Acquisitions/transactions
Ipsos has confirmed that discussions are underway regarding a potential acquisition of Kantar Media. There is no certainty that an offer will be made or whether these discussions will result in an agreement.
Ipsos has decided not to submit a binding offer for the acquisition of Kantar Media.
Data collection company Norstat has acquired data collection specialist PFM Research to strengthen its position in the Swedish market and to improve its capabilities and production capacity for both qualitative and quantitative data collection services.
Radius Global Market Research has acquired insights firm 7th Sense to strengthen its global research and consulting capabilities.
Data science company Bayes Price has acquired Red Centre Software to strengthen its position in the survey data sector.
Bilendi & respondi has signed an agreement to acquire Netquest from NielsenIQ - GfK for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will expand its international presence and enhance its offerings and proprietary technologies. The transaction is expected to close at the beginning of February 2025.
Online survey and research services company QuestionPro has acquired European video streaming and collaboration platform SpatialChat to add value to its existing qualitative research and CX platforms.
Stagwell has agreed to acquire media monitoring and analytics platform UNICEPTA. The company will join Stagwell Marketing Cloud’s PRophet comms tech suite of offerings for PR and marketing professionals.
Advertising performance company LoopMe has acquired mobile advertising and monetization platform Chartboost from Zynga for an undisclosed sum.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Food retail chain SPAR International and Circana have created a partnership to deliver curated data insights.
Kantar and data collaboration platform LiveRamp have expanded their data partnership to improve ad targeting using Kantar shopping segments.
Press Ganey has partnered with Arkansas Children’s to improve the patient and family experience across facilities.
Online survey and research services company QuestionPro and text analytics provider Keatext have created a strategic partnership to drive business growth by delivering conversational analytics capabilities and unified customer feedback insights.
Warner Bros. Discovery has entered into a multi-year distribution agreement with Comcast for all its domestic linear networks. As part of the agreement, Comcast will have the option to package its streaming services into its various video packages.
NIQ and commerce acceleration platform Pacvue have created a strategic alliance to allow brands and retailers using the Pacvue platform to access insights to boost the reach and depth of e-commerce strategies.
Insights platform Prodege and PR and reputation management firm McDougall Communications have partnered to advance vision correction research and contact lens technology.
Keen Decision Systems has partnered with MADTECH.AI to deliver MMM measurement, planning and execution in a single platform offering.
Advertising platform TripleLift has expanded its partnership with TV measurement company iSpot.tv.
Data and analytics company Adastra has become a launch partner for Amazon SageMaker Unified Studio, a platform streamlining data analytics and machine learning workflows.
Association/organization news
The Advertising Research Foundation has proposed a new framework for classifying how U.S. households connect to TV. The framework would replace the Pay/BBO/OTA scheme.
The Insights Association has released the Participant Bill of Rights, an initiative underscoring its commitment to fostering trust, transparency and respect between research participants and their profession.
Awards/rankings
M/A/R/C Research recently celebrated its 60th anniversary.
In celebration of its 25th anniversary, insight community C Space will release Customer Inside, a guide offering perspectives on engaging Gen Z audiences, balancing tech with human output and more.
Discuss has been named a leader in the G2 Winter 2024 Report for consumer video feedback and user research. It ranked No 1. in best relationships, best results and best usability.
New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions
KNow Research has opened a boutique research facility in downtown San Francisco.
Following its acquisition, Consumer Panel Services GfK has rebranded to YouGov. This rebrand will see all CPS GfK brand assets and channels updated in line with YouGov branding.
Communications and marketing services agency DBC has launched a consulting service in partnership with Terry Kent, president of The Kent Advisory Group.
Research company earnings/financial news
Bounce Insights has raised $4.5 million in a funding round led by ACT Venture Capital to accelerate growth in the U.S.
Research firm Orchard has secured its latest round of investment from Thornapple River Capital to accelerate its growth and innovation.
Analytics and decision intelligence company Pyramid Analytics has raised $50 million in new financing from funds and accounts managed by BlackRock Capital Investment Advisors.
Customer feedback intelligence platform Enterpret has raised $20.8 million in its Series A round of funding led by Canaan Partners.