News notes
London-based insight agency Vision One has achieved certification of ISO 20252:2012 quality standard. The independent assessment was conducted by QMS International, an international certification body. The company has also received the Cyber Essentials accreditation by the National Cyber Security Centre.
Acquisitions/transactions
Directions Research Inc. has acquired insights consultancy SEEK. Together the companies will provide clients with a fully integrated multi-approach solution. Tim Urmston, founder of SEEK, will continue as its president. SEEK’s offices will be located within Directions’ headquarters in Cincinnati and will operate as an independent division of Directions.
London-based research company YouGov has acquired Portent.IO, a Santa Monica, Calif., marketing analytics platform for the entertainment industry. Portent.IO will rebrand as YouGov Signal and will provide social monitoring and data science analytics tools to complement its existing data offerings and survey capabilities.
Alira Health, a Framingham, Mass., health care and life sciences advisory firm, has acquired data science company Clinical Insights. The acquisition will add data to each of Alira Health’s practice areas, including innovation, regulatory, clinical, strategy and transaction advisory services.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Plano, Texas, company Research Now SSI has partnered with TV ad measurement and attribution analytics company iSpot.tv to help brands better understand advertising efficacy. ISpot’s experience and scale in TV ad analytics will combine with Research Now SSI’s single-source data set to create a TV viewership panel in the U.S.
Machine learning and artificial intelligence company Lexalytics, Boston, is partnering with architects from Gensler’s Los Angeles Aviation and Transportation Studio to use sentiment analysis to inform the planning and design of airports. Gensler and Lexalytics will mine social media data from American airports to create an understanding of what travelers and staff value in their airport experience.
Association/organization news
As reported by the Insights Association, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved rules to establish a centralized database of reassigned cell phone numbers, saying it is the best way for voice service providers to notify dialers and “aggregators” (telephone sample providers) about reassigned numbers, allowing dialers to more easily avoid reaching the wrong customers and consumers. The rules also include a safe harbor for accessors of the list against liability for errors in the database. The association says it has supported the establishment of such a database through formal filings and meetings with staff of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and other commissioners.
Awards/rankings
QRCA, St. Paul, Minn., has announced the winners of the 2019 Young Professionals Grant: Vidhika Bansal, UX research and strategy lead, CARFAX; Katy Carew, research manager, KNow Research; Kari Casciano, founder, Elevate Insights; Kelly Donohue, design researcher, Credit Karma; Annette Esquibel, design and UX researcher, The Brightly Co.; Saransh Gupta, user experience researcher, Department of Work and Pensions; Molly Hagan, qualitative associate, Corona Insights; Jack Fleming, product designer, Academia.edu; Allison Kuperman, product designer, Medisas; Meghan Lazier, design researcher and strategist, U.S. Federal Government; Tyler Maltbie, senior consultant, C Space; Abby Miller, senior qualitative research manager, Magid; Barb Paszyn, research management associate, Sklar Wilton & Associates; Sonya Shen, independent research consultant and storyteller; and Erin Wagner, research analyst II, Edge Research. Each grant winner will attend the QRCA Annual Conference and will receive membership to the QRCA for the 2019 year.
New accounts/projects
Indi, an Irvine, Calif., digital word-of-mouth engagement and monetization platform, has been selected by Indonesia-based online marketplace Tokopedia to enhance its customer engagement and user experience. Indi will provide influencer and customer engagement through a native, embedded integration in the Tokopedia app.
Sky Link Media, a U.S. Chinese entertainment and news distributor, has named Nielsen as its local TV measurement provider. Under the agreement, Sky Link Media will leverage Nielsen’s enhanced local TV measurement services to provide agencies and media buyers with data to make informed buying decisions.
New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions
New York-based customer acquisition marketing company Permission Data has rebranded, changing its name to AdQuire Media and launching a new company Web site.
Plano, Texas, company Research Now SSI has opened a new operations facility in Noida, India. Approximately 200 survey programmers, data processors and project managers are located in the new facility, which will support the company’s global operations.
Information services company Experian has increased investment into an existing innovation center in Singapore to create the fourth Experian DataLab, adding to existing facilities in the U.S., the U.K. and Brazil. The Singapore location will help businesses solve strategic marketing and risk management problems through data analysis, research and development.
Australia-based research consultancy Nature will open a new office in Sydney in the new year, led by James Jayesuria. The move will be in partnership with The Lab Insights & Strategy, with which Nature has a long-standing strategic and cultural insights alliance.
Research company Toluna has opened a new office in Melbourne, Australia. Roopam Bahl, director of business development for Toluna in India, will relocate to Melbourne to provide a local point-of-contact for the company’s presence in Australia. As a result of Bahl moving to Melbourne, Himanshu Verma will join the company as director of India domestic business.
Research company earnings/financial news
Research company Kadence International, London, has reported a 113 percent revenue increase for 2016-17. The company’s revenue increased to £7.85 million over the 12-month period.
Research company Toluna, Wilton, Conn., has reported that year-over-year revenue growth of its TolunaInsights platform exceeded 40 percent. The company has also reported 20 percent year-over-year revenue growth across the overall business. Toluna says it is expecting more growth in 2019 with the continuation of investments in R&D fueling the expansion of its portfolio of automated solutions.