• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, August 21, 2012

I just heard from John Ross, the founder of Interpublic's Shopper Sciences unit, that he's leaving to join INMAR Corp., where he will lead the development of a retail promotions and sales performance practice.

Ross, who previously was head of Interpublic's Lab, and prior to that was CMO of Home Depot, is one of the experts on retail marketing, and especially on so-called shopper media, and launched Shopper Sciences to develop new scientific approahces to researching, measuring and improving the practice.

The move comes at a time when Interpublic's Mediabrands is integrating a number of its shopper-oriented units, including Shopper Sciences and hyper-local media unit Geomentum, into a new, yet-to-be-named unit that will focus on media and marketing that drive consumers to purchase products at retail -- more or less.

"Having developed and built Shopper Sciences from an idea into one of the leading shopper marketing companies in the industry, it will be sad to leave the Interpublic group and the teams within Mediabrands, Geomentum and Shopper Sciences," Ross said, adding, "Rest assured that the Shopper Sciences team remains committed to growing the business and serving every client with the same level of service as always. I am confident in the stability of the company and the talent in place to continue to grow the agency."

Ross said he would continue to work with IPG in his new role, but did not elaborate.