Kantar Restructure to Aid 'Aggressive' New Media Moves

WPP's insight division the Kantar Group is restructuring its media businesses, in response to 'a rapidly changing media environment'. A newly formed Kantar Media Research (KMR) unit will bring together the media audience measurement assets and talent from across Kantar.

The group says the move should help clients benefit from the worldwide expertise within the Group and facilitate a greater investment in new media, digital and cross media audience measurement solutions. Andy Brown will lead the reconstituted unit as CEO and will report to Kantar Group Chairman & CEO, Eric Salama.

In addition, current Kantar Group Corporate Development & Strategy Director Jeff Krentz will join KMR to push forward the unit's digital media capabilities, working on new media corporate strategy, partnerships, acquisitions and investments. The group says it will shortly announce a number of investments in the area of digital media audience measurement.

The structural changes, which will not affect BMRB, will take effect January 1, 2008. KMR's portfolio includes TGI, KMR Software, MARS Pharma and MARS Medical, US tech planning and buying currency IntelliQuest CIMS, and TV ratings businesses and media solutions in over 40 worldwide markets through equity interests in AGB Nielsen, IBOPE, RSMB, Marktest and MRB Hellas. The Group has 22 companies operating in 70 countries worldwide.

Says Brown: 'It is a cliché to say that media is undergoing a revolution, however it is essential that media research strikes the right balance between new cutting edge measurement technologies and rigorous methodologies. Kantar is pursuing new digital media opportunities aggressively and the new KMR structure will allow us to align them better with the traditional media audience measurement services, for which KMR has long had a strong reputation.'

Web site: www.kantargroup.com.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.