Acquisition of Harrison Group Significantly Expands YouGov's Presence in US Corporate Market Research

WATERBURY, Conn.,  Aug. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Harrison Group LLC, a leading marketing and strategic research consulting firm headquartered in Waterbury, CT, announced today that it has agreed to be acquired by YouGov plc (Symbol: LSE: YOU.L, Stock Market: London Stock Exchange), a global market leader in survey and market research, political polling, panel management, research operations and business consulting.

The combined organization provides a more prominent position in the US market for YouGov.  At the same time, Harrison Group's clients will gain access to global research services such as market-tested brand metrics, new capabilities in panel management and enhanced capabilities in analytical services.

Stephan Shakespeare, CEO of YouGov, stated, "Harrison Group is highly complementary to YouGov's existing US business and this acquisition is consistent with YouGov's strategy of scaling up the Group's commercial market research business in the USA. It gives us immediate scale in the corporate research market through a business with an excellent reputation for quality and with a superb client list. We are very proud to add Harrison Group to our growing US and global network."

Doug Harrison, Harrison Group's CEO, commented, "We see joining the YouGov group as an excellent opportunity to develop our business and meet our clients' growing need for global research resources and capabilities. We will benefit from YouGov's high quality US panel and their cutting edge research technology and analytics.  For our part, we look forward to working with YouGov to grow our combined corporate research business in the USA and develop innovative research products together."

YouGov announced that Harrison Group will begin operations today as Harrison Group, A YouGov Company, and will maintain its client offices in Waterbury, CT; Marblehead, MA; Phoenix, AZ; San Francisco, CA; and Seattle, WA. Doug Harrison will continue to serve as Harrison Group CEO; all Harrison Group team members will remain an integral part of the company and continue in their present roles to ensure continuity of client work.

Doug Rivers, CEO of YouGov, US, noted, "The acquisition of Harrison Group will boost YouGov's rapidly expanding market research business in the US. Harrison Group's expertise in addressing corporate branding and segmentation issues will help us to further develop our range of syndicated products which provide accurate real time data to corporate decision makers. We share a vision of how innovations in research can produce solutions to real business problems."

With the addition of Harrison Group, YouGov employees now number over 80 in the US, with more than 450 people worldwide. In addition to their US offices, YouGov operates in North America, Europe and the Middle East.

About Harrison Group

Harrison Group (www.harrisongroupinc.com) is one of the country's leading marketing and strategic research consulting firms.  Headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut, Harrison Group specializes in concept testing, forecasting, segmentation, branding, business consulting and market modeling for some of America's top corporations, including financial services firms, software, technology, packaged goods, retailers, pharmaceutical manufacturers and interactive entertainment companies.

About YouGov

YouGov (http://corp.yougov.com) is an international, full-service research company primarily using online panels to provide quantitative and qualitative research across a range of industries, including consumer products, financial services, public sector, technology and telecom and media.  YouGov's full service offerings span added-value consultancy, syndicated and product offers, market intelligence reports, omnibus and field and tab services.

YouGov has been acclaimed as one of the world's most accurate pollsters and dominates Britain's media polling. One of the most quoted agencies in Britain, YouGov has a well-documented and published track record illustrating the success of its survey methods and quality of its client service work.

SOURCE Harrison Group LLC