Ad giant Young & Rubicam entered into a strategic
alliance with Harris Interactive, a market
research and polling firm.
Young & Rubicam Inc. also made an undisclosed
investment in Harris Interactive.
Harris Interactive uses Internet-based and traditional methodologies to
provide clients with information about the views, experiences and attitudes
of people worldwide.
Under the agreement, all of the Young & Rubicam companies and their clients
will have access to Harris Interactive’s market research and polling
services, including the company’s Internet panel of approximately 4.2 million
individuals and its suite of proprietary technology and data analysis tools.
“I firmly believe our two organizations will be able to push this industry
forward and greatly advance the science of real-time behavior measurement
helping all the Y&R companies to continue to deliver cutting-edge work to
their clients,” said Gordon S. Black, Harris Interactive’s chairman and CEO.
“One of the really dramatic changes we will see in the marketing services
industry is the ability to conduct real-time measurement of consumer
attitudes and of the effectiveness of our communications programs,” said
Thomas D. Bell Jr., president and COO of Young & Rubicam.
“Young & Rubicam
wants to be in a position to lead and benefit from this emerging trend.”
Y&R offers advertising, public relations, identity and design, sales
promotion, database marketing, customer relationship management and
healthcare communications and operates in more than 340 offices in 73
countries.