MRI-Simmons
MRI-Simmons is a U.S. consumer research and audience intelligence company (majority-owned by NIQ) that provides survey-based consumer insights and activation tools to agencies, brand marketers, and media companies. Its Catalyst platform combines a 60,000+ element consumer dataset with DSP and data marketplace integrations for campaign planning and activation.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What MRI-Simmons does
MRI-Simmons, operating legally as GfK US MRI, LLC, is a U.S. consumer research and audience intelligence company that provides syndicated and custom insights on the American consumer to agencies, brand marketers, media companies, and academic institutions. Its core methodology is probabilistic sampling of real survey respondents, producing a nationally representative dataset covering 60,000+ consumer elements including 1,000+ attitudes, 800+ lifestyle statements, 6,500+ brands, and 90+ proprietary segments. The company is majority-owned by NIQ and operates alongside related entities within the NIQ Group.
The company's product architecture is a platform-plus-modules model built around the Catalyst Platform, which combines audience building, insights delivery, and campaign activation. Core national studies (MRI-Simmons USA, Connect) and Focus Studies (LGBTQ+, Black American Consumers, women's sports, financial services) form the research backbone, while Catalyst modules (ACT for activation, Brand Catalyst for brand-specific insights) and add-on services (Syndicated Audiences, Custom Survey Integration, Data Enrichment, Data Integration, Partner Fusions) extend the platform. Activation flows through integrations with LiveRamp, The Trade Desk, Cadent, TransUnion's TruAudience Data Marketplace, Comscore, and Mediaocean Prisma. The company has deployed generative AI for data summarization and predictive analytics for audience scoring, both human-reviewed, on top of the survey foundation.
MRI-Simmons monetizes through three primary revenue streams: recurring subscription-style licensing of syndicated consumer research data, data-monetization through DSP and data marketplace audience activation partnerships, and professional-services revenue from custom research and survey integration work. Go-to-market is primarily enterprise field sales to agencies and large advertisers, supplemented by a self-serve component in Catalyst and channel distribution through DSP and data marketplace partners. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; the company serves B2B enterprise customers while compensating survey respondents with variable "Thank You Payments." Headcount is reported at 101–250 employees with operational headquarters in Chicago.
MRI-Simmons firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MRI-Simmons
- Legal name
- GfK US MRI, LLC
- Website
- https://mrisimmons.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- MRI-Simmons is a U.S. consumer research and audience intelligence company (majority-owned by NIQ) that provides survey-based consumer insights and activation tools to agencies, brand marketers, and media companies. Its Catalyst platform combines a 60,000+ element consumer dataset with DSP and data marketplace integrations for campaign planning and activation.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where MRI-Simmons is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
MRI-Simmons business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Consumer Research Data Licensing: Provides data from survey respondents about consumer preferences, purchase history, attitudes, and behaviors to customers including e-commerce businesses, consumer brands, media companies, and marketing agencies for market research and advertising targeting purposes.
- Audience Activation Services: Enables advertisers to target specific audience segments through DSP integrations and data marketplace partnerships with TransUnion and other platforms.
- Custom Research Services: Provides custom survey integration, custom research studies, and data enrichment services for specialized audience needs.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels5 records
MRI-Simmons product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MRI-Simmons provides syndicated consumer research data and audience activation tools for agencies, marketers, and media companies in the United States. Its core offering is the Catalyst Platform, which delivers access to a nationally representative consumer database covering 60,000+ elements, 90+ proprietary segments, and 6,500+ brand preferences, combined with activation capabilities through integrations with DSPs, data marketplaces, and ad-tech partners.
Product overview
MRI-Simmons is a consumer research and audience intelligence company offering a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on the Catalyst Platform. Catalyst provides the core infrastructure for accessing consumer insights, with specialized modules including ACT for campaign activation, Brand Catalyst for brand-specific insights, and various data services. The company delivers National Studies (MRI-Simmons USA, Connect), Local Consumer Insights, and Focus Studies as primary research products, supplemented by Syndicated Audiences, Custom Survey Integration, Custom Research, Data Enrichment, Data Integration, and Partner Fusions. The ACT module enables seamless audience activation through integrations with LiveRamp, The Trade Desk, Cadent Platform, TransUnion TruAudience Data Marketplace, Comscore, and Mediaocean Prisma. The company is majority-owned by NIQ and is part of the NIQ Group of companies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Catalyst: A platform providing activation tools, brand catalyst, and custom survey integration capabilities.
- ACT (Activation)
- MRI-Simmons USA
- Connect
Products and services
- Catalyst Platform Core analytics and insights platform providing consumer research data access, audience building, and campaign activation capabilities for brands, agencies, and media companies.
- MRI-Simmons USA National consumer study providing comprehensive data on American consumers, including 60,000+ consumer elements, 1,000+ attitudes and opinions, 800+ lifestyle statements, 90+ proprietary segments, 6,500+ brands, and 1,000+ product categories.
- Connect National study offering consumer insights and behavioral data with syndicated audience segments and custom research options for targeted market analysis.
- Local Consumer Insights Geographic-specific consumer research data enabling location-based audience targeting and regional market analysis for localized marketing strategies.
- Focus Studies Specialized research studies covering specific demographic segments, topics, or consumer trends such as LGBTQ+ communities, Black American consumers, and young consumers.
- Partner Segmentations Pre-built audience segments developed in partnership with third-party data providers enabling cross-platform targeting through integrations like TransUnion TruAudience and Comscore.
- Print Print-focused consumer research data offering magazine and newspaper readership and engagement insights for media planning and buying decisions.
- Syndicated Audiences Pre-built, off-the-shelf audience targets available for immediate activation covering various consumer segments, attitudes, behaviors, and brand preferences.
- Custom Survey Integration Service allowing clients to integrate their own custom survey questions into MRI-Simmons' research methodology for proprietary audience insights.
- Custom Research Bespoke research services tailored to specific client needs for unique consumer insights beyond syndicated offerings.
- Data Enrichment Service enhancing existing client data with MRI-Simmons' consumer attributes, behavioral patterns, and attitudinal insights for improved audience profiling.
- Data Integration Service combining MRI-Simmons consumer research data with client first-party data for unified audience analytics and activation.
- Partner Fusions Data fusion services combining MRI-Simmons consumer insights with partner data sources for enhanced audience segmentation and targeting capabilities.
- ACT (Activation) Campaign activation module within Catalyst that enables marketers to target and reach specific audiences using MRI-Simmons consumer data through ad-tech platforms and media partners.
- Brand Catalyst Brand-specific audience insights module enabling brands to understand consumer preferences, behaviors, and media consumption patterns for strategic marketing decisions.
Companies that use MRI-Simmons
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
MRI-Simmons technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
AI capability5 records
Feature6 records
MRI-Simmons partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- NIQcoreNIQ owns a majority stake in MRI-Simmons and is the parent company. MRI-Simmons is part of the NIQ Group which includes subsidiaries and related companies. NIQ provides omnichannel purchase-based insights that are combined with MRI-Simmons consumer research for integrated audience targeting solutions.
- CadentflagshipExpanded partnership integrating NIQ's omnichannel purchase-based insights with MRI-Simmons consumer research through the Cadent Platform. Enables advertisers to plan and activate precise, insight-driven audiences with improved campaign planning, activation, and performance measurement across fragmented media environments.
- TransUnioncoreMRI-Simmons expanded its relationship with TransUnion to widen access to psychographic and behavioral audience segments through the TruAudience Data Marketplace. Partnership provides brands access to thousands of premium research-driven audience segments derived from MRI-Simmons' comprehensive consumer research.
- TransUnionflagshipExpanded relationship to provide advertisers, agencies, and publishers access to thousands of premium research-driven audience segments through TransUnion's TruAudience Data Marketplace. Segments include psychographic profiles, lifestyle behaviors, brand preferences, and media consumption habits. Brands can also work with MRI-Simmons to design custom audience definitions.
- ComscorecoreMRI-Simmons and NIQ joined Comscore's Data Partner Network to provide privacy-first, contextual audience solutions leveraging consumer insights. Collaboration enables targeted advertising while adhering to strict privacy standards.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
MRI-Simmons competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
MRI-Simmons social profiles
Digital presenceMRI-Simmons financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MRI-Simmons leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles15 records
MRI-Simmons funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MRI-Simmons M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MRI-Simmons
What does MRI-Simmons do?
MRI-Simmons provides syndicated consumer research data and audience activation tools for agencies, marketers, and media companies in the United States. Its core offering is the Catalyst Platform, which delivers access to a nationally representative consumer database covering 60,000+ elements, 90+ proprietary segments, and 6,500+ brand preferences, combined with activation capabilities through integrations with DSPs, data marketplaces, and ad-tech partners.
Is MRI-Simmons a public or private company?
MRI-Simmons is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was MRI-Simmons founded?
MRI-Simmons was founded in 2019. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is MRI-Simmons based?
MRI-Simmons is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does MRI-Simmons make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Consumer Research Data Licensing is the primary driver. The others are audience Activation Services and custom Research Services.
Does MRI-Simmons have an API?
No public API is recorded for MRI-Simmons.