• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, July 16, 2012

WPP innovations unit GroupM Next has hired Patrick Monteleone to the new post of director research and insights, in charge of expanding the division’s research initiatives.

In addition to GroupM Next-led research projects, Monteleone will work closely with GroupM agencies such as Mindshare, MEC and MediaCom, as well as client brand teams, to conduct in-depth research on emerging and digital media.

Previously, Monteleone led the marketing and client analytics efforts at financial firm Edward Jones in St. Louis. Before that, he was director of strategic analytics at market research and consulting firm Summit Marketing.

Chris Copeland, CEO, GroupM Next, called Monteleone a “big data expert.”  Monteleone, he added, will help GroupM shops glean insights from data, “with an eye toward future consumer trends and an emphasis on cross-channel implications.”

In addition to consumer behavior studies, research-driven GroupM Next explores marketplace trends designed to improve the effectiveness of client media buys. Recent studies have included a look at the relationship between search and social media and a separate examination of the “new retail shopper.”

The research post is a new one at St. Louis-based GroupM Next. Previously, the role was spilt between CEO Copeland and Cindy Kerber Spellman, a partner and director of corporate communications at the firm.

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