Kantar Media Partners for Audience Data Innovation

Kantar Media has teamed up with software firm TechEdge to create a dedicated audience analytics software unit, focused on bringing innovative products to market. Andreas Velter will lead the new business, reporting to Kantar Media CEO & Chairman Andy Brown.

The team will also continue support for existing applications used by 20,000 users across 69 markets, including media ratings analytics and reporting tools, AdvantEdge & Instar Analytics; and strategic planning and optimisation tools Instar Planning & K2.

WPP increased its shareholding in Denmark-based TechEdge from 20 to 49 percent, in June 2015. The two were working together as long ago as 2001, a year after Velter started the company with colleague Henrik Sahlholt.

Brown (pictured) comments: 'As consumers adopt new technology and advertisers increasingly run integrated cross-media campaigns, our clients need for advanced software capabilities has never been greater. I'm delighted to welcome Andreas, Henrik Sahlholt and their team. As we increasingly handle larger data sets including online census and return path data our clients will benefit from a dedicated unit bringing new products at scale to plan and analyse their data across platforms and markets'.

The division is online at www.kantarmedia.com .