core sector communique

GfK acquires the remaining shares in nurago and SirValUse

Nuremberg, July 18, 2012 – From 2 July 2012, GfK is the sole shareholder of nurago and SirValUse, increasing its shareholding from 60 percent to 100 percent. These acquisitions signify GfK’s continued commitment to digital marketing and media research and a strengthening of GfK’s user experience and usability consultancy proposition. With the full acquisition of nurago and SirValUse, GfK consolidates its digital research portfolio to integrate behavioral, attitudinal and observed data in a unique way. GfK is a leading global provider for monitoring the entire product lifecycle on the basis of reliable data, both online and offline.

To be known as GfK nurago and GfK SirValUse Consulting, their combined global workforce of 120 members of staff will be fully incorporated into the GfK Digital Market Intelligence and user experience offer. Thomas Knauer and Torsten Müller will continue to be the managing directors of GfK nurago while Tim Bosenick will remain the managing director of GfK SirValUse Consulting. Among their clients are numerous international companies, including service providers, retailers and industry, for example Google, Deutsche Telekom, Volkswagen, eBay, LG and Samsung.

Leader in understanding digital markets and lifestyles

GfK nurago is a leading specialist in digital marketing and media research. For five years, nurago has partnered with GfK to deliver GfK Media Efficiency and ConnectedLife Panels in a number of strategic key markets. The expertise gained in this successful collaboration will now be leveraged and becomes a global asset. The full acquisition strengthens GfK’s unique ability to link digital user behavior, including mobile, to attitudinal data relating to different usage patterns or specific content like web TV. With innovative research approaches for digital marketing and media, GfK can deliver essential market intelligence to better understand the success of cross-media advertising campaigns and digital marketing, thus supporting media companies, e-commerce and advertisers with their decision-making.

GfK SirValUse Consulting enables clients to evaluate and optimize the user experience and usability of their websites, software, consumer electronics, mobile and other devices. For more than a decade, SirValUse has set the standard for user experience and usability research, developing observation and optimization methods to help deliver user-friendly yet technical products. Investigating from the users’ perspective and subjecting products to interactive endurance tests, GfK SirValUse Consulting delivers specific product development recommendations to optimize digital applications and technical devices.

By combining the digital expertise of GfK nurago and GfK SirValUse Consulting reinforces GfK’s market leadership in explaining the modern consumer in the changing and fast moving digital world. From online behavioral tracking to online ad tracking; from website evaluation to e-business; GfK’s digital offer can help clients optimize all digital touchpoints between their brand and the consumer.