Goetz Leaves OTX to Start Screen Engine

Kevin Goetz has quit OTX, where he was President of the Worldwide Motion Picture Research Group, to start his own research, marketing and consulting firm, Screen Engine LLC. Vincent Bruzzese fills his place at OTX, which says it is planning expansion.

The new firm is located at Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills and will offer screening research, exit polling and qual analysis for the motion picture industry, as well as a suite of custom research and marketing products.

Goetz has worked in the movie research business for 23 years and is well known for his moderation of Hollywood focus groups and his understanding of audience testing. He worked at entertainment specialist NRG, now part of Nielsen, until joining OTX in 2003 to build the qualitative division. He was elected a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in 2008.

He told Variety: 'I wanted to have a company I could drive in my own direction, using what my clients have come to expect from me. It's gotten complicated. The numbers are not enough. They want interpretation and strategic understanding of the process. There are so many moving parts. It's a marriage of research and marketing. It feels good and right.'

The firm will immediately recruit for a number of positions.


Meanwhile OTX, recently acquired by Ipsos, for an undisclosed sum, has promoted Vincent Bruzzese to lead the management team for the Motion Picture Group, based in Los Angeles and overseeing all US based studio clients. One of the first to join OTX in 2001, Bruzzese's achievements include helping studios migrate from mall intercepts to online research, and his particular specialities include movie tracking, screenings and ad testing.

London-based Ian Wright will continue to lead the international Motion Picture business. Wright joined in 2006 to establish OTX Europe.

OTX says its new parent is 'expected to invest in and leverage its online technology expertise' allowing for global expansion and 'an infusion of innovative technology to service the film industry'. According to CEO Shelley Zalis: 'We're going to grow, and we're going to create new tools and ways to reach and understand the global entertainment-oriented consumer today.'

Web site: www.otxresearch.com .