Follow DRNO on...
Insights technology and panel provider Toluna has appointed Lucia Moir as Chief Operations Officer and promoted Priyanka Sarkar to Chief Research Officer. More
Marcoms group Stagwell has agreed to acquire São-Paulo, Brazil-based PROS Agency, a brand and marketing consultancy specializing in digital PR, creative planning and production, influencer marketing and brand development. More
British online audience measurement body UKOM has appointed 25-year Nielsen exec Sarah Miller as its Technical Consultant. More
Customer insights firm DMR has announced the appointment of nine new staff, having completed a successful first institutional funding round at the end of 2023. More
San Francisco-based Writ has raised $3.8m in Seed funding, with which to expand its operations and continue development of its technology, which provides a space for clients' teams to share and discuss data to develop insights and improve business decisions. More
HfS Research has announced a strategic alliance with HEX Advisory Group, aiming to enhance their industry analysis offer, in particular around contract price benchmarking. More
In California, marketing firm Power Digital has enhanced its nova Intelligence platform with the launch of Creative Affinity, an ad creative analysis module designed with support from Meta engineers. More
Manchester-based startup North AI has secured £280,000 grant funding from the UK's Innovation Agency, and a further £300,000 in a round led by SFC Capital. The firm provides an AI-powered predictive insights platform for the media and entertainment industry. More
Marketing tech group Access Intelligence Plc has appointed Tom Ritchie as President of PR & Comms EMEA. More
Frankfurt am Main, Germany-based Scavenger AI, whose software allows client companies to perform complex data analyses in 'a few seconds', has raised EUR 1.1m in pre-seed funding. The money will help expand its team, and develop and launch its products. More
London-based researcher High Tech Dev has rebranded as HTAIR, reflecting a significant change in its mission and vision (focused around AI); and has appointed Nigel Woodliffe as Chief Customer Success Officer. More
Atlanta, GA-based predictive analytics firm AnalyticsIQ has launched ChannelIQ, promising 'reliable and actionable insight' into consumer marketing channel preferences, for use in targeting and ad optimisation. More
In the UK, MR industry veterans and Firefish execs Jem Fawcus and Richard Owen have launched a new company, QualifyAI, with a mission 'to automate qualitative research without stripping it of its humanity'. The partners say this is possible for the first time thanks to AI. More
Recently-merged B2B purchase intent specialists MRP and CONTENTgine have rebranded as pharosIQ, and launched a number of proprietary first party permission-based, down-funnel targeting capabilities. Chris Rack leads the new company as CEO. More
Marketing intel and programmatic media specialist MiQ has announced the launch of its TV Intelligence platform in the UK, US, Canada and Australia, promising users a complete view of audience, campaign and competitor intelligence across linear TV, CTV and YouTube in one place. More
Manchester, UK-based product intelligence platform Vypr has appointed Glenn Porter as Chief Commercial Officer. More
Data collection and research services firm Bilendi & respondi has extended the functionality of its BARI AI-powered research assistant to include quantitative projects. More
Customer lifecycle analytics platform Quantum Metric has released a new version of its platform, focused on simplifying how organizations listen to and act on the needs of their customers. It includes Felix AI, a new session summarization feature powered by Google Cloud's Gemini Pro. More
UK video ad currency body Barb has appointed former TNS and RSMB exec Sara Cheeseman as Finance Director. She replaces long-time FD Nigel McLachlan, who is retiring. More
Web and app digital experience analytics firm Glassbox has appointed former Instructure exec Michelle Suzuki as Chief Marketing Officer. More
Florida-based immersive advertising technology firm Trivver has unveiled technology which it says is the first to allow brands and organizations to measure viewability metrics in Extended Reality (XR) environments. More
Consumer intelligence firm NIQ has announced the launch of 'Full View - Measurement', a suite of features available within its Discover platform, promising an omnichannel view of data with item-level granularity for retailers, manufacturers and the financial services community. More
Marketing intelligence software company Proxima has closed a $12m Series A round of funding. Money will be used to further develop its technology platform, including AI-powered feature development, as well as recruitment for its tech and commercial teams. More
Mumbai, India-based digital tech and customer experience solutions provider Datamatics has announced the acquisition of Salesforce services firm Dextara Digital. More
In the US, the 'Joint Industry Committee' (JIC) formed in January 2023 to provide more rapid accreditation of ad currency providers than the MRC has awarded full certification to Comscore and VideoAmp, but delayed a final decision on iSpot until June. More
Technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group has announced the launch of a new AI software research practice, via its software insights division Ventana Research. The launch complements that of the Group's Enterprise AI Advisory business, launched in January. More
Consumer information and credit reporting company TransUnion has partnered with researcher MRI-Simmons, promising clients 'improved actionability across the addressable marketing ecosystem'. More
In the US, cultural intelligence specialist Collage Group has added new features to its fleun.ci SaaS application: a Head-to-Head Dashboard, providing competitive insights; an Industry Dashboard giving a category-level view of brand-specific consumer sentiment; and an enhanced Audience Insights offer. More
Experience Management (XM) company Qualtrics has appointed Juan Rodriguez as Chief Information Officer and Assaf Keren joins Qualtrics as Chief Security Officer. More
Converged TV advertising solutions firm Cadent has agreed the acquisition of measurable programmatic advertising company AdTheorent, for around $324m in cash, or $3.21 per share. More
Unified customer experience management platform Sprinklr has appointed Amitabh Misra as Chief Technology Officer, starting this week. Misra will lead all R&D teams worldwide including product and engineering, and also joins the Executive Leadership Team. More
Consumer intelligence provider NIQ has partnered with burger giant McDonald's USA to develop a new module called Cultural Resonance, part of its BASES ad testing portfolio. More
In the US, unified customer experience management platform Sprinklr has announced fourth quarter and full year results for the period ended January 31st 2024. Q4 revenue was up 17% to $194.2m, while non-GAAP operating income more than doubled to $32.4m. Full year revenue was $732.4m, up 18%. More
Customer engagement specialist Verint has announced Q4 and full year results for the period ending January 31st 2024. Q4 revenue grew 12% year-on-year to $265m, while full year revenue crept up just 0.9% to $910m. Full year net income more than doubled to $39.6m. More
San Mateo, CA-based Observe, which helps clients store, manage and analyze their business data, has raised $115m in a Series B funding round, earmarked for expansion in North America. More
In the US, the Media Rating Council (MRC) as issued a joint statement with the 'JIC' set up at the beginning of last year by OpenAP, the Video Advertising Bureau and a group of TV broadcasters - to clarify the distinct roles and approaches of the two bodies. More
In New York, digital audio and broadcast radio tech and services firm Triton Digital has acquired audio intelligence platform Sounder. More
Austin, Texas-based Measured has launched a platform promising marketers the ability to view incremental ad performance across all paid media platforms, in one place, without the need to track users across the web. More
Dutch insights-based consultancy SKIM has appointed Adrien Bourgeois as Relationship Director, based in Paris and responsible for driving the growth of client partnerships in France. More
Comscore has announced the resignation of Pierre-Andre Liduena from its Board of Directors, effective next week. Liduena had joined following the investment of Charter Communications in 2021. More
Anil Goel has joined Nielsen as Chief Engineering Officer, leading its technology and engineering teams to drive product innovation and advanced technology adoption. He is based in Bengaluru, India and will report to CEO Karthik Rao. More
Advertising Resource Management (ARM) software company MINT has appointed Christoph Kruse as Global Marketing Director. He was previously Director of Regional Marketing in Europe at Outbrain. More
Data management and quality specialist Foundational, which has locations in San Francisco and Tel Aviv, has secured $8m in seed funding, with which to further develop its product and add new capabilities for developers building at scale. More
In London, Havas Media Network UK has joined cross-media measurement initiative Origin, completing the representation of the global marcoms networks within the programme. There are now 51 funding stakeholders in total including advertisers, media owners and advertising agencies. More
Comscore has announced that its Directors will now support the addition of Matthew F. McLaughlin to the Board at the forthcoming 2024 annual meeting of stockholders. Former DoubleVerify exec McLaughlin was put forward by activist shareholder 180 Degree Capital Corp in January. More
Media.Monks, the digital-first, data-led advertising and marketing services brand of Sir Martin Sorrell's S4Capital, has launched a service called Persona.Flow, converting owned customer data into dynamic consumer personas for use in rapid insight generation. More
Comcast subsidiary AudienceXpress is collaborating with viewing measurement company iSpot, to evaluate how the latter's syndicated national TV ratings can be incorporated into the AudienceXpress platform and enhance its syndicated measurement currency. More
Stockholm, Sweden-based Dema.ai, which provides a predictive analytics platform for eCommerce, has secured EUR 7m in a Seed round of funding, for use in accelerating its growth. More
Insight and analytics group BVA BDRC has launched synthetic data product Pixel.AI, which it says accurately predicts responses from restricted segments by training on existing and representative data. More
Insights and experience tech company PG Forsta has appointed Mike Thompson as Chief Analytics Officer, and says he will drive the development of new AI-driven capabilities and products, following the company's commitment to invest $500 million in the area over five years. More
WPP-owned ad agency VML is to upgrade its proprietary digital commerce tech and retailer intelligence suite via a partnership with retail ecommerce management platform CommerceIQ. The latter's generative and predictive AI will help VML to optimize clients' digital shelf performance. More
Marketing strategy, consumer behavior and analytics consultancy GBK Collective has appointed Virginia Lennon as SVP of Research and Insights, Prachi Bhalerao as Marketing Data Scientist, and Reagan Jacobs as Senior Analyst. More
B2B research firm NewtonX has appointed former American Express employee Kavita Anand as Vice President of Product, leading strategy, design and development for products including the firm's Knowledge Graph and its expert intelligence platform NewtonX Prime. More
Consumer intelligence specialist NIQ - previously Nielsen IQ - has appointed former TransUnion exec R. Dane Mauldin as Chief Transformation Officer. He replaces Curtis Miller, who moves into the role of Chief Strategy Officer. More
In the US, Comscore has been granted accreditation by the Media Rating Council (MRC) for the Total Household Rating and Average Audience estimates in both its national and local TV Time Based Grid reports. The award means Comscore is currently the only company accredited for its local TV measurement. More
Ipsos has launched an Out of Home (OOH) advertising solution promising to help users assess and optimise OOH creative in as little as 24 hours. More
In the US, cultural intelligence specialist Collage Group has appointed Elizabeth Jackson as its first Chief Marketing Officer. She brings to the role more than thirty years of experience in marketing, strategy, insights and new product innovation. More
In New York, AI-powered ad tech company Smartly has launched Brand Pulse, which taps data from Comscore and GWI (Global Web Index) as well as its own sources to give users a holistic view of the customer journey, including ad impact. More
Mishcon de Reya (MDR Group), a business services group with a focus on legal advice, has launched a market insights and analytics business called MDRi, providing strategic advisory services to businesses worldwide. Simon Tye will lead the new division as Chief Executive Officer. More
US firm Decision Analyst has promoted Bonnie Janzen to President, taking over the role from founder Jerry W. Thomas, who continues to serve as CEO More
Comscore has launch its Social Incremental audiences service, part of its MMX Platform suite, in the UK. The solution measures incremental traffic across social media platforms, with deduplicated, person-level reach and a unified view across desktop, mobile and social. More
British-based ad impact measurement and forecasting specialist System1 Group Plc has appointed Mike Perlman as Chief Commercial Officer and Alex Banks as SVP of business development for The Americas. More
Data science start-up QuantexAI has secured $1m in pre-seed funding, from undisclosed investors, as it moves its natural language query software into beta. More
In California, eCommerce solutions and consumer analytics provider PriceSpider has announced a number of upgrades to help brands build seamless omnichannel experiences. They include new data sharing and integration tools. More
US-based mobile app market intelligence and insights provider Sensor Tower has announced the acquisition of mobile marketing firm data.ai, formerly known as App Annie. Terms were not disclosed. More
Customer journey management and insights firm TheyDo, based in Amsterdam, has secured $34m in funding, with which to increase R&D - focused on AI and data ingestion - and build out its customer-facing team in the US. More
California-based CX solutions firm Five9 has appointed former Gartner exec Steve Blood as Vice President of Market Intelligence and Evangelism, based in Europe. More
Business Intelligence platform Omni has raised $20m for continued development of its platform. In addition, former Looker Chief Revenue Officer Lambert Billet has joined Omni's Board of Directors. More
New York-based Adelaide, which provides attention-based media quality measurement, has added coverage of CTV to its Attention Leaderboard service. More
Personalized shopping experience company Fermat, based in San Francisco, has more than doubled its funding to date with a $17m raise. The firm's software allows users to launch, test and optimize web pages based on individual customer journeys and the preferences and intentions they reveal. More
San Diego-based omnichannel consumer data and analytics platform Daasity has acquired Red Fox Analytics, which provides analytics for for retail-focused CPG brands, for an undisclosed sum. The combination promises merchants online and off-line sales, distribution and marketing data in one place. More
In the UK, Samsung's advertising division has become the first CTV backer of Origin, the ISBA's cross-media measurement programme. More
In Dallas, 'Creator Commerce' company LTK has launched LTK 360, a full-funnel influencer marketing measurement and analysis platform, while adding CTV to the list of media for which users can create, launch and measure advertising. More
Multichannel eCommerce enablement and analytics platform MikMak has enhanced its insights offering with the launch of a Custom Report Builder function, as well as a CX optimization tool, 'Headless Commerce API'. More
Digital media measurement specialist DoubleVerify (DV) has expanded its partnership with media giant NBCUniversal, to provide program-level measurement solutions across OTT devices, including CTV. More
San Francisco-based predictive intelligence firm 6sense has appointed Jerome Levadoux as its first Chief Product Officer. More
Comscore's programmatic ad targeting division Proximic has partnered with advertising and martech group Epsilon, providing contextual classification of sites to help the latter's clients monitor issues like brand suitability and inventory quality. More
SurveyMind, a UK-based AI transcription and analysis start-up, has announced upgrades including single-click analysis of transcripts to reveal key themes, differences and connections between a predefined set of interviews. More
In West Palm Beach, Florida, MR industry veterans Hugh Davis and Keith Price have launched ACKWEST Group, a holding company which will focus on buying and developing emerging tech-driven enterprises in the consumer insights and marketing services sector. More
Former Dynata Chief Gary Laben has joined retail and consumer goods analytics and inventory optimisation firm Trax, as CEO. More
In the US, media measurement and optimization firm Prescient AI has secured $10m in Series A funding, with which to further develop its product, expand sales and add new media channel integrations. It has also enhanced its attribution model to measure the halo effects of campaigns on sales in the Amazon marketplace. More
Customer and employee experience firm Medallia has appointed Ben Brewer as Chief Revenue Officer. More
In London, Verve has announced the promotion of its former Joint Head of Insight Richard Preedy to the newly created role of Executive Director and Head of Artificial Intelligence. The firm is 'relaunching' itself to emphasize its focus on 'three intelligences': Artificial, Human and Cultural. More
In Boston, US, streaming technology company Brightcove has launched 'Publisher Insights', part of its Media Studio Premium solution, which provides real-time analytics specifically for news organizations and other organizations focused on rapidly and constantly updated content. More
Technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) has reported revenue for the full year 2023 of $291m, up 1.7% despite a very slow fourth quarter in which revenue dropped 11% to $66.2m. More
Audience engagement veteran Josh Chasin is to advise digital marketing analytics platform FutureSight as it widens its focus to serve 'midmarket' customers. Chasin previously held senior roles at VideoAmp, Comscore, Arbitron and SMRB. More
Cambridge, UK-based analyst research delivery platform Content Catalyst has launched an AI-powered discovery tool to help researchers get rapid answers to natural language market intelligence questions. More
Miami-based PR platform Muck Rack has enhanced its measurement and reporting capabilities with new features for areas including media impact analysis, brand reputation insights and competitive analysis. More
London-based analytics / business intelligence start-up Fluent has secured $7.5m in seed funding for its mission to democratize insights using conversational AI. More
UK audience measurement authority Barb has promoted Caroline Baxter to Chief Operating Officer, with a remit to work alongside CEO Justin Sampson on driving the organisation's move towards cross-device measurement and total campaign performance reporting. More
Amperity, a customer data platform (CDP) for consumer brands, has announced two new generative AI capabilities, Explore and Assist. More
Comscore has reported full year 2023 revenue of $371.3m, down 1.4%, but with FX-neutral adjusted EBITDA up 29% to $46.9m. CEO Jon Carpenter pointed to growth in local TV measurement and in the CCR and Proximic offerings as strong indicators for the future. More
Similarweb has announced the acquisition of ad intelligence specialist Admetricks, whose software will now form the core of a new Similarweb Ad Intelligence product. More
Insights group Savanta has launched a new AI-based application called TrendVue, allowing users to automate the research process and deliver personalised trend analysis across sectors. More
In the US, research agency Shapiro+Raj has added an AI Innovation Group to its Technology Practice, with Scott Swigart still leading the enhanced unit. More
Manchester, UK-based fieldwork firm Omnisis has teamed up with business and politics publication The Economist to launch an interactive tool predicting how people may vote in the next general election. More
Global MR and data group YouGov has announced the rebranding of its Swiss subsidiary LINK, acquired in December 2021, as YouGov Switzerland. More
In the USA, integrated ad intelligence and viewing data provider AdImpact has appointed Laia Pescetto as Vice President of Marketing, following 400% growth in its industry-wide ad solutions client base in 2023, Its core political ad business has also grown rapidly. More
UK-based MR operations company Cobalt Sky has appointed Mina Odavic as Head of Business Development, overseeing relationships with key clients and generating new business opportunities. More
New York-based Remesh has upgraded it AI-powered insights platform to allow users to upload research data collected on other platforms for analysis - including large quantities of open-ended survey feedback. More
Singapore-based customer experience solutions firm TDCX is to be acquired and taken private by a team led by its CEO and founder Laurent Junique, via a merger valuing the nearly 18,000-strong company at around $1.037bn. More
In Philadelphia, account intelligence provider MRP has merged with b2b technology insights and lead generation firm CONTENTgine, to create an end-to-end provider for the entire b2b technology sales and marketing process, from demand generation to sales pipeline activations. More
US-based data firm J.D. Power has completed the acquisition of Autovista Group, which provides automotive data, analytics and industry insights in Europe and Australia, from asset management firm Hayfin Capital Management. Autovista CEO Lindsey Roberts becomes President of J.D. Power Europe. More
Hamburg-based Heyflow, whose no-code platform helps marketers create, optimise and analyse web site experiences, has closed a EUR 14.7m Series A funding round. The money will be used to accelerate product development and integrations, and for geographical expansion of its customer base. More
NIQ, the consumer intelligence company previously part of Nielsen and now combined with GfK, has launched a Global Media Division, which it says is 'designed to enhance the value advertisers derive from their marketing efforts' - and has appointed Lana Busignani to lead it. More
London-based APL Media is integrating the technology of US-based feedback software firm Social Asking, aiming to 'bring cutting-edge AI to audience engagement' and allow brands to understand their audience in real time. A new division of APL will serve as Social Asking's lead (UK) sales agent. More
Automotive marketing and software solutions firm Affinitiv has appointed Andy Byrne as its new Chief Revenue Officer. More
Ipsos has launched InnoExplorer, which uses generative and analytical AI to help clients accelerate innovation cycles 'from months to days' and improve success rates. More
Brand tracking specialist Tracksuit has raised $13.5m in Series A funding, which it will use for its official launch in the US and UK markets, and to expand its research and platform capabilities. More
Healthcare data and technology solutions company Veradigm has agreed to acquire healthcare modeling specialist ScienceIO, for around $140m in cash. More
AI-based insights firm Yabble has updated its synthetic research tool Virtual Audiences, allowing users to upload and integrate their own proprietary datasets to tailor the personas of synthetic respondents to suit their business. More
Data transformation and marketing consultancy Artefact has opened new offices in Colombia and Mexico, after rapid growth for its Brazilian office. More
In the US, former Ipsos execs Dana Keilman and Nicole Munsey have launched Morning Light Strategy, which will provide insights and strategic guidance for clients looking to drive growth in the 50+ market. More
Mike Trotman, We Work With Data co-founder and long-time ASC committee member who worked on some of the standards which have guided the technical side of the profession over the past twenty years, passed away at the end of January. More
Marcoms group Stagwell has reported full year 2023 revenue of $2.53bn, down 6% year on year, and adjusted EBITDA of $360m, down 20%. However the company reports strong new business, good growth in EMEA and for its Marketing Cloud suite, and is forecasting a return to growth in 2024. More
In a deal described as 'a world-first industry collaboration between media industry measurement bodies', OzTAM audience data for BVOD - the streaming and catch-up services offered by TV broadcasters - is to be integrated into Ipsos iris, the approved currency of IAB Australia. More
Estonian AI-driven firm AdoptoMedia has launched a 'one-stop-shop' marketing and revenue forecasting service under the CheckMedia brand, promising to democratize 'analytical power and forecasting abilities for marketing planning previously only available to the world's biggest corporations'. More
GenAI-based consumer emotion and sentiment specialist Glimpse has appointed former Cint and Dynata researcher Mike Steinberg as Vice President of Business Development. More
New Jersey-based applied behavioral science insights agency has appointed Brian O'Hara as VP of Business Development, and Trisha Nagpal and Anushka Bhansali as Behavioral Associates. More
In Oregon, identity verification specialist SheerID has launched two new services: Marketing Hub, a curated marketplace of solutions to engage communities; and DataConnectors, which streams verified first-party consumer data into more than 400 martech solutions including CRM and CDP systems. More
In Antwerp, Belgium, design-tech company iVisual has launched AI-based branding and packaging intelligence technology which it says will 'transform the way companies develop branding and packaging'. The new firm has appointed Julie Dumoulin as its CEO. More
WPP has reported preliminary results for the full year 2023, with revenue (less pass-through costs) of £11.86bn, up 0.9% on a like-for-like basis, and operating profit down more than 60% to £531m. More
Comscore has upgraded its Campaign Ratings (CCR) service to extend deduplicated audience measurement to the local market level, and says that for the first time CCR will integrate national and local linear TV, digital, streaming and social channels. More
Cross-media ad delivery and measurement platform Innovid has announced the availability of publisher-level outcomes analysis for all DSP and SSP campaigns, allowing brands and agencies to 'understand, assess and compare' performance in detail and 'without bias' across all their media buys. More
Atlanta, GA-based AnalyticsIQ has added to its range of healthcare solutions with the launch of an enriched National Provider Identifier (NPI) data offering, promising marketing and analytics teams deeper insights into healthcare providers (HCPs) as individuals, to improve targeting and engagement. More
Ipsos has reported organic, constant currency revenue growth of 8.8% for the fourth quarter of 2023, and 3% for the full year, with operating profit stable at an all-time high of 13.1%. More
In Glasgow, Scotland, former RBS and YouGov Sport exec Bruce Cook has launched SponsorLab, a new sponsorship measurement tool for sponsors, agencies and rights holders. More
The Market Research Society of India (MRSI) has launched a new Socio-Economic Classification System, ISEC, which it says is 'far more representative, stable and less volatile' than its predecessor, NCCS. More
Transaction data specialist Behaviorally has expanded its business development team in New York with the appointment of Director Peter Cloutier, and in Chicago where Shane Schultz joins as a Manager. More
Business services behemoth Accenture has agreed to acquire CX analytics provider GemSeek, for an undisclosed sum. More
In Congress, New Jersey Republican representative Jeff Van Drew has introduced legislation which would close down the annual American Community Survey (ACS), which replaced the old decennial census long form in 2005 and is described as 'essential to the development of representative samples'. More
Atlanta-based call tracking, marketing and lead intelligence platform CallRail has added AI-driven, self-reported attribution capabilities to its CallRail Labs innovation program, promising visibility into the impact on sales of branding, word of mouth, social media and other channels. More
New York-based audio analytics and research platform Veritonic has partnered with computer vision and attention AI company Realeyes to launch the Audio Attention Report, putting data behind the untapped potential of radio and podcast audio advertising. More
Tel Aviv-based digital market intelligence company Similarweb has announced 2023 revenue up 13% to $218.0m, with adjusted operating loss slashed from $63.8m to just $4.8m, including a profit in the fourth quarter. More
Longtime Ipsos exec and current Global Head of Audience Measurement Liz Landy is to leave the company at the end of this month. Daniel Wong-Chi-Man will step up to Lead the Audience Measurement Service Line globally, while Ipsos iris leader James Oates will add responsibility for the business in the UK. More
Nielsen has announced that its Pacific Broadcaster & Publisher Lead Tony Boyte will be stepping down in April, to be replaced by eighteen-year company veteran Scott Gillham. More
In the US, enterprise marketing attribution platform Alembic has raised $14m in series A funding, which it will use to enhance its engineering capabilities, broaden its product range and accelerate client acquisition. Backers include Jeffrey Katzenberg and Joe Montana. More
Toronto, Canada-based gaming industry analytics and infrastructure provider Helika has completed an $8m Series A funding round, for use in accelerating the launch of its AI-powered Game Management products. More
Reputation and risk intelligence provider Signal AI has acquired Social 360, which monitors and analyses online comment influencing the reputation of clients around the globe. More
Packaging, NPD and shopper specialist PRS IN VIVO has appointed Richard Bordenave as global Chief Behavioral Officer. More
FIXR, which provides audience insights and actionable data for event organisers worldwide, has appointed former Eventbrite VP Joel Crouch as Chief Revenue Officer. More
Glassbox, which provides data and insights on the digital experience for web and mobile applications, has launched a new solution called 'Voice of the Silent' (VoS). The firm says traditional VoC programs capture feedback from an average of only 4% of customers. More
GroupM's new data / audience planning agency EssenceMediacom has formed a dedicated data, technology and analytics function to 'deliver business solutions to clients in the post-cookie era'. Poorani Adewole transfers in from Mindshare to lead the unit as Chief of Data, Technology and Analytics. More
European consulting and digital services firm Sopra Steria has announced a partnership with media insights firm TRP Research to help broadcasters, advertisers and others understand the way television and VOD services are consumed across different devices and platforms by UK audiences. More
Labor market analytics specialist TalentNeuron has revamped its leadership structure to handle 'accelerated growth and innovation'. Gabriel Pauliuc joins as CTO and Elin Thomasian as SVP of Strategy and Consulting, while recently appointed David Wilkins adds the role of Chief Product and Marketing Officer. More
UK-based agency davies+mckerr has appointed former Crowd DNA Director David Power as Head of Quant. More
Copenhagen, Denmark-based offshore wind data specialist Aegir Insights has secured EUR 8.5m in Series A funds from climate tech investors - to be used in upgrading its web platform, including investment decision software and data products. More
London-based insights consultancy Savanta has launched a new customer experience framework which it says will help companies more accurately drive revenue growth. More
B2B purchase intent data specialist TechTarget has announced a partnership with software review and assessment site G2, to help B2B enterprise technology buyers through the purchase cycle. More
Publisher Gannett / USA TODAY Network has appointed a dedicated Chief Data Privacy Officer, Marci Moss, with a remit to safeguard the information entrusted to its publications by clients, partners, users and employees. More
Canada-based B2B data services company Rhetorik has announced the acquisition of 1 Stop Data Ltd, another B2B data business based in Wokingham, UK. More
In the UK, audience measurement body Barb has awarded the contract for a new piece of research, the CFlight Landscape Study, to insights consultancy BVA BDRC. The work will help barb to estimate TV audience size and profile for various platforms and to understand the dynamics of household VOD consumption. More
San Francisco-based start-up Motif Analytics has emerged from private beta to offer general availability for its analytics tool - and has secured $5.7m in seed funding. More
US-based B2B data and software firm ZoomInfo has launched Copilot, an AI-powered solution promising to bring its data together with a client company's first party CRM data and provide insights for use by salespeople. More
Nielsen is expanding its Connected TV (CTV) measurement of YouTube ads into eleven additional global markets, including Germany, India, Japan and the UK. More
In San Francisco, retail analytics solutions provider Intelligence Node is expanding its offer for retailer clients and third-party sellers, promising an enhanced online shopping experience with more information to support product selections and purchase decisions. More
In London, year-old digital MR agency Potentia Insight has announced six new hires across its project management, information security and analytics divisions: Abubaker Omer, Steve Burton, Bill McDivitt, Vanessa Jackson, James Edwards and Shaun May. More
New Jersey-based applied behavioral science insights agency BEESY has hired Nicole DelBuono as a Technical Project Manager. More
Australian market research technology platform Glow is developing its sustainability metric the Social Responsibility Score (SRS) as a standardized, cross-industry initiative and says it is currently being integrated into the offerings of Kantar, PwC Australia and other research and advisory businesses. More
Consumer research platform GWI has partnered with Dynata to launch a solution called GWI Audience Activation, offering end-to-end marketing including segmentation, profiling, planning and activation, for pre-built or bespoke segments using the firms' global audience data. More
Customer and employee experience firm Medallia has announced four AI-based innovations - Ask Athena, Intelligent Summaries, Smart Response and Themes - geared to personalising customer and employee experience; and has launched a fully self-service MR tool, Medallia Agile Research. More
In Dallas, Texas, data-driven marketing and business intelligence solutions firm Data Axle - formerly Infogroup - has hired Andrew Frawley as its new CEO. He replaces Mike Iaccarino, who will remain as Chairman but dedicate himself to running a European-based direct marketing business. More
Consumer behavioral data firm Circana has launched Liquid Data Engage, which allows retailers to manage market performance, category management, loyalty, supply chain, and retail media data assets in one solution, and identify opportunities for growth. More
New York-based dataroomHQ, whose platform brings SaaS clients' operational metrics together for business analysis and forecasting, customer targeting and financial planning, has announced a $3.5m funding round. Funds will be used to bring the platform to market after two and a half years in development. More
In the US, insights-driven marketing communications agency The Bliss Group has appointed Emily Porro as SVP and co-leader of its Impact practice. More
With election year well underway, Comscore has announced an integration with political data provider TargetSmart, giving the latter's clients access to the former's granular media planning and evaluation data. More
Tel Aviv-based Octup, which provides an operational AI-driven ecommerce insights platform, has raised $4m in a Pre-Seed funding round, with which to roll out its end-to-end discovery platform for ecommerce, add talent and expand to new markets. More
Consumer intelligence provider NIQ has announced two key leadership changes in the Asia Pacific region. Pacific MD Megan Treston will transition to a regional role as APAC Consumer Panel Service (CPS) Product Lead, while recent arrival Pete Sheridan steps into her old role. More
Sweden-based eye tracking and attention computing specialist Tobii has announced revenue of SEK 758m ($US 71.5m) for the full year 2023 - a decline in organic terms of 6%. The company has also completed its acquisition of vehicle interior sensing firm AutoSense, and announced new financial targets. More
Real estate consumer intelligence platform Audience Town has secured an unspecified amount of additional funding with which to continue expansion and development of its analytics platform. More
In the US, cookieless targeting and digital identity solutions firm Semcasting has launched RTVM, a tool offering political campaigns 'complete transparency' across platforms into which voters they have and have not 'reached' with which messages. More
Media measurement and optimisation platform Integral Ad Science (IAS) has rolled out an AI-driven Total Media Quality (TMQ) Brand Safety and Suitability Measurement product, across Facebook and Instagram Feed and Reels. More
Digital consulting, marketing and tech business Emtec is unifying its businesses and rebranding as Bridgenext. Its services include data, analytics and AI, as well as the creation and measurement of digital experiences. More
Consumer data giant Circana has announced changes to its commercial organisation including the appointment of former CPG sector President Jeremy Allen as Chief Commercial Officer. Tim Bush, currently President, General Merchandise, will retire by the end of the year after two decades at Circana and NPD. More
In New York, Nielsen has announced it will expand coverage of its National TV out-of-home (OOH) panel this year, in order to 'fully represent all US TV households'. More
US-based big data and AI solutions firm Databricks has acquired natural language-based data collaboration platform Einblick More
Nielsen is suing rival TV audience measurement firm VideoAmp for alleged infringement of two recently-issued patents concerned with the correction of viewing data skewed by 'phantom' or 'zombie' viewing. More
Food, facilities and hospitality services provider Sodexo has announced the global launch of an Accelerator Programme with categories for entrepreneurs in data analytics and customer experience. More
In California, full service marketing and PR firm Creativ Strategies has launched a new division called Creativ Insights, bringing together the marketing consultancy expertise of the parent firm with the skills and tech of data science firm talkAItive, whose founders Vibhu Bhan and Joe Lai join to lead the new unit. More
In the US, innovation and experience consultancy Bounteous is to merge with digital engineering, data and AI services provider Accolite Digital, creating a new end-to-end digital transformation services consultancy with a focus on 'co-innovation'. More
Comscore has promoted Alejandro Fosk, previously SVP for Latin America, to EVP International, overseeing its EMEA, APAC and LATAM regions. More
Berlin, Germany-based enterprise customer data solutions provider Zeotap has appointed former Deutsche Bank Group CEO Western Europe Frank Krings as a Strategic Advisor, supporting its growth in the EU banking, insurance and asset management industry. Krings has also invested in the company. More
Agile and automated market research platform Zappi has appointed Nataly Kelly as Chief Marketing Officer and promoted Babita Earle from EVP of Global Enterprise Partnerships to International MD. The firm also recently hired Melissa Clucas as CFO. More
Comscore's audience and content targeting solutions division Proximic has been awarded a patent for its livestream contextual intelligence technology, which it says will help publishers monetize their livestream video inventory and increase advertiser confidence in buying it. More
Automated in-home product testing platform Highlight has announced changes to its leadership team, with the appointments of Priyanka Carr as COO and President, and Deirdre Norris as VP of Product. More
French audience metrics company Médiamétrie has announced that its UK subsidiary TAPE Consultancy will be rebranded to operate as part of Glance, its international division. More
In the US. customer experience company Harte Hanks has made permanent the previously Interim CFO role of David Garrison, and appointed David Fisher as Chief Transformation Officer. More
Australia-based insights and data business Pureprofile has announced revenue up 8% to $AUD 24m for the half year ended 31st December, and EBITDA of $AUD 2.4m, up 6% or 21% on a like-for-like basis. More
Australian independent media agency Kaimera has appointed former GroupM exec Brett Camilleri as its first Chief Data Officer. More
Origin, a cross-media measurement initiative led by the UK's advertising trade group ISBA has added six more advertiser stakeholders, and says its platform is now 'up and running'. More
In the US, personalized content and viewer insights provider ThinkAnalytics has appointed former Comscore exec Andrew Read as VP Sales, EMEA; and Roger Sherwood, formerly of AWS, as SVP Professional Services for the Americas. More
In New York, data collaboration platform InfoSum has inked a deal with DIRECTV Advertising, to create a first party data-matching solution for advertisers. More
In San Francisco, generative AI-powered data discovery and analytics tools firm TextQL has raised $4.1m in pre-seed and seed funding, with which to expand its team working on data engineering and language model training. More
Cross-platform viewing analytics company datafuelX has partnered with US consumer insights veteran MRI-Simmons, to enhance the former's device-level TV viewing data sets with the latter's demographic attributes. More
In an apparent volte face after refreshing and reinforcing the brand of its communications agency Hill & Knowlton as recently as November, WPP has announced the company will be merged with the group's other major PR firm BCW, with the combined entity renamed Burson. More
Menlo park, California-based social media video insights and analytics provider ViralMoment has secured $2.5m in a seed round of investment, with which to widen the scope of its video-reading AI. More
Paris-based Heex Technologies has raised EUR 6 million in a second round of funding, to continue development of its Smart Data platform, including expansion of its technical team, sales team and product offering. More
Manchester-based kids, parents and family specialist The Insights Family has secured a £5.6m investment, with which to continue and accelerate its rapid global growth. More
Software business Enghouse Systems has combined features from its Nebu and Survox products and rebranded them as Enghouse Insights. More
Former Ipsos and Gartner senior exec Lorenzo Larini has joined Advertising Resource Management (ARM) software firm MINT, headquartered in Milan, as Global CEO. He replaces founder Andrea Pezzi, who moves to a new role as Chairman. More
B2B data services company Rhetorik Ltd has appointed former Equifax and Dun & Bradstreet exec Jim Longo as its new Head of Product. More
Consumer data giant Circana, which was formed following the merger of IRI and The NPD Group, has agreed to acquire independent MR firm Golf Datatech, which tracks golf retail activity across the US, the UK, Sweden, France and Germany. More
US-based decentralized data marketplace Masa Network has secured $5.4m in Seed funding, to pursue its goal of 'a fair data economy where you own and profit from your personal data'. More
Purchase transaction insight provider Behaviorally has announced the launch of GLADYS, a platform collating and analysing data extracted from the moment of purchase to give clients real-time insights to launch effective packaging designs. More
In London, data-driven CXM company Merkle has launched a dedicated UK and Ireland Salesforce practice, promising clients the tools to optimise their use of data to enhance the customer experience. More
Comscore has announced a comprehensive multi-year agreement with Nexstar Media Group, for cross-platform audience measurement including metrics for Nexstar's local TV, broadcast, network and digital businesses. More
US-based insights agency OvationMR has agreed to acquire AI-driven qual platform Qualibee, for an undisclosed sum More
Digital media measurement company DoubleVerify (DV) has promoted Jack Smith to Chief Innovation Officer, and brought in Alex Valle to fill Smith's previous role as Chief Product Officer. More
Swiss-German-based Customer Experience Management consultancy ISC-CX has promoted Adino Baumann to serve as its authorized representative in Germany, and Sandra Nippraschk to the role of Country Operations Manager for DACH. More
Data and analytics strategy consultancy Cynozure has appointed Louise Hutchins to head up the development of its literacy and culture change services, for clients wanting to make the most of data and of AI. More
Sir Martin Sorrell's digital marketing group S4 Capital has issued a trading update following a 'difficult year' in which revenue declined around 4%, and says it does not expect any improvement in macro-economic conditions this year. More
Veteran digital marketing firm Razorfish, a subsidiary of Publicis, has promoted Sisi Zhang to serve as its Chief Data and Analytics Officer, and hired Matt Lefever as COO. More
In San Francisco, marketing attribution platform Safary has secured $2.4m in a seed round of funding, to help it develop its 'web3 alternative to Google Analytics' and build its team. More
Denmark-based behaviour analytics software firm iMotions has launched version 10 of its platform, promising 'deeper research possibilities with enhancements for setting up, building and managing studies and study design'. More
Unified CX platform provider Nextiva has announced the acquisition of contact center software firm Thrio, promising to bring sophisticated CX technology to all sizes of business. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More
MR and analytics group YouGov has promoted Tom Fisher to Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), aiming to deepen its relationships with blue-chip clients. More
Media measurement and ad currency giant Nielsen has appointed former Buzzfeed exec Carole Robinson as Chief Communications Officer. More
Data sharing and activation platform LiveRamp has agreed to acquire clean room software provider Habu, for cash and stock totalling around $200m. LiveRamp says the deal will 'unlock powerful measurement and analytics use cases' as well as more generally enhancing its collaboration offer. More
Consumer intelligence specialist NIQ has announced a deal with TruAudience, the marketing solutions division of global information and insights company TransUnion, combining FMCG purchase data with identity graph software to offer robust audience modelling. More
London-based Firefish Group has rebranded its quant and data analytics business the numbers lab as 'Firefish Data', reflecting its evolution into an agency delivering 'fully connected, integrated and agile human insights consulting, driven by AI, connected data and new technologies'. More
Consumer intelligence provider NIQ has joined forces with Databricks to develop a Supply Chain Solution for retail clients, combining the latter's Data Intelligence Platform with the former's Connect / Discover platform to promise more accurate demand forecasting and better personalization. More
UK-based food and beverage insights specialist FIS Group has announced the acquisition of Cambridge Market Research, including its Foodfax grocery product assessment database. More
Insight and communities firm Verve has announced eighteen promotions across its locations in London, Manchester, Sydney, Iasi (Romania) and Johannesburg, including the appointment of Kim Howard as Semiotics Research Director. More
UK-based FlexMR has launched an integrated generative AI-based text analysis tool called TextMR, within its InsightHub research platform. More
Ipsos has acquired analytics and data visualization company Jarmany, which is based in Kingston-upon-Thames, UK. More
Australia-based data and insights company Pureprofile is opening new offices in Germany and Portugal, its twelfth and thirteenth worldwide; and has appointed Thorsten Hardtke as Business Development Manager for DACH and Ricardo Cordova for Portugal and Spain. More
Marcoms group Interpublic has announced that Chad Engelgau, CEO of its data and marketing services company Acxiom, will leave at the end of this month, after a total of seventeen years with the company, to pursue an opportunity in the non-profit sector. A search for his successor is underway. More
CRM software giant Salesforce has announced a series of new data and AI-powered tools designed to enhance shopper experience by giving merchandisers and marketers a real-time understanding of customer behavior and preferences. The solutions are based on the firm's Einstein 1 Platform. More
In San Francisco, AI-based personalized content creation specialist Typeface has announced an integration with Microsoft's Dynamics 365 Customer Insights platform, which it says will reduce the complexities of end-to-end campaign management and enhance ROI. More
In the US, TV measurement company iSpot has launched a dedicated streaming measurement offering, with metrics for tracking audience consumption of CTV advertising, as part of its Unified Measurement platform. More
GroupM, WPP's media investment group, has announced it will integrate behavioral data into its Choreograph insights platform via Google's Audience Insights API. More
In Washington, DC, WPP-owned research and analytics consultancy PSB Insights has appointed former Phoenix Marketing International VP Dr. Qi Jiang as Vice President of Advanced Analytics. More
UK-based b2b services group Informa Plc is combining part of its business with US-based b2b purchase intent specialist TechTarget to create a new company in which Informa will hold a majority stake. The British firm will also pay $350m in cash. More
British-based behavioural intelligence platform NumberEight, which provides privacy-focused solutions for advertising, has secured $2.7m in Pre-Series A funding. The money will be used to drive commercial growth, enhance product development and expand in the US. More
Irvine, CA-based tech services firm Trace3 has acquired Midwest consulting and analytics company Tail Wind Informatics, based in Minnetonka, MN, for an undisclosed sum. More
Life sciences data, insight and intelligence specialist Evaluate has acquired London-based J+D Forecasting, which helps pharmaceutical clients accurately forecast market size, growth in key indications and demand for new technologies. More
WPP is examining a possible sale of its remaining stake in Kantar, according to sources quoted by Bloomberg. More
Data collaboration platform InfoSum has launched a new solution called Private Path, aiming to help client organizations securely maximize the value of first-party data outside the clean room environment. More
Piscataway, NJ digital solutions company Marlabs has acquired Indianapolis-based Onebridge, accelerating its growth in AI and data analytics space. More
Former Kantar Chief Data Officer Marc Ryan has joined New York-based SCUBA Analytics in the role of Chief Product Officer. More
GfK has completed the sale of its European Consumer Panel Services business (CPS GfK) to YouGov, a divestment required under competition law as part of the German-based global group's merger with retail data giant NIQ. The deal has been valued at around EUR 315m. More
In Worthington, Ohio, consumer data and insights provider Prosper Insights & Analytics has announced a partnership with business data monetization platform DataPostie, which will make smaller bundles of Prosper's data available on demand via a Consumer Insights Marketplace. More
Customer engagement platform Twilio has appointed a new Chief Executive. Co-founder Jeff Lawson is stepping down from the role and from the Board, and Khozema Shipchandler, formerly President of the Twilio Communications division, succeeds him in both capacities. More
Vortexa, a London-based real-time analytics platform for global energy and freight markets, has completed a $34m Series C funding round, more than doubling investment to date. Funds will help accelerate international expansion and tech development, and enhance services for clients and partners. More
Audience data and omniscreen measurement tech firm SambaTV has announced a partnership with independent cross-media dataset HyphaMetrics, combining data from the former's opted-in devices and the latter's panel. More
Real-time brand tracking and campaign evaluation firm Delineate has appointed former Publicis Sapient exec James Betteley ('JB') as its new Chief Technology Officer. Former CTO James Stewart transitions to a newly created Chief Operating Officer role. More
Kantar Media may be up for sale in 2024 for 'as much as £1bn', according to reports on Sky News. More
Founder Ross McCray is stepping down as CEO of VideoAmp, with former Discovery and Fox exec Peter Liguori joining as Executive Chairman and ex-Nielsen man Peter Bradbury as Chief Commercial and Growth Officer. The company will also cut almost 20% of its staff, according to reports. More
In Pittsburg, USA, retail sector VoC specialist First Insight, Inc. has launched an app called My INSIGHT, promising merchants, designers and planners better understanding of their consumers for purposes including assortment building and rationalization. More
US-based research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) has launched a suite of advisory services to help clients with the adoption of AI at scale; and has appointed company President Steve Hall as its first Chief AI Officer. More
Consumer data giant Experian has announced new partnerships with media marketplace Sonobi and first party commerce data firm Attain. More
New York-based Out-of-Home (OOH) ad services agency Billups, which offers a patented media analytics and measurement platform, is acquiring Brussels-based independent OOH agency Outsight. More
French TV measurement company Médiamétrie has expanded its services to measure viewing across four screens as well as Out-of-Home, as of this month. More
In London, media measurement and optimisation platform Integral Ad Science (IAS) has rolled out Quality Attention, a new product combining media quality, eye tracking and machine learning. The firm says the resulting transparent metrics will help advertisers increase ROI and boost conversions. More
Omniscreen audience measurement tech firm Samba TV has entered a strategic partnership with Snapchat parent Snap Inc., providing ad impact data for the entertainment vertical. More
San Francisco-based conversational search firm Perplexity has raised $73.6m in a Series B round of funding, valuing it at around $520m. money will be used to expand operations and business reach. More
In the US, growth marketing firm Power Digital has announced the acquisition of Endrock Growth and Analytics, which has offices in the US and in South America and focuses on Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), data analytics and science-based 'growth experimentation'. More
The Insights Family, which provides intelligence focused on kids, parents and families, has relocated its Manchester headquarters to a larger space in the city centre, and has launched in the Republic of Ireland - described as its first 'Tier 2' market. More
Multicultural marketing agency Sensis has launched a specialist transportation division, SensisConnect, with a focus on public engagement / consultation and optimising communications. More
Consulting giant Accenture has agreed to acquire the business of media and marketing tech company Jixie, and will integrate it into the tech-powered creative division Accenture Song. Jixie is based in Singapore but focuses on clients in Indonesia. More
Comscore has announced that its Lead Director, Brent Rosenthal, non-executive Chairman until 2022, will retire from the Board and not stand for re-election this year. The firm plans to nominate CEO Jon Carpenter to join the Board in 2024. More
Manchester, UK-based RealityMine, which monitors consumer use of digital devices for behavioural insights, has promoted Graham Dean to serve as its first Chief AI Officer and Ewan Leith to replace him as Chief Technology Officer. More
In Philadelphia, geographic data platform PolicyMap has closed a $3m Series A round, for investment in new sales and marketing expertise to expand its core customer use cases. More
Register (free) for Daily Research News
REGISTER FOR NEWS EMAILS
To receive (free) news headlines by email, please register online
