MarketCast Buys Phoenix Marketing International

In the US, entertainment insights business MarketCast has acquired ad and brand measurement specialist Phoenix Marketing International, for an undisclosed sum.

Founded in 1999 by Allen DeCotiis (pictured) and Martha Rea, Phoenix specializes in helping clients improve their brand and communications, create and refine products and services, and optimize the customer experience. The company is known for its ad testing and measurement insights, and its Phoenix Brand Effect platform (formerly Nielsen TV Brand Effect) is used to understand the influence of ads on consumer affinity and consideration, purchase intent and lift.

MarketCast says the deal expands its own ad effectiveness research, testing and measurement offer, while adding a portfolio of research products spanning the entire ad lifecycle. The combined firm employs more than 100 technologists and data scientists and 400 quant and qual researchers. DeCotiis says that with its portfolio of media and advertising research and a record of working with the biggest names in entertainment, sports and technology, MarketCast is the ideal home for Phoenix's people, platforms and clients.

John Batter, CEO of MarketCast, adds: 'The acquisition of Phoenix supports MarketCast's vision of creating the most tech and data-forward research business on the planet, where primary research is combined with big data to determine what fans watch, buy, and listen to most, and why they choose to watch, buy, and listen. We see tremendous opportunity to bring these two businesses together, combining our unique media research and big data expertise to innovate new ad effectiveness solutions'.

Web sites: www.marketcast.com and www.phoenixmi.com .