I-COM worldmeasurementnews

Alterian Rejects £50m Acquisition Bid

mrweb.com reports: UK-based analytics and social media monitoring specialist Alterian has rejected an offer from FTSE 250 translation software firm SDL, valuing it at just under £50m.

Under UK takeover rules, SDL now has until 21st November - also the date scheduled for the publication of a detailed review of the business by new Alterian CEO Heath Davies [pictured] - to make a formal offer or walk away. Analyst comments today suggested the offer price was ‘opportunistic’ - a low multiple of current revenues, due to Alterian’s recent management upheavals and disappointing results. More…

How Yahoo Spawned Hadoop, the Future of Big Data

Cade Metz of Wired writes: Dubbed Hortonworks, the new venture is by no means guaranteed success, but it certainly has its hands on the right technology.  Much as the world can’t quite grasp Eric Baldeschwieler's [Hortonworks CEO, pictured] last name, the pundits are still struggling to wrap their heads around the fact that Yahoo bootstrapped one of the most influential software technologies of the last five years: Hadoop, an open source platform designed to crunch epic amounts of data using an army of dirt-cheap servers.

Today, Hadoop underpins not only Yahoo, but Facebook, Twitter, eBay, and dozens of other high-profile web outfits. More...

Measure Your Media's Impact On Social By Using Targeted Social Listening

Michael Kaushansky [pictured], SVP of Insights & Analytics at Havas Media writes: Targeted social listening - We use this technique to pinpoint how our media impacts social, and how social affects overall ROI. Measuring social media alongside other online channels is not new. What is new is the complex approach to uncover the delicate statistical relationships between paid media and online social conversations.  More…

Media6Degrees Becomes Ad Matchmaker Via RTB, Data

Laurie Sullivan of MediaPost writes: Media6Degrees will officially roll out a tool dubbed Planner next week that gives advertisers and publishers access to targeting data.

Calling the data that creates this "fingerprint" unique to a specific customer base, Andrew Pancer [pictured], COO at Media6Degrees, describes the code as a targeting pixel that gathers information. He believes the data can help publishers generate premium sales from real-time bidding insights, along with revenue generated from putting remnant into exchanges. More…

In US, SAS hits 7.6% workforce growth worldwide in 2011

'Big data' and ongoing global challenges spur hiring to meet customer needs

CARY, NC (Oct. 25, 2011) – SAS, the leader in business analytics software and services, continues to grow its workforce despite the ongoing economic situation. The company has 12,370 employees worldwide – and exceeded the 6 percent growth in hiring projected at the beginning of the year. The new hires focus on meeting new and evolving customer needs, largely driven by the exponentially growing volume of data and critical global issues. SAS is increasing staff to support its hosted SAS® Solutions OnDemand offerings, as well as sales, research and development, and key industry experts within customer intelligence and the SAS Center for Health Analytics and Insights.

"As computers process more information at greater speeds, people are realizing the potential hidden in their data. SAS is being asked to answer questions and solve problems that couldn't be answered or solved before," said SAS CEO Jim Goodnight [pictured]. "As demand for analytics rises, SAS continues to hire technology, analytics and industry experts to continue innovation and maintain close relationships with our customers. With 35 years of hiring and retaining top talent, no other company has deeper experience in applying 'big analytics' to solve 'big data' problems." More...

In US, Nielsen Reports Third Quarter 2011 Results

- Revenues for the quarter grew 10% to $1,413 million, up 6% in constant currency
- Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter grew 10% to $408 million, up 7% in constant currency
- Adjusted Net Income for the quarter increased to $181 million from $83 million

New York, USA – October 27, 2011 – Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN), a leading global provider of insights and analytics into what consumers buy and watch, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011.

“Nielsen’s third quarter results reflect solid revenue growth and operating performance. We continue to execute a balanced approach to strategic investment and commitment to de-leveraging.” said David Calhoun [pictured], Chief Executive Officer of Nielsen. More…

In US, Vizu Corporation to Power Brand Lift Measurement and Optimization across Firefly Video

Leading entertainment advertiser leverages Vizu's Value in Video Initiative to drive 251.1% lift in consumers' tune-in intent

San Francisco (October 25, 2011) - Vizu Corporation, an online ad technology company whose solutions allow advertisers and publishers to measure and optimize Brand Lift in real-time, today announced that it has completed an integration with Firefly Video, which is powered by Tribal Fusion's E9 Audience Engagement Platform. The integration represents the next step in Vizu's "Value in Video" initiative, an effort to provide the industry with the ability to measure and optimize Brand Lift generated by video advertising in real-time, wherever and however the video is delivered. In so doing, Vizu will help address one of the key challenges facing the growth of the medium – a fragmented landscape of video serving technologies.

"Many of the advertisers we work with leverage Firefly Video to engage with and influence their target audiences," says Dan Beltramo [pictured], CEO of Vizu. "This integration allows our customers to measure and optimize Brand Lift generated from these units in real time, maximizing the return on their video investment." More…

In UK, Toluna launches TolunaAnalytics™

Advanced Survey Reporting and Analysis Tool for all Toluna Products

(London, UK) October 24, 2011 - Toluna, one of the world’s leading online survey respondent and technology providers, announces the launch of TolunaAnalytics™, the company’s proprietary, web-based data reporting and analysis tool. It will be a standard feature for all program & host and full-service data collection projects, and within Toluna’s PanelPortal™ product line.

“One of Toluna’s key differentiators is its ability to leverage technology to improve the speed and depth of insight available to research professionals,” states Frédéric-Charles Petit [pictured], CEO, Toluna. “We have designed TolunaAnalytics™ to access and analyse survey responses within minutes of survey deployment, in line with our strategy of increasing the value we provide to our clients through technology.”  More…

WOMMA's Steve Hershberger joins I-COM Programme Board Global Summit

 Geneva & Carol Stream IL, October 27, 2011. I-COM is pleased to announce WOMMA’s appointment of Steve Hershberger [pictured] to the I-COM Programme Board Global Summit. Hershberger will be representing the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) alongside peers from 18 associations on this Board. More...

In China, WPP Digital in second round of financing in Chinese digital ad measurement firm

24 October, 2011 - WPP Digital, the digital investment arm of WPP, announces that it has participated in a second round of financing in relation to its minority investment in Leading Smart Holdings Limited ("Leading Smart"), a BVI company, which has a controlling interest in the parent company of Moment Systems, the leading digital advertising measurement company in China. Moment Systems was founded in 2006 in Beijing and employs 140 people. More…