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.
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Episode Summary: AI, Innovation, and Market Research Trends (November 14 – November 20, 2025)
AI and Tech Innovations in Market Research
- Realeyes Spins Off “Adverteyes” Unit – Emotion analytics firm Realeyes has spun off its Adverteyes offering into a separate company focused on AI-powered creative intelligence. Adverteyes uses AI to score viewer attention and emotional response to ads and links these metrics to sales outcomes for ROI evaluation. Led by ex-Realeyes exec Max Kalehoff, the new company will expand on Realeyes’ attention prediction tech to help marketers ensure every ad drives sales, while Realeyes refocuses on its core Vision AI identity verification product.
- BTInsights Launches SlideGen AI Tool – BTInsights introduced SlideGen, an AI-driven platform that automatically turns raw survey data into cross-tabulations and generates PowerPoint slides in the user’s own template. The tool learns a company’s branding and formats, producing client-ready charts with zero manual reformatting. It’s being touted as the first solution to combine cross-tab creation with one-click slide generation, accelerating the reporting process for researchers.
- Zappi Debuts Real-Time Brand Health Tracker – Automated insights firm Zappi launched a continuous Brand Health Tracker offering 12 waves of tracking per year for metrics like awareness, consideration, and loyalty. The always-on system provides an actionable single-platform view of brand performance, aiming to replace slow, expensive traditional brand trackers. Built on validated marketing science principles, it allows brands to run monthly check-ins or quarterly deep dives, with at least 400 responses per wave. Zappi’s CEO says it delivers a more dynamic, proven approach for today’s fast-moving consumer behavior landscape.
- KERV.ai Secures Growth Funding – Austin-based KERV.ai, known for its AI-powered interactive video analytics, closed a Series B funding round led by Coral Tree Partners (amount undisclosed). The investment follows record growth for KERV and will fuel R&D, hiring, and expansion into new markets. KERV’s patented tech identifies objects in video frames and matches them with contextually relevant content and commerce opportunities. The CEO says the infusion will help scale their “contextual commerce” platform, combining creative storytelling with data-driven performance to shape the future of shoppable video and interactive media.
- Alembic Raises $145M & Partners with Accenture – Alembic, a startup specializing in Causal AI for marketing measurement, announced a massive $145 million Series B (valuing it around $645M) co-led by Accenture and Prysm Capital. Alongside the funding, Accenture will deepen its partnership with Alembic to help clients dynamically measure marketing effectiveness using AI-driven causal insights. Alembic’s platform ties virtually all marketing activities to revenue outcomes in real time and can model complex factors (e.g. sponsorships, social media buzz) to determine true cause-and-effect. The fresh capital will also fund one of the most powerful private AI supercomputers to scale Alembic’s services, reflecting Accenture’s view that moving beyond correlation to verifiable causality is a “paradigm shift” for marketing analytics.
B2B Market Research Developments
- Klick Simulates HCP Focus Groups with AI – Digital agency Klick Health unveiled InsightFull™, a human-in-the-loop AI engine that sifts through vast healthcare data to spot trends, as well as an HCP AI Focus Group™ tool that generates thousands of simulated healthcare professionals for rapid feedback. By pairing AI with in-house data scientists, Klick’s platform delivers life science clients deeper insights into physician and patient sentiment in a fraction of the time. Early use cases showed the system uncovering competitive advantages and guiding brand strategy decisions in medical nutrition and pharma marketing.
- StackAdapt Expands B2B Data Integrations – Toronto-based StackAdapt broadened its account-based marketing capabilities via new partnerships with Bombora, Lead Forensics, and Leadspace. The martech firm’s platform will now unite intent data, firmographics, and technographic intelligence in one place, giving B2B marketers “frictionless access to premium data” for pinpoint targeting. For example, Bombora’s integration provides intent-based audience segments and closed-loop account-level metrics, while Lead Forensics and Leadspace add precise firm identification and deep company intelligence. StackAdapt says this richer data ecosystem will help clients identify and convert high-value B2B accounts at greater scale.
- Horizon & NOBA Partner on Innovation Testing – Germany’s Horizon (purchase intent and market validation SaaS) teamed up with Barcelona’s NOBA Ventures to strengthen early-stage product prototyping and validation for corporations. Horizon brings a platform that simulates go-to-market tests with real behavioral data to predict product success, while NOBA contributes expertise in “business prototyping” – from opportunity framing to pilot launch. The partnership promises clients more robust, context-rich decision data by integrating Horizon’s rapid validation signals into NOBA’s end-to-end innovation process. The goal is to turn more early concepts into viable growth cases backed by solid evidence, giving corporate innovation teams greater confidence in green-lighting new initiatives.
Partnerships, Mergers, and Acquisitions
- Adobe to Acquire Semrush for $1.9B – Software giant Adobe announced an agreement to buy SEO and digital visibility platform Semrush for roughly $1.9 billion in cash. The deal (at $12/share, a hefty premium over Semrush’s prior $6.89 stock price) aims to bolster Adobe’s marketing and analytics offerings with Semrush’s strengths in SEO and “Generative Experience Optimization (GEO)” for AI-driven search. Adobe highlighted that Semrush’s GEO solutions will complement Adobe Analytics and its new Brand Concierge tool, helping marketers adapt as AI transforms search behavior. The acquisition, approved by both boards, is expected to close in the first half of 2026 pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.
- Leger Acquires Ad Research Firm Element54 – Leger, the largest Canadian-owned research and polling firm, has acquired Toronto-based Element54, a boutique specializing in advertising research. It’s Leger’s 15th acquisition and cements its position with over 300 staff across 8 North American offices. Element54, founded by industry veteran Bernie Malinoff, brings methodologically rigorous ad testing expertise and clients in retail, finance, and other sectors. The deal creates a new Leger-Element54 division (logo shown) with Malinoff as EVP and Head of Advertising Research, allowing Element54 to leverage Leger’s broader analytics, panel resources, and AI-driven capabilities. Leger’s CEO noted the move enhances their ability to deliver “rigorous, human-centered insights at scale” across industries.
- Sprinklr & SAMY Deepen Global Partnership – NYSE-listed CX platform Sprinklr and Spain’s SAMY (social marketing analytics) formalized an expanded global partnership to jointly help brands create “more meaningful customer experiences” across channels. The collaboration will see Sprinklr’s unified AI-powered customer experience management software combined with SAMY’s expertise in implementation and social strategy for clients. The firms, which have already co-developed solutions (e.g. a “Foresight System” turning social media chatter into actionable trends for Diageo), will align on go-to-market efforts, integrated delivery, and ongoing innovation. Sprinklr’s EMEA SVP said pairing Sprinklr’s AI platform with SAMY’s end-to-end services will help customers “anticipate and innovate at scale,” while SAMY’s Chief Partnership Officer noted the relationship has grown from project-based support into a fully integrated strategic alliance.
- M/A/R/C and Animalytix Launch Joint Insights Venture – Texas-based research firm M/A/R/C Research partnered with Animalytix, a specialist in veterinary industry data, to launch The Parallax Initiative – a new platform fusing quantitative and qualitative data for the animal health sector. The initiative will combine M/A/R/C’s custom research and agile “Accelerated” solutions with Animalytix’s extensive veterinary and pet pharmaceutical data to deliver trend forecasting, customer experience, and innovation insights for animal health brands. It builds on the companies’ existing collaboration (they jointly operate a VetWatch insights hub) and will be led by Dr. Jim Thomas of Animalytix as Director of Analytical Services. M/A/R/C’s EVP Brad Seipel said Parallax will provide “end-to-end solutions” giving animal health clients a sharper, faster read on market shifts, while Dr. Thomas highlighted the opportunity to close long-standing knowledge gaps in what’s happening and why in the veterinary market.
Industry Leadership & Organizational Changes
- Former Harris Poll CEO to Lead Outward Intelligence – Outward Intelligence (OI), an AI-native survey research platform, appointed Will Johnson (former Harris Poll CEO) as its new Chief Executive Officer. Johnson brings over a decade of polling leadership experience (ex-Harris, WPP’s BAV Consulting) to OI’s team. The startup, co-founded by Harris alumni, offers rapid-turnaround tracking studies and AI-driven anti-fraud tools, claiming it can design, field, and analyze surveys “within hours, not weeks” by leveraging AI agents across a 100M+ global respondent network. OI’s co-founder hailed Johnson’s hiring as a “critical next step” in scaling the company, citing his public opinion expertise as key to OI’s vision of an AI-enhanced research process.
- PureSpectrum Hires Kobeissi to Lead Middle East Expansion – Sample marketplace PureSpectrum tapped Nader Kobeissi – founder of Research on Mobile – to spearhead its push into the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region. Kobeissi, who has previously held senior roles at Toluna and On Device Research, will serve as Managing Director for MEA and is tasked with establishing PureSpectrum as the go-to programmatic sample platform in those markets. His appointment comes as PureSpectrum ramps up its global growth; the California-based company (which drives over a million survey completes daily) recently partnered with Qualtrics to develop advanced synthetic sampling capabilities. PureSpectrum’s EMEA EVP Andy Cayton said the firm is “committing to” MEA for the long term and Kobeissi’s regional expertise will help build a lasting presence.
- Nielsen’s Pacific MD Fights Dismissal – Monique Perry, Nielsen’s former Managing Director for Media in Australia/New Zealand, is suing Nielsen for unfair dismissal after being abruptly terminated in October. According to local media reports, Perry – a 27-year Nielsen veteran and prominent figure in Aussie media measurement – was fired two weeks after her husband (a Nielsen data engineer) was also let go. Nielsen alleges Perry improperly retained confidential files on a personal account, which she denies, and an Australian federal court has allowed her broader claims to proceed despite denying her bid for immediate reinstatement. The high-profile dispute has stirred conversations about employee data access and corporate handling of dismissals. Both parties have declined further comment as legal proceedings continue.
Expert Insights & Thought Leadership
- CMOs Re-Focus on Brand Building – A GreenBook industry commentary by Nicky Marks highlighted a shift in marketing priorities toward brand equity over short-term ROI. Citing a survey where 62% of CMOs are now tracking brand awareness as a key metric, the piece argues that in 2026, marketing leaders will double-down on brand-building activities as a critical growth driver. This reflects a broader trend of marketers recognizing that strong brands yield competitive advantage and long-term value, not just immediate performance metrics.
- AI Ethics Seen as Competitive Advantage – New research suggests that ethical AI practices are becoming a source of competitive edge for companies. A 2025 AI maturity index report (by IMD) found that the most advanced organizations have embedded AI ethics frameworks and governance into their cross-functional strategies. In the insights industry, this reinforces calls for responsible AI use – from ensuring data privacy and fairness to maintaining human oversight. Thought leaders have been urging that as AI tools proliferate in research, firms that prioritize transparency and ethical guidelines will build greater trust and long-term success.
- AI Startup CEO on Product Innovation – In GreenBook’s latest CEO Series interview, Yana Welinder (CEO of product AI startup Craftful) shared how AI-driven product development propelled her company’s growth and led to its acquisition by Amplitude. Welinder discussed leveraging generative AI to rapidly iterate on product design and user feedback, illustrating how small innovators can outpace incumbents by embracing AI at their core. Her insights underscored the growing intersection of product management and AI, and offered a glimpse into why larger tech players are eagerly snapping up AI-native startups to infuse fresh innovation.
