MACROMILL, the largest online research provider in Japan, and MetrixLab, a global provider of marketing insights and analytics, announced on Nov. 4 a merger of the two companies. This transaction establishes a premiere market research technology company with global reach and first class expertise from a global team of more than 1400 professionals in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The combined company serves 2200 clients in more than 50 countries, operates 25 offices and generates annual revenues of $300 million.

The new business will operate under the MACROMILL brand, and be led by global CEO Han de Groot, former CEO of MetrixLab, and Japan/Asia CEO Katsumi Konishi. Former MetrixLab COO/CFO Jan Willem Gerritsen will become Executive Officer managing the US, European and Latin American businesses, partnering with Naoya Sugiyama responsible for people development and general administration and Naofumi Nishi responsible for corporate development. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

"MetrixLab and MACROMILL are both known for pioneering survey research technologies on the Internet. Together we will revolutionize market research for the second time in 15 years. In 2000, we brought market research from paper and telephone to the internet by innovating field work and data collection. Now we are evolving the front end of market research and innovating what we actually deliver to our clients." says Han de Groot, Global CEO.

He adds, "we are working hard to address four challenges faced by our clients: First, market research is highly dependent on survey data. Second, market research output is difficult for decision makers to interpret and activate. Third, market research is slow. Fourth, market research is expensive. With our global scale, technology DNA, vast talent pool, and financial resources, we are uniquely positioned to address these challenges and shift the paradigm of how consumer insights are sourced, delivered and priced. Here's how:

     1.      Market research is highly dependent on survey data.

There are many new data sources for consumer insights development, such as social media data, data streams from mobile devices, and transactional data stored in enterprise databases and CRM systems. Integrating data from additional sources alongside surveys will improve the quality of insights and information. Our solution: integrate survey data with other data for superior, holistic insights development.

     2.      Market research output is difficult for decision makers to interpret and activate. Marketing insights are often delivered in a way that is difficult to interpret and act upon by decision makers outside the market research function. Internal research teams spend more time uncovering and explaining the insights than supporting their activation. Today, with the availability of immersive video games, apps, Skype and FaceTime, converting tables and graphs into valuable business information and actionable insights should not be so intensive or difficult. Our solution: develop engaging, intuitive result delivery experiences.

     3.      Market research is slow.

We are in an era that embraces self-service for straightforward tasks, freeing professionals to engage in higher value activities. Even while you can instantly order a video from Netflix, the simplest insights projects require multiple phone calls and emails to specify and initiate the study. Our solution: an online market research app store featuring a wizard interface, 24X7 availability, and connectivity to a delivery portal for real-time results.

    4.      Market research is expensive.

Consumer data is abundant and often publicly available. Data collection and analysis tools are continuously becoming less costly. In contrast, global survey research is still very expensive as traditional market research companies operate a patchwork of legacy systems. They struggle to deliver at a lower price point because they are not efficient. Our solution: an integrated, global research infrastructure built on proprietary survey and data management software, global consumer access panels and ultra-efficient business processes, allowing us to realize and share the benefits of efficiency and global scale with our clients, making research less expensive.

Han de Groot adds, "The new combination of MACROMILL and MetrixLab will continue to expand its global presence organically and through selective acquisitions. We will accelerate our ability to meet our clients' need for business information and consumer insights on a global basis. We are planning new offices in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Russia."

"This transaction creates a market research technology leader that is differentiated by its ability to deliver ground-breaking digital, mobile, social and big data solutions for consumer understanding." adds Bain Capital Managing Director and MACROMILL board member David Gross-Loh.

"MACROMILL and MetrixLab have been leaders in many of the industry's important innovations over the last 15 years and this merger will accelerate the pace of that innovation. The MetrixLab team has built an industry-leading data management and insights platform and an extensive portfolio of innovative solutions. We are excited to combine our research technologies and deliver them to more global companies. Both organizations share a vision for helping clients uncover consumer insights that lead to better business decisions, and share a passion for data quality and innovation." says Japan/Asia CEO Katsumi Konishi.

He adds, "We are excited to deliver MetrixLab's cutting-edge marketing research solutions to our Japanese clients. The new MACROMILL organization will deliver multi-country online research faster and more economically and this will help our Japanese clients expand into international markets."

MACROMILL, founded in 2000 in Japan, was acquired in January, 2014 by Bain Capital Partners LLC, a US private investment firm with more than $70 billion in assets. MetrixLab, founded in 1999 in the Netherlands, acquired US-based MarketTools in 2012, and was majority owned by its management.

About MACROMILL (www.macromill.com)

MACROMILL is the leading provider of software and services for market research in Japan. MACROMILL seeks to innovate and expand the business of marketing research, ultimately helping to create a society where anyone can utilize marketing services. MACROMILL is headquartered in Tokyo with 8 offices in Japan, Korea and China.

About MetrixLab (www.metrixlab.com)

MetrixLab is a global provider of consumer insights and marketing analytics. MetrixLab turns data from online surveys, social media and enterprise systems into valuable business information and actionable consumer insights that help leading companies drive product innovation, brand engagement and customer value. Headquartered in Rotterdam and San Francisco with 17 offices across the Americas, Europe and Asia, MetrixLab provides analytics and insights services in more than 50 countries.

Source: Macromill, Inc.