MRI-Simmons

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.

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

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. Audience Activation Services: Enables advertisers to target specific audience segments through DSP integrations and data marketplace partnerships with TransUnion and other platforms.
3. 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

Core 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.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• NIQcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2026NIQ 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.
• CadentflagshipTechnology or Integration · 16 June 2026Expanded 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.
• TransUnioncoreTechnology or Integration · 14 April 2026MRI-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.
• TransUnionflagshipTechnology or Integration · 2 April 2026Expanded 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.
• ComscorecoreTechnology or Integration · 31 March 2026MRI-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

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mri-simmons
• Xx.com/MRI_Simmons
• Facebookfacebook.com/MRISimmons

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MRI-Simmons