Research

Corp comms, political, and entertainment consulting and research firm Penn Schoen Berland (PSB) has acquired First Movies International, another market research firm. First Movies has offices in Los Angeles and London and works with entertainment clients, including movie studios. PSB founded in 1975 to provide political polling, began providing market research for entertainment companies in 2001 through its media and entertainment practice.

First Movies staff will report to the president of PSB’s media and entertainment group,  Jon J. Penn. First Movies’ co-founder David Willing will now be MD. First Movies clients include Paramount, Sony Pictures, and Disney.

The combined company will provide market research services for ”all stages of a film’s global lifecycle,” according to a press release statement from Penn. That includes focus groups, box office tracking, and exit polling.

PSB is a WPP firm. Mark Penn is the CEO of PSB as well as Burson-Marsteller.

[via, h/t THR]

Anyone struggling to understand Generation Y, a.k.a. the millennials, and their relationship to brands has a lot of work ahead of him.

This generation is not defined by technology; it is very open, but distrustful; and it is at the center of a cultural shift. That info is among the findings in a new report by Onesixtyfourth, a New York-based brand consultancy. The sociological findings help explain the worldview of many millennials, defined as young people born between 1980 and1995.

To simplify: they like engaging brands, ones that are fluid and changing, and those that are open and honest with consumers. A brand has to stand for something. It has to own up to its mistakes. And it also has to want to make a difference in the world.

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A new report from Hill+Knowlton Strategies shows that despite more access to information, people don’t trust what they hear from government and business, nor do they feel they can hold companies accountable.

H+K conducted a national survey to get the public’s opinion on issues where government and businesses intersect. The results were not good.

Ninety percent, or almost all, of the people said they would sooner trust a friend or family member on company information than the company itself.

If only we could be more like the Swiss.  They really trust their government.

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The Creative Group Hiring Index for Marketing and Advertising Professionals found that hiring for the second quarter could be at a virtual standstill.

The recruitment firm interviewed 500 pros (375 marketing execs at companies with 100 or more employees, and 125 from ad agencies with 20 or more staffers) and found that 80 percent expect no changes in staff size, up four percent from the previous quarter. Only 13 percent will add full-timers in the next three months.

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Research conducted by Makovsky + Company and Echo Research finds that many comms pros at midsize and large financial services companies feel the industry is responsible for its bad reputation.

When asked “to what extent” they think financial service companies “invited negative perception because of their actions or inactions,” 96 percent said either “a great deal” or “somewhat.” More than half (53 percent) said social media had a neutral impact on their reputations while 43 percent said it had a positive impact. That same amount, 53 percent, felt that Occupy Wall Street had an impact on their business.

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Ketchum has partnered with market research agency The Modellers on a marketing analytics offering that will illustrate the ROI on a PR investment in order to help determine the best way to spend going forward for maximum effect. The two Omnicom companies will use marketing-mix modeling and other analysis to determine the PR ROI. This offering is in addition to Ketchum’s measurement tools.

David Rockland, partner and MD of Ketchum Global Research & Analytics; Mary Elizabeth Germaine, SVP of Ketchum’s research and analytics group; and Jeff Brazell, CEO of The Modellers will lead the new effort.

The Ketchum Leadership Communication Monitor finds that people around the world are disappointed with leaders across business, politics, and religious organizations.

The research, conducted across 12 countries with more than 3,750 respondents, found that 31 percent of people think leadership will get worse this year. And only 25 percent think politicians and religious leaders provide excellent leadership.

The bright spot in the research was in the area of business leadership, particularly technology business leadership. Nearly half (44 percent) said tech business leaders were effective. Next came media leaders with 39 percent and telecommunications leaders (36 percent).

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A survey of 350 financial journalists found that The Wall Street Journal was considered most influential for financial news. Bloomberg News, The New York Times, Reuters, and Financial Times round out the top five.

The study was conducted by Gorkana, a global service provider for PR pros and journalists, in partnership with two DePaul University College of Comms professors: Dr. Matt Ragas and Dr. Hai Tran. This is the first study ever done by Gorkana.

The study also found that of the top 10 most influential financial journalists, five come from the NYT: Andrew Ross Sorkin, Gretchen Morgenson, Paul Krugman, and Joe Nocera.

Finally, when asked about their outlook on the economy, nearly half (46 percent) were neutral about it. Only 18 percent were positive.

The study was conducted between December 1 and December 30, 2011 via a self-administered online survey. For more information about the study, click here.

Coincidentally, Edelman has released some further detail from its Trust Barometer focused squarely on financial institutions. Given the drubbing that Goldman Sachs took today at the hands of Greg Smith, let’s take a closer look at the findings, shall we.

The Barometer found that 46 percent of respondents don’t trust financial services. And 41 percent don’t trust banks. This is up from 2011 when trust was only at 25 percent. This Goldman article might drive that number back down the toilet.

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Results from Edelman‘s study “Privacy & Security: The New Drivers of Brand, Reputation and Action Global Insights 2012″ show that people are growing more concerned about data security and privacy. Of the 4,050 adults (18 years and older) who were surveyed, 68 percent say they think they’ve lost control over the ways that businesses use and share their information.

The study also found that about half of people shopping for a personal computer or smartphone, and 42 percent of those shopping for a tablet take data security into consideration before making a purchase.

These results cut across all industries and can have an impact on customer loyalty.

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