Critical Mix Buys SurveyMonkey's ZoomPanel

US sampling and data collection provider Critical Mix has acquired SurveyMonkey's ZoomPanel community, and will combine it with its own online panel sample in the US, UK, France, Canada and Australia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

ZoomPanel is a consumer online research community, with panelists validated by data quality solution TrueSample. The panel was originally developed by MarketTools in 1999, and was acquired by DIY survey specialist SurveyMonkey in 2012.

SurveyMonkey CEO Dave Goldberg explained that the sell-off is part of his firm's focus on building research technologies, and providing access to the SurveyMonkey Audience DIY survey sampling solution, through which customers can buy responses.

Critical Mix (previously known as reinvention), which was launched last year by Greenfield Online veterans Hugh Davis and Keith Price, will combine the ZoomPanel with its own OneOpinion and MyView panels.

Managing Partner Chris Goglia (pictured) comments: 'The longevity and credibility of ZoomPanel makes it a perfect complement to our comprehensive suite of survey solutions. The combination of increased respondent coverage with our user-friendly survey programming and data visualization tools makes it faster and easier for market research firms to collect and analyze data.'

Web sites: www.criticalmix.com and www.surveymonkey.com .