>BrownHairedGirl at 17:10, 9 April 2021

2021-04-09T17:10:57Z

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{{Infobox company
| name = KANTAR IMRB
| logo =
| type = [[Subsidiary]]
| industry =
| founder = [[J. Walter Thompson|Hindustan Thompson Associates]]
|key_people =
| services = [[Research]], [[Management consulting|business consulting]] and [[Statistical survey|survey]]
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| assets =
| equity =
| num_employees = 1200
| parent = [[Kantar Group]]
| foundation = 1970
| location = [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]], [[India]]
| caption =
| homepage =
}}
'''KANTAR IMRB''' (formerly '''IMRB International''') is a [[market research]], [[Statistical survey|survey]] and [[Management consulting|business consultancy]] firm. Headquartered in [[Mumbai]], India with operations in over 15 countries IMRB is a part of the [[Kantar Group]], [[WPP Group|WPP]]’s research, insights, and consultancy network.<ref name=IB />

Established in 1970, KANTAR IMRB was modeled on the lines of the British Market Research Bureau. IMRB provides market research and insights across [[South Asia]], the [[Middle East]] and [[North Africa]] with specialist divisions in [[quantitative marketing research|quantitative]], [[qualitative marketing research|qualitative]], [[audience measurement|media]], retail, industrial, [[customer satisfaction]], business to business and social and rural research. KANTAR IMRB’s syndicated research offerings include the [[MarketPulse]], the [[National Food Survey(India)|National Food Survey]], [[WAM (India)|Web Audience Measurement]] (WAM), ITops, and I-Cube reports.

With over 1200 employees, KANTAR IMRB is one of the largest providers of market research in India in an industry estimated to be worth a minimum of $ 187 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.in/catalyst/2003/07/24/stories/2003072400030100.htm |title=The Hindu Business Line : MR looks for a makeover |publisher=Thehindubusinessline.in |date=2003-07-24 |accessdate=2011-03-07}}</ref> As the oldest extant market research company in India, KANTAR IMRB has been responsible for establishing the first and only [[MarketPulse|household panel]], the first television [[audience measurement]] system and the first radio panel in the country and has played a key role in the development of market research in India. It has been rated the 'Best Market Research Company' by industry body Market Research Society of India (MRSI) for several years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marketresearchworld.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2267&Itemid=76 |title=IMRB International Wins The Market Research Agency Of The Year Award For The Third Consecutive Time |publisher=Marketresearchworld.net |date=2008-10-08 |accessdate=2011-03-07}}</ref>

KANTAR IMRB's specialised areas are consumer markets, industrial marketing, business to [[business marketing]], [[social marketing]], and rural marketing.<ref name=IB>http://www.imrbint.com</ref>

==History==
IMRB was established in 1971 (official start date 15 March 1971), to provide market research services to the clients of [[J. Walter Thompson|Hindustan Thompson Associates]], although work was going on from an earlier date (as early as 1967). Early clients included [[fast-moving consumer goods]] companies such as [[Unilever]], [[ITC Limited|ITC]], [[Pond's Creams|Pond’s]], and [[Horlicks]]. The initial decade saw rapid expansion into new areas of business, with the first [[qualitative research|qualitative]] study being conducted by the end of the decade, and IMRB pioneering [[psephology]] in India through an ongoing series of opinion poll surveys for ''[[India Today]]'', that successfully predicted [[Indian National Congress|Congress]]’ victory in the 1980 general election.

Subsequent decades saw the development of new verticals, with the creation of specialized units and the offering of several syndicated research products. IMRB also played an important role in the standardization of market research practice in India, and was responsible for the creation in 1983 of the [[SEC Classification (India)|Socio-Economic Classification system]], a method now used across India to define [[target audience]]s. In 1987, as a founder member of the MRSI, it helped evolve industry wide codes of conduct, and standards for survey data collection that are still in use today.<ref>http://www.mrsi.in</ref>

With the global acquisition of J. Walter Thompson by Sir [[Martin Sorrell]] in 1987, IMRB became a constituent of [[WPP Group|WPP]] and continued its pace of growth, growing over 25% per annum through the 1990s under the leadership of Ramesh Thadani. The 1990s saw the creation of specialized units focusing on development research, employee satisfaction, [[loyalty marketing|loyalty programs]], technology and media and the acquisition of several new multinational clients. IMRB's insights also played a role in the development of several new products for major Indian brands such as [[Marico]], Bingo Chips, [[Godrej Group|Godrej]] and [[Dabur]] and by this time supported 40 out of top 50 brands in India.



In 2002, as part of a process of rebranding, it changed its name from the Indian Market Research Bureau to IMRB International, adopted a new logo, and began a process of rapidly expanding its international services. This was accompanied by a shift from its offices at [[Watson's Hotel|Esplanade Mansion]] to its current premises in [[Dadar]], [[Mumbai]]. As part of geographical expansion, IMRB helped set up [[Lanka Market Research Bureau|LMRB]] in [[Colombo]], [[Sri Lanka]] in 1981 and [[AMRB]] in 1999 with headquarters in [[Dubai]] and offices throughout the [[Middle East]] and [[North Africa]].

In 1996, along with the Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT) IMRB initiated the periodic ITOPS survey which monitors the IT hardware market among households and businesses. Since 1998, in collaboration with the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), an industry body IMRB also started providing a series of annual syndicated research reports named I-Cube which surveys the online and mobile landscape in India. More recently, in 2010 IMRB launched the [[WAM (India)|Web Audience Measurement]] (WAM) system, India’s first standardized internet audience measurement system based on a panel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.in/2010/11/02/stories/2010110251500900.htm |title=The Hindu Business Line : IMRB launches Web audience measurement |publisher=Thehindubusinessline.in |date=2010-11-02 |accessdate=2011-03-07}}</ref>

==Company structure==
IMRB is headquartered in Mumbai, India. Its parent company is Hindustan Thompson Associates, which in turn is owned by Martin Sorrell's WPP Group plc. Within WPP, IMRB is aligned with the [[Kantar Group]], an umbrella network of global market research companies that together account for over $2 billion in revenues and form the world’s second biggest market research conglomerate.

[[File:IMRB in WPP.png|thumb|center|500px|alt=A IMRB's ownership structure.|A diagrammatic chart representing IMRB's ownership structure.]]

In India, IMRB International operates out of its five full service offices in [[Ahmedabad]], Mumbai, [[Delhi]], [[Kolkata]], [[Chennai]] and [[Bangalore]] and is supported by 15 other regional centers for collection of survey information. Overseas, IMRB functions through its associates [[AMRB-MENA]] in the Middle East and North Africa, with offices in [[Algiers]], Dubai, [[Jeddah]], [[Casablanca]] and [[Cairo]]; and LMRB, with offices in Colombo and Sirius, headquartered in [[Dhaka]].<ref name=IB />

IMRB is currently headed by Preeti Reddy. As the oldest market research company in India, it has served as the training ground of many industry leaders including Dorab Sopariwala, Ranjit Chib and Meena Kaushik, who went on to found their own companies.

=== Business divisions and services ===
IMRB is organized into several independent business divisions that focus on specific areas of market research. It currently has eight business units in addition to its oldest division, the quantitative research division.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imrbint.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=6&Itemid=4 |title=Divisions |publisher=Imrbint.com |date= |accessdate=2011-03-07}}</ref>

[[File:IMRB divisions crop.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Sign Outside IMRB offices in Mumbai listing out its divisions.|Sign outside IMRB's Mumbai head office.]]
<ref>https://www.xploremr.com/</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Name of Division !! Year of Establishment!! Areas of Expertise!! Scope of Work
|-
| Quantitative Research Wing|| 1971|| [[Quantitative research|Quantitative]] custom and syndicated research, [[National Food Survey(India)|National Foods Survey]]||
* Responsible for a wide range of data analytics
* Comprises the bulk of IMRB's custom research
|-
| Probe Qualitative Research|| 1979|| [[Ethnographic]], qualitative custom research||
* Integrates insights from [[anthropology]], [[psychology]] and the [[social sciences]]
|-
| Media and Panel Group|| 1992|| [[MarketPulse]], [[Target Group Index|TGI]], custom media research||
* Tracks over 70,000 households purchase behavior
* Conducts custom specialized media research
|-
| Business and Industrial Research Division|| 1994||ICube, ITops, [[WAM (India)|WAM]], [[Business-to-business|B2B]] consulting||
* Runs WAM, India's Web Audience Measurement service
* Brings out industry/ sector specific reports
|-
| Brand Science|| 1996|| New tools that help understand [[brand]]s, and communication in an Indian context||
* Provides brand and communications consulting and advisory services
|-
| Customer Satisfaction Management and Measurement|| 1994|| Customer and Employee satisfaction surveys, [[loyalty marketing|Loyalty Programs]]||
* Focuses on stakeholder researcher-employees, vendors, shoppers
* Tracks [[job satisfaction|employee satisfaction]] and stakeholder loyalty levels
|-
| MindTech Systems|| 2001|| Market research software, data fusion, CASS (computer aided survey systems)||
* Provides customized software and platforms for data collection and analysis
* Provides software support for television [[audience measurement]], and [[retail]] purchase data collection
|-
| Social and Rural Research Institute|| 1991|| Developmental Research, Public Health Research, All India Health Survey||
* Primarily services aid agencies, NGOs, and the government
* Responsible for the largest [[UNICEF]] Survey on [[polio]], data collection for National Family Health Survey
|-
| Abacus Market Analytics|| 2001|| Data processing, advanced [[analytics]], market research software, survey programming||
* Handles operations in data processing, charting, [[statistics|statistical analysis]], database management and updation, Excel Macro Creation and Quality Testing
|}

In addition to its eight specialized units, IMRB also has Abacus field offices that are responsible for the recruitment, administration and quality control of survey responses.

While a significant amount of its work involves customized research such as [[Usability testing|usage]] studies, [[brand]]ing studies, [[public opinion]] research, [[concept testing]], [[product testing]], need assessment studies, [[packaging]] and [[label]] research, and [[market segmentation]] studies IMRB also offers a variety of syndicated research products and reports that are widely used as industry bench-marks of [[consumer behaviour]], such as:

* [[MarketPulse]], a continuous monthly tracking of household purchases across various FMCG categories. The panel covers over 70,000 homes with 56,000 homes in urban and 14,000 in rural India and is widely used as a benchmark for purchase and pricing behavior. Its counterpart the Elite Household Panel tracks information in affluent, urban households
*[[WAM (India)|WAM]] and RAM, a standardized audience measurement system that samples web and radio audiences, and provides real time detailed segmented data on web usage behaviors
* ITops and ICube, syndicated annual research reports on the landscape of new technology in India
* [[Target Group Index|TGI India]], a collaboration with TGI, which provides marketing and media information covering data on consumer attitudes, motivations, media habits and purchasing behavior.

==See also==
* [[Marketing Research]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{WPP}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:IMRB International}}
[[Category:Companies based in Mumbai]]
[[Category:Business services companies established in 1970]]
[[Category:Market research companies of India]]
[[Category:WPP plc]]
[[Category:Branding companies of India]]
[[Category:Management consulting firms of India]]
[[Category:1970 establishments in Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Indian companies established in 1970]]

IMRB International - Revision history

>BrownHairedGirl at 17:10, 9 April 2021