Informa is now Curinos

August 16, 2021 03:26PM

Got an email saying that Informa has changed their name to Curinos. Sounds like a pizza place to me. I hope they didn't spend too much money for the company that came up with the name.

Also apparently they were also known by Novantas for some of their business, per this email they sent:

I wanted to pass along some exciting news and information personally. As announced earlier in the year, on many websites, Informa and Novantas are excited to become Curinos.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2021 03:28PM by MisterBill.

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August 16, 2021 04:13PM

Weird "on many websites". On their sassie page it still says Informa Research Services.

August 17, 2021 01:56AM

It will until everything is changed over. The shops and current schedulers will remain the same.

August 17, 2021 06:20AM

People in the marketing business often go gaga over a new name. Often times it backfires. Customers can be lost in the process and none gained. We aren't customers, of course, but it always surprises me that companies are often so quick to jettison names without consideration of the importance of stability many customers place when selecting a vendor.

In the current case, one must wonder what value the marketing gurus placed on coming up with a hard to spell and hard to pronounce name.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2021 06:21AM by Rousseau.

August 18, 2021 06:33PM

Informa and Novantas were two totally different companies. One is on the London Stock Exchange and has its roots in the 18th century, before the U.S. came into being. The other started in 1999 in the U.S.

As I understand it, only one part of Informa (FBX) and Novantas have come together to form Curinos. Coming up with a new name makes sense. I'm sure they are big enough that "Curinos" will become a familiar name soon in the financial intelligence and marketing industry. Mystery shopping is just a small part of what they do.

How is "Curinos" hard to pronounce? Is it any more difficult than "Novantas"?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2021 06:35PM by BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz.

August 20, 2021 02:24AM

I was curious and looked up the press release announcing the merger. This explains the new name:
"Curinos, a combination of the words “customers,” “innovation” and “nos,” the Spanish word for “us,” reflects the forward-thinking vision of the unified businesses."
Apparently, the "r" slipped in to make it pronounceable. I would have used contiguous letters, yielding Cusinos, but that looks too much like a misspelling of casino or a misconjugation of the verb to cook in either Spanish or Italian,

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

August 20, 2021 03:06PM

Sounds like an Italian restaurant to me, but whatever. They'll always be Informa in my mind. Old dog..hard to learn new tricks. MF is still Shop 'N Chek in some places on my puter.

*****************************************************************************
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

August 20, 2021 05:10PM

What type of shops do these companies represent?

August 20, 2021 06:17PM

We are a financial intelligence company. So our shops are all related to the banking industry. We offer checking account opening shops that are typically 100% online and pay $250. We have credit card opening shops that pay $250, opening a personal unsecured loan that pays $250, mortgage pre-qualification shops that pay $200 and many others. We do have soft pull loan inquiry shops that pay $30-$35 each too and take about 10 minutes each to complete. Our shops are now 90% fully online and we still offer some in person shops for banks as well. If you are interested in learning you can email Briana.Goldman@curinos.com. The link to sign up is: [www.sassieshop.com]

Or you can simply google "Informa Sassie Shopper sign up"

We are always recruiting new shoppers.

Thank You and Happy Friday!

Briana Baca
Data Collection Manager
Curinos

Briana.Goldman@Curinos.com

“Reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it.” —Jane Wagner

August 20, 2021 07:50PM

Briana is great to work with, folks.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

August 20, 2021 08:15PM

I absolutely second Wales concerning Bri. A few years back, I had a very minor issue and received an E-letter from Bri that she had resolved the situation BEFORE I had the chance to report the problem. Now folks, you can not beat that with a stick!

August 21, 2021 12:40AM

@walesmaven wrote:

Briana is great to work with, folks.

100% agree!

August 21, 2021 06:32AM

Yep. Briana is great.

August 22, 2021 01:50PM

<Or you can simply google "Informa Sassie Shopper sign up" >

Wow... whatever firm was charged with the rebranding owes a refund.

Best practices = don't release anything until EVERY asset reflects the new name

Have synthesizers, will travel...

September 10, 2021 06:19PM

So the $250 for a shop and figured it was a scam, especially since it started talking about bank accts. etc.

September 10, 2021 08:03PM

Wrong ! They have a lot of shops with high fees. Thet are for fairly complex scenarios, but good pay for the work needed.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

September 11, 2021 01:50PM

As a marketing communications professional (with more than 35 years of experience), I think that the new name is a result of some ad-agency "genius" coming up with something he/she thought was oh, so clever, but which, in reality, isn't.

I agree that it's hard to know how to pronounce it (Kerr-ee-nus, Cure-in-os, Kerr-in-os, Cure-ee-nus, and so forth), plus, really, who's going to understand what it means? Other than the people who thought it up and those who approved it. It doesn't "say" anything about what it does, unless you dig for the explanation. Which defeats the purpose of a new name. Sounds like a pizza place to me!

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

September 11, 2021 02:07PM

Probably the same genius that came up with "Truist."

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

September 11, 2021 02:20PM

Trend-speak and over-the-top jargon will be the death of businesses someday! These days when you read a business's description of itself, you're left wondering, "But just what the hell do you DO"? Other than "provide innovative, state-of-the-art solutions by our collegial teams of forward-thinking innovators to solve our customers' challenges in today's competitive environment."

And, yes, I see "innovative" repeated in sentences and paragraphs ad-nauseam. It seems that every copy-editing or proofing job I get these days is full of this garbage. A whole lotta words that say nothing. Probably the same people who came up with Curinos. LOL.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

September 11, 2021 03:50PM

@walesmaven wrote:

Probably the same genius that came up with "Truist."

Yep. Another "blech."

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

September 17, 2021 03:45AM

Many lifetimes ago, in a marketing class, we teamed up and attempted to name products. I remember nothing about the names and the products. This only popped back into memory because of the MSC name change.

There we were: Syllables. Cognates. Spelling. Is it catchy? Descriptive? Evocative? Obvious? Colorful? Staid? These things are important when naming business concepts.

Here I am: Cu... Cur...Curi...I... In... No...

I think I see something from Colorado University World (CU Boulder) and the periodic table of elements (Copper), the beginning of cure, curare, curb [stop or step up!?], curling [iron or ice sport!?] curing [pavement!? diseases!?], curtail, etc., the beginning of curious or curiosity, rin (an acceptable word in the Word Wipe game and the beginning of Rin Tin Tin), in as in inquiry, preposition, or word part... etc. If I look at it long enough, I will see much more, such as I ching. But for a first glance, that is enough.

What I do not see is an answer. What is the answer? In[/]quiring minds want to know.

@BirdyC wrote:

As a marketing communications professional (with more than 35 years of experience), I think that the new name is a result of some ad-agency "genius" coming up with something he/she thought was oh, so clever, but which, in reality, isn't.

I agree that it's hard to know how to pronounce it (Kerr-ee-nus, Cure-in-os, Kerr-in-os, Cure-ee-nus, and so forth), plus, really, who's going to understand what it means? Other than the people who thought it up and those who approved it. It doesn't "say" anything about what it does, unless you dig for the explanation. Which defeats the purpose of a new name. Sounds like a pizza place to me!

My garden in England is full of eating-out places, for heat waves, warm September evenings, or lunch on a chilly Christmas morning. (Mary Quant)

September 17, 2021 01:37PM

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Many lifetimes ago, in a marketing class, we teamed up and attempted to name products. I remember nothing about the names and the products. This only popped back into memory because of the MSC name change.

There we were: Syllables. Cognates. Spelling. Is it catchy? Descriptive? Evocative? Obvious? Colorful? Staid? These things are important when naming business concepts.

Here I am: Cu... Cur...Curi...I... In... No...

I think I see something from Colorado University World (CU Boulder) and the periodic table of elements (Copper), the beginning of cure, curare, curb [stop or step up!?], curling [iron or ice sport!?] curing [pavement!? diseases!?], curtail, etc., the beginning of curious or curiosity, rin (an acceptable word in the Word Wipe game and the beginning of Rin Tin Tin), in as in inquiry, preposition, or word part... etc. If I look at it long enough, I will see much more, such as I ching. But for a first glance, that is enough.

What I do not see is an answer. What is the answer? Inquiring minds want to know.

LOLOLOL. Yes; all this!

It also strikes me that "informa" was a perfect name--evocative of what the firm did, easy to pronounce, and memorable enough that recognition was easy. All of the things Curinos is not. Well, it's recognizable, but not for what it might mean or how it might be pronounced. "Want to order a pizza?" "Sure; let's call Curinos!"

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2021 01:39PM by BirdyC.

September 17, 2021 01:50PM

It is pronounced Cure-in-ose. To quote myst4au, who looked up the definition, "Curinos, a combination of the words “customers,” “innovation” and “nos,” the Spanish word for “us,” reflects the forward-thinking vision of the unified businesses."
Apparently, the "r" slipped in to make it pronounceable. I would have used contiguous letters, yielding Cusinos, but that looks too much like a misspelling of casino or a misconjugation of the verb to cook in either Spanish or Italian.

Briana Baca
Data Collection Manager
Curinos

Briana.Goldman@Curinos.com

“Reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it.” —Jane Wagner

September 17, 2021 10:18PM

@MSFDINF are there any shops in Canada?

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.
Alexander Den Heijer

September 18, 2021 12:24AM

@MSFDINF wrote:

It is pronounced Cure-in-ose. To quote myst4au, who looked up the definition, "Curinos, a combination of the words “customers,” “innovation” and “nos,” the Spanish word for “us,” reflects the forward-thinking vision of the unified businesses."
Apparently, the "r" slipped in to make it pronounceable. I would have used contiguous letters, yielding Cusinos, but that looks too much like a misspelling of casino or a misconjugation of the verb to cook in either Spanish or Italian.

Thank you for clarifying the pronunciation. There are so many ways one could guess at it based on the spelling.

I understand the idea behind the portmanteau. But my question is, who else will understand it other than those who created it and internal audiences? Will external audiences (clients, shoppers, etc.) "get" it without having to look it up or ask someone? I'm not trying to be flip. I seriously am seeking an answer. Messaging is part of my profession in my "real life," and I'm at a loss on this one!

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

September 20, 2021 01:50PM

@prince Since the merger with Novantas who had a location in Canada we are currently working to expand our shopping program there. For now the answer is no but as we grow yes we will have shops in Canada. For now our systems our only set up to pay US shoppers but I will post here once we do start shops with our neighbor to the North!

@BirdyC I do hope it is a name that both our clients and shoppers will come to know and love. I agree it can be difficult to pronounce. I am not sure the decision makers considered the full impact of rebranding when choosing the new name. I do value your insights as a marketing professional and hope the Curinos name will spark interest and curiosity amongst our clients and shoppers.

Thank You!

Briana Baca
Data Collection Manager
Curinos

Briana.Goldman@Curinos.com

“Reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it.” —Jane Wagner

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2021 03:57PM by MSFDINF.

September 20, 2021 03:55PM

@MSFDINF wrote:

@BirdyC I do hope it is a name that both our clients and shoppers will come to know and love. I agree it can be difficult to pronounce. I am not sure the decision makers considered the full impact of rebranding when choosing the new name. I do value your insights as a marketing professional and hope the Curinos name will spark interest and curiosity amongst our clients and shopper.

Thank You!

Thank you, Briana, for your kind reply.

What I find common today is that people in marketing & advertising have forgotten that one of the primary things is to always, always look at things from your audience's point of view. That's one of the first things I ever learned, and it's still true today. People tend to be so inward focused that they lose sight of how their customers, clients, and so on will perceive whatever message it is that they're trying to convey. It's like the Super Bowl ads! So many of them are oh, so clever, but if you're left, after you view it, wondering exactly what it is that was being advertised (the sexy model's designer clothing, the car, the vacation destination?), then the clever ad has failed.

In the end, it's not what's important or clear to you (the impersonal "you") ), it's what's important to your audiences that matters. This concept has been forgotten in many instances. :'(

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2021 04:01PM by BirdyC.

September 20, 2021 05:52PM

Since the program would not permit me to triple like Birdy's response to Bri, I Like This again and again.......................................

September 20, 2021 06:54PM

@shopperbob wrote:

Since the program would not permit me to triple like Birdy's response to Bri, I Like This again and again.......................................

You are too funny, shopperbob! And endearing.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

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