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That's It for 2025 from DRNO - the news flow is slowing and we're going to take our usual Christmas and New Year break, and return on 5th January as many others seem to be doing. For those who do Christmas: Have a great one! To all of you regardless, thanks for reading this year. More
Joaquim Bretcha has announced he is stepping down as Director General of global research and analytics industry association ESOMAR, citing 'Mission Accomplished'. He took the role in 2023 on an interim basis, during a difficult period for the membership org, but his tenure was later extended. More
Nielsen has extended its longstanding partnership with streaming platform and TV tech company Roku, bringing the latter's data into Nielsen's advanced campaign measurement and outcome solutions. More
Location intelligence platform Adsquare has announced a deal with programmatic agency and tech partner DistrictNine, promising US-based advertisers the ability to measure the real-world impact of their campaigns 'directly' within the latter's platform. More
Shopper insights specialist Behaviorally has appointed Frederick Lim as Risk and Compliance Manager, based in the Philippines. More
In New York, Finny, an AI-powered prospecting and marketing platform for financial advisors, has announced the raising of $17 million in Series A funding. The funds will be used to expand engineering and product teams, accelerate product development and strengthen go-to-market activities. More
Food science firm Kerry has opened a new testing and innovation centre in the Philippines, including labs and test kitchens. More
Ipsos has launched Synthesio GEO, a tool mapping the representation of categories and brands in GenAI-based search, including narratives, rankings and the sources driving them. More
New York company InfiniteWatch, provider of an AI-native platform for intelligence on customer interactions, has launched out of stealth mode with $4 million in pre-seed funding. More
Stagwell omnichannel media agency Assembly has promoted Bridget Hopkins to the role of Europe CEO. More
London-based, AI-moderated consumer research firm Bolt Insight has appointed former Kantar and Suzy researcher Glendy Concepcion Rodriguez as a Research Manager, based in New York. More
In Tel Aviv, creator management and intelligence platform Humanz has announced a $15 million funding round, together with the acquisitions of US firms Ubiquitous and Bambassadors. More
Customer Experience Management specialist Sprinklr has appointed Michele Meyers as Chief Accounting Officer, starting on 5th January. More
Customer engagement platform MoEngage has raised another $180 million as part of its Series F round, adding to $100 million secured just last month. Funds will be used to accelerate innovation for the Merlin AI suite, scale go-to-market teams in North America and EMEA, and explore strategic acquisitions. More
Online visibility management platform Semrush has launched an app in ChatGPT, allowing marketers, SEO teams and marketing analyst clients to access its live data directly within the pioneering GenAI interface. More
Leeds, UK-based STRAT7 Researchbods has appointed former Human8 quallie Bri McIntosh as Client Director, strengthening its capabilities in storytelling and complex analysis, and adding to its financial services offer. More
Lithuanian reputation analysis company Repsense has closed a EUR 2 million Seed round, to be used for developing its information analytics capabilities. More
In Vancouver, BC, Canada, Rival Group has appointed John M. Cassaday to its Board of Directors. Cassaday is founding President and CEO of broadcasting group Corus Entertainment Inc. More
In Boston, US, AI-powered marketplace optimization platform Teikametrics has announced the launch of Artificial Retail Intelligence (ARI), a proprietary engine designed to boost seller success on Walmart, Amazon and TikTok at a time when AI is creating new challenges for brands looking to maximize attention. More
London-based property and household intelligence company Outra has announced the appointment of Fred Jones as CEO, a role he will combine with his existing duties as CEO of sister brand Upstix. More
Fortia Insight, a specialist in economic, social and environmental development research and consulting, has appointed UK transport policy veteran John Siraut as Director of Transport Economics. More
Data collaboration platform LiveRamp has added two major publishers to its network: multimedia news brand Daily Mail, and sports streaming platform DAZN. More
In Tampa, Florida, shopper insights firm Vista Grande has hired Fina Pecoraro and Katherine Henke as Senior Market Research Managers, and Lettisha Omo as a Market Research Analyst. More
US-based Healthcare Research Worldwide (HRW) has appointed Victoria Kaulback as SVP and Julia Ingram as Associate Vice President. More
In London, product claims checker Provenance has appointed former dunnhumby exec Sarah Arana-Morton as CEO, succeeding Phil Verey. More
Savanta has appointed Jane Price as CMO, Global Head of Marketing, working remotely from Boston. More
Survey and form software firm SurveyMonkey has appointed Lance Ludman as Chief Financial Officer, replacing Rich Sullivan who left the company in September. More
Media measurement and optimization platform Integral Ad Science (IAS) has unveiled an AI-powered assistant called IAS Agent, promising faster campaign activation, instant and deeper insights, and performance optimization at scale. More
Digital ad management software firm Fluency has closed a $40m Series A round of funding, which it will use to enhance its automation and agentic AI capabilities, and to accelerate new integrations with publisher and technology partners. More
2CV has announced five promotions: Matt Holt and Nicola Catchpole to Research Director, Emily Jackson and Emily Gunn to Associate Director, and Rosie Glenn to Research Executive. More
Databricks has confirmed the completion of another round of funding - a rare Series L - amounting to more than $4 billion and valuing the company at around $134 billion. More
UK-based strategic insights firm Truth Consulting has been acquired by Paritee, a European advisory and communications group, from previous owners Instinctif. Truth says the deal will strengthen its capabilities, extend its international footprint and increase its impact for clients. More
Comscore has enhanced its cross-platform reporting suite with two new features: streaming audio measurement; and expanded social media reporting with campaign-level metrics from Facebook, Instagram and Meta Audience Network. The firm has also renamed its CCR solution. More
Stockholm, Sweden-based knowledge sharing and decision-making platform Stravito has appointed Stephen Smyth as Chief Product Officer, and Lori Mills as SVP of Sales North America More
In the US, the Insights Association has named M/A/R/C Research SVP Alice Butler as Chair-Elect of its National Board, starting 1st January 2026. More
In San Diego, California, full service insights firm Luth Research has appointed cultural anthropologist Ivan Valdez as Vice President of Client Solutions. More
In the US, applied behavioral science insights agency BEESY has boosted its AI and research divisions with three new hires: Noor Kamal as Senior Data Engineer, Brittany Puran as Senior Research Associate, and Heela Bangash as a Software Engineer, bringing its total net hiring this year to eighteen. More
Birmingham, UK-based social research agency M.E.L Research has recently appointed Michael Keating and Roisin Coleman as Research Managers, and promoted Tamsin Maries to Senior Research Manager, strengthening its Insights Team during its 40th anniversary year. More
Visual search and discovery platform Pinterest has agreed to acquire CTV performance ad platform tvScientific, and will combine its 'intent-rich' audience signals with the acquired company's CTV engine, allowing marketers to measure how TV lifts the results of their performance ad campaigns. More
Nielsen has announced it is extending its partnership with independent media agency Horizon, to expand advanced audience and ID matching capabilities within blu, Horizon's proprietary AI-driven marketing platform. More
Quest Mindshare has appointed Stephanie Douglass as VP, Growth; and Shekhar Kumar, Sumit Bindal and Anubhav Das as Project Managers. More
Kantar has appointed Greg Friend as SVP, Head of Media Product for North America, based in Chicago. More
In Los Angeles, OOH advertising driver data platform Stic has raised $10 million in a Bridge funding round, with which to expand operations across more than thirty US states and Canada, deepen relationships with advertisers and strengthen its operational capabilities in new markets. More
Research software provider Fathom has launched an AI assistant called Fathomer, extending its existing thematic open-ended coding offer into a continuous research 'engine' answering questions and synthesizing reports from multiple surveys, including longitudinal analysis over time. More
US firm MarketCast has appointed Lana Busignani as Chief Executive, Paul Shortley as Chief Revenue Officer and Kerel Cooper as Chief Marketing Officer. The company says the new senior team's arrival coincides with it gearing up to launch a new ad testing platform called Total Effect. More
Outset has raised Series B funding totalling $30m, just six months after its $17m Series A round. The firm says the money will allow it to invest more deeply in its core AI-moderated research platform, and accelerate the launch of what it claims it 'the world's first' AI-native Customer Experience Management platform. More
Arkansas, US-based retail data platform Crisp has completed a $26m Series B1 round of funding, with which it plans to grow 'aggressively', adding new platform features and functionality, expanding its data partnerships, investing in its flagship AI Agent product, and recruiting globally. More
Early-stage VC fund Matrix, previously a backer of firms including Apple, FedEx, Canva and Oculus, has led a $6m injection of seed funds for Channel3, a US firm which is building a connected database of 'every product on the Internet.' Funds will help to grow the engineering team and boost product development. More
Behavioral research and innovation firm InsightsNow has appointed Shannon McGuire as Vice President of Enterprise Solutions. More
In New Orleans, data quality and research firm RepData has enhanced the fraud protection capabilities of its centralized DIY sampling platform Research Desk. The latest advances help to detect and block LLM agents, automated trackers and other forms of scripted survey automation. More
The Board of eye tracking and attention computing pioneer Tobii has chosen a new CEO - former Ericsson exec Fadi Pharaon will take up the role from 1st January next year. Departing CEO Anand Srivatsa will leave a month later after a period of transition. More
London-based, AI-moderated consumer research firm Bolt Insight has announced a £7 million funding round, with which to 'evolve beyond being a research provider.' In addition to global expansion, this entails developing 'the Assistant AI Chief Insights Officer', a real-time intelligence and decision-making partner. More
Global tech consulting, cloud and AI provider IBM is to acquire data streaming firm Confluent, for $31 cash per share, valuing the business at around $11 billion. More
Retail data giant Circana has promoted Ian Hamilton to President of General Merchandise, expanding his current role and effective immediately. Former President of General Merchandise Joanne Sackett, who joined The NPD Group in 2005, will leave at the end of the month to pursue new opportunities. More
In Louisville, Colorado, survey and CX tech company Alchemer has extended its Pulse AI-powered insights automation platform, adding features that transforms open-text customer feedback 'from anywhere' into actionable intelligence. More
Twenty-four-year IDC veteran Tom Vavra has joined full service firm Stratega Market Research as Customer Success Director, based in the Czech capital Prague. More
Cint has appointed Phil Ahad as Managing Director, Data, tasked with creating and leading a 'Data' business unit which will channel its existing data assets and emerging tech to create new options for clients. More
Predictive advertising company Cadent has acquired VuePlanner, which provides YouTube video ad planning, optimization and measurement. Both firms are based in New York. More
Ipsos has announced that Group CFO Dan Lévy will shortly step down, in order to pursue as-yet unspecified new opportunities outside the company. The global group will immediately begin the search for a replacement, with Olivier Champourlier filling the role on an interim basis. More
In Hong Kong, full service research and strategy agency Cimigo Consulting has announced the appointment of former Intuit Partner Clare Lui as Executive Director. More
Ad impact forecasting specialist DAIVID has partnered with CreativeX to launch Datalink, a 'backbone' framework designed to connect attention, emotion, brand recall and other 'creative data' in a single dashboard. Other partners include Kantar and attention expert Amplified. More
TV and streaming data firm ThinkAnalytics has appointed James Shears as Senior Vice President of Advertising, leading global strategy and commercial expansion for the firm's advertising solutions. More
In Seattle, ad optimization platform Scowtt has announced $12 million in Series A funding. The firm uses advanced predictive AI models to help advertisers optimize their paid campaigns across all major platforms. More
AI-driven behavioral data company Behavix has announced a partnership with alternative data specialist Maiden Century, integrating the former's behavioral signals into the latter's analytical and predictive products for financial professionals. More
Aaru, an AI-powered prediction engine which simulates consumer behavior and preferences, has raised a Series A round of funding valuing the company at up to $1 billion, according to reports. More
UK video ad currency body Barb has officially launched the Barb Data Hub, a cloud-based system for storing, processing and distributing its viewing data to the industry. The organisation's Panel Plus prototypes, Ads Hub and API will be integrated with the Hub. More
In Rochester, NY, digital marketing software platform Semify has announced the acquisition of Hong Kong-based reporting software firm Dragon Metrics. More
A new Nielsen agreement with Amazon will make proprietary audience segments from the former's Marketing Cloud (NMC) available across the latter's Ads marketplace and its own Marketing Cloud. More
India-based Acutus AI has launched ZCoded, a digital twin platform allowing brands and agencies to test creative ideas, pricing and experiences prior to launch. More
Tech firm Rankfor.AI has secured an undisclosed amount of VC funding, with which to accelerate adoption of its AI search ranking technology among local and global brands, and to grow its network of partner agencies. More
Paris-based customer engagement software specialist Brevo has closed a EUR 500m funding round, with which to support continued investment in AI, accelerate US growth, and drive M&A activity. More
Global consulting firm Accenture has announced a strategic investment in WEVO, an AI-powered customer research platform offering a combination of synthetic personas and real user research to aid product and concept launch and optimization. Terms were not disclosed. More
New York-based digital media measurement company DoubleVerify (DV) has appointed Stuart Flint, a veteran of TikTok, Yahoo and Microsoft, as Managing Director for EMEA. More
Full service MR and data collection agency Ironwood Insights Group has appointed MR and public opinion polling veteran Ed Ledek as Director of Account Management. More
MMR Research Associates has appointed Christian Wright as an Account Executive, while Miguel Beckles has rejoined the company as Senior Director of Client Services. More
PubMatic and BrightLine have announced a partnership bringing the latter's interactive and addressable CTV ad formats to the former's unified programmatic platform. Among other benefits, this promises advertisers the ability to connect engagement to verified purchase outcomes, at scale. More
US consumer research firm PSB Insights has unveiled Narrative Intelligence, an AI tool pulling metrics and models from real conversations, avoiding the need for a structured questionnaire and providing what it says are superior outputs. More
In the US, global location intelligence provider Unacast has announced $28 million in new financing, which it says will accelerate its product roadmap, enhance the quality and transparency of its solutions, expand its go-to-market efforts and fund acquisitions. More
STRAT7 has opened a specialist business dedicated to the life sciences industry, bringing together its established experts in the area and built on twenty years of experience. The unit will be led by Lizzie Eckardt, working globally with Hannah Potter and Matt Nulty. More
In Seattle, market insights platform Discuss has announced three new capabilities designed to speed up the answering of business questions. They include the beta launch of Virtual Personas. More
In New York, agentic data platform Supper has announced an $11 million seed funding round. The money will accelerate development and expansion of its platform, which allows non-technical staff conversational access to data within their own business. More
E-commerce marketplace tech company Pattern Group has acquired ROI Hunter, a performance-driven retail media platform which brings product, marketing and merchandising data together to help clients make informed, SKU-level advertising decisions across platforms such as Google, Meta and Snap. More
In Connecticut, USA, full service MR firm Touchstone Research has enhanced its offering with the launch of Mock Jury and Legal Research Support Services, promising law firms, trial consultants and corporate legal teams deeper insight into how jurors interpret case materials and legal arguments. More
Stagwell has appointed Jonathan Gardner as CEO of Harris Quest, the suite of MR and brand management tools within The Harris Poll and the group's Marketing Cloud. More
Paris-based panels and research tech firm Bilendi has extended its panel coverage to new markets including eight in eastern Europe, for a global total of 44 countries. More
Guideline has added fully customizable dashboards to its AI Agent, allowing users to save conversational insights in a collaborative workspace, and continue adding, analyzing and editing in real time. This provides 'a continuous view of the market' and turns one-off questions into a scalable intelligence layer. More
Consulting and marketing firm Marketbridge has appointed Bob Ray as its new Chief Executive Officer, succeeding John Shomaker, who will remain actively involved as an advisor. More
Ascentra Labs, which develops AI tools for consultants and corporate strategy professionals, has secured $2 million in seed funding, with which to expand its product suite and support its expansion in the US. More
In Vancouver, Canada, conversational research specialist Rival Technologies has launched the 'Innovation Insiders Program', an educational initiative designed to help market research teams at brands move 'from AI theory to hands-on transformation.' More
US movie theatre ad platform National CineMedia is teaming up with global information and insights company TransUnion to allow advertisers a view of how cinema ads contribute to performance alongside digital, CTV and social channels. More
Sydney-based OOH verification specialist Veridooh has appointed Drew Weicker joins as Head of Agencies and Client Partnerships and Lindsay Leskanic as Account Director, both in North America; and fractional Marketing Director Zoe Jones and Operations Director David Divehall, based in the UK. More
Barcelona-based Uxia, which allows b2b clients to automate user testing with AI-generated synthetic users, has announced a pre-seed funding round of around EUR 1 million. The funds will fuel product development, talent acquisition and international expansion. More
In the US, ad measurement tech company VideoAmp has two new board members: Jonathan Gear was most recently CEO of Clarivate, and previously President and CFO of IHS Markit; while Sari Granat was President and COO of Chainalysis, after serving as IHS Markit's Chief Admin Officer and General Counsel. More
In Seattle, Alkemi has announced the launch of DataLab for Data Providers, an AI-native platform on which companies can publish interactive, conversational demos of their datasets without exposing raw data or intellectual property. More
Marcoms holding group Havas has acquired Unnest, a French firm focused on designing, building and deploying data platforms. The buy reinforces data, tech and analytics arm CSA, and aligns with its Converged.AI strategy to help brands navigate transformation challenges. More
Research agency Convenience Measures Australia (CMA) has announced a partnership with financial transaction data firm Fonto, to produce syndicated reports and insight products tracking Australia's Petrol & Convenience store (P&C) sector. More
WPP has officially opened a third London 'campus' office, in a building formerly the headquarters of the Financial Times, One Southwark Bridge. With around 3,000 occupants, the office will provide a central hub for WPP Media and its brands Choreograph, EssenceMediacom and Wavemaker. More
In the UK, The Young Foundation has named Dr Susan Griffiths as its next CEO, starting in March next year. Helen Goulden stepped down from the role in September after eight years, and COO Sean Croghan will continue as Interim CEO until Griffiths' arrival. More
Czech company Ranketta, which tracks the ranking of brands and products in AI search results and advises clients on improving them, has secured EUR 1 million in pre-seed funding. The money will allow it to enter the US market, extend integrations with Shopify, and recruit for engineering, product and sales roles. More
British-based agency Disrupt Insight has appointed Sandy McDougall as Head of Media Effectiveness. More
US firm M/A/R/C Research has recently hired former NIQ and Savanta researcher Randi Etzkin as VP of Insights & Strategies. More
Synthetic data company Fairgen has released Fairgen Check, a new feature promising insights teams better protection against fraud and low-quality responses. More
Antipodean insights firm TRA has promoted Terri Hall to the new position of Managing Partner, Australia, to to support what it describes as 'ambitious growth plans across the Australian market.' More
Space planning and retail analytics firm Nuqleous has appointed Jennie Vandegrift as Chief Customer Officer, and named Dan Gallagher to Director of Customer Success. More
In New York, data firm Zeta Global has completed the acquisition of the enterprise software business of Marigold, for a total maximum consideration of $325m. The buy enlarges its global footprint and strengthens the Zeta Marketing Platform, including loyalty, omni-channel engagement and personalization tools. More
Insight consultancy Basis Global, headquartered in London, has opened an office in Manchester, to be led by John Portsmouth, Director of Consumer. The firm also has three locations in the US. More
In Madrid, GenAI-based data handling platform Anyformat has announced a EUR 3.3 million seed funding round, which it will use to accelerate product development, expand its engineering and product teams, and build a dedicated sales team focused on Spain and the European Union. More
Agriculture and animal health specialist Kynetec has recently appointed former Bayer data science leader Ines Kapphan as Chief Operating Officer, Agriculture. More
Technology and services analyst HFS Research has opened its first Middle East office, in Dubai, supporting fast-growing demand from organizations 'across the region'. More
Dynata's Mark Lepine has been promoted to Managing Director, International, and will be relocating from Hong Kong to Madrid in the New Year. More
Bergamo, Italy-based full service insights agency MPS Evolving Research has appointed Kantar research veteran Abhi Roy as International Client Director, with a remit to grow the business worldwide. More
Genius Sports, which serves as a data, tech and broadcast partner for the global sports, betting and media ecosystem, has announced a partnership with the sports division of Publicis, aiming to 'reshape the future of fan engagement' via its proprietary sports advertising platform FANHub. More
UK-based trade body the ASC (Association for Survey Computing) has launched the 'Research Technologist Hall of Fame', an ongoing initiative to recognise, celebrate and honour outstanding contributors to the field. Ipsos will help to support the costs of running it. More
Data and insights company Pureprofile has appointed Tom de Vogel as Business Development Manager for mainland Europe, aiming to solidify its presence across the Benelux region and drive a broader strategy of expansion in key European markets. More
London-based digital production company Little Dot Studios has launched a proprietary platform called Channel Intelligence Partner (ChIP), 'built by YouTube experts for YouTube experts,' providing real-time intelligence to help users grow and optimize their channels. More
Consumer understanding firm Numerator has announced the introduction of a number of AI-based features focused on making data exploration more intuitive, through guided, connected and automated workflows. More
Birmingham, UK-based social research and behavioural insights agency M.E.L Research has promoted Elliot Simmonds to Commercial Director, with a seat on its Board. More
SAMY has appointed long-time Havas exec Anabela Bonuccelli as MD, Operations & Clients for the US, based in Miami. More
In Boston, MA, behavioral science consultancy Protobrand has announced the hiring of Jack Gilboy as Senior Vice President, Growth Strategist and Client Lead. More
Media and marketing group Merchantwise is integrating two of its subsidiaries, RQ Media and Three Scoops, into a third - data, creative and performance marketing agency Jaywing - which will now boast a headcount of 110 across three Australian cities. More
Kantar Media has appointed former WPP Chief Exec Mark Read as Chairman of its new Board of Directors. More
The mega-merger of global marcoms groups Omnicom and IPG should complete within a few days, after the EU unconditionally approved the union - the final regulatory hurdle. More
In Washington, D.C., youth surveys and data company Generation Lab has appointed former Savanta CEO Vin DeRobertis as its new President. The firm is preparing to launch a behavioral data offering which it says will compete with synthetic data. More
Marketing group Stagwell is moving employees from a number of companies including HarrisX, Assembly and Allison, into a new APAC headquarters campus building in Singapore. More
In London, persona-based advertising firm Ogury has announced the hiring of former GroupM Nexus leader Nicolas Bidon as its new Chief Executive Officer, from next week. He succeeds Geoffroy Martin, who was CEO for just under three years. More
In California, a former content lead for YouTube no.1 MrBeast and an engineer from data company Palantir are among the founders of Palo, a new platform helping short-form video content creators maximise their potential through real-time analytics, content research and pattern-spotting. More
Real-time data platform Redpanda has appointed former Duo Security and Cisco exec Jennifer Lawrence as its new Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). More
Seattle company BluePill has raised $6m in seed funding, for a platform using digital twins to predict consumer reaction to new products, ideas and campaigns. More
Ipsos has expanded its Global Influentials (IGI) survey for 2025, promising 'the most comprehensive look yet' at cross-media consumption, brand preferences and attitudes among the top 20% of household incomes and company leaders. Enhancements include new LatAm markets and deep dives into specific sectors. More
Global consumer intelligence provider NIQ has announced a deal with Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), to assess the impact of cross-platform advertising across linear TV and Amazon Ads inventory in Italy. The partnership will use data from NIQ's Italian single-source consumer panel, Sinottica. More
In the US, ad analytics company ABCS Insights has announced a partnership with performance marketing platform and mobile shopping app Ibotta, allowing CPG brands to measure the growth benefits of campaigns on the platform. More
San Francisco-based Peek, which describes itself as 'the operating system for experiences', has announced two acquisitions and the raising of $70m in series D funding. More
In the US, digital consumer experience specialist Cro Metrics has launched an AI chat feature called Ask Iris, giving companies a new conversation-based interface with their experimentation data. More
Online research marketplace PureSpectrum has appointed Research on Mobile founder Nader Kobeissi to lead its entry into the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. More
US firm Sprinklr and Spanish-based SAMY have expanded a global partnership bringing together experience management and social media marketing. The firms will team up on go-to-market strategy, integrated delivery, and ongoing innovation. More
German purchase intent and market validation specialist Horizon has partnered with Barcelona-based NOBA Ventures, which focuses on 'business prototyping' - including opportunity framing, concept development and testing. The deal promises clients more robust and contextual decision data. More
US-based custom MR firm M/A/R/C Research has partnered with animal health sector insights specialist Animalytix, to launch The Parallax Initiative, a platform combining qual and quant insights and datasets for trend prediction, CX and innovation. More
In Toronto, martech firm StackAdapt has expanded its Account-Based Marketing (ABM) capabilities via new integrations with Bombora, Lead Forensics and Leadspace. More
AI-powered video analysis and monetization specialist KERV.ai has closed a Series B funding round of unspecified amount. Funds will be used for a wide range of growth objectives including R&D, recruitment, infrastructure, partnership and expansion into new markets. More
Software giant Adobe has announced an agreement to buy Boston-based brand visibility platform Semrush Holdings, Inc. for around $1.9bn in cash, adding SEO and GEO expertise to help clients enhance their brand visibility and expand audience reach. More
Automated consumer insights pioneer Zappi has launched the Brand Health Tracker, a continuous measurement system promising an actionable, single platform view of the impact of advertising and innovation efforts on brand health in a single platform. More
In Montreal, Leger has announced the acquisition of fellow Canadian insights firm Element54, a specialist in advertising research. More
In Des Moines, Iowa, branding and marketing agency Meyocks has opened a specialist market research company, Meyocks Research + Insights, offering both custom and off-the-shelf research solutions and led by Beth Ann Boyd and Whitney Hayes. More
UK-headquartered firm STRAT7 has launched an AI moderator called Maya, built by the group's Whycatcher developers and designed to have natural, adaptive conversations with real people through the company's existing WhatsApp integration. More
AppsFlyer has announced the launch of eight new products for the analysis of business data and the provision of actionable intelligence. More
Realeyes has spun off its Adverteyes offering into a separate company, focused on creative intelligence to optimise ad impact. The move will allow Realeyes to focus on its Vision AI identity solution, Verifeye. More
AI-native quant research platform Outward Intelligence (OI) has appointed former Harris Poll CEO Will Johnson as its new Chief Executive. More
Causal AI specialist Alembic has secured $145 million in Series B and growth funding, led by Prysm Capital and Accenture. It will also extend its collaboration with Accenture to help clients 'dynamically measure marketing effectiveness and use AI-driven insights to boost revenue.' More
In New York, research and advisory firm Phronesis Partners has appointed John McMurray as SVP Client Success, and Mike Liccion as VP Sales and Client Success. More
In the US, full service firm Radius Insights has appointed recently retired former P&G executive Michael Lancor to its Board of Directors. More
London-based Firefish has enhanced its bespoke AI-powered qualitative tool QualifyAI, which is now voice-enabled. More
Just three months after its last major funding round, data management and integration platform Databricks is reportedly in talks for another investment, which would up its valuation to more than $130 billion. More
Justin Sampson is to step down as Chief Executive of UK video audience measurement body Barb during 2026, after more than thirteen years in the role. The ad currency organisation says it is beginning a search for his replacement. More
Global consumer intelligence provider NIQ has reported organic, constant currency revenue growth of 5.8% to $1,052.6 million in the third quarter, and also increased profit - adjusted EBITDA rose 24.9% to $223.7 million. More
Nielsen's MD for Media in the Pacific region Monique Perry will sue the company for unfair dismissal, according to Australia-based media news outlet Mumbrella. Perry, who joined the company as an Account Manager in 1996, was dismissed in October, two weeks after her husband, the firm's lead data engineer. More
Data, research and insights professional association ESOMAR has appointed Patrick de Regt as Chief Operating Officer (COO), based in Amsterdam and reporting directly to the Board. More
European data collection firm Norstat has appointed former Harris Interactive and Dynata researcher Raphaëël Clavé as Managing Director of its French business. More
NIQ has rolled out its enhanced FMCG E-commerce Measurement Solution in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, giving retailers a single, harmonized view of e-commerce sales performance, complementing and compatible with NIQ's Retail Measurement Service (RMS). More
Full-service conversational research specialist Reach3 Insights has announced a series of promotions across its North American offices. They include Mackenzie Hollister, who becomes a VP in Chicago, and Breanne Armstrong who is now VP for Financial Services & Technology. More
AI-powered research platform Discuss has been acquired by Voxco owner Terminus Capital Partners, and will be merged with Voxco under the leadership of the latter's CEO Daniel Graff-Radford. The combined company will be know as Discuss. More
In the US, B2B revenue intelligence platform 6sense has launched RevvyAI, an 'intelligent command center' for client interaction with data and insights for GTM, described as 'the most significant update in the company's history.' More
Data collaboration platform InfoSum, recently acquired by WPP, is rolling out a new product called Beacons, intended to help companies maximize the value of their data. More
Caller identification and spam blocking software giant Truecaller has teamed up with Kantar and other partners to launch an Advertising Effectiveness Measurement Suite, called ROI of Trust. The tool evaluates and quantifies ad impact in terms of attention, trust, and confidence in verified environments. More
AI analytics platform Amplitude has rolled out AI Feedback, a customer feedback tool using a proprietary LLM process to turn raw input into prioritized, actionable insights. The software was originally developed by Kraftful, which Amplitude acquired in July this year. More
US-based WisdomAI has raised $50 million in Series A financing, for further development of its AI Data Analyst, which helps users to deliver real-time insights from structured, semi-structured and unstructured data across the enterprise. More
In Chicago, retail data giant Circana has announced a significant expansion of its convenience store channel coverage, powered by its 'Integrated Fresh' solution. The firm says the upgrade will provide more comprehensive insights into total perishable sales across US convenience-store retail chains. More
Numerator, the Kantar firm now incorporating Worldpanel, is launching its own consumer-centric measure of inflation, making use of its verified, item-level retail purchase data. The service will be 'similar to' official government stats but can be viewed alongside the firm's data on the evolution of buying behavior. More
In the UK, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is planning to further narrow the focus of its publications, to concentrate more resource on guaranteeing the quality of core economic and social statistics. The ongoing policy has seen the number of ONS outputs halve in the last five years. More
YouGov is launching a new Norwegian panel solution, combining passive data collection with survey data to provide clients with consumer attitudes alongside observed behavior as it happens. More
Nielsen has appointed former Netflix and Hulu ad sales leader Peter Naylor in the new role of Chief Client Officer. More
Los Angeles-based video games development optimization and monetization platform Xsolla has announced a new mobile-focused Server-to-Server (S2S) integration with Airbridge, a unified measurement platform promising performance tracking and attribution for mobile marketers. More
In the US, healthcare intelligence company Konovo has launched Survey Studio, which allows clients to design and script 'therapeutic-specific' healthcare surveys 'in minutes, not weeks'. The new tool is powered by agentic AI and has been developed in partnership with DIY survey software company Metaforms. More
Denise Turner, who died on Friday aged just 58, was a prominent and popular UK media researcher whose roles included Chief Executive of the OOH currency provider Route, Director of Research and Insight at Newsworks, and most recently Research Director at ad industry association the IPA. More
In San Francisco, data collaboration platform LiveRamp has reported total quarterly revenue up 8% to $200 million, and non-GAAP operating income up 10% to $45 million. More
Charlotte Lock has joined British high street retail stalwart Boots, as SVP for Customer and Marketing. Her experience includes a range of customer, data, loyalty and audience roles at John Lewis, the Co-op and the BBC. More
In New York, ad platform Innovid has launched a 'superagent' called Orchestrator, along with a suite of AI agents which automate core functions across its services, including ad creative, delivery, measurement and optimization. More
Advantage Group International, a provider of business-to-business engagement solutions, has appointed Adam Aronson as Vice President, Product, leading strategy and development for its global product portfolio. More
Kantar has appointed Boston Consulting Group (BCG) MD and Partner Kristi Rogers in the new role of President, Global Solutions, based in London and starting in January. More
In San Diego, California, full service insights firm Luth Research has announced the promotion of longstanding execs Janeen Hazel and Sean Miller to Senior EVP roles, and the appointment of Margie Strickland as Vice President of Client Solutions. More
Real-time marketing intelligence company Mortar AI has launched MMM Pulse, a new solution measuring the uplift provided for brands by specific campaigns, channels or experiments, with results in 'just a few weeks.' More
In New York, business process analyst Parable has raised $16.5 million in Seed funding, with which to roll out and develop its software helping clients to understand how teams use their time. The platform highlights potential for AI transformation, then helps to measure its impact. More
US company Research Results, a specialist in outsourced MR services, has partnered with AI-based fraud detection platform Verisoul, to promise its clients high quality, verified participants for research studies. More
New York-based digital media measurement company DoubleVerify has reported revenue of $188.6m, up 11%, for the third quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was a healthy $65.9 million, a margin of 35%. More
In New York, AI-native decision intelligence platform Aily Labs has announced an $80 million funding round, with which to accelerate its global roll-out, expand its presence across pharmaceuticals, retail and consumer goods sectors, and further develop its autonomous AI agent ecosystem. More
In Australia, research and innovation platform Ideally has appointed former DDB Head of Marketing Lindsay Bennett as Global Communications and Content Lead. More
Streaming pioneer Netflix has unveiled a new metric, 'Monthly Active Viewers' or MAVs, approximating the number of people reached by its ads. More
Survey software firm QuestionPro has announced a partnership with analysis platform Caplena, promising 'clearer, smarter and more impactful' customer experience insights. More
Boston, US-based online visibility platform Semrush Holdings has reported 15% revenue growth to $112.1m in the third quarter, but made a loss from operations of $4.5m, compared to income of $1.7m a year earlier. More
In the US, video audience measurement firm iSpot has announced a partnership with search intelligence provider Captify, allowing clients to integrate search outcome data segments with always-on audience measurement for TV and video advertising. More
Customer engagement platform MoEngage has secured $100m in funding, with which to accelerate product innovation, fuel global expansion, and strengthen its teams across North America and EMEA. More
Insights-led consulting and marketing firm Bovitz has appointed high profile ad industry exec Cheryl Berman as Chief Creative Officer, helping to shape strategy in both the insights and marketing services practices. More
Survey software firm Peekator has launched a new version of its platform, promising a combination of 'modern & beautiful design' with advanced features and AI capabilities. More
Sir Martin Sorrell's S4 Capital has reported third quarter revenue down 1.0% on a like-for-like basis (LFL), a great improvement on the first half of the year when the fall just reached double figures. More
Copenhagen-based behavioural research platform iMotions has released a new version of its software promising to help users go 'faster and deeper' by means of advanced visualizations, smarter automation and many other new features. More
Marketing agency IDX has made half a dozen senior appointments, and launched two new global functions or 'directorates', Customer Success and Customer Delivery. The new units bring together more than 500 of its staff worldwide and are part of the 'Project Elevate' company-wide transformation program. More
Financial sector web and mobile experience analytics firm Glassbox has acquired Anodot, which uses machine-learning analytics to provide real-time anomaly detection. More
MrWeb, the publisher of Daily Research News, has appointed Sophie Goddard as Sales Director, focused on developing the firm's advertising client base both for the news emails and online presence. The latter now includes both mrweb.com and the InsightClopedia (IC). More
DIY surveys pioneer SurveyMonkey was promoted two longstanding employees to head up newly combined teams. Katie Miserany becomes Chief Communications Officer and Global Head of Marketing, while Sabrina Leblanc is promoted to SVP of Sales and Customer Success. More
In Copenhagen, Kantar Media has announced an agreement with TRP Research, making its TechEdge software division the exclusive global technology provider for TRP's AudEx data visualisation and reporting platform. More
In London, CTV merchandising analytics platform Looper Insights has launched a solution called the Sports Visibility Tracker, allowing sports streamers, broadcasters and rights holders to verify campaign compliance, measure performance and optimise live event promotions across connected TV devices in real time. More
Comscore has announced a partnership with Polaris I/O, whose MarketView solution identifies new and expanding businesses across local markets, and adds validated contact information as well as larger cross-market opportunities and enterprise-level account insights. More
Gartner has announced revenue of $1.524bn for the third quarter, an increase of 1.2% - exceedingly modest by its own high standards. Profit also stalled - adjusted EBITDA of $347m was up 1.9% as reported but down 0.8% on an FX neutral basis. More
Cultural intelligence company Collage Group has announced a long-planned leadership transition, with co-founder David Wellisch becoming Executive Chairman from today, and passing the CEO role to new arrival Kevin Daly, previously Chief Sales Officer of Toluna. More
In the UK, three former employees of shopper insights company Behaviorally - Grant Montague, William Reeve and Adrian Sanger - have launched a new consumer insights company, Fore Consulting. More
YouGov has appointed long-time Nielsen employee Michelle Gelman as Chief Data Officer, a new role leading the development of the company's data portfolio, supporting its broader growth and innovation initiatives. More
Comscore has reported results for the third quarter, with revenue up a fraction of one percent to $88.9m, and adjusted EBITDA down around 10% to $11.0m. More
Point of purchase insights specialist Behaviorally has appointed Clare Chai as Vice President, Customer Success, based in its Shanghai office. More
UK-based System1 has relaunched its 'Test Your Ad Competitive Edge' product, based on what the firm says it the world's largest open creative effectiveness database. Analysis of more than 100,000 ads promises brands 'a comprehensive, real-time view of their category and inspiration from best-in-class creative.' More
In the US, experience management specialist Qualtrics has announced two senior appointments designed to accelerate its development of AI. Mark Hammond joins the company as SVP, Core AI, while Jeff Gelfuso is promoted to SVP, Chief Product Experience Officer. More
Digital advertising ID provider ID5 has acquired TrueData, a US-based identity graph company. More
Kantar and attention measurement specialist Adelaide are partnering with Uber Advertising, to integrate Adelaide's AU metric and Kantar's brand lift data into a framework measuring attention specifically for the platform. More
Recollective has launched a tool called Conversation Task, based around an adaptive AI moderator, allowing researchers 'to engage in authentic one-on-one dialogue with hundreds or even thousands of participants simultaneously in any language.' More
In London, GWI has announced an integration with Anthropic's AI assistant Claude, allowing its clients to access its representative, bias-checked audience data data from within the Claude chat interface. The firm says integrations with Salesforce and ChatGPT are also in the pipeline. More
Tech research and advisory firm ISG has reported third quarter revenues of $62.4m, up more than 7% in like-for-like terms; and adjusted EBITDA up 19% to $8.4m. More
In London, data and analytics consultancy Cynozure Group has appointed kiwi Joe Roberts as Marketing Manager, and recent graduate Nadia Akram as Marketing Assistant. More
In Frankfurt, small business data platform provider Scavenger AI has raised EUR 2.5m in seed funding, with which to accelerate product development and expand across Europe. More
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