Daily Research News Online no. 22583 - North American Collaboration for comScore and Kantar

North American Collaboration for comScore and Kantar

May 3 2016

Kantar and comScore have extended their behavioral data partnership to North America, in a deal which includes the transfer of a number of Millward Brown staff to comScore.

The two are already co-operating in other parts of the world on offerings measuring brand lift and cross-media consumption.

The partnership was announced in February last year, when Kantar parent WPP said it would take a 15% to 20% stake in comScore, simultaneously passing some of its European data assets to the digital measurement firm. A number of joint products have already followed, the first of them a cross-media audience measurement partnership between comScore and Kantar Media, rolled out within 3 months.

In the latest announcement, the partners said Kantar will move 'certain clients and employees' from its Millward Brown Digital Intelligence unit (formerly Compete) to comScore's Custom Research division, and comScore will make its comprehensive digital behavioural data available via licence to Kantar companies.

comScore CEO Serge Matta comments: 'As comScore continues to expand its cross-platform and mobile measurement capabilities, we look forward to welcoming new talent and clients to our organization and to making our data assets available across Kantar'. Kantar Chief Exec Eric Salama says the combination of the two firms' strengths will give clients 'the most comprehensive digital effectiveness and behavioural solutions in the industry', and adds: 'We are confident that our Intelligence clients and employees will continue to thrive as part of comScore'.

Last, comScore agreed a multi-year panel building and maintenance contract with Kantar's digital data collection firm Lightspeed GMI, to develop a 'Total Home Panel', which will provide it with a window on cross-device Internet traffic in US households.

Web sites: www.comscore.com and www.kantar.com .