• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, October 18, 2007

Havas agency Media Contacts has hired Jarvis Mak as vice president, U.S. director of research and insights. Mak, a former Nielsen//NetRatings executive, will be based in Media Contacts' San Francisco office, and will report directly to Ed Montes, Media Contacts managing director, North America.

"Now that the intersection of technology, data and analytics has become a standard part of the marketing landscape (digital or otherwise), we believe in Jarvis we found an industry thought leader who can put these converging trends into context," said Montes.

Mak will be responsible for company research as it relates to digital, direct, and relationship-based media, and will work with Media Contacts' U.S. clients to help guide communication strategy.

He will also be expected to work closely with the agency's global director of research and insights, TS Kelly, who recently relocated from New York to its Hong Kong office.

Mak was previously with DS-IQ, a marketing services firm in retail digital media, translating in-store campaign results into recommended targeting and optimization strategies. Prior to DS-IQ, he was at Yahoo, providing insights and solutions to select retail and travel clients.

Jarvis served as a Director of Analytics for Nielsen//NetRatings, where he spearheaded the MegaPanel research effort and managed a custom research team.