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Episode Summary: AI, Innovation, and Market Research Trends (April 18 - April 25, 2025)
AI and Tech Innovations in Market Research
- Cadent + AdTheorent Unify and Innovate: Predictive advertising firm Cadent + AdTheorent rebranded simply as Cadent and rolled out a new AI-powered ad platform. The unified system integrates audience forecasting, real-time ad buying, and inventory management, backed by 18,000+ predictive models. Veteran exec Peter Naylor (Netflix, Snap, Hulu alum) joined Cadent’s board to help drive this tech-focused growth.
- EDO’s Scenario Testing for CTV Ads: New York-based EDO (TV ad analytics firm) launched Engaged Audience Planning, a tool enabling connected TV marketers to run automated, scalable ad scenario tests. The platform lets advertisers optimize media plans by simulating different TV ad buy strategies with speed and precision.
- $5M Boost for Social Media Insights: Colorado startup Respondology secured a $5M Series A-1 funding round to enhance its social media comment moderation and intelligence platform. The investment will fuel product development, team growth, and the impending launch of a third flagship solution alongside its existing “Moderate” and “Discover” tools.
B2B Market Research Developments
- Merco Brings Reputation Rankings to US: Spain’s corporate reputation tracking firm Merco announced its entry into the U.S. market, initially establishing offices in Texas and Florida. The expansion will introduce Merco’s well-known corporate reputation rankings to American companies, marking a new competitive presence in the U.S. B2B insights space.
- Survey Fraud Scandal Uncovered: A decade-long data fraud scheme rocked the industry as eight people from research firms Op4G, Slice, and SNWare were charged with conspiracy to defraud clients of ~$10M. Federal prosecutors allege the researchers billed for fake survey responses, underscoring ongoing data quality vulnerabilities in B2B panel research.
- Healthcare Focus for Massive Wave: UK-based agency Massive Wave Research is launching a dedicated Healthcare Division to expand in the pharmaceutical and health sectors. Industry veteran Mohammed Saleh Bham was appointed to lead the new unit, bringing healthcare expertise to drive this B2B-oriented practice.
Partnerships, Mergers, and Acquisitions
- AI Startup Listen Labs Lands $27M: San Francisco’s Listen Labs, an AI-driven customer feedback platform, raised a combined $27M in seed and Series A funding. Despite a team of just ten, Listen Labs plans “aggressive” growth, with investors betting on its AI-based approach to voice-of-customer analytics.
- Funding for UX Testing Innovator: New York-based Spur, an AI-powered QA and user testing startup, closed a $4.5M funding round to accelerate development. Spur is broadening its use cases beyond bug testing into persona-based A/B testing and UX research, reflecting investor interest in AI tools for digital experience insights.
- Ocient Signals Growth Mode: Chicago analytics firm Ocient appointed Henry Marshall as CFO as it shifts into “growth stage” after a $132M Series B raise late last year. The big-data platform provider says the new finance chief will help scale the business, leveraging its hefty war chest to expand enterprise partnerships and offerings.
Industry Leadership & Organizational Changes
- Verian (Kantar Public) Reshuffles Leadership: Public sector research specialist Verian – formerly Kantar Public – launched a new Institute for Public Impact and announced a top leadership change. Longtime CEO Dr. Michelle Harrison will become President of Verian, while COO Philippa Edward steps up as the new Chief Executive, in a move to drive the firm’s next phase.
- Estée Lauder Combines Data & Tech Roles: Beauty giant Estée Lauder Companies appointed Brian Franz as its first Chief Technology, Data and Analytics Officer, consolidating IT and data analytics under one leader. Franz’s hiring reflects a strategic push to unify tech and insights functions for better data-driven decision making at the enterprise.
- Kantar Vet Returns to Lead Indonesia: Nadya Ardianti rejoined Kantar as Managing Director for Kantar Indonesia, replacing Suresh Subramanian (who departed to start a consultancy). Ardianti’s return – after a decade with the firm earlier in her career – promises continuity and local market expertise for the research heavyweight’s Indonesian operations.
Expert Insights & Thought Leadership
- Legislative & Regulatory Round-Up: In an Insights Association update, Howard Fienberg warned of “tempestuous issues” this spring – from U.S. federal curbs on DEI and gender questions in surveys, to state and federal privacy laws and funding for the Census. The IA advocacy team engaged Congress on data privacy, tracked an AI bill in California, and urged support for exit polling in Nevada and Louisiana, highlighting how policy moves could impact researchers.
- Rethinking Research Assumptions: Thought leaders on GreenBook challenged conventional wisdom this week. William Leach (Mindstate Group) argued that too many “brilliant insights” flop because of the false assumption that consumers act rationally – underscoring the need for behavioral researchers who design for real human biases. Meanwhile, Jordan Neve (Orchard) advocated using social media as a “living, breathing” research lab to capture authentic, real-time consumer behavior and close the gap between what people say and do.