insight, customer satisfaction, segmentation and U&A offers. More

Two former employees of UK agency Holden Pearmain have launched their own company, Impact Research. Darryl Swift and Michael Brainch will focus initially on clients in the utilities, retail and FMCG sectors. More

UK-based firm The Oxford Research Agency (TORA) has changed its name to Future Thinking and opened its first office in the US under the leadership of George Ciardi, who becomes US President and Global Head of Volumetric Forecasting. More

Global research group Ipsos has reported a very strong performance for the first six months of 2010, with revenue up 18.1% to EUR 528.8m (organic growth 7.7%) and adjusted net profit up 33.7% to EUR 32.0m. More

Oregon, US-based CPG research firm InsightsNow, Inc. has promoted Jason McKerr to the role of Vice President of Information Services. Earlier this month, the firm announced revenue growth of 54% in 2009. More

Events and publishing group Informa, the parent of Datamonitor, has released results for the first half of 2010, including pre-tax profit more than doubled despite a slight drop in revenue. In the PCI division, which includes Datamonitor, revenues fell 3.8% to £178.5m but margins held up. More

In the UK, Cello's Research and Consulting division has returned like-for-like income growth for the first half of the year, driven by 'continued robustness' in client activity levels, most notably in pharma and health-related sectors, as well as international work. More

GfK has promoted Julia Beaver to the position of Head of GfK NOP Research Panels, which specialises in continuous or longitudinal consumer panels. Most recently, Beaver was Deputy MD at GfK Financial. More

In India, a team of entrepreneurs have launched High Beam Global - a market research data collection and marketing consulting firm specialising in the healthcare, FMCG and technology sectors. More

In the US, Vovici's former Chairman and CEO Dean Wiltse has set up a mobile measurement agency called Thumbspeak, to enable businesses to reach mobile audiences and gain insights from hard-to-reach consumers. More

London-based marcoms agency Engine has launched a new insight and research unit to provide clients with an analysis of why and how consumers make choices. More

GfK Consumer has rolled out its first 'Future Buy' annual study of US shopping behaviors based on a mix of research methodologies, through which it has identified a new breed of consumer known as 'XTreme Shoppers'. More

GfK has become the first foreign market research company to be granted a license to open a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia. The firm has also opened a branch in Kenya, acquired the outstanding shares of GfK Mode in India and GfK Kynetec in the UK, and increased its stake in Shopping Brasil. More

US-based neuromarketing agency NeuroFocus has developed the Luxury Perceptual Framework (LPF), to detect consumers' perception of what constitutes 'luxury' in terms of clients' brands, products, packaging, in-store marketing, advertising and customer service. More

Mediabrands, part of marketing services giant Interpublic Group, is launching a specialist shopper marketing agency, ShelfLife, to be headed by John Ross, currently President of the IPG Emerging Media Lab. More

Just as you thought the World Cup was 'so last week' here we go again with (among other things) call centre productivity; social media match predictions; and the disturbing prospect of Diego Maradona running round Buenos Aires naked. More

In New York, media measurement firm TRA has signed an agreement to license technology from marketing ROI specialist Media Trust, in order to enhance its Media TRAnalytics system, which matches household TV consumption and purchase data. More

UK FMCG and customer experience researcher The Oxford Research Agency (TORA) has moved to larger premises in the city, while appointing former Ipsos MORI AD Emma Baret and promoting three of its team to the UK Board. More

In the US, Louis Pappalardo - the founder and President of consumer market research agency Trendata - has died at the age of 78, following a battle with cancer. More

In Russia, FMCG research specialist Business Analytica is discontinuing its retail audit subscription-based service, which has provided consumer marketers and business analysts with data for more than 15 years. The firm is refocusing on more economical alternatives. More

Millward Brown has moved Tim Wragg into the new position of CEO - Europe, following last year's integration of its UK and Ireland business with mainland European operations, and the formation of a pan-European Board. More

Industry association IAB Europe has partnered with Google to launch a new tool which provides agencies and advertisers with consumer information across 27 countries and 36 product categories. More

Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) has partnered with eye tracking technology firm Tobii Technology to collaborate on product innovations and conduct package and shelf testing on a global basis. More

US-based media measurement firm TRA has received a $10m injection of funds from Intel Capital, the global investment wing of the giant chip maker. The series-C round also includes $8.2m from other companies including existing investors Arbitron and WPP. More

In the US, GfK subsidiary Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI) has re-branded as GfK MRI, in a move which it says reinforces its connection with its parent company. More

UK researchers James Lovett and Mark Pugh have launched Immerse, an agency promising a 'refreshing & rejuvenated approach to the traditional client-agency relationship'. More

GfK claims to be back on track with an increase in both Q1 sales and income. During the first quarter of 2010, the global group reported a 6.1% sales increase to EUR 280.9m from Q1 2009, up 5.2% in organic terms. Income rose 71.2% to EUR 25.3m during the period. More

In the US, Burger King Corporation has appointed former Coca-Cola marketer Natalia Franco as Global Chief Marketing Officer, responsible for overseeing consumer insights, product innovation and the development and communication of the brand's global marketing and ad strategies. More

Individuals' exposure to media matching their unconscious 'visual desires' triggers something akin to love at first sight and stirs a 'buying instinct' within them, according to results published by specialist consultancy Visual Targeting. More

The founders of US-based market research agency Iconoculture have left to launch a new firm which will study consumer trends in those countries that make up the G-20. More

The Oxford Research Agency (TORA) has revealed plans to expand beyond its UK home with new offices in North America and mainland Europe in the summer; and has shuffled its senior management to ready itself for the move. More

TNS and Research and Marketing Services (RMS) have formed an agreement to provide customized research in West Africa. More

Australian insights consultancy The Leading Edge has restructured its Sydney-based business with the return of overseas executives, internal promotions and the appointment of a new senior specialist. More

Information Resources, Inc. is changing its name to SymphonyIRI Group, Inc. The company says the move reflects its expansion into new types of solution including predictive, automated analytics; technology platforms; and strategic consulting services. More

Research Panel Asia's newly established Korean subsidiary is up and running, with the official launch of its 'Panel Now' service site. More

Aegis, Synovate's parent company, is raising funds through the issue of a convertible bond for c.£190m, which it plans to use to make acquisitions in the US and China. More

London-based consumer research agency rdsi has moved its Leeds office to larger premises, and promoted Jenni Welling and John Horgan to SRE positions. More

In Germany, Thomas Andresen and Ulrich Hertfelder have launched Mark Metrics, a consultancy which will analyse how successful brands differ from unsuccessful brands. More

Kenya-based marketing firm Scangroup Limited and South Africa's Smollan Group have launched a joint venture to serve the East Africa region of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. More

River Research has expanded to new custom-designed premises in Soho, London, following its launch in Autumn 2008 and subsequent increase in headcount to 10 staff. More

In London, Howdo Research, a new consultancy established in the autumn by former NOP and JRA exec Simon Cheshire, is reporting a buoyant start to business. More

In the US, marketer Penny Redlin has launched Insights Discovered, a consulting company focusing exclusively on the children's products market. More

In New York, marketing services firm Omnicom Group has launched a new agency to offer strategy, activation and metrics services to retail marketers at a local level. More

The Nielsen Company has announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2009. Revenue was almost exactly level with the previous year ($4,806m) but up 4% if currency fluctuations are excluded. More

GfK has reported a 4.6% decline in 2009 sales to EUR 1,164m, taking into account acquisitions and currency effects. However, for the fourth quarter, the group recorded sales of EUR 324m, compared with EUR 282m in Q3. More

TNS has formalised its partnership with qual and quant agency Aftab Associates, to offer services in Pakistan and Afghanistan under the brand name of TNS-Aftab. More

Two former global agency execs have founded abn Research, a consultancy focused on market research among Asian consumers and based in Bangkok, Thailand. More

Analytics firm Metrics Marketing has opened a ‘one-of-a-kind’ 2,100 square-foot research lab in Ohio, providing observers with a variety of hidden camera angles, real-time audiovisual monitoring and camera views on projected and flat-screen displays. More

In the UK, Harris Interactive has been awarded the Film Audience Measurement and Evaluation (FAME) and Film Monitor research contracts by the Cinema Advertising Association (CAA). The contracts were previous managed by TNS and BMRB. More

Global agency Illuminas has moved its China office across the Huangpu river to the new Lujiazui financial sector in Pudong, Shanghai's central business district. 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 London, Krish Kara, Bob Dance and Carol Ashby have joined forces to open KDA Insights; a new consumer research agency. More

UK-headquartered dmrkynetec - which specialises in market research for the crop protection, biotech and animal health industries - will now operate as GfK Kynetec, following its acquisition by GfK Group. More

Retail market intelligence giant Information Resources Inc (IRI) is integrating its existing modeling services into the model and simulation tool capabilities provided by its Hendry (IRI) Market Structure division, to provide marketers with a single source for all modeling data. More

In London, a new innovation agency has been opened by Calum Watson, Marco-Pierre White's former Executive Head Chef and Director of Operations; and marcoms specialist Greg Wixted. The Food Nursery will provide NPD and new ideas research to the food industry. More

UK customer insight and database management firm CDMS is rebranding under the name of Transactis, the transactional data provider it bought just under a year ago; and restructuring as it merges with the acquired firm. More

Sustainability specialist Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) and GfK subsidiary Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI) have announced the integration of the former's LOHAS consumer segmentation model with the latter's Survey of the American Consumer database. More

Retail market intelligence giant IRI (Information Resources, Inc.) has enhanced its Consumer and Shopper Insights platforms with a series of new digital media solutions. Partners including [x+1] and Dynamic Logic have already announced new offers based on the technology. More

In India, Bangalore-based Manthan Systems, which develops business intelligence and analytics for the retail and consumer packaged goods industries, has raised $15m in Series B funding. More

Nielsen's group revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2009 were down 1% to $1.25bn from the same period last year. CFO Brian West described the quarter as having been 'steady'. 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

New York-based neuroscience firm Buyology has shifted its approach to help marketers tap into consumer's non-conscious decision making process. More

Harris Interactive has partnered with innovation consultancy Ideas To Go (ITG) to enable clients to explore, create concepts for, and test new products. More

In the UK, Review Centre, which provides independent product and service reviews, is to create a consumer research panel which will provide marketers and researchers with access to the opinions of its four million monthly users. More

Japanese online panel supplier Research Panel has partnered with Korean agency Trend Monitor to provide a multi-Asian country consumer research service. More

In the UK, research agency EasyInsites is to partner with online parenting club Bounty to build a young family panel with which to conduct bi-monthly research. More

In Australia, former Galaxy Research Director Chris Lonergan has launched his own full service market research agency, which he says will 'marry old school rigour' with new technology and a thorough understanding of business issues. More

The biggest new MrWeb section in nine years opens today with launch articles from five research luminaries. 'MRT' is an online home for custom panel builders, mobile researchers, data miners, neuromarketers and many others at the leading edge of what we broadly define as 'MR'. More

UK retail giant Asda plans to 'empower' consumers by enabling them to get involved in every aspect of the business - from product development to the look and feel of packaging. More

UK agency Leapfrog Research & Planning has restructured to create three distinct business areas and reorganised its senior management team to oversee the changes, which are designed to optimize growth and client service. More

Retail research and brand specialist dunnhumbyUSA has announced senior changes as it continues its rapid growth. Stuart Aitken joins as COO and will assume management of dunnhumbyUSA from CEO Simon Hay; and Gary Cofer has joined as Global EVP / Manufacturer Practice Leader. More

Synovate has expanded its Retail Performance shopper counting and analytics business across Europe, the Americas and Asia; and appointed a 'Business Development champion' for each of these three regions. More

UK agency Ci Research has formed a new retail division, which it says will provide clients with access to team members' client-side and agency-side retail market research expertise. More

A New York business school has set up a research group to develop algorithms and techniques which will classify, predict and more accurately describe the purchasing behaviour of consumers. More

US health, wellness and sustainability researcher the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) is to expand its LOHAS consumer segmentation model to provide clients with eight years of trended data. More

Business intelligence (BI) provider QuantiSense has partnered with analytics specialist Netezza to deliver intelligence and analytics applications developed exclusively for the retail industry. More

Synovate parent Aegis has reported an 86% drop in first half pre-tax profits to £6.6m despite growing revenues by 4.8%. The research agency itself made an underlying operating loss of £3.2m in the first half, compared with a £7.9m profit a year earlier. More

In the US, Nielsen and retail analytics agency Information Resources Inc (IRI) have formed a new firm which will recruit, maintain and process data from a common set of households to support the Nielsen Homescan and IRI Consumer Network panels. More

Shopper behaviour consultancy TNS Magasin has combined EEG (electroencephalography) and eye tracking technologies to capture shoppers' emotional and cognitive responses at what it describes as 'an unprecedented level of detail'. More

In the UK, Nielsen has taken a stake in CGA Strategy - which offers market intelligence for retailers in pubs and bars, and for drinks brand owners - while CGA has taken over Nielsen's sales tracking activities in the sector. Terms were not disclosed. More

German agricultural MR specialist Kleffmann Group has partnered with XS Inc - a firm which produces North American ag retailer point-of-sale data - to develop a new suite of market research and intelligence services. More

Full service firm Majestic Market Research Support Services (MMRSS) has expanded with the opening of an office in Jakarta, Indonesia. More

In the US, consumer specialist Perception Research Services International (PRS) and neuroscience firm EmSense have partnered to offer bio-sensory measures within quant packaging research studies. More

GfK Retail and Technology has upped its stake in its Indian joint venture (JV) with Nielsen from 40.0% to 50.1%. Previously known as ORG-GfK Marketing Services, the JV will now be re-branded as GfKNielsen India and will be included in the consolidated accounts of the GfK Group. More

In the UK, The Oxford Research Agency (TORA) has launched a qual operation called Mimosa, which it says will address clients' needs for joined-up qual/quant thinking in the FMCG, retail and shopper insight, customer satisfaction and OTC sectors. More

In Sydney, research veterans Alex Sweeney and Alasdair Johnston have formed Clarity Strategic Research, a new agency offering qual and quant research services to the financial, B2B, telecoms, retail, FMCG and media sectors. More

Nielsen has re-organised its consumer research group into a global practice, and appointed practice expert teams across its five geographic regions. More

The Nielsen Company has agreed to acquire GfK's FMCG Retail Measurement and Consumer Panel business in Switzerland. Nielsen will take over assets related to two continuous FMCG panels: GfK's Retail Store Panel and GfK's Household Consumer Panel. More

For the first three months of the year, GfK's sales slipped 1.3% from €268.1m in Q1 2008 to €264.7m. In order to absorb further 'crisis-related losses' the firm has announced measures to reduce personnel costs including short-time work, hiring freezes, salary cuts and redundancies. More

Pert Survey Research has announced the acquisition of two companies, customer experience and public policy consultancy Pulsar Research and brand and strategy consulting firm Market Directions; and the changing of its corporate name to the Pert Group. More

US firm TodobebT, which runs a portal and social networking site for Spanish-speaking parents, is to offer access to proprietary research conducted through its panel of Hispanic Moms. More

GfK has reported an increase in income of €58.4m to €1,220.4m for the year 2008, reflecting organic growth of 5.5%. More

GfK Custom Research North America is partnering with The Hartman Group to launch a new study, Future Buy: The New Shopper Value Paradigm, which aims to find opportunities for companies looking to connect with shoppers in a changing retail marketplace. More

In Canada, Ipsos Reid has announced a deal with Tell Us About Us Inc. (TUAU) to better serve clients in the retail, restaurant, service and hospitality sectors. The deal adds TUAU's data collection and reporting engine the OnlineKMC™ to Ipsos' consulting expertise. More

British marcoms group Aegis - which owns market research firm Synovate - has announced plans to cut around 780 jobs across its global operations as part of a cost-saving plan to beat the downturn. Meanwhile CEO John Napier denied reports he has held merger talks with competitor Havas. More

Synovate has announced an agreement with Canadian software provider Vision Critical, to power its online community panels around the globe. More

UK-based agency 2CV, part of Cello Group, has announced the opening of an office in San Francisco. The office is its first in North America and the beginning of an international expansion plan. More

Information services giant Experian has announced a strategic alliance with Buxton, providers of site location and customer analytics. More

According to preliminary figures, GfK has achieved organic revenue growth of 5.5% to €1,220m for the financial year 2008. The firm has also implemented a new efficiency programme which it says should save €30m between now and 2012. More

In California, Alliant International University has opened an on-campus laboratory to conduct product testing for new research service Sample U. Consumers are invited to sample products and groceries in exchange for their feedback, and leave the laboratory with a bag of free goods. 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

Tesco's pre-launch market research for its US 'Fresh & Easy' stores missed vital clues about purchasing decisions Stateside, its boss has told UK paper The Sunday Times. More

Dutch market research agency DervalResearch has claimed it has found a link between the perception of taste and an individual's job and hobbies, which it is calling the Hormonal Fingerprint. More

Ipsos has reported full-year organic growth of 7.8% with revenues up 5.6% to €979.3m from 2007. The group says that in 2009 it intends to deliver further growth, while maintaining margins - at the very least - at their 2008 level. More

In the UK, Coca Cola has hired Bhawani Singh Shekhawat for its newly created role of Director - Strategy, Planning and Insights. More

Nielsen is about to roll out its store layout and category space management solution my.spaceman, across more than 100 markets. More

Nielsen has opened a BASES office in Delhi, its second Indian location, from which it will provide new product research and forecasting services to the consumer packaged goods sector. More

In the UK, Newcastle-based Explain Market Research is to open a specialist call centre in Jesmond to provide space for additional staff at its headquarters. More

Survey software firm Vovici has partnered with UK customer experience consultancy CGA to offer clients customer experience measurement. More

Web-based consumer researcher BuzzBack has reported a 35% increase in sales in 2008, with growth in profits following expansion of the business. More

Swedish eye tracking firm Tobii Technology has signed a global agreement with Ipsos Marketing for its Eye Tracking hardware and software to be integrated into Ipsos’ Pack Evaluation packaged testing system and other Ipsos solutions. More

In the US, Nielsen has announced the indefinite suspension of its P.R.I.S.M. initiative, which it set up with the In-Store Marketing Institute in 2006. P.R.I.S.M. aimed to establish a common industry metric to measure audiences and gauge the effectiveness of in-store marketing. More

In London, full-service research agency SPA has restructured its business into three divisions, each with its own Managing Director. It has also promoted Jo Lockett from Marketing Director to the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer to oversee non-research functions. More

In the UK, confectionery giant Nestlé has opened an Insight and Learning Centre, to help its retail clients understand how the layout of shelves in their stores can be tailored to shoppers’ needs. More

In the UK Ed Mayo, the CEO of government watchdog Consumer Focus, has co-authored a book which criticizes firms that use young children to conduct market research into their products. Mayo describes the system as ‘insidious and downright creepy’. More

Andrew Mann is to join UK supermarket chain Sainbury's next month from rival Tesco, to take up the post of Director of Customer Insight and Loyalty. The move comes as Sainsbury’s restructures its London head office as part of a cost-saving exercise. More

Computer giant IBM has unveiled a portfolio of solutions designed to help retailers analyze data and apply it to business processes. More

US firms Planalytics and Revionics have partnered to incorporate the former’s weather intelligence into the latter’s price optimization solution, to help clients adjust pricing decisions to match localized consumer buying behavior. More

Health and sustainability specialist Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) has announced the expansion of its services to Canada, and the appointment of Jorge Santos as Vice President of Strategic Consulting, based in Ontario. More

Retail behemoth Wal-mart has pulled out of the P.R.I.S.M. initiative, which was set up by Nielsen and the In-Store Marketing Institute in 2006 to establish a global metric for evaluating the in-store environment. More

GfK has acquired a 74% majority stake in Egyptian consumer research company Market Insight; and has formed a joint venture with the Median Group under the name of GfK Custom Research Middle East Holding, in which GfK holds a 51% share. More

Dean Blythe, President and CEO of US-based direct marketing giant Harte-Hanks, is to leave the firm to ‘pursue other professional opportunities’. He will be replaced by company veteran and current Chairman of the Board, Larry Franklin. More

In the US, behavioral targeting and analytic services firm I-Behavior has partnered with database development specialist CMS Direct to integrate the latter’s ‘Prefer Network’ co-operative database into its consumer purchase data products. More

Web site usability researcher JuxtConsult has created an online panel of more than 115,000 consumers in India, which the firm says are representative of 86% of the country’s total urban population of 337 million people. More

Two US-based retail chains are in dispute over a subpoena which would require one to hand over to its much larger competitor business information including two years' worth of weekly store sales figures. More

In the US, Ipsos Mendelsohn has formed an advisory council – made up of representatives from ad agencies, publications, cable TV networks and digital media worlds – to expand the scope and size of its annual Affluent Survey. More

Former Synovate Hungary Researcher Brúnó Bitter has set up a market research and brand consultancy called Next Wave Research, which uses a technique he dubs ‘visual ethnography’ to view consumers’ actual in-store behaviour. More

UK-based Munro Global has expanded teams at two of its subsidiaries, FDS International and acefieldwork, with five appointments in the last few weeks. More

Groupe Aeroplan, owner of the Nectar loyalty scheme, is to launch its UK-based customer-driven insight and communication business in North America, with offices based in Toronto and Chicago. More

Marketing services group Creston has announced good interim results for the six months to September 2008, with revenue up 5% to £41.3m. The Insight Division saw revenues fall from £9.0m a year ago to £8.5m with smaller MR firms suffering, although its margins remain good. More

UK research pioneer Harry Henry, the last survivor of the 23 founders of the Market Research Society (MRS), has died aged 92 after a stroke. More

CPG, retail and healthcare information provider Information Resources Inc (IRI) has announced a three-year-plus contract, starting on 1st January 2009, as the sole supplier of retail data to Nestlé in the UK. More

Ipsos MORI has launched a new shopper research solution, Checkout, which promises to increase the chances of success at launch by optimising manufacturers’ in-store strategy in the competitive environment. More

London-based agency SPA is diversifying into the B2B, public and transport/travel sectors with the appointment of Janet Wright as Research Director, responsible for developing new revenue streams and building up a specialist team. More

Thwarted in its TNS marriage plans, GfK appears to be enjoying the single life. Revenue for the first nine months of the year rose to €883.8m, representing organic growth of 7.2% (up from 5.5% the previous year); and adjusted operating income up 1.7% to €104.3m. The firm described the results as ‘satisfactory’ in the current economic climate. 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

Ground-breaking US-based media ROI measurement firm TRA has announced a database of 370,000 US homes, and the signing up of Discovery Communications as a client. More

Mall media specialist EYE has signed an agreement with Arbitron Custom Research to measure the effectiveness of mall-based advertisements and the psychographics of its shoppers. More

Consumer insight firm DunnhumbyUSA has outgrown its existing Cincinnati headquarters and is moving to a 150,000 square-foot space that can accommodate more than 500 employees. More

UK-based Nunwood has developed Bioshopping, a new way of combining traditional shopper research with biometric technology to probe the emotions behind what engages/disengages consumers and what prompts them to buy. More

Mintel and Information Resources Inc (IRI) have enhanced their joint product development support solution, GNPD IRIS, with additional trend analysis. More

In the UK, quant specialist Buckingham Research has appointed Tim Sheard as Research Director and Justin Porter and Craig Strudley as Associate Directors. All three have previously worked at GfK NOP. More

Frances Grubb, President of marketing and sensory research firm J. Reckner Associates (JRA), will be stepping down from her role next January after sixteen years in the role. She will be replaced by SVP Steve Aukers who joined the firm last October from TNS. More

In the UK, Buckingham Research Associates founder Maggie Drye has launched a new company, Insitas. Former Buckingham execs Sandra Halstead and Duncan Fergusson join the start-up team, along with Acritas CEO Lisa Hart who becomes a Non-Executive Director. More

Experian is to combine its FootFall system – which counts the numbers of people visiting retailers and shopping centres – with Path Intelligence’s shopper behaviour technology, to understand the movement of shoppers as they flow through retail centres. More

204 weeks separate the Beijing Olympics and the start of the next games in London – precisely one week for each country that took part in the events in China. MrWeb will be following a trail across the world for the next four years, each week profiling one country and its research industry, linking also to news, jobs and suppliers. More

In the US, Proclivity Systems – which develops consumer shopping and purchasing behavior analytics – has raised $5.5m in Series B financing, led by Fung Capital USA Fund, with co-investment from WPP Digital and Pilot Group, as well as investors from the firm’s Series A funding. More

MMR Research Worldwide has announced a new suite of research methods for clients in the food, drink and CPG sectors; and has rebranded, and relaunched its web site. More

UK supermarket giant ASDA has launched a new quarterly consumer confidence survey, with a panel of 10,000 of its shoppers who will provide feedback on topics such as personal finance, job security, the economy, and safety from crime. More

European market research company Stratégir has opened a new office in Covent Garden, London and appointed Dorte Torpe Hansen as UK MD. More

In the UK, The University of Reading and MMR Research Worldwide have opened a Sensory Science Centre, which will provide sensory evaluation data for MMR’s food, drink and healthcare clients, as well as for the University’s research and teaching programmes. More

Consumer specialist Information Resources Inc (IRI) has appointed Hans Jessen as Executive Vice President and Managing Director of European Services and Global Analytics Delivery. More

In the UK, marketing services firm Indicia has launched an econometric modelling company, MarketingReality, to provide a ‘fusion of customer behaviour analysis’ across all marketing channels. More

Following yesterday’s news that it had shelved plans to acquire UK rival TNS, GfK has bounced back by announcing its highest rate of sales growth since the firm’s IPO in 1999. Organic sales were up 11.4% for the quarter, and 8.4% for the first six months of the year. More

UK marcoms group Aegis has posted overall organic revenue growth of 8.2% for the first half of 2008. Research arm Synovate reports healthy revenue and profit rises but has reduced expectations for 2008 organic market growth to 4.1% from 5.1%, in the light of tough trading conditions. More

In the US, population segmentation specialist Nielsen Claritas has partnered with retail buying consortium Nationwide Marketing Group, to analyze customer data from select Nationwide member retailers. More

Global marketing and advertising database TGI (Target Group Index) has been relaunched in South Africa, via a new company, TGI SA [Pty] Ltd, whose majority shareholder is Ask Afrika. More

UK-based global recruitment group Prime People plc has launched a research, insight and analysis division, Prime Insight, and has appointed Alice Glover, co-founder of recruiters NicholsonGlover Consulting, to head it up. More

In the US, Research International (RI) has appointed Tom Buehrer as SVP/General Manager West Coast, Lisa Kassem as VP, and Jake Steadman as Research Executive. More

In Europe, predictive targeting technology firm Nugg.ad is to combine Nielsen Homescan panel data with survey data it gathers from visitors to its partner web sites, to help advertisers target consumers through online marketing campaigns. More

In the US, Nielsen has partnered with Mindset Media – a firm that creates consumer profiles of web users – to add personality profile mapping to its Homescan consumer purchase panel of 125,000 US households. More

TNS has promoted Andrew Czarnowski to the post of MD of its UK and Ireland Custom business; tasked with driving growth in one the firm’s largest units and exploiting capabilities in shopper, brand and communications research. More

UK retailer Boots is the latest big name to restructure in the interests of becoming more customer-focused. The changes, announced last week, include the appointment of Directors of Loyalty, CRM, Customer Communications and In-store Marketing, all reporting to Marketing Director Elizabeth Fagan. More

Maritz Research has appointed Graham Devereux as Division Vice President of its newly created Retail Research Europe unit, responsible for strategy and business development and based in Marlow, Bucks, UK. More

Just over a year since joining TNS as Global Head of Access Panels, Robert Tomei has left to become President, Consumer & Shopper Insights at consumer analytics firm Information Resources Inc (IRI). More

UK research and marketing insight consultancy McCallum Layton has expanded its services to include sensory testing, through a bespoke Sensory Testing Unit and panel in Leeds. More

In the UK, sensory panel company MSTS is being integrated with product development specialists Marketing Sciences. Both are part of the Insight Division of UK marketing services group Creston. More

Rob Stevens, co-founder of UK-based behavioural research consultancy Bunnyfoot, has moved the firm’s established eye-tracking expertise into a new, separate consultancy, which will test consumers’ behavioural response to offline media including TV, print and outdoor, as well as packaging. More

Consumer intelligence specialist DunnhumbyUSA has opened a third office, adding Chicago to sites in Cincinatti and Atlanta. More

Advertising, marketing and comms agency Omnicom has formed a consultancy, led by a dozen female execs, to help clients make connections with women – whether as consumers, customers, employees or other stakeholders. More

Supermarket chain Safeway has appointed Diane Dietz as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, overseeing the marketing, merchandising, manufacturing and distribution functions. More

Nationwide Insurance has partnered with the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University (OSU) to create The Nationwide Center for Advanced Customer Insights, dedicated to researching and evaluating consumer behavior in the United States. More

Both TNS and WPP have reported healthy revenue growth in the first five months of 2008 - the former doing particularly well in the UK, balancing a slight decline in the US. Meanwhile Martin Sorrell has again asked TNS for more financial information. More

Digital video recorder (DVR) pioneer TiVo has partnered with media marketing research firm TRA to develop an ad research system that gauges how consumers makes household purchasing decisions based on ad exposure. More

In the US, Information Resources Inc. (IRI) will be integrating TNS’ Shades of Green methodology into its Consumer Network Household panel, to delve deeper into consumer attitudes and behavior towards environmental issues and motivation to purchase green products. More

Online research agency BrainJuicer has opened an office in Switzerland, while also announcing plans to acquire Melbourne-based market research firm The Slater Marketing Group. More

Consumer analytics firm Information Resources Inc (IRI) has added a number of new solutions to its Consumer Network household panel to enable clients to gather reactions from hard-to-reach respondents. More

TNS has agreed to open its books and give WPP the same information it gave to GfK as part of their recent merger agreement. Meanwhile, reports suggest that the GfK-TNS merger may face an EU competition probe; and may be ‘sweetened’ by a cash bonus for TNS shareholders. More

Air Miles operator Alliance Data Loyalty Services has formally launched a consumer analytics supplier, Precima, developed from what was previously its in-house analytics function. More

Customer satisfaction specialist CFI Group has this week launched what it describes as the first UK National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI-UK) for banks, supermarkets and mortgage lenders. More

GfK and TNS have agreed the terms for their ‘merger of equals’ to create GfK-TNS plc. Aside from ‘significant opportunities’ for revenue growth, the firms say the move will bring annual pre-tax benefits through cost reduction of at least Euros 97m (£76m) by the end of the third full year following completion. More

Nielsen and rival consumer analytics firm Information Resources Inc (IRI) have both announced major contracts with consumer giants. IRI says it has ousted Nielsen from a UK contract they formerly shared, with P&G; Nielsen says it has signed a global contract with the Coca-Cola Company. More

Synovate has announced the appointment of Zoltan Bodo as Managing Director in Hungary, replacing the recently promoted George Christodoulides. More

Experian and digital specialist MultiMedia Intelligence have announced a partnership, combining the former’s in-depth data on psychographics, consumer behavior, lifestyles and attitudes with the latter’s market sizing and forecasting models and databases. More

In the UK, another first for Portsmouth. Foot traffic monitoring firm Path Intelligence, based in the city, is testing patent-pending surveillance technology that continuously tracks mobile phone signals to understand the movement of shoppers as they flow through retail centres or public amenities. More

Ipsos first quarter revenues rose 6.2% to €217.3m from Q1 2007. Despite slow going in North America, global organic growth reached 9.6%, which the firm said exceeded its full-year targets. More

GfK has described its Q1 results as ‘sound’, with organic growth in sales up 5.1% to €268.1m and consolidated total income rising almost 21% to €12.5m. More

Groundbreaking New York-based media research firm TRA (True ROI Accountability for Media) has appointed James O’Hara as EVP of Sales. More

In the US, media communications agency Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) has partnered with online research agencies GMI and InsightExpress to conduct a tracking study which aims to uncover how ad messages influence consumer intentions to buy. More

UK consumer and media specialist Mintel has appointed Robert Santiago as Director of Thought Leadership. He was previously Head of the Financial Times Research Centre. More

UK full-service agency Market Research Partners (MRP) has launched a monthly qualitative omnibus. The new Qualbus format allows clients to buy 30-minute sections on any of the firm’s four different monthly focus groups. More

Top five global MR firms TNS and GfK are in discussions about a possible ‘merger of equals’, which would create the world’s second-largest market and information group. More

MediaVest has become the first media agency to sign up for MR firm TRA’s recently launched service, which matches viewing data from digital set-top-boxes with offline shopping behaviour data provided by loyalty cards scanned at grocery checkout counters. More

UK-based retail giant Tesco is working with partner firm dunnhumby to extend its consumer insight and analysis system to match its international footprint, minus the US. The Asian and East European roll-out includes tailored versions of its pioneering Clubcard loyalty programme. More

Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) has appointed Nigel Howlett as President of IRI International. Previously Executive Vice President (global) and a Board Director at OgilvyOne Worldwide, he replaces and reports to Mark Parise who becomes President of IRI’s global Market Information Group. More

Fast-growing UK provider The Oxford Research Agency (TORA) has been bought by two of its directors, Andrew Tharme and Chris Sinclair, with the aid of venture capital. Former TRBi CEO Laurence Curtis also joins, as Chairman, with immediate effect. More

In the US, Spanish-language media giant Univision Communications Inc. has announced further collaboration with Nielsen, aimed at providing improved measurement and insight covering the Hispanic consumer segment. More

Consumer packaged goods specialist Information Resources Inc (IRI) has partnered with the GfK/TNS-owned Europanel Association to offer what the firms describe as ‘the widest-reaching, single-panel research service in the world’. More

In the US, Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI) has launched Market-by-Market, a service providing local market versions of its studies on the media usage, lifestyle and product purchasing behavior of US consumers. More

Synovate has launched a new service called Market Barriers, which measures the obstacles that brands face – such as distribution, pricing and product configuration – and reports back on the impact that these have on customer choice and market share. More

In the US, marketing intelligence firm GOLIATH Solutions has closed a $27m investment deal. The funds will be used to roll out the firm’s real-time proprietary tool which analyzes consumer reaction to store displays, signs and merchandising. More

The Nielsen Company has announced results for the year ended December 31, 2007. The research giant narrowed its loss from $368m in 2006 (pro forma) to $282m, and grew reported revenue to $4,707m, a rise of 13% from its pro forma figure for 2006, or 7% adjusting for currencies and deferred revenue. More

GfK has confirmed a record year of trading in 2007 with organic sales up 5.8% to EUR1,162m. Adjusted operating income rose 4.7% to EUR157.6m and margin crept up to 13.6%. The firm has also announced plans to change its legal form to an SE, or Societas Europaea. More

In Germany, Colibri Research will be launching a new qualitative omnibus study in June, enabling clients to ask questions in a focus group setting. More

Data collection firm Interviewing Service of America (ISA) has partnered with research and consulting agency SMS in Hawaii, to offer customer and employee satisfaction measurement to the islands’ business community. More

In the US, Arbitron and Nielsen joint venture Scarborough Research says it is considering the possibilities of expanding into additional ‘mid-tier’ local markets. More

In the US, wine industry market analyst Barbara Insel has launched a new consultancy, Stonebridge Research, to provide data, analysis and advisory services to the wine industry. More

In the US, Gallup and healthcare support provider Healthways have forged a 25-year agreement to measure and track the well-being of communities and companies, as well as the effectiveness of programs implemented to improve health, well-being and productivity. More

US-based consumer info specialist Information Resources Inc (IRI) has appointed Thomas Peterson as President of Global Retail. More

Information Resources Inc (IRI) and The NPD Group have joined forces to launch the Beauty Cross Channel Monitor, claimed as the US beauty industry’s first and only cross-channel retail tracking product. More

TNS has announced an agreement to acquire online behaviour measurement company Compete, Inc. for US$75m in cash, doubling if targets are met over two years. The company also reported full year results for 2007, with revenue of UK£1,067.7m, representing underlying growth of 5.4%. More

In the final quarter of 2007 GfK achieved organic growth of 6.5% and a margin of 16.8% – a figure the firm says is the most successful in its history. Based on preliminary data, the group also reported an organic sales increase of 5.8% to Euros 1,162m for the full year. More

In the US, health, wellness and sustainability researcher Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) has teamed up with Nielsen to provide consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers with a better understanding of its consumer segmentation model LOHAS (Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability). More

Arbitron and Nielsen have ditched development of ‘Project Apollo’, their much-vaunted scheme to give a better understanding of the link between consumer exposure to advertising through multiple media and shopping / purchasing behaviour. More

UK MR psychology specialist CRAMQIQ has partnered with Chinese research agency DiagAid to undertake in-depth consumer and B2B research in the Chinese market. More

US firm TRA, Inc. has today unveiled a system for measuring and reporting ‘True ROI Accountability’ for advertising spend. The firm plans to match ads actually received with products actually bought for a massive 1,000,000 plus US households. More

In London, TNS is ready to launch what it claims is the UK’s first one-day turnaround Omnibus, aiming to provide clients with an ‘instant snapshot of consumer opinion and behaviour’. More

In the UK, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has appointed Philip Cullum as Chair of its new Advisory Committee on Consumer Engagement, alongside eight new committee members from a wide range of backgrounds. More

TNS has merged its own continuous research service in China with that of its joint venture CTR Market Research, under the Worldpanel brand. Jason Yu is appointed to lead the newly merged unit as General Manager, TNS Worldpanel China. More

Coffee giant Starbucks is hoping to steer out of troubled waters with the help of newly promoted Senior VP Marketing Terry Davenport and Senior VP, Global Strategy Michelle Gass. Former Marketing Exec Harry Roberts also returns to the firm as Senior VP/Chief Creative Officer. More

US-based health, wellness and sustainability researcher the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) has hired Patti Marshman-Goldblatt as SVP, and Diane Ray as VP Strategic Consulting. Kurt Wagner, Dave Montgomery, La-Vie Borde-Perry, Gail Sayer and Deb Morang have also joined, as Project Directors. More

As Toluna announces its agreement with Incisive, UK-based rival The iD Factor has announced the availability of 22 specialist panels covering ‘a comprehensive range of niche markets’, based on pre-profiling of 145,000 UK consumer members of its Home of Research panel. More

In the US, J. Reckner Associates, Inc. (JRA) has added two Senior Vice Presidents, Cindy Ward and Steven M. Aukers, to lead the development of its global sensory and market research practices. Former Kraft researcher Beth Logan also joins, as an Account Director. More

GfK has announced organic sales growth of 6.7%., and a sales increase of 5.5% to €833.9m for the first nine months of the year. Meanwhile Dr Derek Allen is joining the group in the US as EVP of the GfK Research Center for Excellence. More

UK consultancy dunnhumby is to use the ultimate consumer panel – data from the Loyalty Clubcards of 13 million households visiting its key client, Tesco – to offer evaluation of the impact of marketing activity on shopper behaviour. More

Online competitive intelligence provider Hitwise has launched an updated version of its Hitwise Lifestyle online tool, containing a new approach which provides marketers with attitudinal and behavioural customer segmentation data on more than 30,000 web sites. More

Arbitron and Nielsen are to extend the pilot period for their joint venture Project Apollo into the first quarter of 2008, to allow more time to demonstrate its benefits and to develop data delivery procedures. It was previously scheduled to complete this year. More

Arbitron / Nielsen joint venture Project Apollo has reached agreement with four major US radio industry firms, to add audience data for commercials broadcast on their network and syndicated programs to its offer. More

Retail info giant IRI has appointed John Freeland, an Accenture veteran most recently President-Worldwide Operations for salesforce.com, as its new President and CEO. He succeeds Scott W. Klein, in the roles since January 2004, who moves up to IRI’s parent, Symphony Technology Group. More

Nielsen and its partners have announced ‘substantial progress’ in their P.R.I.S.M. project, which aims to establish a global metric for evaluating the in-store environment. Initial results shed light on the relationship between traffic and purchases, and the level of in-store communuications with shoppers. More

Swedish company Simstore International AB has received $2m in venture capital to develop SIMSTORE360®, an Internet based tool for the analysis of consumer decision-making at the point of purchase, using virtual store environments. More

Papers at today’s ESOMAR Congress looked at 60 years of the development of research within electronics manfacturer Philips; and at the successful repositioning of the sagging SlimFast brand. More

In the US, financial trading intelligence firm Alphacution has teamed up with sports marketing firm rEvolution. The pair have adapted Alphacution’s financial sector marketing intelligence platform into a solution for optimising marketing and sponsorship spend. More

Nielsen’s FMCG analytics unit Decisions Made Easy (DME) has partnered with France’s first online supermarket Telemarket. The retailer’s consumer profile data will be used to help suppliers gain an insight into the online supermarket sector. More

New York-based consumer research firm The NPD Group has linked up with LA consultancy Fusion Marketing to offer consumer information and marketing insights into the food and drink perishables industry. More

TNS has today released unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2007. The firm says underlying revenue growth of 5.9% and operating profit up 8.9% to £45.4m show the successful implementation of a strategy commenced last year. More

Clear Seas Research, the MR company within family owned US b-to-b group BNP Media, is expanding into the food, beverage and packaging sectors, as well as the gaming market. The move follows BMP’s acquisition of part of publisher and conference organiser Ascend Media. More

In Canada, the Institute for Sport Marketing (ISM) has announced the on-campus launch of its new research centre at Laurentian University, and appointed Xiaoyan Xing as Associate Director of International Research and Ann Pegoraro as Associate Director. More

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is to get its 'first' annual syndicated research study, courtesy of Starfish Research (Asia-Pacific). More

MrWeb has announced a partnership with the US-based association MRA (Marketing Research Association). The deal aims to give MRA members access to daily updates of global news and job vacancies while promoting MRA’s services and programs to readers of Daily Research News. More

Ipsos and Nielsen have reported results for the first half of the year. Ipsos increased revenue by 8.7% over the year earlier period to €443.1m, while Nielsen’s grew from $2,019m to $2,241m. More

German fragrance and flavourings manufacturer Symrise has opened a Sensory and Consumer Science Centre in Singapore, which includes rooms for focus groups, panel-training rooms and individual sensory-test booths. More

GfK has reported first half results which are ‘moderate compared with the highly successful prior year’. Business in two divisions, Custom Research and HealthCare, fell short of expectations, although others forged ahead giving respectable overall organic growth of 4.9%. More

Retail analysis specialist Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) has announced an extension to its relationship with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., creating a range of consumer panel services based on the consumer giant’s customer segments. More

UK convenience store chain Co-op Group is to conduct customer satisfaction surveys at the point of sale using its EPOS system. More

Lightspeed Research has announced the launch of a new GB Sports Panel. The panel pre-identifies consumers on the basis of sports watched and participated in. More

Texas-based direct marketing giant Harte-Hanks, which targets promotions based on information gathered at the point of sale, has promoted Dean Blythe to President, replacing CEO Richard Hochhauser who is retiring after 32 years with the company. More

Dallas-based Spectrum Solutions has announced the launch of a new company, ZeeProbe, providing market intelligence for franchise, food and retail establishments. More

Dunkin’ Brands’ head of Insight Regina Lewis has left to join IHG, the group which owns hotel brands including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, as part of its newly formed worldwide brand management leadership team. More

GfK Consumer has launched a new regular survey of 'unacculturated' Hispanic Americans, whom it defines as ‘not yet assimilated completely to their adopted country’. Around two fifths of the 42 million Hispanics living in the US are said to meet the definition. More

TNS has issued a trading update, ahead of reporting interim results on 3 September. The group says its previously troubled US custom business has returned to growth and expects underlying organic revenue growth of over 5% for the first six months of 2007. More

ASDA, the UK supermarket owned by US giant Wal-Mart, has announced the launch of a new food nutrition labelling system after extensive customer research. The approach combines the features of the alternative ‘traffic light’ and GDA systems used by its rivals. More

In the USA, MarketTools, Inc. has announced the availability of a research solution for marketers targeting mothers, the ‘Moms Insight Network’. The system combines input from the online conversations of millions of ‘moms’, an online community and a quarterly survey of 500 respondents. More

Following a two-year research programme which has seen Tesco’s US CEO Tim Mason and his team invest thousands of hours investigating the needs of the American consumer, the supermarket giant will be launching its Fresh & Easy stores in the US by the autumn. More

Denmark-based Anis Panduro Zouzou has been appointed Nielsen’s European In-Store Manager, charged with leading the roll-out of its In-Store initiative across Europe. More

UK-based agency Nunwood has added in-store video observation to its shopper insight offer, with the aim of more effectively evaluating subconscious behaviour traits. More

Nielsen has introduced Homescan® Total ShopperView, billed as ‘the industry’s largest panel created to capture feedback on non-bar-coded items’. The service covers 15 categories of perishables such as bakery items, meat, vegetables and coffee. More

US retailer Target has pulled an e-mail survey which made some respondents feel ‘uncomfortable’. The questionnaire, which was designed by New York firm Mindset Media and distributed to Target customers on Friday by Nielsen, was canceled by Saturday morning. More

Following the recent departure of Robert Tomei, Mitch Barns has been named Global President of Nielsen’s consumer segmentation tools, Homescan, Spectra and Loyalty. The move continues the firm’s reorganisation of its Consumer Product Leadership team. More

Synovate has introduced a suite of market potential models and simulators known as MVP – Market Value Potential; and has renamed its specialist Product Design & Development division ‘MarketQuest’. More

The Nielsen Company has reported revenues for the first quarter of 2007 up 5% over the same period last year, helped by a strong performance (up 7%) from its Media Research division. More

Online agency Research Now has launched a proprietary research panel to gather consumer opinion in New Zealand. More

London-based FMCG specialist, MASMI, has opened a full service MR firm in Warsaw, Poland, and appointed Tomasz Jakubowski, formerly of Synovate, to lead the team. More

Wal-Mart has partially lifted its six-year ban on providing sales data to MR firms, to support Nielsen’s effort to create an industry standard for in-store marketing measurement. More

Fort Worth-based customer analytics specialist Buxton is following a doubling of its headcount in 2006 by moving to new offices which have room to double it again, with a further 100+ new research and technical staff. More

The Nielsen Group has launched Brand3 – ‘Brand Cubed’ – linking retail market measurement data, household panel information and customised survey results to provide clients with a holistic perspective of a firm or product’s brand equity. More

Ipsos has announced a strong first quarter with revenues up 8.9% to Euros 204.7m. Organic growth was 10.3%, the highest for a first quarter since Ipsos’ IPO in 1999. More

The GfK Group has announced healthy first quarter results with sales up 5.2% to Euros 261.3m, with organic growth of 6.8%. Margin was up from 8.5% a year previously to 9.5%, and adjusted operating income rose by 17.3% to Euros 24.8m. More

Nielsen has launched the first suite of products under its much-heralded NielsenConnect banner, integrating information from dozens of its collection, analysis and reporting services. More

Nielsen and Experian Marketing Services have announced a new CRM solution to help consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies understand consumer purchasing behaviour and measure response to campaigns. More

Brian Cornell, Exec VP and Chief Marketing Officer of Safeway is leaving to look for a top role elsewhere. During his three year tenure, Cornell revamped market research and insight functions at the $40.5bn grocery chain. More

In the US, the Nielsen Company and the In-Store Marketing Institute have begun the expansion of their in-store measurement service, known as P.R.I.S.M. (Pioneering Research for an In-Store Metric), to encompass all forms of merchandising activity. More

Consultancy firm Strategic Vision has added a Canadian unit to its existing teams in the USA and Russia. StrategicVision Canada will be led by new hire Margo Jay, whose association with the firm began more than 15 years ago as a client. More

US-based online tips and advice publisher Modern Mom has formed an Insights & Action division to delve into the key drivers of the ‘mom market’. Its products have been developed with the help of MR consultancy, Noesis. More

Consumer, shopper and retail market intelligence agency IRI has opened its new BehaviorScan media testing studio in Colorado, USA, where retailers and manufacturers will be able to test the impact of their TV ad strategies. More

A week of headlines for Google. On Friday the search giant announced first quarter revenue up 63% to $3.66bn, and rocketed to the top of Millward Brown’s BRANDZ™ index with a worth dwarfing current figures - $66.4bn. Google also made headline deals and gained search share against rivals Yahoo! and Microsoft. More

South African firm WDB Investment Holdings, the finance arm of the WDB Charitable Trust, has acquired a 25.1% stake in MR intelligence firm Kaufman Levin Associates (KLA). More

Consumer products giant Unilever plans to increase the use of the Internet as an MR tool in the UK, following the success of its web-based research programmes in the States. More

Hi-tech researcher OTX (Online Testing eXchange) has added five senior executives, apparently the prelude to a major offensive. The hires include Bruce Grey Tedesco as Chief Research Officer and four others at VP level or above. More

Retail and consumer information firm, NPD Group, has bought TNS’s foodservice tracking businesses in the UK and Spain, and integrated them into its CREST® food purchase information service. More

Birmingham, UK-based Select Research has launched the initial phase of a study which it hopes will lead to the creation of a new computer-based system for measuring obesity. The system is designed to improve on Body Mass Index (BMI) which doctors have used since 1830. More

The Nielsen Company has announced a new category management solution for suppliers of Wal-Mart, for whom it is the sole provider of consumer panel services. The new package combines Nielsen’s Spectra consumer segmentation and targeting with its Decisions Made Easy sales tracking software. More

Major shareholder ValueAct Capital is on course to take consumer behavior and direct marketing firm Catalina Marketing Corporation private, in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.7 billion. More

US chain Dunkin’ Donuts has deposed coffee giant Starbucks in customer loyalty ratings for the first time. NYC-based Brand Keys Inc. said Dunkin’, whose insight head Regina Lewis featured last year in MRWho, had given its brands ‘the right values and the right sense of community’. More

TNS has released full year results for 2006, showing revenue almost flat at £1,004.2m (up 0.5% from £999m in 2005). However the firm, whose US custom business has been restructuring since reporting problems a year ago, said results in other divisions were good. More

Healthy preliminary figures indicate that GfK Group’s 2006 organic growth of 5.4% was again ahead of the estimated industry average of 4-5%. Declining sales in Japan meant overall Asia Pacific growth was nil, but the firm’s operations in Central and Eastern Europe continue to boom. More

Retail analysis giant Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) has partnered with comScore Networks to create an Internet tracking panel, along with support solutions to provide Internet media buying and planning tools for CPG clients. More

In the US, Kraft Foods Inc. will invest $300-400 million on ‘marketing, research and development’ this year in a plan to turn around a series of disappointing results. The consumer giant aims to make its product categories ‘more relevant to consumers’. More

TNS has acquired US shopping behaviour specialist Sorensen Associates for an undisclosed sum, and created a global practice, TNS Retail and Shopper Insights. More

In the USA, Ellen Schutt, a former editor of Nutraceuticals World magazine has launched an independent consulting firm whose offer will include trends analysis and MR. Schutt Solutions LLC will focus on the nutraceuticals and functional foods industries. More

Just as Gap’s MR champion leaves the helm, even-bigger retailer Wal-Mart has promoted a senior research advocate. CMO John Fleming, a leading light in the firm’s strategy of tailoring stores to different customer segments, becomes Chief Merchant in charge of apparel, entertainment, grocery and home. More

UK retailer Waitrose has created a new position of Customer Development Director, putting customer requirements at the heart of its ambitious development plans. Board member Tony Solomons, currently Supply Chain Director, steps into the role from next week. More

VNU today continued its radical overhaul following its return to the private sector, by changing its name to ‘The Nielsen Company’. The firm says the move ‘emphasizes its best-known brand name and underscores its commitment to create an integrated, streamlined global organization’. More

Consumer research and consulting firm, OTX (Online Testing eXchange), has hired Dave Kaye from Flamingo International, to head its newly launched qualitative arm in Europe and Asia. More

ACNielsen has signed a new five-year agreement expanding its partnership with Dollar General, which operates more than 8,000 dollar stores. ACN will provide Account Level Services for the US retailer, including a Census level trade area which will be available to the vendor community. More

VNU has begun what it calls a ‘major corporate transformation’ including the phasing out of its existing group structure and the cutting of up to 4,000 jobs in 2007. NMR CEO Susan Whiting is promoted to a new group-wide EVP role while Frank Martell and Steve Schmidt will leave the company. More

VNU and partner the In-Store Marketing Institute are to launch a global service measuring customers’ in-store influences and purchasing decisions. The service will be offered by Nielsen In-Store, a new unit within the recently announced NielsenConnect, which aims to ‘follow the consumer’. More

TNS has appointed two Executive Vice Presidents for its North America Custom Research leadership under Kimberly Till. Michael O'Keeffe joins to lead Operations and MCP, and Larry Levin to head up U.S. Consumer Goods & Services. More

Farmers in Iowa have helped establish a new online market research company, AgSpeak. The launch was led by a group of agri-business professionals aiming to improve information flow to agricultural suppliers, while ‘fairly compensating’ farmers for the information they share. More

In the US, ACNielsen has announced a long-term alliance with NACS (the National Association of Convenience Stores), designed to provide comprehensive analysis of sales data for the convenience and petroleum market. More

GfK Mystery Shopping and disability consulting firm Butler New Media this week announced a joint venture giving GfK clients access to Butler’s ABILITY Mystery Shopping Panel. The result is claimed to be ‘America’s first national panel for individuals with disabilities’. More

US shopping, media and lifestyle analyst Scarborough Research has announced the full accreditation of its core syndicated services by the MRC (Media Rating Council). These include its 75 Top-Tier Local Market Studies and its Multi-Market Study, beginning with the 2006 product year. More

TNS has announced its unaudited interim results for the six months to 30 June. Unspectacular overall revenue growth of 4.5% (underlying growth 3.0%) reflects a decline in US custom business, while the rest of the group achieved organic revenue growth of almost 6%. More

GfK’s first half sales rose 54.6% to Euros 534.4m and adjusted operating income was up 76.3% to Euros 63.8m. Organic sales growth was a healthy 6.2%, ahead of the industry as a whole. The company has also extended the contract of its CEO Professor Dr. Klaus L. Wübbenhorst to 2012, ahead of schedule. 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

Michigan-based custom MR firm Gongos Research has moved into a custom-built office in Auburn Hills, reflecting rapid growth this year. At the same time, it has changed its name from Gongos and Associates, Inc. More

Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, has signed an agreement designating ACNielsen as its sole provider of consumer panel services, with the aim of tailoring its offer at an individual store level. ACNielsen already provides Wal-Mart with Spectra segmentation and targeting applications and insight. More

US provider OTX (Online Testing eXchange) has appointed David Shanker, previously of IRI, as its new COO and promoted Bruce Friend to President of Media and Entertainment Insights. The company is growing rapidly, rising to 22nd in the Honomichl Top 50 in just 6 years of operation. More

KPMG has this week joined forces with research group SPSL to launch the ‘Retail Think Tank’ (RTT) aimed at establishing ‘the true health and status’ of the UK’s retail sector. More

ACNielsen US has announced an expanded relationship with natural products sales data firm SPINS Inc. The two will share expertise, collaborate and optimize existing SPINS solutions, and jointly develop new products and services for clients in the health & wellness and natural & organic products industries. More

Outdoor advertising group JCDecaux has launched what it describes as the first ever coverage and frequency system for retail media, developed in conjunction with TNS Worldpanel. More

MR is at the heart of the transformation of Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, according to a speech by President and CEO Lee Scott at a shareholders’ meeting last Friday. The ‘Wal-Mart Out Front’ initiative rests on five ‘pillars’ of which the first is an MR-based broadening of its customer appeal. More

Synovate is planning further acquisitions, with Internet panel companies and analytics & modelling specialists among the possible targets. Global CEO Adrian Chedore talks exclusively to DRNO about buying companies, keeping people, and how a fast-growing top ten agency can stay 'small'. More

TNS has released market size figures for British consumption of sandwiches, based on innovative methodology. Panellists text the bar codes of their purchases to the company, allowing it to track their snacking in real-time. More

Surprise - researchers at the drinks ‘n’ donuts giant are not obsessed with coffee wars and dietary health. They set their own agenda, and it's creative to say the least. Paying loyal customers not to use your stores? Regina Lewis, Ph.D, VP of the Consumer and Brand Insights Group, talks in the latest MRWho. More

VNU, parent of ACNielsen and Nielsen Media Research, has announced that it has agreed to a public offer from a private-equity consortium including AlpInvest Partners, valuing the company's equity at approximately EUR 7.5 bn in cash, or EUR 28.75 per common share. The option of breaking the company up has been rejected. More

TNS has announced results for the year ended 31 December 2005. Revenue is up 5.7% (adjusted 4.1%) to £999.0m and adjusted operating profit up 9.5% to £112.6m. Strong growth across syndicated services and in custom business in continental Europe and emerging markets contrasted with ‘challenging conditions’ in the US and UK. More

Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) and comScore Networks have announced they will work together to offer clients improved product and advertising testing. The offer will combine IRI’s BehaviorScan(R) in-market testing solution and comScore's advanced MR and targeting capabilities. More

GfK’s preliminary results, published today, confirm the company’s upbeat forecast from a week ago and reveal what the group calls ‘a year of extraordinary success’. Total sales of 935.4m euros, up 39%, include 198.0m euros for NOP World companies and 737.4m euros for the rest of the group. Organic growth was 6.5%. More

The GfK Group has a majority share in a new joint venture in Israel, and has announced several other recent moves to expand its global presence. They include an increased stake in Swiss agency Research Matters, the establishment of a branch for its HealthCare division in Thailand and the integration of New York’s Audits and Surveys. More

US agency Simmons Research, part of Experian, has announced the accreditation of its flagship survey, the National Consumer Study (NCS), by the Media Rating Council (MRC). More

The membership of the British Market Research Association (BMRA) has voted in favour of proposals to integrate its services into the Market Research Society (MRS), with effect from April 2006. The BMRA will cease to exist as of April Fools’ Day. More

Canadian NRG Research Group has opened two new offices in Alberta, to be led by Derek Blair, formerly of Ipsos North America. Other new members of staff include food and drink specialist Greg Turner and consultant Rod Love, an expert on politics and the media. More

The UK’s Product of the Year awards ceremony took place last night. The 26 winners - who include Häagen-Dazs Cream Crisp, Gillette M3Power Razor, Flash Car Wash and Elastoplast’s silver healing plasters - were chosen following a TNS survey of 12,500 consumers throughout the UK. More

TNS is renaming its various continuous consumer panels in Asia Pacific and the Middle East ‘Worldpanel’, in line with the panels used in 50 countries worldwide. The rebranding is designed to provide clearer and more co-ordinated services to international clients. More

A new study from US agency Information Resources, Inc (IRI) recommends that retailers should look at the state of the economy as a whole to help them forecast trends and plan new product developments in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) and healthcare markets. More

ACNielsen U.S. has this week announced the completion of the major program to expand its Homescan(R) consumer panel. In two years, the panel’s size has more than doubled to 125,000 households providing insights and information for the CPG industry. More

The GfK Group has announced results for the third quarter of 2005. The integration of NOP World is said to be proceeding according to plan, and the group has already achieved 95.6% of its order volume forecast for 2005. Sales for the first 9 months are up 28.8% vs Q1-3 2004 to EUR 627.5m. More

European online research agency MetrixLab added another 1 million Euros to its turnover in the third quarter of this year, representing a 71% increase compared with the same period last year. The company’s net profits grew by 44% over the same period. More

Ian Rowlands and Damien Flannagan, former employees of the UK’s Quaestor Research, have launched a new consumer agency, Gusto Research, based in Leeds. Gusto will provide qual and online quant surveys, and aims to help clients drive their action plans by offering free post-debrief workshops. More

Russian company Nextep Promotion is the latest addition to the International Mystery Shopping Alliance (IMSA). Nextep’s field force includes more than 1,000 mystery shoppers covering the whole of Russia, as well as the Ukraine and Kazakhstan. More

The cost of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology remains a stumbling block in the consumer goods market, according to AMR Research. Only 8% of companies surveyed are currently using the new technology but another 23% are piloting it and 12% have plans to implement it this year. More

The MR landscape is to undergo a seismic shift as VNU, the world’s biggest research provider, buys IMS Health, the next biggest in the US, in a transaction valued at 5.8 billion Euros ($7.0 billion). VNU’s CEO is confident that the deal will quickly lead to major cost savings and new revenues. More

TNS today announced ‘weaker than anticipated’ growth in UK and US custom research. It expects overall revenue growth for this year to be line with the market at about 4% - a more cautious prediction than earlier in the year, when the company said it hoped to outpace rivals. More

Daily Research News has appointed a full-time News Editor, who will start in June. Tessa Russell joins from Which? magazine where she has worked for the last eight years, most recently as an Assistant Editor leading the food and health team. More

An influx of news in the UK retail sector. NOPWorld has today announced the winning of a contract for mystery shopping for Kwik Save supermarkets, and ESA has this week retained its mystery shopping contract for Tesco Ireland. Meanwhile MINTEL reports Britain’s tea-drinking on the wane and IGD says convenience store takings are set to grow. More

The BMRA has published its league table of UK research agencies for 2004. Whilst we remain cautious given problems in previous years with interpretation, there are some notable highlights. Total turnover for the sector was just under £1.3bn (up 5.4%), with international business in particular recovering strongly. More

UK retail and trade research specialist ESA has announced turnover growth of 8% in its 25th anniversary year, 2004. Although well below the 35% achieved in 2003, when it was the fastest growing large research agency in the UK, the 2004 figure is still well above the industry average. More

Harris Interactive® has added another member to its Global Network. Market Team is an independent MR and retail audit firm based in Bogota, Colombia. The company was established in 1994 and conducts research in Ecuador, Central America and the Caribbean region as well as in its home country. More

GfK has announced ‘a year of extraordinary success’ with sales up 12.8% to EUR 671.7m and a margin of 13.6%, putting the Group ‘top of the market research sector in terms of profitability’. EBIT including income from participations increased by 31.2% to EUR 91.1m and the dividend by around 43% to EUR 0.30. More

Greenfield Online has announced the completed acquisition of fellow online survey specialist Ciao AG for cash plus shares to a total value of c.$150 million. The move creates a major new global force in Internet panel research. More

Nielsen Monitor-Plus has announced an enhancement to its outdoor advertising measurement service, increasing the number of co-operating outdoor companies and bringing the total number of US markets measured to over 150. More

Three UK-based Directors of Research International are leaving to found a new agency, Engage Research. Deborah Sleep, Marie Sutton and Lyndsay Peck all held senior roles in what was the Consumer Division until the restructuring of Dec 2004. All three have a focus on consumer & market strategy and innovation research. More

ACNielsen US and SPINS have expanded their SPINSscan Conventional tracking service, which gives detailed coverage of sales of natural and organic products across grocery, drug, and mass merchandise retail outlets. More

TNS has today announced extensive development plans for its global consumer panel service Worldpanel, including the expansion of its UK FMCG consumer tracker, Superpanel, from 15,000 to 25,000 households. More

ACNielsen will expand its European panel coverage from approximately 45,000 to just under 70,000 households by the end of 2006, the company announced this week. The expansion includes the key markets of the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Portugal. More

Aegis Group plc has announced strong preliminary results for 2004, acknowledging a good contribution from its market research arm, Synovate, which almost doubled revenues in the EMEA region and added 24.4% to turnover worldwide. Organic growth at 8.3% is well above the estimated industry average of 4.25%. More

TNS has announced its results for the year ended 31 December 2004, the first full year since the acquisition of NFO WorldGroup, Inc. (NFO) in July 2003. Revenue increased 17.4% to £945.3m and underlying revenue up 4.1%. Operating profit is up 28% to £102.0m while operating margin increased 0.9% to 10.8%. More

Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) has announced an ‘outstanding year’ and given details of its ‘ongoing transformation and aggressive plans’. The company says it signed over $110m worth of global new CPG and retailer research business over the past five quarters, along with more than $650m in renewals over the last two years. More

The NPD Group has appointed Randy Smith as Group President with responsibility for leading several NPD divisions: NPD Foodworld, NPD Automotive, NPD Canada and the firm’s interests in Latin America. The Group says it is preparing for further expansion in the US and abroad. More

The UK business of Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) has announced a strategic partnership with William Morrisons, whose EpoS data will be incorporated into IRI’s leading-edge continuous UK retail scanning service, InfoScan®. Morrisons have now completed the review of MR strategy which followed the acquisition of Safeway. More

Consumer researcher mmr has relaunched, with a new positioning, a new web site and a new interactive approach. The new positioning will use the phrase ‘making more of research’ to emphasize mmr's research capability, creativity and approachability. More

ACNielsen has completed the first phase of its US Homescan MegaPanel initiative, expanding the panel by thirty thousand households to a total of 91,500 and launching the ‘Shopper Trends’ segmentation service and other new features. Nearly fifty companies have signed up as MegaPanel clients and the first results are due next month. More

UK-based agency The MMR Group has announced the formation of a new company specialising in Internet research. Qubiq-Online aims to combine the research expertise of the Group, including proprietary techniques such as its Liking Segmentation® tool, with online expertise to provide ‘Real research online’. More

GfK Martin Hamblin has restructured of its research divisions and made a number of senior appointments. Sue Wheeler and Reza Chady join the Board, and become General Managers respectively of the B2B and Technology Departments, within the newly formed Custom Research Division. More

After 18 months of restructuring and talent search in Australia, Millward Brown’s Asia Pacific CEO Andreas Sperling has announced the completion of its new line-up, highlighting four recent senior appointments. According to Sperling, the restructure answers clients’ requests for a ‘mould-breaking’ agency. More

ACNielsen US has announced plans to greatly extend the coverage of its Convenience Track retail measurement service, boosting the sample used for sales projections to over 2,500 convenience stores across the US and in 30 local markets. More

Millward Brown has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with French market modelling agency Interstat to use its SAPIENS® market mix model, which offers sales volume forecasting across both packaged goods and BtoB product categories. More

Taylor Nelson Sofres plc (TNS) have announced positive interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2003, with steady growth in the market for syndicated and continuous tracking services, but continued pressure in media intelligence and ad hoc customised research. 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

MrWeb has today launched the first four of its new 'Sector Focus' pages. Each page brings together the site's news, desk research links (UK-based) and listings of suppliers for researchers working in a particular vertical sector. More

UK market research salaries have remained fairly flat in the past 12 months, according to the first statistics from MrWeb vacancies for Jan to June ‘03. Full details will be in this month's MRWho. The number of jobs posted (and specifying salaries) has risen by 27% in the last 6 months. More

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