Chime Insight & Engagement Group has appointed nine new members of staff, including former Northstar Research exec Jack Miles as Insight Director, heading qual and quant projects across a range of sectors. More
UK-based Chime Insight & Engagement has made more than two dozen new appointments across the business, including former Sainsbury's Customer Insight Manager Simon Rawlinson as Insight Director. More
DrMoSacoor Digital, the owner of healthcare insight specialist MMR International (MMRi), has acquired social media listening firm Klood for an undisclosed sum. The firm has also hired Ellie Osborne as Qualitative & Digital Research Director, in charge of the Qualitative Research team. More
UK marcoms group Chime Communications has appointed former Diageo CEO Paul Walsh as Chairman, replacing Lord Davies, who has stepped down following the firm's acquisition by WPP and buyout specialist Provident Equity Partners last summer. More
UK-based marcoms group Chime has announced revenues down 7% to £184.5m, with profit before tax slumping from £9.57m in H1 2014 to just £1.41m. Much of the drop hinged however on difficult comparatives and the effect of cyclical sporting events, and the insight division CIE was solid. More
WPP and buyout specialist Provident Equity Partners have agreed to buy UK marcoms group Chime Communications for approximately £374m, just a day after announcing that the bid was being discussed. More
WPP and buyout specialist Provident Equity Partners are in 'advanced discussions' to buy UK marcoms group Chime Communications for around £350m. More
Marcoms group Chime's Insight & Engagement (CIE) division has appointed Floyd McMillan as Managing Director of Australia, based in Sydney. More
UK-based Chime has announced eight new appointments in its Insight & Engagement Group (CIE), spanning its Facts International, CIE Commercial, Watermelon, Cherry Picked and Opinion Leader businesses. More
In the UK, Chime's Insight & Engagement Group (CIE) has restored its revenues to the record 2012 level of £13.6m, after a substantial drop to £11.0m in 2013. More
Kent, UK-based fieldwork agency Facts International has announced four appointments: Ellie Osborne returns to the company as an AD, while Kirsty Bridgland, Cindy Ramnath Dawn Chapman all join the team. More
In the UK, Chime Communications-owned Facts International has won the Best Field Force category in the newly launched Market Research Society (MRS) Operations Awards, announced at a party in the McQueen bar in London's Shoreditch last night. More
CIE, the Insight & Engagement Group within UK firm Chime, has reported first half operating profit up 22% to £1.4m, and a 5% increase in operating income to £4.2m. However, revenue was flat at £5.37m compared with £5.35m in the prior year period. More
London-based Opinion Leader has hired five new members of staff, including Jane Buswell as Insight Director and Daniel Taylor as Senior Research Executive. More
Despite a drop in annual revenue from £13.6m to £11.0m, Chime's Insight and Engagement (CIE) division has reported a 19% rise in operating income to £9.1m for the year 2013, while operating profit increased 29% to £2.8m. More
Healthcare market research, market access and brand planning specialist OPEN Plan, which is part of Chime Communication's Insight and Engagement arm, has appointed Neil Rees as Head of Research and Catherine Swanson as an SRE. More
WPP is exploring the sale of its 20% stake in Chime Communications, after the latter announced it is to acquire motorsports marketing firm Just Marketing International (JMI) for £43.7m, and partly finance the deal through the sale of 8.5 million new shares to financial institutions. More
Big data firm Pursway, which tracks the influence of opinion leaders on purchasing habits, has raised $7.2m in funding, earmarked for expansion and for speeding up product innovation. More
Marcoms group Chime has reported a 'strong' half year for its CIE (Insight & Engagement) arm, with operating profit up 33% to £1.2m, compared with £0.7m in the first six months of 2012. Reported revenue of £5.35m for the division is almost unchanged from H1 2012. More
In London, marcoms group Chime Communications has launched a dedicated qualitative recruitment agency called Cherry Picked, which will offer bespoke respondent recruitment services to businesses in the UK and internationally. More
Watermelon Research, the specialist digital company within Chime's CIE division, has announced the opening of an office in Sydney, its first in the Asia Pacific region. Company MD Mark Squires will oversee the setup and management of the new office. More
In the UK, fieldwork firm Facts International has appointed three new members of staff - Sian Kerr, Daniel Thirkell and Karen Voutt - for its team in Ashford, Kent. More
Marcoms group Chime Communications has acquired London-based shopper marketing agency WARL from its shareholders Marcus Wilcox, Kerry Bateman and Brian Lloyd, for an initial consideration of £4.5m. Chime has also acquired Shanghai sports marcoms agency People Marketing. More
UK-based telephone research specialist Facts International has expanded into the APAC region, with the opening of an office in Sydney, Australia. More
Revenue at Chime's Insight and Engagement division rose more than 50% to £13.6m in 2012. Operating income was up 53% to £7.6m and operating profit more than tripled to £2.2m from £0.7m. More
Trajectory Partnership's former Head of Research Katie Shearn has re-joined London-based full service agency Opinion Leader as Research Director, to help expand the company's reach in the financial services and public sector markets. More
UK group Chime Communications has announced five appointments in its Chime Insight & Engagement Group (CIE), including three at London-based Watermelon Research. More
UK-based fieldwork agency Facts International has promoted Emily Kettle to the new position of Managing Director, adding responsibility for potential M&A activity and international expansion initiatives to her existing duties as Group Client Services Director. More
UK Group Chime Communications Plc has issued an interim management statement and announced the appointment of Mervyn Davies, Lord Davies of Abersoch, as its new Chairman. More
Marcoms group Chime has hired Lord Coe as Chairman of its sports marketing arm, CSM Sport & Entertainment. The firm has also entered into an 'option agreement' to buy Coe's 93% interest in CLG, a firm which acts as a vehicle for his earnings from speeches and appearances. More
UK marcoms group Chime Communications has acquired pharma market access and data provider pH Associates (PHA) from its owners Kate Peperell and Lesley Howell, for an initial consideration of £6.92m. More
In the UK, CIE, Chime's Insight and Engagement Group, has appointed Telefonica O2's former Head of Brand and Marketing Strategy Caroline Bates as a Board Director, working across a number of large accounts. More
In the UK, telephone research specialist Facts International has appointed former Lake Market Research execs Sharon Greenslade and Adam Wyles as Project Directors in its Client Services team, with a remit to further develop digital fieldwork capability. More
UK marcoms group Chime Communications has acquired a 51% share in Harvey Walsh Limited (HWL), a company which provides market access and data services to the pharmaceutical industry and the NHS. Chime has paid an initial consideration of £2.19m for the stake. More
In London, CIE - the insight and engagement division of Chime Communications PLC - has announced the appointment of eight new team members. The new roles include Research, Field Support and Marketing Managers as well as Graduate Recruits. More
UK Group Chime Communications has reported a 17% revenue hike for its Insight and Engagement division (CIE), to £12.1m for the year 2011. Operating income rose 8% to £7.9m. More
Marcoms giant WPP has increased its stake in Chime Communications to 17.17%, with the acquisition of around 13.9m shares at £0.25 each, or nearly £3.5m. More
In the UK, field and tab specialist Facts International has partnered with survey software and services provider SNAP, to offer clients an instant and 'unique' update service on tablets and smartphones. More
In the UK, marcoms group Chime Communications has reported continuing recovery in its Research & Engagement division, which includes Opinion Leader Research, Facts International, acefieldwork, CaucusWorld, Naked Eye, Brand Democracy and Tree. More
In the UK, telephone research specialist Facts International has expanded the capacity of its Ashford, Kent-based CATI call centre, increasing the number of seats to around 200 and introducing round-the-clock operations for large-scale international projects. More
UK research and comms group Chime has appointed former Post Office customer analysis leader Pam Clark as Research Director in its CIE division, further strengthening its quant financial services offering. More
UK marcoms group Chime Communications has reported a 20% rise in revenue for the first six months of the year, but has warned that while its quant business maintained a 'good performance', its qual business is unlikely to return to profit until the fourth quarter. More
Healthcare communications agency OPEN Health, a subsidiary of UK-based Chime Communications, has announced the opening of a new market research and brand planning arm, OPEN Plan. Cory Inglis will lead the new division as MD. More
CIE - the newly named Research & Engagement Division of UK-based marcoms group Chime has appointed four new team members, including former BT researcher Tricia Whitby, who joins as Research Director at Opinion Leader. More
The Research & Engagement Division of UK-based marcoms group Chime has announced the launch of the Trust Accelerator, a new tool which allows businesses to identify their trust ratings. The division is also rebranding as CIE. More
In the UK, Facts International Chairman Nick Lamb is selling his 25% stake in the business to the firm's parent company Chime Communications for £1.7m. More
UK marcoms group Chime has reported that its research arm is back in profit and growing again, with 2010 revenue up 18% to £10.3m and operating income climbing 26% to £7.3m in the past 12 months. More
In the UK, Chime Communications' Research & Engagement Division has hired Rosy Goodrick, Winston Chesterfield and Laurence Palfreyman for Opinion Leader in London, and Caroline Holman and David Winstone at Facts International in Kent. More
In London, Opinion Leader Research (OLR) has appointed industry veteran Neil Russell to lead the continued expansion of its quantitative offer. More
In the UK, Chime's Research and Engagement division - which includes Facts International, Opinion Leader Research, CaucusWorld, acefieldwork, Naked Eye and Brand Democracy - says it is expecting increased profit in the second half year. More
In the UK, Chime company Opinion Leader has hired Dominic Scott-Malden as Research Director, to boost its expertise in advertising research. Catherine Plews also joins the firm as Senior Research Executive. More
In London, Opinion Leader Research (OLR) has appointed GfK NOP director Michael Thompson as Research Director, and DSGi customer experience specialist Shaendel Hallett as Client Services Director. Both will take up their roles within the next couple of months. More
In the UK, Chime's Research & Engagement Division has hired Patrick Meakin to head up its automotive practice. More
In the UK, marcoms group Chime has reported a 10.9% increase in its Research and Engagement Division's half year adjusted operating profit to £379k. Operating income rose to £3.5m from £3m in the prior year period. More
UK group Chime Communications plc has appointed Toluna exec Mark Squires as Group Operations Director for its Research & Engagement Division. Meanwhile the Division's former bosses Viki Cooke and Deborah Mattinson are to launch a new consultancy called Britain Thinks. More
London-based Opinion Leader Research (OLR) has appointed former Social Democratic Party researcher Sarah Horack as Research Director, in charge of its Political, Social and Public Policy research team. More
In the UK, marcoms group Chime has appointed Gill Rumbold as Research Director, to head up the Research and Analysis team at its Kent-based full service and field & tab agency Facts International. More
The Research and Engagement Division of UK-based Chime Communications has returned to profit in the first half of 2010, following a restructure initiated by recently appointed CEO Crispin Beale. More
London-based Opinion Leader Research (OLR) has appointed Royal Mail's Head of Business Intelligence Sinã©ad Jefferies, to lead its research and insight business. She will take up the newly created post in early summer. More
UK-based marketing services group Chime Communications Plc has reported its 'best results ever', with full-year profit up 14% to £18.8m; despite a continued 'very disappointing' performance by its research division, where only Facts International is said to have done well. More
In the UK, Viki Cooke and Deborah Mattinson, the founders of Opinion Leader Research (OLR), have left parent company Chime to set up their own agency. More
UK-based marcoms group Cagney has agreed the sale of its research and analysis subsidiary Tree London to Chime Communications. Along with the sale of ad agency CST the move enables Cagney to shake off debt and refocus on core activities. More
Revenue in the Research Division of UK marcoms group Chime Communications fell to £4.58m from £7.41m in the prior year period, while operating income dropped 26% to £3m. More
Negotiations between PR and research group Next Fifteen Communications Group plc and two potential buyers, Chime Communications and Huntsworth, have been terminated. More
In the UK, PR and research groups Chime Communications and Huntsworth have both confirmed their interest in making a potential offer for PR and research group Next Fifteen - which owns Context Analytics and Redshift Research. More
UK marketing services group Chime Communications is enjoying a strong first quarter with operating income up 13% from the same period last year, pre-tax profits 18% higher than 2008 at £4.8m, and operating profit margin rising 17.2%. More
UK marcoms group Chime Communications has seen a continued decline in the performance of its research division, with operating profits dropping by 73% to £400,000, and operating income falling from £7.7m to £7.0m. Results in other divisions carried the group to healthy revenue and profit growth. More
UK marcoms group Chime Communications has appointed Paul Tredwell as Chief Executive of its Research and Engagement division. More
UK marcoms group Chime Communications has described the performance of its Research division – which includes Opinion Leader, Facts International, Ledbury and Naked Eye – as 'disappointing', with profits for the first ten months of the year below the same period in 2007. More
In the UK, the Market Research Standards Board (MRSB) has found Opinion Leader in breach of the MRS Code of Conduct for the part it played in a Whitehall consultation on nuclear energy. Opinion Leader rejects the finding and says the MRS is 'not competent to assess' the new techniques involved. More
In the UK, marcoms group Chime Communications has reported operating profits down 39% to £460,000 in its research division – which includes Opinion Leader, Facts International, Ledbury and Naked Eye. The firm is also set to launch a new digital research business in the autumn. More
UK-based Chime Communications, which owns MR agencies Opinion Leader, Ledbury Research and Facts International, is predicting that operating income will be 20% up on last year's £43.9m. Chime has also appointed former Australian politician Richard Alston as a Non-executive Director. More
UK-based Chime Communications, which owns MR agencies Opinion Leader, Ledbury Research and Facts International, has reported a 29% increase in its first quarter profits as a result of tight cost controls. Double-digit growth was reported across all areas of the business. More
In London, MR agency Opinion Leader has hired Carolyn MacLeish to manage its panel of senior decision makers drawn from politics, the media, the City, charity sector and from corporates. Nicola Austin joins as Marketing Director, tasked with supporting MacLeish enhance the panel. More
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been accused of cronyism over contracts awarded to his 'personal pollster', Opinion Leader Research (OLR) founder Deborah Mattison. £1.4m of public money has been spent on citizens' juries conducted by OLR since June. More
Environmental campaigner Greenpeace has challenged the UK government's nuclear power consultation process, claiming it is 'being fixed' by Gordon Brown's 'favourite market research company', Opinion Leader Research (OLR). The group has also formally complained to the MR industry standards body. More
Paul Flatters has joined London-based research consultancy Opinion Leader as its new MD, providing the firm's founders with time to concentrate on their joint CEO roles with parent company Chime Communications. More
The UK's Association for Qualitative Research (AQR) has named Acacia Avenue and Opinion Leader Research as joint winners of its annual Prosper Riley-Smith Effectiveness Award. More
A thousand members of the UK public took part in 100 facilitated group discussions about the future of health and social care at the National Citizens' Summit in Birmingham on Saturday. Opinion Leader Research ran the unprecedented MR exercise as part of the Department of Health's 'Your Health, Your Care, Your Say' public consultation. More
Opinion Leader Research (OLR) has been recruited by the UK's Department of Health to conduct an unprecedented series of nationwide 'public engagement' events, which will shape future health and community care services. More
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