Acquisitions/transactions
MaritzCX has partnered with video insights company LivingLens to integrate the LivingLens video intelligence platform within its experience management platform.
Schlesinger Group, a data collection and research services company, has acquired qualitative data-collection provider Focus Pointe Global. The employees of the latter company have joined Schlesinger Group.
Public relations and media company Cision announced that Falcon.io, its social media management division, has acquired Unmetric, an information technology company that delivers insights from social benchmarking, audience engagement and content performance. Falcon.io will integrate Unmetric into its social media marketing platform.
db5, a consumer insights and strategy consultancy, has been acquired by Australian communications group Bastion Collective. As part of the transition, the company has rebranded as Bastion db5.
Customer intelligence firm UserTesting has acquired Truthlab, a video analysis company based in San Mateo, Calif.
Ironwood Insights has acquired the data collection company Discovery Research Group, headquartered in Saratoga Springs, Utah. Discovery Research Group will continue to operate under its current name until January 2020, when it will be brought under the Ironwood umbrella.
Marketing services company LRW Group has acquired T3, an Austin, Texas-based digital marketing agency. T3 and its employees join LRW Group immediately and will operate under the company’s action division.
Independent marketing analytics firms Marketscience Consulting and Truesight Consulting have merged to create a single company, Marketscience.
Data firm Vista Analytics has been acquired by Berkeley Research Group, a consulting firm headquartered in Emeryville, Calif.
Software provider Episerver will acquire personalization and analytics software provider Idio. The partnership is intended to enable Episerver clients to predict buyer interests and intent.
European data collection company Norstat has been acquired by investment firm Triton.
According to CNN, PayPal plans to acquire shopping rewards site Honey for $4 billion.
Agricultural market research firms Kynetec and Kleffmann Group have merged to form Burkhard Kleffmann.
Technology firm Delvinia will acquire Conversational Research Insight System (CRIS), a company that uses AI to conduct chat-based interviews. As part of the agreement, CRIS co-founders Laura Craig and Luis Carreiro will take on new roles within the client success team at Delvinia.
Analytics firm Consensus Point Inc. has acquired Cipher Systems, a strategy and technology firm.
Data analytics provider Verisk will acquire FAST, a software company for the life insurance and annuity industry.
InSites Consulting has acquired insight agency ABN Impact, expanding into Asia as ABN Impact | InSites Consulting. As part of the acquisition, former ABN Impact CEO Maz Amirahmadi becomes CEO of ABN Impact | InSites Consulting and former CCO Scott Lee becomes senior client partner.
Ipsos has acquired a majority stake in Data Liberation, a London-based company specializing in automated reporting.
Professional services company Accenture has agreed to acquire Clarity Insights, a Chicago-based data consultancy.
Bruin Sports Capital has agreed to acquire consumer and sports analytics firm Two Circles from WPP. WPP will continue to hold a minority stake in the company.
Consumer intelligence company J.D. Power announced a merger with Autodata Solutions, a provider of data and software solutions for the automotive industry. The combined company will operate under the name J.D. Power and will offer automobile transactional data, valuation tools, vehicle feature information and consumer analytics. J.D. Power will also continue to provide analytics and customer insights through its global business intelligence division.
Nielsen Music has been acquired by Valence Media to become part of its MRC Data division.
Call analytics provider Marchex has acquired Sonar Technologies, a text analytics and engagement company.
Account-based B2B marketing company Terminus has acquired e-mail marketing platform Sigstr.
Yabb, a social networking and instant messaging company, has acquired influencer marketing platform Fango.
Management consulting company Bain is acquiring Pyxis, an alternative data analytics firm.
Consumer intelligence company J D Power has acquired Trilogy Automotive, the automotive software division of Trilogy Enterprises. Trilogy’s SaaS-based enterprise lead management platform will be integrated into J D Power’s Autodata Solutions division’s original equipment manufacturer digital dealer platform.
Clarivate Analytics has agreed to sell the MarkMonitor brand protection, anti-piracy and anti-fraud business to OpSec Security, an anti-counterfeiting and brand protection company. MarkMonitor and its domain management business will continue to be a part of Clarivate's intellectual property offerings.
Tremor International, a video advertising technology company, will acquire Unruly, News Corp’s programmatic video marketplace.
Analytics firm Escalent has acquired research-based advisory firm Javelin Strategy & Research from Greenwich Associates.
Dun & Bradstreet, a provider of business decision data and analytics, has acquired Orb Intelligence, a digital business identity and firmographic data provider.
Digital marketing venture S4Capital announced that its global content practice will merge with digital agency Circus Marketing.
Nielsen Global Connect has acquired Precima, a provider of retail and customer data applications and analytics, from Alliance Data Systems Corp. Precima’s employees will integrate into the Nielsen Global Connect organization.
Location data provider X-Mode has acquired the location data assets of London-based Location Sciences.
Clarivate Analytics has agreed to acquire Decision Resources Group, an analytics and insights provider for the health care industry, from Piramal Enterprises.
Consumer research company Breaking Blue Research has merged with Cello Health Insight.
Dentsu Aegis Network has acquired 4Cite Marketing, which will join Merkle, a data-driven marketing company and part of the Dentsu Aegis Network.
Ipsos has acquired the mystery shopping business of the Maritz group.
Accenture has agreed to acquire Mudano, a strategic data consultancy to U.K. financial services firms.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Comscore has partnered with Mexican cinema chain Cinemex to provide data and analytics solutions.
Comscore has announced an agreement with Discovery Inc. for its use of Comscore's audience measurement and consumer insights tools, including Comscore's TV Essentials and Campaign Ratings. Discovery also renewed contracts for the use of Comscore's OnDemand Essentials and Digital Audience tools, and for the continuation of Discovery's participation in the development of ExtendedTV.
MaritzCX has been chosen by Subaru Canada to become its experience management solution. The MartizCX platform will be implemented across the Subaru brand including dealerships, field agents and Subaru Canada corporate.
Location intelligence and measurement company Cubeiq has partnered with Targetspot, a digital audio solutions platform. This partnership is designed to enable U.S. advertisers to measure whether a digital audio campaign was effective in driving traffic to brick-and-mortar locations, as well as to identify insights into the offline consumer journey.
B2B agency BBN has partnered with Celeritas Solutions, a digital agency headquartered in New York.
Agricultural market researcher Kleffmann Group has partnered with Kverneland Group, an agricultural machinery manufacturer. The partnership enables farmers to monitor fields with the help of satellite data and to cultivate them according to sub-areas.
Software provider Engagio has partnered with Bombora, a B2B intent data provider. The product integration combines first-party engagement data and third-party intent insight.
Telematics and analytics company Cambridge Mobile Telematics has partnered with Duck Creek Technologies, an insurance software provider, to offer a joint solution to the auto insurance market.
Data marketplace Protocol has partnered with Broccoli, a brand of Audacia Bioscience, to build an online research community for cannabis users.
Nielsen has expanded its partnership with General Mills Inc. to offer its Connect platform to the CPG manufacturer.
According to Best Media Info, insight consulting company Kantar has partnered with audience measurement and analytics company VTION to launch OTT Audience Measurement, a real-time audience measurement solution.
Confirmit and market research firm Knowledge Systems & Research Inc. (KS&R) have continued their partnership, which enables KS&R to use Confirmit solutions to create data collection platforms and meet security and accessibility standards for its customers. Additionally, the two companies have partnered to address accessibility requirements identified by the Americans with Disabilities Act and similar statutes.
Fluent Inc., a data-driven performance marketing company, is partnering with marketing SaaS company ActiveProspect to certify its web leads using ActiveProspect’s TrustedForm product.
Media data intelligence firm Burrelles has partnered with social media analytics company Talkwaker to provide social listening services.
Market research firm Leger has announced that it will use the FocusVision Decipher platform to host surveys.
Consumer intelligence software company Apollo Program and D/CAL, a creative agency co-founded by Tony Hawk, have partnered to offer behavioral insights and creative services.
Insights and analytics firm Clarivate Analytics has acquired Darts-ip, a provider of case law data and analytics for intellectual property professionals. Darts-ip's case law data and analytics solutions will be offered alongside Clarivate's patent, trademark and domain data and solutions, across Derwent, CompuMark and MarkMonitor platforms.
Consumer research company Vividata and Manifold Data Mining have partnered to offer market insights within Manifold’s Polaris Intelligence platform. Applied to Vividata’s Survey of the Canadian Consumer and post-legalization Consumer Cannabis study, the product provides estimates of what products consumers buy, where and how often they shop, how much they spend, which media channels they use and their lifestyles and attitudes for each six-digit postal code.
Confirmit has partnered with industrial tool supplier Cromwell to support the latter's customer experience program with Confirmit Horizons.
Clarivate Analytics has added three new technology partners: compliance management software provider Blueprint Systems; licensing and content service provider Copyright Clearance Center; and clinical researcher Remarque Systems.
Dublin-based researcher Red C has renewed its partnership with commercial airport company daa.
Insights firm Fuel Cycle announced that Realeyes has joined its Fuel Cycle Exchange Marketplace for partners.
Confirmit has added features to its Confirmit Horizons platform, including a digital feedback module, text analytics and new partnerships with Brandwatch and Tealium.
Insights firm Unacast has partnered with market researcher Verto Analytics, which will use Unacast’s Turbine platform as part of its new location data solution.
Insights firm Ipsos has partnered with strategic marketing agency Alchemy-RX.
IQVIA has partnered with AstraZeneca for use of its Orchestrated Customer Engagement platform.
Customer data science company dunnhumby has partnered with Woodie’s, an Irish DIY store in Ireland.
Business analytics company SPARXiQ has partnered with Waypoint Analytics for a combined offering.
Shopper intelligence company Catalina has partnered with Koupon, a consumer analytics provider for the convenience store industry, to provide an understanding of cross-channel consumer purchase behaviors.
Service Management Group has partnered with YUKAI Resort to identify customer expectations and improve customer experience.
Media measurement company Nielsen has selected software company Ascribe to provide verbatim analysis services.
Marketing and advertising firm TripleLift has partnered with LiveRamp, a data-driven marketing company, to offer a joint solution for data accessibility.
Market research firm MFour Mobile Research has partnered with ROTH Capital to release the 2020 Millennial Survey.
Association/organization news
CAIP Canada has launched a directory of its members on the CAIP Canada website.
The Market Research Society of India (MRSI) has launched its research and insights awards, the MRSI Golden Key Awards, which honor research and researchers from the Indian industry. The awards event will be held on December 19 in Mumbai.
According to the Verge, the FTC has officially ruled that Cambridge Analytica deceived consumers through its data-gathering practices. The FTC has ordered that the company delete any data collected on Facebook users and more accurately represent how it collects data in the future. Cambridge Analytica filed for bankruptcy shortly after the scandal first broke.
The Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC) announced that individuals previously recognized as fellows of the profession will be honored as founding fellows of CRIC. Additionally, CRIC has launched a fellows thought leadership council. All CRIC fellows will be invited to participate in quarterly calls to help guide the priorities of CRIC.
The Association of Market and Social Research Organisations (AMSRO) today opened the public consultation phase for the independent review of its Privacy (Market and Social Research) Code 2014. The public consultation period is open until January 17, 2020. AMSRO has commissioned Professor Peter Leonard of UNSW Business School as the independent reviewer.
Facebook has announced a new census interference policy that bans misleading information about when and how to participate in the census and the consequences of participating. Additionally, the company will prohibit ads that portray census participation as “useless or meaningless” or advise people not to participate in the census. Enforcement of the policies will begin in 2020. The policies come several weeks after Google announced a similar ban on YouTube ads that, “mislead participants about the time, means or eligibility requirements for participating in a census.”
According to Bloomberg, Brazil’s government has fined Facebook $1.6 million for its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
The Association of Market and Social Research Organisations and the ESOMAR Foundation have launched the Research Got Talent award competition, focused on encouraging young professionals to use research to address prominent social issues.
Awards/rankings
The winners of the NextGen Market Research Disruptive Innovation Awards for 2019 have been announced. Applied Marketing Science won Most Innovative Research Method, Rival Technologies was named as Outstanding Disruptive Start-Up and Voxpopme was chosen as Change Agent of the Year. The awards were announced at the Insight Association’s Corporate Researchers Conference.
Comscore has been awarded the Emerging Cinema Markets Award for Outstanding Contribution by the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria for its contributions to box office measurement for the region.
Data marketplace Measure Protocol was named the winner of the 2019 ASC/MRS Award for Best Technology Innovation. Blue Yonder Research and Sketchbook Consulting were also finalists in the category. The awards were presented at a Market Research Society awards ceremony on December 12 in London.
Media measurement and analytics company Comscore has received the 2019 Business Excellence Award from the board of directors of the Federation of Cinemas of Spain.
Survey sampling provider InnovateMR has been named among the top small/medium companies for corporate culture, diversity and women on Comparably.com. Rankings are derived from feedback provided by employees who anonymously rated their employers via the site.
Marketing researcher Confirmit announced that its Digital Feedback module has been named a 2019 Customer Experience Innovation Award winner by media company TMC's CUSTOMER magazine.
Research America Inc. has been recognized as a veteran-owned small business by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
New accounts/projects
Forrester Research has launched its SiriusDecisions B2B Marketing Certification program, an eight-week, online course for B2B marketers.
InsightsNow, a behavioral research firm, has released its October Clean Label behavioral report that reviews the plant-based burger category. The study looked into the choices among a shopping group identified to be driving the clean label movement and growth in plant-based food choices.
GRBN has launched Global Research Heroes, its initiative to celebrate people and companies addressing challenges in the world such as the environment, education, poverty, health and justice.
Agricultural publication RealAgriculture and marketing researcher Agri Studies have partnered to launch RealAgristudies to understand farmers and the agricultural market.
Data services firm Maru/Blue has launched its sample quality certification program, Maru/Blue Sample Certified.
New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions
According to Mumbrella, research firm Location Sciences has launched its practice in Australia.
Management consulting firm ICF announced its new headquarters in northern Virginia, to open in 2022.
Health care data collection company SurveyHealthcare has launched its new corporate brand identity and has changed its name to SurveyHealthcareGlobus following the recent acquisition of OMR Globus.
Upon completion of its strategic review, Nielsen Holdings announced its plan to branch off from the company's Global Connect business, creating two independent, publicly traded companies – the Global Media business and the Global Connect business. After the separation, current Nielsen CEO David Kenny will serve as the CEO of Nielsen's Global Media business. Nielsen has begun a search for a CEO of the Global Connect business.
Ipsos has launched Ipsos.Digital, its self-service research platform, which provides access to Ipsos’ online panels of consumers and other publics. Ipsos.Digital offers automated online and exportable reports including dashboards, native PowerPoint, PDF and a crosstabulation tool.
Insights consultancy One Inch Whale, founded by Wim Hamaekers and Jasper Scheir, has launched.
U.K.-based research consultancy ComRes has rebranded to Savanta ComRes following its acquisition by insights agency Savanta.
Interactive Video Productions, a provider of mobile marketing research labs, has rebranded as IVP Research Labs. In addition to a new trading name, the rebrand features a new logo design, brand identity and domain name, IVPResearchLabs.com.
Insight translation agency RP Translate has rebranded, changing its trading name to EMPOWER Translate and its website to empowertranslate.com.
SAP consultancy T.CON has established its first international branch in Austin, Texas.
Economic and qualitative consulting firm Edgeworth Economics has launched its sister company Edgeworth Analytics, which will provide training and consulting to business operations professionals on data and statistical concepts.
Oasis Intelligence has launched to offer consumer insights to brand marketers in the cannabis and hemp industry as well as related sectors.
Customer experience firm IntelliShop has launched its brand standards and compliance division and has appointed Mike Mershimer as president to head the new division.
Media measurement company Comscore has expanded its box office measurement service into Saudi Arabia following the opening of commercial cinemas across the Kingdom in 2018 after a 35-year pause.
Marketing researcher Fieldwork has opened a new research facility in Phoenix.
Marketing researcher DVJ Insights has opened an office in Hamburg, Germany, and has appointed Erk Maassen and Stephan Knäble as managing partners to lead the new location.
PRS IN VIVO has launched a consultancy arm, LAB, which includes a suite of qualitative services.
MediaScience has launched its HARK Connect division for qualitative research.
Technology provider Cint announced its new corporate brand identity.
Data-driven marketing company Merkle has launched its promotion and loyalty solutions division, created through the integration of digital marketing company HelloWorld and Merkle Loyalty Solutions Group.
Research company earnings/financial news
Milieu Insight, a Singapore-based market research and data platform, has raised $2.4 million in pre-A funding. The round is led by MassMutual Ventures Southeast Asia and brings Milieu Insight’s total funding so far to $3.15 million.
Comscore has announced third-quarter financial results for 2019, sporting $94.3 million in revenue and a net loss of $10.6 million.
Survey sampling company Lucid announced that it has reached a gross merchandise value of $100 million.
Marketing services company SPAR Group has released financial results for the three- and nine-month periods ending September 30, 2019. Revenue for the third quarter increased $8 million to $66.4 million and revenue for the nine-month period ending September 30 increased $19.6 million to $191.8 million.
Digital data collection agency Research on Mobile has reported 2019 revenue growth of over 200% year on year.
According to Deal Street Asia, Jakarta, Indonesia-based consumer insights platform Populix has closed a $1 million seed funding round led by Intudo Ventures, Gobi Agung and Pegasus Tech Ventures.
Clarivate Analytics announced today that affiliated shareholders of Onex Corporation, Baring Private Equity Asia and others intend to offer an aggregate 36 million of the company's ordinary shares in an underwritten public offering. The selling shareholders have granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to 5.4 million additional ordinary shares. Clarivate Analytics will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of its ordinary shares by the selling shareholders.
Qualitative researcher itracks announced that it has received funding from Western Economic Diversification. The funding has been used to complete renovations for a software development center and launch itracks’ video interviewer solution.
BlueConic, a Boston-based customer data platform, has raised $13 million in a Series B funding round led by Spring Lake Equity Partners with contributions from Sigma Prime Ventures and angel investors.
Data marketplace Measure Protocol announced £2 million in funding led by Dynata and Blockchain Valley Ventures, with Medicys Limited also joining the round. The company will use the investment for audience growth, technology development and expanding the team.
Consumer insights platform AYTM is celebrating its 10-year anniversary and has concluded 2019 with a 2.7 times year-over-year increase in top-line revenue and a 3.7 times increase in net earnings.
Partnerize, a provider of partner automation solutions, announced a $50 million funding round led by Accel-KKR. Joe Porten, principal at Accel-KKR, will join the Partnerize board of directors.
Behavioral analytics platform Verto Analytics Inc. has closed a funding round of $16 million.
Pharma intelligence company InCrowd announced record growth for 2019, adding more than 100 new brands and logos and surpassing its 3 millionth answer to its online community of health care professionals.
Consumer insights platform Suzy has closed $12 million in Series C funding led by Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments and with participation from Foundry Group and Triangle Peak Partners.
Marketing company LiveRamp has released financial results for the third quarter ending in December 31, 2019, announcing total revenue of $102 million, up 28% compared to the prior-year period.