• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, October 6, 2009

Knowledge Networks, a major supplier of consumer research to Madison Avenue and the media industry, has acquired Dimestore Media, a company that has developed a proprietary technology enabling marketers to insert consumer surveys directly into online ads. The deal will dramatically accelerate Knowledge Networks role in digital media measurement, especially the effectiveness of online advertising campaigns, and how they compare with those of traditional media.

"More and more, marketers need to define their return on campaign investment - justifying the value of their advertising for improving awareness and purchase intent and other key brand metrics among specific target groups," Simon Kooyman, CEO of Knowledge Networks, stated, adding, "Incorporating Dimestore into KN gives us the ability to provide that information for campaigns that span digital and traditional media."

Dimestore was co-founded in 2008 by online advertising pioneers Scott Cohen and David Moore - cofounders of online ad server and advertising network 24/7 Real Media.

It was unclear at presstime whether Cohen and Moore might be joining the Knowledge Networks management team, or how Dimestore would be integrated into KN's organization, but the company's said they would work together to continue developing innovative methods for delivering "consumer-centric" measures for campaign effectiveness.

Initially, KN said its clients would have the option of creating their own surveys via Dimestore's platform, or could integrate the technology into KN's KnowledgePanel, an online survey panel based on a representative sample of the full U.S. population, including cell phone-only and Spanish-dominant Latino households.

In September, Dimestore announced a partnership with social media ad optimization firm Lotame to integrate its multiple question surveys directly into ads. Before serving up the ads, metrics from questions calculated on-the-fly determine the person's intent to buy, brand awareness, primary message retention and attitude of the brand.

The agreement provides Lotame with unlimited access to Dimestore's non-identifiable consumer data, incorporating it into its own reporting platform throughout the campaigns.