Maru/Blue, a premium data services firm, launches Maru/Blue Forums, a value-driven panel management research tool powered by Maru’s proprietary technology, Maru/HUB. This gives clients the option to either manage and execute community research themselves or have assistance from Maru/Blue’s insights team. In today’s mergers and acquisitions, Clarivate Analytics, an insights and analytics company, completes its acquisition of Decision Resources Group, a healthcare research and consulting company, for $950 million.  In human capital news, EMI Solutions hires former Abt Associates and Kantar executive, Beth Teehan, as its new Chief Operating Officer.  Interpublic Group appoints Chad Engelgau as Chief Executive Officer of Acxiom, a data, technology and marketing services company.  In jobs, Cranbrook Search Consultants is looking to place a remote senior product manager in a SaaS market research company. Find Jamin Online: Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaminbrazil Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaminbrazil Find Us Online: Twitter: www.twitter.com/happymrxp LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/happymarketresearch Facebook: www.facebook.com/happymrxp Website: www.happymr.com Sources:  Clarivate Analytics: https://clarivate.com/news/clarivate-analytics-closes-acquisition-of-decision-resources-group/ Maru/Blue: https://www.marublue.com/in-the-news/launch-of-forums-proprietary-panel-technology-platform-to-clients EMI Solutions: https://emi-rs.com/2020/02/26/emi-adds-to-executive-team/ Interpublic Group: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/02/28/1992901/0/en/Acxiom-Transitions-to-New-Global-CEO-Following-Successful-Integration.html Cranbrook Search Consultants: https://www.cranbrooksearch.com/open-jobs/#!/47abc9b0-f1da-417c-9b76-9d714dfa4480/detail  This Episode’s Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Lookback. Lookback provides the tools to help UX teams to interact with real users, in real-time, and in real contexts. It's Lookback's mission to humanize technology by bridging the gap between end-users and product teams. Lookback's customers range from one-man teams building web and app experiences to the world's largest research organizations, collectively ensuring that humanity is at the core of every product decision. For more info, including demos of Lookback's offering, please visit www.lookback.io. 

ENGINE Insights, a global full-service media and marketing services company, launches CARAVAN Small Business Omnibus Survey, a quick and affordable solution to help businesses gain intelligence on the small business community. In events, The Quirks Event Brooklyn kicks off next week on March 3. The two-day event features guest speakers from insight professionals at IBM, SurveyMonkey, Twitter, and many more. In human capital news, Kantar, a research and consulting company, appoints Robert Jan d’Hond as the Managing Partner of North America.   Language Insights, a translation company used in the market research industry, promotes Stacey Harwood to Client Services Director.     In jobs, Trusted Talent MR is looking to place a Boston-based Director of Research Operations in a company that is a leading provider of intelligence services that helps clients drive growth through technology innovation.  Find Jamin Online: Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaminbrazil Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaminbrazil Find Us Online: Twitter: www.twitter.com/happymrxp LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/happymarketresearch Facebook: www.facebook.com/happymrxp Website: www.happymr.com Sources:  ENGINE Insights: https://enginegroup.com/us/news/stay-curious/caravan-small-business/ The Quirks Event: https://www.thequirksevent.com/ Kantar: https://www.kantar.com/company-news Trusted Talent MR: https://teamplus.co/trustedtalent/en/position/director.research.operations/ Language Insights: https://www.languageinsight.com/blog/2020/language-insight-client-services-director/  This Episode’s Sponsor:This episode is brought to you by Lookback. Lookback provides the tools to help UX teams to interact with real users, in real-time, and in real contexts. It's Lookback's mission to humanize technology by bridging the gap between end-users and product teams. Lookback's customers range from one-man teams building web and app experiences to the world's largest research organizations, collectively ensuring that humanity is at the core of every product decision. For more info, including demos of Lookback's offering, please visit www.lookback.io.

Beano Studios’ insight consultancy, the Beano Brain, launches its kids and youth Omnibus service. The new addition allows clients to get on-demand insights about kids and teens between the ages of 7 and 14. Tableau Software, a leading analytics platform, releases new capabilities to help people unlock more interactivity in their dashboards and get deeper insights from their data. In today’s mergers and acquisitions, InMoment and MaritzCX enter a definitive agreement to combine the two companies. InMoment CEO, Andrew Joiner says, “We are bringing together two world-class companies that will deliver a truly unique value to our clients in their ongoing quest to win over customers.” In human capital news, Former Nielsen President, Steve Hasker, joins Thomson Reuters, a leading provider of business information services, as President and CEO.  InnovateMR, a global digital survey solutions company, appoints Sandy Casey as Senior Vice President of Global Supply. Find Jamin Online: Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaminbrazil Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaminbrazil Find Us Online: Twitter: www.twitter.com/happymrxp LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/happymarketresearch Facebook: www.facebook.com/happymrxp Website: www.happymr.com Sources:  Beano Studios: https://www.beanostudios.com/post/beano-studios-launches-the-beano-brain-omnibus-giving-brands-trusted-on-demand-insight Tableau Software: https://www.tableau.com/about/press-releases/2020/tableau-20201-delivers-community-driven-features-including-dynamic  InMoment: http://inmoment.com/news/inmoment-and-maritzcx-join-forces-combined-company-will-deliver-extraordinary-capabilities-to-drive-results-for-the-worlds-leading-brands/ Thomson Reuters: https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/press-releases/2020/february/steve-hasker-appointed-president-and-ceo-of-thomson-reuters.html InnovateMR: https://blog.innovatemr.com/news/supply-leadership-sandy-casey This Episode’s Sponsor:This episode is brought to you by Lookback. Lookback provides the tools to help UX teams to interact with real users, in real-time, and in real contexts. It's Lookback's mission to humanize technology by bridging the gap between end-users and product teams. Lookback's customers range from one-man teams building web and app experiences to the world's largest research organizations, collectively ensuring that humanity is at the core of every product decision. For more info,

Escalent, a human behavior and analytics firm, launches EVForward, an insights platform that helps automakers and utilities plan for the continued growth of electric vehicle market share.  Stats Perform, a leader in sports AI and data, launches Opta Graphics, an all-encompassing multimedia graphics tool incorporating unique AI-powered data and insights that drive fan attention. In events, Insights Association’s Las Vegas Combined Chapter Conference kicks off tomorrow. The three-day event features keynote speeches from Melanie Courtright, CEO of the Insights Association; and me, Jamin Brazil.   In human capital news, Nepa, a consumer research and analytics company, appoints Ann-Christine Fick as CFO, and Michael Wallin as head of Investor Relations. In jobs, Cranbrook Search Consultants is looking to place a Vice President of Quantitative Research in New York City, Chicago, and Washington D.C. Job responsibilities include pitching, executing, and delivering customized quantitative market research to clients. Find Jamin Online: Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaminbrazil Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaminbrazil Find Us Online: Twitter: www.twitter.com/happymrxp LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/happymarketresearch Facebook: www.facebook.com/happymrxp Website: www.happymr.com Sources:  Escalent: https://escalent.co/news/escalent-launches-evforward-to-predict-purchase-behaviors-among-the-next-generation-of-electric-vehicle-buyers/ Stats Perform: https://www.statsperform.com/press/stats-perform-launches-opta-graphics-the-most-intuitive-multimedia-graphics-tool/  Nepa: https://news.cision.com/nepa-ab--publ-/r/appoints-ann-christine-fick-as-cfo-and-michael-wallin-as-ir,c3045122 Cranbrook Search Consultants: https://www.cranbrooksearch.com/open-jobs/#!/d2d060e1-c5f8-4018-af92-10c2efd4086a/detail This Episode’s Sponsor:This episode is brought to you by Lookback. Lookback provides the tools to help UX teams to interact with real users, in real-time, and in real contexts. It's Lookback's mission to humanize technology by bridging the gap between end-users and product teams. Lookback's customers range from one-man teams building web and app experiences to the world's largest research organizations, collectively ensuring that humanity is at the core of every product decision. For more info, including demos of Lookback's offering, please visit www.lookback.io.

CMNTY, a connected market research platform for qualitative and quantitative data collection, launches MoodBoards, a way for your community members to co-create ideas and share thoughts and feelings with you.  In today’s mergers and acquisitions, Wipro Digital, the digital business unit of Wipro Limited, acquires Rational Interaction, a full-service digital customer experience company. In human capital news, Leanplum closes $27 million in funding and appoints George Garrick as President and Chief Executive Officer, as well as appoints Sheri Huston as the CFO.  Leger, the largest Canadian-owned market research and analytics company, hires Isabelle Blanchet as Vice-President of Customer Experience.  GutCheck, a pioneer in agile audience intelligence, adds Rob Wengel to its Board of Directors. His role will help GutCheck enhance its partnerships with clients and closely align its business to client needs. In jobs, GitLab, a complete DevOps solution, is looking to hire a remote mid or senior level UX Researcher.  Find Jamin Online: Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaminbrazil Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaminbrazil Find Us Online: Twitter: www.twitter.com/happymrxp LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/happymarketresearch Facebook: www.facebook.com/happymrxp Website: www.happymr.com Sources:  CMNTY: https://www.cmnty.com/blog/moodboards-brainstorming-visual-analysis/    Wipro Digital: https://wiprodigital.com/news/wipro-digital-acquires-rational-interaction-enhancing-customer-experience-offerings-and-boosting-digital-marketing-capabilities/  Leanplum: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/leanplum_leanplum-raises-another-27m-shakes-up-its-activity-6636313666033721345-WPgu  Leger: https://leger360.com/press-release/isabelle-blanchet-appointed-vice-president-customer-experience/ GutCheck: https://www.gutcheckit.com/press_release/gutcheck-adds-former-nielsen-and-kantar-executive-to-its-board-to-accelerate-growth/  GitLab: https://about.gitlab.com/jobs/apply/senior-ux-researcher-or-ux-researcher-manage-4654965002/ This Episode’s Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Lookback. Lookback provides the tools to help UX teams to interact with real users, in real time, and in real contexts.

The Happy Market Research Podcast publishes a new episode on how to ask research participants a good question. The episode discusses seven things that you can do to improve your research results, and features guests such as Emma Craig, UX Research Manager at Shopify; Zoe Dowling, SVP of Research at FocusVision; and many more.  Ginny Valentine Badge of Courage Awards, which recognizes bravery in market research, announces the judges for the 2019-20 international awards. Judges include: * Pippa Rose, Senior Manager of Consumer Insight at BT* Deborah Campbell, VP of Consumer & Marketplace Insights at Verizon* Finn Raben, Director General at ESOMAR* Sue van Meeteren, Founder & Director of Jigsaw Research Limited* Rebecca Brooks, Founder & CEO of Alter Agents GreenBook releases the 26th edition of the GreenBook Research Industry Trends Report, featuring data collected from Q3 and Q4 of 2019. The GRIT Report dives deep into topics such as the adoption of emerging methods and satisfaction levels with suppliers.  In human capital news, Syno International, a consumer data provider, appoints Per-Erik Kärnekull as Head of EMEA and Aivaras Mockus as Chief Financial Officer.  Find Jamin Online: Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaminbrazil Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaminbrazil Find Us Online: Twitter: www.twitter.com/happymrxp LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/happymarketresearch Facebook: www.facebook.com/happymrxp Website: www.happymr.com Sources:  Happy Market Research Podcast: https://happymr.com/how-to-ask-research-participants-a-good-question/  Ginny Valentine Badge of Courage Awards: http://www.ginnyvalentine.com/ GreenBook: https://www.flipsnack.com/GRITarchive/2019-grit-insights-practice-report.html Syno International: https://www.synoint.com/new-hires/  This Episode’s Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Lookback. Lookback provides the tools to help UX teams to interact with real users, in real-time, and in real contexts. It's Lookback's mission to humanize technology by bridging the gap between end-users and product teams. Lookback's customers range from one-man teams building web and app experiences to the world's largest research organizations, collectively ensuring that humanity is at the core of every product decision. For more info, including demos of Lookback's offering, please visit www.lookback.io. 

In today’s mergers and acquisitions, Verdane, a Northern European specialist growth equity investor, acquires Confirmit, a global solutions provider for customer experience, employee experience, and market research. Verdane is the major investor in Dapresy and will merge the two companies. Trax, a provider of computer vision and analytics solutions for retail, acquires Qopius, a provider of AI-based in-store technology solutions in Europe.&nbsp; In human capital news, Elizabeth Real joins Strativity Group, a customer experience, and transformation firm, as its new President. Nielsen grows its media management team by hiring Sean Cohan as Chief Growth Officer and President of International; as well as by promoting Peter Bradbury to Chief Commercial Officer of U.S.; and Karthik Rao to Chief Operating Officer of Nielsen Global Media. Maru/Matchbox appoints two — Brian James as Deputy CEO and Chief Client Officer of Matchbox North America; and Brent Snider as Deputy CEO and Chief Revenue Officer of Matchbox North America. In jobs, Cranbrook Search Consultants is looking to place a Director of Business Development in the SaaS Platform, DIY space of market research and insights.&nbsp; Find links to these stories in our show notes. For more detailed commentary, be sure to signup for our weekly newsletter at www.happymr.com.&nbsp; This episode is brought to you by Lookback. Lookback is the leading software that enables researchers to interact with users, in real-time, and in contexts. Built from the ground up by some of the original Spotify engineers, Lookback is the best in class video screen share platform for User Experience and Market Researchers. Check them out at lookback.io.&nbsp; And that’s your daily briefing of marketing research news. Find Jamin Online: Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaminbrazil Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaminbrazil Find Us Online: Twitter: www.twitter.com/happymrxp LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/happymarketresearch Facebook: www.facebook.com/happymrxp Website: www.happymr.com Sources:&nbsp; Confirmit: https://www.confirmit.com/Company/News/press-release-insights-2020-announcement-k2a/ Quopuis: https://qopius.com/news/trax-acquires-qopius-to-accelerate-digitizing-physical-retail/ Strativity Group: https://strativity.com/strativity-group-names-elizabeth-real-new-president/ Nielsen: https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/press-releases/2020/nielsen-makes-senior-appointments-further-builds-out-media-management-team/&nbsp; Maru/Matchbox: <a href="https://marumatchbox.com/press_release/marumatchbox-north-america-leadership-...

David Shanker launches David Shanker Consulting. A consultancy focused on executive coaching, client strategy, customer engagement, and sales team development. OfficeReports, a survey reporting automation platform, releases Report Builder. The solution can be used for ad-hoc survey report generation and for creating automated report templates for tracking surveys.&nbsp; SurveyMonkey, a global survey software company, raises more than $15 million for nonprofit partners. With its Contribute platform, SurveyMonkey offers charitable incentives of 50 cents per completed survey, providing donations for partner charities of the respondents’ choice. Our sister podcast, Happy Market Research Podcast, has been nominated for the MR Podcast Award. Voting ends on March 31 and the winner will be announced at IIeX Austin in April.  In events, IIeX Europe will be taking place next week from February 25 to 26 in Amsterdam. Meanwhile, back in the states, Insights Association will be hosting its Las Vegas Combined Chapter Conference from February 26 to 28.   In human capital news, Eric Salama has stepped down as the CEO of Kantar and will be on garden leave until the end of June. The Executive Committee will lead the business until the appointment of a new CEO. Duarte S. Simoes de Almeida joins Measure Protocol as the Finance Director. He will head the company’s core financial business functions and strategic planning. Find links to these stories in our show notes. For more detailed commentary, be sure to signup for our weekly newsletter at www.happymr.com.  This episode is brought to you by Lookback. Lookback is the leading software that enables researchers to interact with users, in real-time, and in contexts. Built from the ground up by some of the original Spotify engineers, Lookback is the best in class video screen share platform for User Experience and Market Researchers. Check them out at lookback.io.  And that’s your daily briefing of marketing research news. Find Jamin Online: Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaminbrazil Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaminbrazil Find Us Online: Twitter: www.twitter.com/happymrxp LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/happymarketresearch Facebook: www.facebook.com/happymrxp Website: www.happymr.com Sources:&nbsp; David Shanker Consulting: www.davidshankerconsulting.com&nbsp; OfficeReports: https://www.officereports.com/blog/archive/officereports-launches-report-builder-for-fast-survey-reporting-in-microsoft-office SurveyMonkey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/newsroom/surveymonkey-raises-15m-for-charitable-causes/&nbsp; Little Bird Marketing: https://info.

Lookback releases an article titled, “The Art of Moderating Research.” It features seven key principles on how you can improve your moderating skills when conducting a user experience session. The principles are: * Asking powerful questions* Sitting through the struggle of the awkward silence&nbsp;* Treat every participant with respect and dignity — even if they are the “wrong” participant for the study* Be prepared to possibly feel a sense of connection with a participant at the end of a session&nbsp;* It’s not prescriptive — you don’t have to get through all the questions.* Beware of spoilers — it’s easy to slip up and accidentally provide clues to the participant* Avoid confirmation bias&nbsp; In human capital news, Former Uber Account Executive, Phillip Lomax, joins MediaScience as the Senior Vice President of Business Development.&nbsp; Nielsen appoints two to the company's Board of Directors — Tom Castro and Janice Marinelli, effective February 18.&nbsp; In jobs, Ipsos MORI is to host a hiring event in East London and Essex on February 26 and the 27th. To secure your spot at the event, RSVP through the link in our show notes. Find links to these stories in our show notes. For more detailed commentary, be sure to signup for our weekly newsletter at www.happymr.com.&nbsp; This episode is brought to you by Lookback. Lookback is the leading software that enables researchers to interact with users, in real-time, and in contexts. Built from the ground up by some of the original Spotify engineers, Lookback is the best in class video screen share platform for User Experience and Market Researchers. Check them out at lookback.io.&nbsp; And that’s your daily briefing of marketing research news. Find Jamin Online: Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaminbrazil Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaminbrazil Find Us Online: Twitter: www.twitter.com/happymrxp LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/happymarketresearch Facebook: www.facebook.com/happymrxp Website: www.happymr.com Sources:&nbsp; Lookback: https://blog.lookback.io/the-art-of-moderating-research/&nbsp; Media Science: https://www.mediasciencelabs.com/&nbsp; Nielse: https://ir.nielsen.com/investor-relations/shareholder-information/press-releases/Press-Release-Details/2020/Nielsen-Makes-Two-New-Appointments-To-Its-Board-Of-Directors/default.aspx&nbsp; Ipsos MORI: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ipsos-mori_eastlondon-essex-romford-activity-6633701014400835584-skMS&nbsp; This Episode’s Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Lookback. Lookback provides the tools to help UX teams to interact with rea...

Kantar expands its Consumer Media Measurement service by adding YouTube viewing data to the service. This will allow Kantar to combine the media behaviors of real consumers with their actual shopping habits.&nbsp; Comscore and TargetSmart partners to create customized political advertising segments that combine TargetSmart’s proprietary voter data with Comscore’s StationView Essentials household viewing preferences. RRD launches, In-Store Insights, an end-to-end consultative solution that enables retailers to make faster, smarter decisions that improve their store performance. Signals Analytics expands its platform coverage within food and beverage categories. This allows them to deepen the ability to uncover trends and predictive insights in the food and beverage industry, accelerating decision-making and driving long-term business growth. Kids Insights, part of The Insights People, expands to Brazil. Starting in March, Kids Insights Brazil will start surveying 410 kids a week. This results in a total of 21,000 children being surveyed each year, providing companies with access to real-time market intelligence on the attitudes, behaviors, and consumption of Brazilian children.&nbsp; Find links to these stories in our show notes. For more detailed commentary, be sure to signup for our weekly newsletter at www.happymr.com.&nbsp; This episode is brought to you by Lookback. Lookback is the leading software that enables researchers to interact with users, in real-time, and in contexts. Built from the ground up by some of the original Spotify engineers, Lookback is the best in class video screen share platform for User Experience and Market Researchers. Check them out at lookback.io.&nbsp; And that’s your daily briefing of marketing research news. Find Jamin Online: Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaminbrazil Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaminbrazil Find Us Online: Twitter: www.twitter.com/happymrxp LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/happymarketresearch Facebook: www.facebook.com/happymrxp Website: www.happymr.com Sources:&nbsp; Kantar: https://www.kantar.com/company-news/Youtube-Added-to-CMM-Service&nbsp; Comscore: https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press-Releases/2020/2/Comscore-and-TargetSmart-Deliver-Enhanced-Political-Segmentation-for-Advertisers&nbsp; RDD: https://investor.rrd.com/news-releases/rrd-introduces-retail-insights-solution-transforms-data-results?_ga=2.20597617.838178043.1581617074-85950271.1581617074 Signal Analytics:&nbsp; https://signals-analytics.