Google and WPP back online media research

Regional - Google and WPP will contribute up to $4.6 million over three years to jointly fund a grant program to support research into how online media influences consumer behaviour, attitudes and decision making.

The Google and WPP Marketing Research Awards Program, which will immediately begin reviewing grant applications, will be overseen by a distinguished panel. It includes professor John Quelch, senior associate dean of Harvard Business School and a non-executive director of WPP; Dr. Hal Varian, Google's chief economist; and professor Glen Urban, former dean of the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The committee will work with WPP and Google to decide which grant proposals will be funded and the program aims to award up to dozen grants in its first year.

"The industry needs a much better handle on how offline and online media interact with each other and how that interaction shapes consumer attitudes and behaviours. This initiative will be a critical part of that solution," Eric Salama, CEO of Kantar, WPP's insight, information and consultancy division, said.

In addition to funding, WPP will provide access to BrandZ which is the annual study of brand perceptions published by The Kantar Group, as well as the media data and research generated at GroupM.