Welcome to twir — the weekly show delivering AI-powered summaries of market research news and insights. Each week, we scan and ingest media from top blogs, podcasts, articles, and reports, distilling the key trends shaping the industry. Best of all, twir episodes learn and get smarter over time, building a POV on an archive of past news and trends.
Episode Summary: AI, Innovation, and Market Research Trends (March 28 - April 3, 2025)
AI and Tech Innovations in Market Research
- OvationMR’s AI-powered qualitative – OvationMR integrated technology from two recent acquisitions to launch an AI Moderator for its EthOS platform, which automatically asks context-driven follow-up questions based on participants’ videos, images, and text. This enhancement aims to streamline qualitative research by making probing more dynamic and scalable.
- STRAT7’s new AI Innovation Lab – Insights group STRAT7 announced the creation of an AI Innovation Lab as a dedicated hub to accelerate AI-driven market research and customer insight solutions. The lab will be led by STRAT7’s Group CTO, Andrew Dare, and is tasked with fast-tracking the development of AI-based research tools and methodologies.
- Revuze launches “ActionHub” platform – Voice-of-customer analytics firm Revuze unveiled ActionHub, an intelligence suite that combines data from product reviews, social media, surveys, and customer interactions. The platform leverages AI to extract actionable recommendations from these sources, helping brands quickly derive insights and drive decisions from multi-channel feedback.
- Funding for AI “digital twin” startup – Cologne-based startup experial raised a €2 million pre-seed funding round to advance its AI-powered “digital twins” technology for consumer research. The fresh capital is earmarked for product development and was used to hire Dr. Nils Rethmeier as CTO, as the company seeks to simulate customer behaviors in virtual environments.
B2B Market Research Developments
- Retailer harnesses first-party data for creative – In the UK, The Very Group (owner of Very and Littlewoods) launched an in-house creative studio called HelloStudio that will draw on insights from the company’s rich customer data. By leveraging data on site visits and shopper behavior, the studio will help Very’s brand partners develop tailored omnichannel campaigns, illustrating how brands can use retail media partnerships and first-party insight to inform creative strategy.
- Kantar Worldpanel boosts panel size – Consumer behavior specialist Kantar Worldpanel announced an 83% expansion of its UK grocery panel, increasing it to 55,000 households. The enlarged panel (capturing three times more shopping trips) will improve coverage of hard-to-measure channels like discount grocers, e-commerce, and convenience stores, delivering greater granularity and representativeness in purchase data. This UK expansion is the first of several planned worldwide to enhance Kantar’s panel insights.
- Circana opens data platform to SMBs – Global analytics firm Circana (formerly IRI/NPD) introduced a solution called Liquid Supply Chain targeting small and mid-sized CPG businesses. This offering provides an entry point into Circana’s enterprise-grade Liquid Data platform, enabling real-time optimization of supply chain planning and execution for smaller manufacturers. It reflects a push to democratize big data access, allowing mid-tier companies to leverage granular market and supply data that was previously accessible mainly to large enterprises.
Partnerships, Mergers, and Acquisitions
- WPP acquires InfoSum for data collaboration – Advertising holding company WPP is acquiring InfoSum, a leading data collaboration and identity resolution platform, to integrate into its GroupM media division. InfoSum’s technology will underpin a new generation of privacy-safe, AI-enhanced marketing solutions for WPP’s clients, allowing disparate consumer data sets to be matched for insights without sharing raw data. This move bolsters WPP’s capabilities in first-party data activation amid growing demand for post-cookie targeting strategies.
- Ipsos moves to buy BVA Group – Paris-based research giant Ipsos entered exclusive negotiations to acquire The BVA Family, a French market research group known for subsidiaries like BVA, BDRC, Doxa, Alligator and PRS IN VIVO. The deal, once finalized, will strengthen Ipsos’ offerings in sectors such as customer experience, packaging and behavioral science research across Europe. Ipsos CEO Ben Page noted the acquisition would bring respected specialty brands into the fold and create new growth opportunities in France, the UK, and Italy.
- Cross-industry alliance for outcome measurement – TV attribution company iSpot.tv has formed a partnership with consumer intelligence firm Circana and broadcaster Paramount. Together they are developing an “always-on” Outcomes at Scale measurement system to tie advertising exposures to sales conversions for CPG advertisers. By pooling iSpot’s cross-platform TV ad data, Circana’s purchase data, and Paramount’s viewership, the trio aims to provide advertisers with continuous ROI metrics, not just periodic campaign lifts.
- Similarweb expands via acquisition – Israel-based digital intelligence provider Similarweb acquired U.S. company The Search Monitor, incorporating its ad monitoring and compliance technology into Similarweb’s platform. The purchase enhances Similarweb’s digital advertising intelligence by adding tools for tracking paid search ads, trademark use, and affiliate marketing compliance. This M&A activity reflects ongoing consolidation in the analytics space as firms seek to offer one-stop solutions for competitive intelligence and ad performance tracking.
Industry Leadership & Organizational Changes
- Alchemer names new CTO – Survey software firm Alchemer (formerly SurveyGizmo) appointed Ramesh Kandukuri as Chief Technology Officer to spearhead its product development and engineering teams. Kandukuri is charged with accelerating Alchemer’s platform innovation, including deeper integrations of feedback collection with enterprise workflows.
- Founder steps back at Relish – In the UK, Monique Drummond, founder of insight agency Relish, announced she is stepping away from the business after 16 years. Relish has simultaneously moved into a new London office with sister agency RED C Research as it enters its next expansion phase without Drummond at the helm. Her departure marks a changing of the guard, with the company’s leadership now tasked to continue growth and client service in her absence.
- STRAT7 Incite hires US leader – London-based consultancy STRAT7 Incite appointed Jennifer Axen as Managing Director of its U.S. business, as the firm continues to expand in North America. Axen, who will begin on May 1, brings the mandate to accelerate STRAT7 Incite’s growth in the U.S. and strengthen local client relationships, mirroring the consultancy’s success in Europe and Asia-Pacific.
- Havas data leaders promoted – Global communications group Havas made two senior data analytics promotions. Dan Hagen has been elevated to Global Chief Data & Technology Officer for Havas, while Jamie Seltzer succeeds him as Chief Data & Technology Officer for the Havas Media Network division. Hagen will oversee data strategy across all Havas agencies, and Seltzer will focus on data-driven innovation in media execution – moves that underscore Havas’ investment in data leadership at the highest level.
- Integro’s innovation hire – New York-based pharma research agency Integro welcomed Ariella Evenzahav as Head of Innovation, tapping her dual client and supplier-side experience (formerly at Pfizer and Hall & Partners). Evenzahav is tasked with driving new research techniques and products, particularly leveraging technology and novel methods, to serve healthcare and life sciences clients.
- aytm appoints Chief Revenue Officer – Survey platform aytm (Ask Your Target Market) brought on Glenn Fleischman as Chief Revenue Officer. Fleischman will lead revenue growth strategies, drawing on his industry experience to expand aytm’s enterprise client base. His addition to the executive team aligns with aytm’s scaling-up efforts amid growing demand for agile consumer insights platforms.
Expert Insights & Thought Leadership
- Kantar on insight’s role in innovation – In an interview about her new role as Global Innovation Lead at Kantar, Nicki Morley emphasized that research teams need to act as “indispensable brand partners” in innovation, rather than just data providers. She noted that insight professionals should serve as “sparring partners to our clients”, challenging and guiding brand managers to make bolder, evidence-backed decisions. Morley argued that as AI and big data proliferate, the human expertise in understanding context and culture becomes even more critical for driving successful innovation.
- Driving CX with purposeful AI – At the Market Research Society’s CX & UX conference, thought leaders underscored the importance of using AI intentionally in customer experience. Emma Dark, CX Director at Cuckoo Broadband, advised companies to have a clear plan for what AI should achieve in CX initiatives. Rather than adopting tech for tech’s sake, brands should deploy AI “with purpose” – for example, automating the “heavy lifting” of analyzing customer interactions – so that human teams are freed to focus on empathy, strategy, and creative problem-solving. Dark noted that defining the “why” and “where” of AI use is key to it augmenting staff effectively instead of becoming a vanity project.