News notes
Olson Research Group will donate over $2,000 to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation in support of fighting childhood cancers. The donation was raised as a result of the basketball competitions at Olson’s exhibit booth during the Quirk’s Event in Brooklyn, N.Y., in March.
Roswell, Ga., company MMR Research is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2019.
The International Organization for Standardization has brought together global standards boards – including the Marketing Accountability Standards Board – to publish ISO 20671, a global standard for brand evaluation designed to grow brand-owner value.
Irvine, Calif., research company Horizon Consumer Science is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
Nielsen, New York, has been granted accreditation by the Media Rating Council for its Television Audience Measurement service in 28 cities, offered in Mexico through its joint venture Nielsen IBOPE.
Insight consultancy Firefish and the numbers lab, Firefish Group’s quantitative consultancy, have been awarded ISO 27001:2013 certification for their Information Security Management System, covering their U.K. offices at Tower Bridge Road, London.
Springfield, Mass., transcription and editing service Modern Day Scribe is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
Boston-based researcher Protobrand has joined Quit Big Tobacco, an initiative aimed at taking talent and expertise away from the tobacco and e-cigarette industries. By taking the pledge, Protobrand will not work directly with tobacco and e-cigarette companies or agencies that help such companies promote smoking or vaping.
Acquisitions/transactions
U.K.-based social intelligence company Brandwatch has acquired research company Qriously.
Consumer insight agency InSites Consulting has acquired Paris-based creative crowdsourcing firm eÿeka. With the acquisition, InSites Consulting will provide more impact from the consumer insights generated by clients and help them develop ideas and concepts that can spur business growth. Concurring with the acquisition, InSites Consulting has opened a client service office in Paris.
The Stagwell Group, a Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm, has acquired B2B digital marketing company MultiView Inc. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Customer insights and messaging consultancy Engagious, New York, and Philadelphia-based research company Focus Pointe Global have formed a partnership to conduct a series of monthly swing voter focus groups in key battleground counties across the U.S. The first focus group will be conducted in Appleton, Wis. Voters selected to participate in the groups will consist of those who voted for Barack Obama in the 2012 election and then voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and those who voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 and then voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Video footage from each session as well as analyses and reports will be published monthly.
Chicago-based researcher IRI has formed a relationship with convenience store chain Casey’s General Stores. Casey’s will provide IRI with access to its point-of-sale from more than 2,100 stores to support its account-level insights for the c-store channel. IRI is also expanding relationships with Speedway, Circle K, EG Group and other convenience store chains across North America.
New York-based consumer data ecosystem Veriglif has announced that L&E Research and Apps That Pay have joined its founding members program.
Insights solutions company Toluna has partnered with Cintrifuse, an organization created to accelerate Cincinnati’s start-up ecosystem. The partnership will allow Cintrifuse to offer members of its entrepreneur community access to Toluna’s consumer insights platform. The companies will also issue reports about topics of interest to the business community.
Costa Mesa, Calif., research company J.D. Power has formed an alliance with digital intelligence firm Centric Digital to jointly develop a range of new customer experience measurement and digital intelligence solutions. The focus will be on industries that include automotive, financial services, insurance, travel and hospitality, utilities, technology, telecommunications and health care.
WeedWeek, a media company for cannabis news, has formed a partnership with market research firm SoapBoxSample, creating a council consisting of thought leaders and influencers in the cannabis space to provide insight into the industry. SoapBoxSample has been conducting cannabis research since 2016 and recently launched the CANNApinon poll, a national bi-weekly survey of cannabis consumers.
New York-based data science company Dstillery and Los Angeles-based research platform Fuel Cycle have formed a partnership designed to give businesses a better understanding of consumers by pairing stated and observed consumer preferences. Through the partnership, Fuel Cycle clients can use Dstillery AI audience data to build branded segments models off of primary market research data.
Rybbon, a McLean, Va., digital incentives and rewards platform, has partnered with Boulder, Colo., survey software company SurveyGizmo. The partnership centers around an integration that allows SurveyGizmo users to incorporate survey rewards delivery into their survey process.
The Division of Social Sciences at the UCLA College and global insights consultancy LRW have launched The UCLA Social Sciences LRW Big Data Research Partnership, a new initiative that will enhance the division’s big data research capabilities and provide students with opportunities to learn new skills in data analytics. An investment from LRW will provide a two-quarter data science and social justice course sequence at UCLA to be offered in fall 2020, subject to the approval of the social data science minor in the 2020-21 academic year. The investment will also support data science workshops, roundtables and faculty and graduate student research. Additionally, UCLA students will have the opportunity to work as paid market research interns with the marketing and data science team at LRW.
Zoo Atlanta and Atlanta-based experience strategy group MMR LIVE have formed a partnership. MMR LIVE will help the zoo maintain its member relationships through a combination of regular assessments of their on-site experiences and operationalized recommendations to improve them.
Association/organization news
The Path to Purchase Institute (P2PI), a member-based community for consumer goods professionals and a division of business intelligence platform EnsembleIQ, launched Rise, a new industry magazine, in May. Rise, an acronym for “Retail Intelligence for the Strategic Enterprise,” combines P2PI’s publication Shopper Marketing and Consumer Goods Technology. It will focus on best practices in consumer engagement, retailer relations, insights and analytics, enterprise excellence, emerging technologies and corporate strategy.
Civicom Marketing Research Services has donated $5,000 to the Marketing Research Education Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to provide children worldwide with access to a quality education.
A number of research and public opinion firms have come together to relaunch the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA) after it ceased operations effective July 31, 2018. According to the MRIA Web site, the new iteration will have the same oversight role but a new approach that stresses transparency and inclusion. The research firms have released a letter that outlines basic principles for the new MRIA and say more information will follow. The Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC), the industry association that was established in response to the MRIA’s closure, released a statement, saying, “The CRIC board does not endorse this new initiative and believes it will only result in confusion in the marketplace and with regulators.”
The Canadian Research Insights Council has appointed John Tabone as interim chief administrative officer.
The Insights Association, Washington, D.C., joined 24 other companies and business groups in filing an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing against the addition of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census, saying it would reduce response rates and provide inaccurate Census data.
Frédéric-Charles Petit, CEO of ITWP Group, has been appointed to the ESOMAR Foundation board. In addition, Toluna has agreed to power the ESOMAR Foundation’s Webinar program with its services. The ESOMAR Foundation is the charity arm of research association ESOMAR.
Trade organizations, including the Insights Association as a founding member, have launched the Privacy for America coalition, which will work with Congress to support enactment of federal consumer data privacy and security legislation. According to the Insights Association Web site, the coalition, working with privacy policy advisors, has outlined a model for a national law that would make personal data less vulnerable to breach or misuse and set forth nationwide consumer privacy protections.
The Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC) is endorsing and sponsoring CAIP Canada, a new certification body that will offer the Certified Analytics and Insights Professional (CAIP) designation. The initiative is being led by Robert Wong and supported by CRIC’s interim Chief Administrative Officer John Tabone. CAIP Canada says its priority will be to adopt holders of the CMRP offered by the former MRIA, along with adopting fellows of the former MRIA and developing the pathways for practitioners seeking to earn the CAIP designation. It will also build a board of leaders who will be responsible for establishing the syllabus, defining the training pathways and overseeing the examination process.
The Canadian Research Insights Council will launch new membership categories to allow client organizations, agencies, academia, the media, suppliers and not-for-profits to join the organization.
Awards/rankings
Indianapolis-based customer experience advisory firm Walker was named Customer Experience Partner of the Year by software company Qualtrics. Workforce Science Associates, an employee engagement consulting firm, was recognized as the Employee Experience Partner of the Year. In addition, Walker has released the Walker Loyalty Matrix, designed for B2B companies. The solution employs a framework to measure customer loyalty and assess financial risk to improve customer retention, gain new opportunities and grow business account by account.
Canadian marketing and research consultancy Sklar Wilton & Associates has been named the No. 1 Employee Recommended Workplace among privately-held small businesses in Canada by the Globe and Mail and Morneau Shepell.
Leslie Wood, chief research officer of Nielsen Catalina Solutions, has been named the recipient of the 2019 Erwin Ephron Demystification Award by the Advertising Research Foundation.
Oslo, Norway-based research technology company Confirmit has received a Tech Culture Award by media company TMC. The award recognizes work cultures within the technology sector that continuously aim to improve work-life balances.
U.K. language services firm Language Insight has received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade 2019.
Research services firm Confero has received the 2019 BBB Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics. The award recognizes best practices in leadership, character and organizational ethics by the Better Business Bureau serving Eastern North Carolina.
Anna Drewicz, finance director for London-based research company MESH Experience, has been named a finalist for the 2019 FDs’ Excellence Awards.
New accounts/projects
Fairfax, Va., consulting and digital services company ICF has selected Canada-based firm Voxco as its survey software provider. The Voxco survey system will be used by ICF’s U.S. and EU survey operations. ICF conducts large-scale phone and Web survey programs for government agencies, nonprofit organizations and corporations.
UNICEF has engaged Auckland, New Zealand, research solutions firm Infotools for its data processing and visualization needs. Infotools Harmoni will be used by the market research team for UNICEF’s private sector fundraising and partnerships division to handle data input from multiple sources, database creation and analysis functions.
Survey solutions firm Opinion Access has chosen Canada-based company Voxco as its multimode survey platform provider. Opinion Access will use Voxco’s survey system to manage its survey operations in Florida, New York and offshore survey call centers where the company runs field projects in over 25 countries.
New companies/new divisions/relocations/expansions
Singapore-based agency User Experience Researchers has opened a new business venture in Vietnam to provide user testing and interaction design services in Asia.
Tom Austin, Toby Bell and French Caldwell, former vice presidents of research company Gartner Inc., have launched The Analyst Syndicate, a network of independent industry analysts. Jeffrey Vining and Steve Hawald, former analysts at Gartner, have also joined the network. Members contribute research through The Analyst Syndicate and provide services through independent firms. Through sponsorships, technology vendors and service providers also participate and contribute insights through sponsored blogs. The Analyst Syndicate has published research insights, available on its Web site, with additional value-added services for sponsors available.
London-based researcher Kantar has announced that all of its services and offerings will be delivered under the Kantar brand name, effective April 2. All other brands will be retired, including: Kantar Consulting; Kantar Health; Kantar IMRB; Kantar Media; Kantar Millward Brown; Kantar Public; Kantar TNS; Kantar Worldpanel; Lightspeed; plus all country-specific brands.
Research company Maru Group has changed the name of its business in Latin America from Maru/Moto to Maru/Matchbox. The name change will integrate the company’s offerings and technology across offices in South and North America.
London-based brand strategy company Mash Strategy Studio will fully integrate into research company Kantar. Kantar Consulting, Kantar’s specialist growth consultancy, acquired Mash Strategy Studio in Jan. 2018. Kantar announced that it will be delivering all its services and offerings under the Kantar brand name and will be retiring its other brands.
Australian marketing insights consulting firm Faster Horses has opened an office in Canberra. James Wunsch, who joins the firm as director of social and government research, will run the Canberra arm of the business.
Data and analytics agencies ResearchBods, Bonamy Finch and LiFE have partnered to create STRAT7, a new group that will help businesses and brands extract customer insights and interpret them to create data-driven strategies. STRAT7 will be led by CEO Barrie Brien, who will work with a management team consisting of Jonathan Clough and Robin Hilton at ResearchBods; Leigh Morris and Paul Carney at Bonamy Finch; and Michael Fisher at LiFE.
Raleigh, N.C.-based company L&E Research has expanded with the addition of INGATHER Research & Sensory in Denver. The INGATHER Research team in Denver will be added to L&E’s network of qualitative research solutions.
Warrendale, Pa., technology company First Insight Inc. has opened new offices in London and Chennai, India. The company has also added 12 new currencies and 10 new languages to its merchandising platform.
Canada-based opinion and market research company Angus Reid Global has launched a public affairs research division, led by Demetre Eliopoulos as senior vice president and managing director.
Consumer intelligence platform Frontier7, New York, has rebranded as SightX.
London-based loyalty insights agency Network Research has rebranded as Motif and has launched its new Loyalty Framework.
William Yattah, formerly with Toluna and Krealinks, has co-founded Humanizee SAS. The company offers DiscussNow, a platform that allows companies to connect and discuss with audiences directly through messaging apps like WhatsApp, WeChat, Instagram and more.
Raleigh, N.C.-based company L&E Research has opened an office in Austin, Texas. The office is a remodeled facility in the location formerly housed by Tammadge Market Research and includes the addition of a third multipurpose suite and a room for usability testing. This is the company’s eleventh location.
Customer experience analytics platform OdinText has changed its name to OdinAnswers.
London-based cultural insights and strategy consultancy Crowd DNA will open an office in Sydney in July. Elyse Pigram, a strategic insights director in London, will relocate to Sydney to head up the launch.
Melville, N.Y., qualitative research services firm Recruit and Field has introduced Our Think Space, a new focus group facility located inside the company’s headquarters.
U.K.-based research company B2B International has opened an office in Edinburgh, Scotland. Imogen Williams, the company’s research manager, will move from Manchester to Edinburgh.
Canada-based research company Corporate Research Associates is relaunching itself as Narrative Research. The company’s new ownership team includes Margaret Brigley as CEO, Margaret Chapman as COO and Peter MacIntosh as chief research officer.
The ISA Family of Companies has opened a new 110-station call center in Las Vegas.
San Francisco-based insights platform UserTesting will be opening its first international office located in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the coming months.
Ipsos Hong Kong has moved its office to Hung Hom to accommodate its growth.
Belgium-based research company EyeSee has opened an office in London, led by Payal Patel.
Research agency ABA Research has relaunched as Kokoro. The company has created three teams – customer research, customer experience and insight consultancy – and has added Caroline Bates to its insight consultancy team.
Research company earnings/financial news
Oslo, Norway-based research technology company Confirmit reported a 43 percent increase in its voice of the employee business as a result of its new solution for employee engagement. The company has also announced a 25 percent increase in its R&D team, with new team members joining in offices in EMEA and North America.
London-based technology start-up Attest has raised $16 million in a Series A investment round to expand its consumer growth platform, which allows companies to engage directly with consumers.
Native, a New York-based company that connects organizations with local consumers to gain insights, closed a $2.5 million round to fuel its global growth.
Alpharetta, Ga., sample solutions firm P2Sample reported that Q1 2019 revenue increased by 44 percent year over year. In the same period, the company registered more than 2.5 million survey completes in Q1. P2Sample also expanded its staff, adding six new employees over the past year.
Research company Ipsos reported revenue of €422.1 million for the first quarter of 2019, a 15 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Nielsen, New York, announced revenues of approximately $1.6 billion for the first quarter of 2019, down 2.9 percent compared to the first quarter of 2018.
Forrester Research, Cambridge, Mass., reported total revenues of $100.6 million for the first quarter of 2019, compared with $77.7 million for the first quarter of 2018. Research revenues increased 33 percent and advisory services and events revenues increased 23 percent compared with the first quarter of 2018.