YouGov PLC (YOU) 2014年年度報告「AIM」.pdf

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1、YouGov Annual Report and Accounts 2014Annual Report and Accounts 2014Strategic reportIntroductionFifteen years ago,YouGov began life as a challenger to the market research industry with a revolutionary methodology.We grew internationally by acquisitions,and needed a period to integrate them to becom

2、e a more efficient organisation.Today we are entering our next phase.We have a powerful brand,a global platform and now are developing a new technology and approach to data collection and analysis which will allow YouGov to fulfil its mission as a true Internet company.YouGovAnnual Report and Accoun

3、ts 2014CStrategic report01 Operational highlights 02 YouGov at a glance 04 Our reach 06 Chairmans statement08 Business model and strategy09 Chief Executives review 14 Our data products and services 16 Opigram 17 Share a Coke:case study 18 YouGov in the press 20 Review of geographic operations 24 Chi

4、ef Financial Officers report 27 Principal risks Governance28 Board of Directors 30 Corporate Governance Report 32 Corporate Social Responsibility 33 Remuneration Report 37 Directors Report 40 Directors Responsibilities Statement 41 Independent Auditors Report to the Members of YouGov plc on the Grou

5、p Financial StatementsFinancial statements43 Consolidated Income Statement 44 Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income45 Consolidated Statement of Financial Position46 Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity 47 Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows 48 Principal Accounting Policies of the Co

6、nsolidated Financial Statements 57 Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements 78 Independent Auditors Report to the Members of YouGov plc on the Parent Company Financial Statements 80 Company Balance Sheet81 Accounting Policies 84 Notes to the Company Financial Statements Additional information8

7、9 Notice of Annual General Meeting 91 Retained advisors Key financialsStrategic reportOperational highlightsTurnover m2014201320122011201067.462.658.156.144.2Operating cash generation m201420132012201120109.06.94.95.64.9Adjusted earnings per share1 pence201420132012201120106.15.64.94.72.5Adjusted op

8、erating profit1 m201420132012201120107.46.05.65.33.8Adjusted profit before tax1 m201420132012201120107.76.86.15.84.0Statutory operating profit 1.0m(2013:1.5m)Statutory profit before tax 0.7m(2013:1.5m)1.Adjusted operating profit is defined as group operating profit before amortisation of intangibles

9、,impairment charge and exceptional items.In the year to 31 July 2014,amortisation of intangibles was 4.0m(2013:3.3m)and exceptional costs were 2.4m(2013:1.2m).Adjusted profit before tax and earnings per share are calculated based on the adjusted operating profit.Strategic reportGovernanceFinancial s

10、tatementsAdditional information1YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014 Group revenue increased by 8%(10%in constant currency terms)Adjusted operating profit up by 24%Adjusted profit before tax up by 12%Adjusted earnings per share up by 11%Cash generated from operations(before paying interest and tax)

11、increased to 8.9m(2013:6.9m)Excellent cash conversion of 120%of adjusted operating profit(2013:116%)Net cash balances of 7.2m(2013:6.7m)after making 1.0m(2013:2.0m)of acquisition related payments Recommended dividend increased by 33%to 0.8p per share Revenue from Data Products and Services up by 30%

12、;now represents 29%of total(2013:24%)BrandIndex revenue increased by 53%to 8.0m Omnibus revenue increased by 20%to 8.8m Revenue from Custom Research up by 1%to47.7m Expanded into Asia Pacific through acquisition of Decision Fuel in January 2014 Opigram service integrated with YouG website,increasing

13、 site visits and amount of profile information New YouGov Profiles product developed and due to launch in November3 millionYouGov is the most quoted research company in the UK.In the last year,YouGov was quoted more than twice as often asany other market researcher in the UK.This year we served over

14、2,000 clients worldwide18 millionYouGov surveysin the 12months to 31 July 2014 (an increase of 6%over the previous year)Our panellists completed591employees worldwideStrategic reportYouGov at a glance24 officesworldwide,in 16 countries covering the UK,Europe,the Nordics,the Middle East,Asia and the

15、USAYouGov was named one of the worlds top 25 research companies bythe respected Honomichl Global Top25Report 2013 people worldwideWe have a panel of2YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014YouGov plc is an international full-service market research agency.Our core offering of opinion data is derived fr

16、om our highly responsive panel of respondents.We combine this continuous stream of data with our deep research expertise and broad industry experience into a systematic research and marketing platform.This allows us to deliver data,analyses and reports that can be used to plan,manage and refine all

17、types of campaigns whether they have commercial,political,social or other objectives.Our suite of syndicated,proprietary data products includes:YouGov BrandIndex,the daily brand perception tracker;YouGov Reports which provide comprehensive market intelligence on a range of sectors;and YouGov Profile

18、s,our new planning and segmentation tool.The market-leading YouGov Omnibus provides a fast and cost-effective service for obtaining answers to research questions from both national and selected samples.Our custom research business conducts a wide range of quantitative and qualitative research,tailor

19、ed by our specialist teams to meet our clients specific requirements.An overview of our products and servicesStrategic reportGovernanceFinancial statementsAdditional information3YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014Our new real-time digital behaviour trackerYouGov Pulse enables brands and agencies t

20、o capture real-time,in-depth and actual online consumer behaviour across laptops,smartphones and tablets.Pulse makes it possible to understand the full picture of what consumers do online and the online journeys they experience.Quantitative and qualitative research directed by our sector specialists

21、Using their in-depth sector knowledge,our custom research specialists employ both quantitative and qualitative methods to identify and analyse markets,clarify opportunities and challenges and to generate data that provides clients with actionable information.Our highly structured and codified profil

22、e data library(known as the YouGov Cube)allows us to enhance our custom offering by minimising the additional data collection required to answer clients questions about the attitudes,behaviours and profiles of the population.Our expertise in combining custom research with syndicated data helps us to

23、 deliver a high degree of value for money to our clients.Our key offerings include:reputation studies(measuring public and stakeholder opinion on an organisations reputation);syndicated studies covering sector or product trends,such as our YouGov/TIME Inc.Survey of Affluence and Wealth(US)and Insura

24、nce Industry Customer Satisfaction Monitor(Germany);and our full research programme providing a range of research,often on annual contracts,including tracking studies,qualitative research and customer profiling.Comprehensive market intelligence reportsThe YouGov Reports division consists of market i

25、ntelligence reports(previously called SixthSense reports),the HEAT economic confidence tracking study and specialist syndicated financial,media andtechnology trackers.Our daily brand perception trackerYouGovs flagship brand intelligence service,YouGov BrandIndex,tells our clients what the world thin

26、ks of their brands and their competitors at any given moment and helps our clients understand the link between their media and advertising efforts,brand perception,and consumer response.Delivering next-day answersThe YouGov Omnibus is the perfect vehicle to find out,quickly and cost-effectively,peop

27、les opinions,attitudes and behaviours.Omnibus surveys are run daily,providing nationally representative responses to clients within a 48 hour turnaround(only 24 hours in the UK).Our new planning and segmentation toolYouGov Profiles will improve the ability of marketers to understand the people and a

28、udiences that matter to them.It will enable media owners to identify potential advertisers and make more informed content and scheduling decisions so as to deliver the target audience that advertisers require.Palo Alto,CA.Portland,OR.Waterbury,CT.Lawrenceville,N.J.New York,N.Y.Strategic reportOur re

29、achYouGov has 24 offices worldwide,in 16 countries covering the UK,Europe,the Nordics,the Middle East,Asia and the USA.In January 2014,YouGov acquired Decision Fuel(now YouGov Asia Pacific),gaining new offices in Hong Kong,Shanghai and Singapore (see page 23 for more detail on the acquisition).We ha

30、ve recently opened another office in Jakarta,Indonesia.In the Middle East,we recently opened new offices in Cairo,Egypt and Erbil,Iraq.4YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014LondonParisHelsinkiOsloMalmStockholmCologneBerlinDubaiErbilDammamJeddahSingaporeHong KongShanghaiCairoRiyadhJakartaCopenhagenYo

31、uGov has a proprietary panel of 3 million people across 33 countries.We are rapidly growing our coverage in the Asia Pacific region and will soon have panels in Thailand and The Philippines,takingour reach to 35 countries.Strategic reportGovernanceFinancial statementsAdditional information5YouGovAnn

32、ual Report and Accounts 2014The year ended 31 July 2014 was another successful one for YouGov.We once again delivered organic revenue growth well ahead of the market research sector.We also took further strides towards the goal of our revenue from data products and services reaching parity with that

33、 from custom research services.We extended our geographic reach through the acquisition of Decision Fuel(since renamed YouGov Asia Pacific),which provides the Group with an operational base in China and South-East Asia.As the Board expected,the successful development of our business in line with our

34、 stated strategy fed through to strong growth in profits and earnings per share in the year(on an adjusted basis).We also generated a net cash inflow after funding acquisition-related payments and investments in panel,technology and other assets to support future business growth.This performance tog

35、ether with our continued healthy financial position enables the Board to recommend an increase of 33%inthe dividend payable to shareholders.YouGov revolutionised market research over a decade ago through our use of online data collection methods.We now aim to pioneer the development of a real-time a

36、nd interactive dialogue with our panellists which,when combined with innovative data analytics,produces extremely rapid,accurate and valuable research insights for our clients.YouGov is increasingly becoming a true Internet company in which panellists enjoy interacting with us online which enables u

37、s to produce data products that are valuable to businesses and other public and private organisations as well as to panellists themselves.We continue to develop our organisational structures and systems to enhance our operation as a company with outstanding digital skills,a famous worldwide brand an

38、d a unified offer of globally consistent and connected data products.Based on this strategy,the Board has set ambitious goals for the Group with the aim of delivering substantial and consistent earnings growth.To support this,we are further developing the way that our business and its performance ar

39、e managed and reported.As previously announced,Sundip Chahal,the CEO of YouGovs Middle East and North Africa unit,was appointed in August 2014 to the newly created senior role of Chief Operating Officer,reporting to Stephan Shakespeare.He will be responsible for the continued scaling of the business

40、 globally,ensuring consistency of business processes and quality of client service delivery across the Group,as well as for overseeing the performance ofthe Groups geographic units.Turnover m2014201320122011201067.462.658.156.144.2Adjusted operating profit1 m201420132012201120107.46.05.65.33.8Strate

41、gic reportChairmans statementfor the year ended 31 July 20146YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014Consistent with our strategy,we are moving from our current approach of reporting performance mainly by geographic unit(which reflects past acquisitions),to a focus on consistent global products and ser

42、vices.To reflect this new focus,product and service segmental reporting has been introduced in the accompanying financial statements for 2013/14 as a supplementary analysis to the current geographical reporting.We intend to make it the primary analysis from 2014/15 onwards.In the coming year,we will

43、 be concentrating our resources and headcount growth on sales,client service and analytics skills with the objective of driving revenues from data products and services and from custom research that integrates with the data generated from our panel.The Board considers it essential for management and

44、 shareholder interests to be aligned around the creation of long-term value for shareholders.The Remuneration Committee has therefore approved a new Long Term Incentive Plan(LTIP)for the Groups Directors and senior managers,effective from 1 August 2014,which is designed to reward the participants fo

45、r the achievement of highly demanding EPS growth targets over the five year period ending 31 July 2019.In addition to EPS growth,the vesting of LTIP benefits will require the Group to improve operating margins over the period and individual participants to meet specific personal goals.The Board beli

46、eves that this balance of metrics will encourage the creation of long-term value and not just simply drive EPS growth,which is only one measure of success.The new stretch targets are significantly higher than those in place under the current LTIP.The terms of the new LTIP have been developed with ad

47、vice received from Deloittes remuneration consulting practice,and after consultation with Numis and several major shareholders.The Board expects the Group to make further investments in new technologies to accelerate the development of new data products and services,in particular of YouGov Profiles.

48、Our focus will remain on achieving this organically although we will consider tactical acquisitions that support the delivery of our plans if the right opportunities arise.We have started the current year well in terms of sales to new and existing clients.There is a clear understanding amongst the s

49、enior team of the very ambitious targets being set by the Board and detailed plans have been developed to support their achievement.The Board believes that we are well positioned to continue growing our share of the market research industry in away that creates a more profitable and robust business.

50、IRoger ParryChairman13 October 2014“This was another successful year for YouGov.We once again delivered organic revenue growth well ahead of the market research sector.We also took further strides towards the goal of our revenue from data products and services reaching parity with that from custom r

51、esearch services.”Operating cash generation m201420132012201120109.06.94.95.64.9Adjusted earnings per share1 pence201420132012201120106.15.64.94.72.51.Adjusted operating profit is defined as group operating profit before amortisation of intangibles,impairment charge and exceptional items.In the year

52、 to 31 July 2014,amortisation of intangibles was 4.0m(2013:3.3m)and exceptional costs were 2.4m(2013:1.2m).Adjusted profit before tax and earnings per share are calculated based on the adjusted operating profit.Strategic reportGovernanceFinancial statementsAdditional information7YouGovAnnual Report

53、and Accounts 2014Strategic reportBusiness model and strategyMission statementIt is YouGovs ambition to supply a live stream of continuous,accurate data and actionable insight into what people are thinking and doing all over the world,all of the time,so that companies,governments and institutions can

54、 better serve the people that sustain them.Core business modelEstablished in the UK in 2000 as the first online pollster,YouGov quickly developed a very strong brand widely recognised for accurate political opinions polling.Our highly-responsive proprietary panel and strong reputation opened the doo

55、rs for YouGov to expand quickly beyond the public service sector to much larger and more profitable commercial market research activity.YouGovs success was also boosted by our aptitude for developing innovative high-margin research products,and our sector expertise that addresses the strategic resea

56、rch needs of both large corporate and public sector organisations.The key to our business is our panel.We have developed a number of procedures for recruiting,validating and sampling that enable us to use Internet samples to represent the population as a whole.We believe that Internet research is as

57、 accurate as traditional methods,while being faster and more flexible and thereby freeing up resources for the vital interpretation and implementation of results.Today,YouGov has proprietary online panels in 33 countries worldwide and we continue to engage in opportunities to take our online market

58、research core business model of a strong brand and panel,coupled with innovative products and sector expertise to new markets.Strategy for growth A key objective for the Group is to increase the proportion of revenue from data products and services over the medium term and bring these closer to pari

59、ty with custom research.We are focusing on growing revenue from our core product suite across all our existing geographies.This involves bringing to market new products,as well as continuing to innovate with new products.In addition to making targeted investments in growing and expanding our syndica

60、ted data products and services suite,we are also continuing to explore opportunities to expand our core model geographically.Our five key strategic objectives Grow our syndicated products suite Integrate custom and syndicated data Enhance our user experience Boost our public profile Expand our geogr

61、aphic footprintOur five key strategic objectivesBoost our public profileExpand our geographic footprintGrow our syndicated products suiteIntegrate custom research and syndicated dataEnhance our user experience8YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014Strategic reportChief Executives reviewfor the year e

62、nded 31 July 2014“Were delivering what we set out to at the beginning of the year.Data products and services are growing well,with the profit contribution from these higher margin businesses matching custom research for the first time.Our geographies are performing to plan and we have continued to e

63、xpand our footprint,allowing us to continue to leverage our products internationally.”Strategic reportGovernanceFinancial statementsAdditional information9YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014Performance in the year YouGovs revenue for the year ended 31 July 2014 increased by 8%to 67.4m(10%in consta

64、nt currency terms).This is significantly above the estimated global market growth of between 2%and 3%.In line with our plans,revenue from data products and services increased proportionately faster,by 30%to 20m.This now represents 29%of the total Group revenue,compared to 24%in the previous year.Wit

65、hin this,BrandIndex grew by 53%and Omnibus by 20%.These high growth rates reflect the increased penetration of these products in their existing markets as well as their continued geographical expansion.Custom research revenue grew by 1%with some variation between regions.I am also pleased to report

66、a 24%increase in the Groups adjusted operating profit to 7.4m,compared to 6.0m in 2012/13 and an increase in the adjusted operating profit margin from 10%to 11%.This growth is attributable to the increase in revenues together with a 1%point improvement in gross margins(to 77%),which was driven by th

67、e higher contribution from data products and services.The operating cost ratio remained at 66%of revenue.We maintained a high cash conversion rate with cash generated from operations increasing by 29%to 8.9m,from 6.9m in the prior year.This represents a conversion rate of 120%of adjusted operating p

68、rofit(2013:116%).The strong cash generation was also reflected in a net cash inflow of 1.3m after investing 1.0m(2013:2.0m)in acquisition-related payments and 5.8m in the purchase of tangible and intangible fixed assets,including 4.7m for the development of our panel and technology platforms.Our adj

69、usted profit before tax rose by 12%and our adjusted earnings per share increased by 11%.These reflected the unrealised losses within finance costs arising from the effect of sterlings appreciation on cash balances converted from other currencies at the year-end.We are increasingly managing our busin

70、ess and driving growth through our global product and service lines:data products,data services and custom research.As we scale our business,we aim to harmonise further across all geographies our research offerings and approach to the market as well as the operational and business processes that ena

71、ble efficient and effective delivery of our research data and services to clients.We also expect further operational leverage from the continued growth of data products and services.In line with this,we will increasingly report our performance in terms of our global service lines.Changes in revenue

72、mFY13FY14Custom Research up 1%Data Products&Servicesup 30%01020304050607024%29%“The launch of YouGov Profiles,a new product that allows subscribers to interrogate the rich data in the YouGov engine,marks our intent to put our unique connected data at the heart ofthe marketing workflow.”Strategic rep

73、ortChief Executives review continuedfor the year ended 31 July 201410YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014The UK version of YouGov Profiles is based on a database of some 120,000 separate data points on consumers,collected initially from approximately 190,000 YouGov panellists.YouGov Profiles connec

74、ts data on profiles,brand,sector,media,digital and social data all in one place.For example,it provides brand usage and perception data for some 1,000 brands(plus usage for thousands more),TV viewing for 5,000 programmes,website usage for the most active commercial websites and much more.YouGov Prof

75、iles will be offered to the market as a subscription service(like BrandIndex)with clients accessing the data through a dedicated portal.YouGov Profiles complements BrandIndex since it allows users to define and understand their potential target customers while BrandIndex allows them to measure the e

76、ffect of campaigns and other events on how their own and other brands are perceived.It will improve the ability of marketers to understand the people and audiences that matter to them and will enable media owners to identify potential advertisers and make more informed content and scheduling decisio

77、ns so as to deliver the target audience that advertisers require.YouGov Profiles will be delivered through a“point and click”tool,which will give users access to a wide range of detailed and connected data and provides analytics methods with which to interrogate and interpret the data.The full UK la

78、unch will take place at the Festival of Marketing in November,followed by rollouts in the USA and Germany later in the 2014/15 financial year.Expand our geographic footprint As a result of the acquisition of Decision Fuel in January 2014,YouGov has extended its footprint into Asia Pacific where the

79、growth of a more sophisticated consumer base is driving demand for reliable yet economically priced research data,which YouGov is well-placed to provide.The new YouGov Asia Pacific team has integrated smoothly with the wider Group.The regional operation was extended to Indonesia in September 2014,an

80、d we now have an office in Jakarta in addition to the Hong Kong,Shanghai and Singapore offices already in place at the time of the acquisition.Consistent with the rest of the Group,future growth in the region will be centred on BrandIndex and Omnibus both of which are already being rolled out there.

81、Grow our suite of data products and servicesData products and services have remained the main driver of YouGovs growth in FY14 and the operational leverage that they support also contributed to the significant profit growth in the year.In addition to the continued growth and development of our exist

82、ing services,we have made good progress with further product innovations that are being introduced to the market.Chief among these is the YouGov Profiles product.YouGovs recent product development has focused on harnessing the continuous stream of information that panellists share with us to provide

83、 more detailed and holistic information to marketers on the attitudes and behaviours of current and potential customers for their products and services.The continued expansion of ways in which marketing and advertising communications can be exchanged with consumers has fragmented audiences and incre

84、ased the need to tailor and target advertising messages to reflect more precisely their interests and attitudes.Such targeting requires more detail and more precision in audience segmentation when planning media campaigns to identify opportunities and efficiencies.YouGov has responded to this need b

85、y developing YouGov Profiles,a ground breaking new tool for media planning and audience segmentation for use by brand owners and the agencies who serve them.YouGov Profiles is a unique offer in the industry,which combines a richer version of the information previously available to marketers with add

86、itional data on digital and social media activity.YouGov Profiles is already being tested by clients and will be launched formally in the UK in the autumn of 2014.Strategy Our clearly stated aim is to make our core offering of opinion data,derived from our highly responsive panel of respondents,into

87、 a systematic research and marketing platform.This delivers data and related analyses and reports that can be used to plan,manage and refine or adapt all types of campaigns whether they have commercial,political,social or other objectives.YouGov has continued to pioneer change in the research indust

88、ry,with a focus in the last year on developing new services for marketers that build on and extend our range of successful data products and custom research.They also incorporate more data analytics and technology with which to access and manipulate the data.We are developing our methodology to prod

89、uce a new class of connected data that allows marketers to understand their customers in greater depth,and to evaluate changing environments faster and with higher granularity.This is enabled for clients by new data-analysis technology that makes its everyday application to business needs easy and p

90、ractical.By emphasising public participation in our data creation,we can achieve a unique level of completeness,connectedness and permissioned detail in our flow of information.Our best-in-class scientific custom research uses superior mathematical modelling which,together with our data products,ans

91、wers the needs of clients by combining social-attitudinal,consumer-behavioural and media-usage information in a single profile of customers.We believe that this is a unique market offering in terms of its level of granularity,connectedness and speed.We describe below the progress made in achieving o

92、ur five key strategic objectives over the last year.Strategic reportGovernanceFinancial statementsAdditional information11YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014YouGov now has 24 offices in 16 countries and operates panels in 33 countries,giving it one of the most widespread international research net

93、works beyond those of the four largest global research groups.Integrate custom research and syndicated data YouGovs integrated operations combine our own highly responsive online panels,the expertise of our researchers and our analytics and technology capabilities.These offerings enable us to meet c

94、lients individual research needs through a combination of the connected data that panellists provide and data generated from bespoke surveys.The highly structured and codified profile data library is known as the“YouGov Cube”;it underpins the new YouGov Profiles product by allowing us to enhance our

95、 custom offering and transform the way that custom research is undertaken.In simple terms,our aim is to be able to provide clients with answers to their questions about the attitudes,behaviours and profiles of the population and minimise the extent to which additional data collection is required thr

96、ough custom surveys.It also means add-on custom research can be better targeted and yield richer insights.In every project we will consider how YouGov Cube can add to this it improves the service we offer to clients and the profitability of each job that we do.The YouGov Cube enables YouGov to help

97、clients reduce the cost of custom research,and thereby deliver more value for money to them.This responds to the challenge acknowledged by all the leading research groups of an industry whose clients are choosing to re-direct their marketing and research budgets to data-rich and more analytically ba

98、sed products rather than traditional bespoke surveys.Enhance user experienceA key element of YouGovs success is the high degree of responsiveness of our panellists and their willingness to share opinions and personal data with YouGov.Maintaining this relies on our ability to keep panel members engag

99、ed and interested in being members.We therefore focus significant attention on measuring and seeking ways to improve the quality of every panellists experience under the direction of the Group Director of User Experience,a post that was created for this purpose in 2013.As well as obtaining direct fe

100、edback from panellists on the quality of the survey experience,extensive analysis has been conducted into how survey features and complexity may affect it.Another way in which we are extending the relationship between YouGov and our panellists is to offer more opportunities for them to share opinion

101、s and information with YouGov whenever they choose and not just in response to survey invitations.Opigram,which allows panellists to share opinions,build up their own profile of likes and dislikes and compare them with others has proved very popular with panellists.It is on track to meet the targets

102、 set as part of the acquisition of CoEditor Ltd,the company that developed Opigram,which was completed in December 2013.Thus,the number of visitors to YouGovs UK websites increased by 46%in the year to 31 July 2014,and the number of freely shared data points has grown significantly,with the monthly

103、rate having increased five-fold during the year to over 5 million in July 2014.This measure is also significant for the cost-effective development of YouGovs data products,notably YouGov Profiles,as it means that much of the core data and all of the long-tail data points included in them can now be

104、collected without incurring direct cost to YouGov as distinct from survey data for which panellists receive incentive payments.To support the roll-out of YouGov Profiles,a new YouGov website including Opigram will be launched in UK and extended to the US and Germany during the 2014/15 financial year

105、.At present,Opigram and the full YouGov Online interactive experience have been visible only to YouGov panel members.It is intended to offer non-members the ability to participate in surveys on key questions of the day and to share their opinions on the platform.This is a major shift,which will open

106、 up YouGov Online as a place for many more people to share their views and personal profiles.We expect that YouGov Online will assist organic panel recruitment and panel retention,and thus enable a reduction in expenditure on panel recruitment in the future.It also opens up the exciting possibility

107、that,through the Opigram platform,YouGov will gain as much data from the continuous,freely-shared,structured conversation of its members on the website as we do from formal surveys.Recent enhancements to our survey platform have also significantly improved our panellists experience when using mobile

108、 devices and places it at the forefront of mobile-friendly market research.We expect the majority of survey participation to happen on mobile devices in the not-too-distant future and we are investing in the development of more opportunities in this area.Boost our public profileYouGov has continued

109、to be the most highly cited market research agency in the UK.Our position as the most authoritative source of data on public opinion was recently demonstrated during the campaign leading up to the Scottish independence referendum.In the USA,where there has previously been significant resistance to t

110、he use of online polling methods for elections,YouGov has been appointed jointly by CBS and The New York Times to provide nationwide polling for the 2014 Congressional elections.The first poll which was published in August 2014 attracted widespread publicity and we expect this initiative greatly to

111、boost the awareness of YouGovs brand in the USA,especially among corporate and public sector decision-makers.YouGovs media presence also continues to grow in our other markets including France,Denmark and Germany in all of which we are now among the top four most quoted agencies.Under the guidance o

112、f our new Global Chief Marketing Officer,who joined the Group in December 2013,we have made good progress in developing our global marketing activities.A new brand architecture has been developed,bringing all of our products and services together within a global master brand supported by a new suite

113、 of marketing collateral and panel recruitment tools.We have also developed a unified approach to communicating with our digital and social media environment.The global marketing team has been further strengthened by adding experienced professionals in key positions in a number of units.12YouGovAnnu

114、al Report and Accounts 2014Overview of Global Products and ServicesRevenuemRevenue Growth%OperatingProfit(m)OperatingMargin%Data Products (incl.BrandIndex)9.645%1.617%Data Services (incl.Omnibus)10.118%3.939%Total Data Products&Services 19.730%5.528%Custom Research 47.71%5.512%Central Costs(3.6)Grou

115、p 67.48%7.411%Data Products and ServicesData Products are comprised of YouGov BrandIndex,our flagship brand intelligence tracker,which accounted for 80%of this category,and YouGov Reports,which provides market intelligence reports and sector trackers.YouGov Omnibus(including field and tab services)r

116、epresents the majority of Data Services with the balance being the provision of sample-only services in the Nordic and Middle East regions.In general,data products generate higher margins than custom research once they reach maturity as the input costs,such as data collection and analysis,are incurr

117、ed only once while their outputs are sold to multiple clients.However,they also require investment in product development,analytics and sales resources during their early stages.In FY14,the overall margin of 17%reflected this mix with BrandIndex achieving significantly higher margins offset by the l

118、ower margins of the relatively newer products.Within Data Products,BrandIndex grew revenue by 53%to 8.0m(2013:5.3m)and passed an important milestone as it now accounts for 12%of total Group revenue,generated from over 200 subscribers in 15 markets across the world.BrandIndex serves major accounts am

119、ong both advertising and media planning agencies on the one hand and brand owners and advertisers on the other.Its long-standing clients include OMD,Universal McCann,Bank of America,KFC and Subway.New client wins in the year include Carnival Cruise Lines,Air Berlin and Commercial Bank of Dubai.Brand

120、Indexs growth this year was supported by the global roll-out of an enhanced version(6.0)whose sampling methodology represents even better the consumer population in each category and which increased its reported metrics from nine to sixteen.These provide more granular measurement of paid(advertising

121、)vs.earned(word of mouth)media,as well as enabling the consumer journey to be tracked in more stages from brand discovery through to actual purchase and brand advocacy.Version 6.1 was released in June 2014 and further extends the flexibility of BrandIndex data,enabling clients to view any BrandIndex

122、 metric through the filter of any other metric.For example,a client can now compare purchase consideration among consumers who have and have not seen recent advertising,or evaluate the percentage of its customer base who are also customers of a competitor(and vice versa).The range of business sector

123、s covered has also been expanded to include Hospital and Cable&Satellite TV sectors in the US,both of which attracted multiple new clients in FY14.More sectors will be added in multiple geographies in FY15 and the geographic coverage will also be expanded to include Singapore and Indonesia,supported

124、 by the growing YouGov Asia Pacific operation.The YouGov Reports business increased revenue by 17%to 1.1m.Its portfolio of market intelligence reports(previously branded as“SixthSense”)comprises some 350 report titles.Financial services have become the main sector focus over the past year in respons

125、e to client demand,with other sectors covered including food&drink,technology and utilities.The Reports segment also includes HEAT,YouGovs economic confidence tracking study(covering UK,US and China)and specialist syndicated trackers on issues such as household debt,magazine consumption,smartphones

126、and media content.Its geographic coverage includes the UK(its largest market),France,Germany and the US.The core of YouGov Reports is panel-based research data drawn from YouGovs panel which is combined with information on market sizes,brand analysis,competitive benchmarking and market forecasts to

127、produce comprehensive analyses of a market or topic within it.YouGov Omnibus,our online fast-turnaround service,grew revenue by 20%to 8.8m in line with our strategy of applying the successful UK model to other markets.Its non-UK revenue increased by 70%with the recently launched French and US Omnibu

128、s services,respectively trebling and doubling their revenue and the German service also growing well,in line with our plans.The UK service,which is the clear market leader,maintained solid growth of 7%.Omnibus continues to enhance its service offering with innovations designed to meet clients changi

129、ng needs.These include a faster 24 hour delivery time as the standard in the UK instead of the previous 48 hour service and a new“Slides!”facility which provides an automated slide pack as the default means for delivering Omnibus survey results.Major international clients in the year included Nation

130、al Geographic and UNICEF.The segmental services(such as Children and Parents,Shoppers and B2B)and focused geographical samples such as Citybus,which have been successful in expanding the service in the UK,are also being rolled-out in other markets.Client demand for multi-country Omnibus projects has

131、 also grown,stimulated by targeted marketing to existing single-country users.Custom ResearchYouGovs custom research business conducts a wide range of quantitative and qualitative research,tailored by our specialist teams to meet clients specific requirements.The scope,scale and complexity of projec

132、ts varies significantly both within and between our geographic markets ranging from large-scale multinational tracking studies through to more narrowly focused one-off surveys.With evidence of reduced client demand for traditional custom research as well as previous mixed performance within our own

133、units,our aim has been to improve custom research profitability by focusing external sales effort and internal resources into the areas that utilise fully YouGovs panel-centric methodology and exploit the strengths of our geographic network.Thus while our global custom revenue grew by only 1%in the

134、year,in line with the global market,the adjusted operating profit grew by 7%.As expected,performance varied between regions.The Middle East business continued to build on its regional strength to grow revenue by 45%and our UK custom revenue grew by 6%,with YouGovs reputation for reporting public opi

135、nion accurately also continuing to resonate with corporate clients.US custom revenue fell slightly by 4%although this was largely in lower margin areas,while there was good growth from new and existing clients in the consumer and technology sectors as well as in political and academic work.In the No

136、rdics,where the strategy has been to reduce Strategic reportChief Executives review continuedfor the year ended 31 July 2014“Today we are entering our next phase.We have a powerful brand,a global platform and now are developing a new technology and approach to data collection and analysis that will

137、allow YouGov to fulfill its mission as a true Internet company.”Strategic reportGovernanceFinancial statementsAdditional information13YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014the proportion of smaller,often less-profitable custom projects,custom revenue fell by 16%but operating margins increased signifi

138、cantly,reflecting the cost reductions undertaken in the previous year.German custom revenue fell by 13%,due partly to client consolidation reducing demand in the financial services industry and also re-orientation of work away from traditional offline methods.We believe custom research services will

139、 continue to be a very significant part of YouGov but increasingly they will make full use of our panel and data resources rather than being one-off projects involving conventional data collection.DividendThe Board has previously indicated that it intends to follow a progressive dividend policy.Havi

140、ng considered the Groups performance in the year ended 31 July 2014 and future expectations as well as its financial resources,the Board is pleased to recommend payment of a final dividend of 0.8p per share in respect of the year ended 31 July 2014,payable in December 2014.This represents an increas

141、e of 33%over the dividend paid in 2013.Prospects Fifteen years ago,YouGov began life as a challenger to the market research industry by pioneering online data collection.We grew internationally by acquisitions,and have now integrated these to become a more efficient organisation.Today we are enterin

142、g our next phase.We have a powerful brand,a global platform and now are developing a new technology and approach to data collection and analysis that will allow YouGov tofulfill its mission as a true Internet company.What do I mean by a true Internet company?I mean a company that interacts with the

143、world online and which creates its core product from that interaction.The constant conversation we have online with millions of people is indeed our core product.As a result,companies can access the rich connected data in different forms.It measures the world today and how it is changing,helping to

144、predict what will happen next and reveal how to influence that direction.Crucially,the process is useful for all participants:panellists and clients alike.The foundation of this conversation was the online survey.That is now developing into increasingly sophisticated variations including the never-e

145、nding opinion profile that is Opigram:an enjoyable,panellist-centred programme to create rich,structured,shareable,personal profiles.The aggregated,crunchable data that it generates helps to power YouGov Profiles.The new website to be launched this autumn marks our next phase,in which our way of int

146、eracting with our panellists and what we do for our clients is visible as a single system.That is what I mean by becoming a true Internet company.Stephan Shakespeare Chief Executive Officer 13 October 2014 Strategic reportOur data products and services14YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014YouGov Br

147、andIndex,YouGovs flagship brand intelligence service,tells our clients what the world thinks of their brands and their competitors at any given moment and helps our clients understand the link between their media and advertising efforts,brand perception,and consumer response.BrandIndex data is updat

148、ed daily and holds up to six years of historical data about our client and competitor brands,which is all instantly available to our clients through our user-friendly BrandIndex portal.BrandIndex is currently available in the USA,UK,Denmark,Finland,France,Germany,Japan,Mexico,Netherlands,Norway,Saud

149、i Arabia,Sweden,United Arab Emirates,Brazil and China.Every day we survey multitudes of consumers across these territories conducting over 4.5 million BrandIndex interviews every year about thousands of brands across dozens of industry segments.Following the roll-out of a significantly enhanced vers

150、ion of BrandIndex last year(version 6.0),an update was released in June 2014(version 6.1)which has further extended the flexibility of BrandIndex data,enabling clients to view any BrandIndex metric through the filter of any other metric.For example,a client can now compare purchase consideration amo

151、ng consumers who have and have not seen recent advertising,or evaluate the percentage of its customer base who are also customers of a competitor(and vice versa).During FY14,the range of business sectors covered by BrandIndex was expanded to include Hospital and Cable&Satellite TV sectors in the US.

152、More sectors will be added in multiple geographies in FY15 and the geographic coverage will also be expanded to include Singapore and Indonesia,supported by the growing YouGov Asia Pacific operation.YouGovs very first product,YouGov Omnibus,is now the market-leading online omnibus service in the UK

153、and in recent years has been extended to our French,German,Middle East,Nordic and US operations.The YouGov Omnibus is the perfect vehicle to find out peoples opinions,attitudes and behaviours,quickly and cost-effectively.Omnibus surveys are run daily,providing nationally representative responses to

154、clients within a 48 hour turnaround.We now conduct over 2 million Omnibus surveys every year across our global operations.The service can provide clients with data from some 20 countries and client demand for multi-country Omnibus projects continues to increase.The size and diversity of the YouGov p

155、anel has also enabled us to expand our Omnibus offering to include a number of selected target samples.Omnibus segmental services include International,Children and Parent,B2B,Independent Financial Advisors and LGBT.We also run regular Omnibus surveys covering“influential”audiences in the UK includi

156、ng Members of Parliament.The OmniDeepDive service provides professionally moderated online focus groups with a selection of Omnibus respondents.YouGov Omnibus continues to enhance its service offering with innovations designed to meet clients changing needs.These include a faster 24 hour delivery ti

157、me as the standard in the UK and the new“Slides!”facility which provides an automated slide pack as the default means for delivering Omnibus survey results.In addition to our fast-turnaround Omnibus service,we have a suite of syndicated,proprietary data products which includes YouGov BrandIndex,YouG

158、ov Pulse and YouGov Reports.This year,we have added two new syndicated products to our roster:YouGov Pulse,our real-time digital and mobile behaviour tracker;and YouGov Profiles,our planning and segmentation tool.YouGov Pulse is our new real-time digital and mobile behaviour tracker.Pulse enables br

159、ands and agencies to capture real-time,in-depth and actual online consumer behaviour across laptops,smartphones and tablets.Through Pulse,we collect information on websites visited;search terms used;exposure to online advertising banners;online e-commerce journeys;and applications used.Furthermore,w

160、e collect Pulse data from up to three devices to form the full picture of their online behaviour.The strength of Pulse is the relationship we have with our panellists;we have data on respondents who were already part of the YouGov community before they were asked to take part in Pulse.This means tha

161、t we know all kinds of different background information,ranging from their demographics,media habits,consumption and brand affinity.Pulse makes itpossible to understand the full picture of what consumers doonline and the online journeys they experience.Strategic reportGovernanceFinancial statementsA

162、dditional information15YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014 The YouGov Reports division consists of market intelligence reports(previously called“SixthSense”reports),an economic confidence tracking study and specialist syndicated financial,media and technology trackers.The market intelligence repor

163、t portfolio consists of over 350 report titles covering 1,000+topic areas ranging across the finance,technology,retail,utilities,media,legal services and food and drink sectors.Reports are currently produced for the UK,France and Germany and in 2015 they will be rolled out to China,the Nordics and t

164、he Middle East.YouGov Reports place our proprietary online panel at the heart of the proposition using opinions from hard to reach groups such as,for example,consumers who have made complaints to regulatory bodies,those who have switched bank accounts,or families with a relative in a care home.This

165、results in our reports being packed with original consumer research data and analysis that can not be found anywhere else.Our reports use data from the YouGov Cube to create extra analysis and insight,allowing clients and potential clients to cut YouGov Reports data by their own customers and segmen

166、ts.Reports can be bought as single copies,as a package or,increasingly,for an annual subscription covering multiple topics and reports.New clients in the year include Citi Group,Ofcom and the British Library.The Household Economic Activity Tracker(HEAT)is YouGovs economic confidence tracker.As well

167、as presenting monthly indicators of consumer confidence based on household financial situation,job security,business activity and house prices,it provides over 70 other economic indicators including inflation expectations,propensity to save and willingness to spend across a range of categories.Subsc

168、ribers receive a detailed view of macro-economic and consumer trends as well as forecasts based on the earliest indication of consumer confidence and consumer reaction to economic events.HEAT is available in the UK,US and China as either a monthly report or via an online dashboard that is automatica

169、lly updated throughout each month.The monthly report in the UK is produced by the Centre for Economics and Business Research(Cebr),who are providing additional expert macroeconomic analysis and forecasts.Unlike other trackers and indices with significant processing time or quarterly or annual result

170、s,our HEAT reports are delivered within days of month-end and we also update the online dashboard throughout the month.New clients in the year include Investec and M&G Investments.We also have a range of other premium syndicated trackers which are updated more quickly than alternative offers in the

171、market.These include the Smartphone,Mobile Internet eXperience(SMIX)report and tracking studies monitoring the effects of the UK Retail Distribution Review.In autumn 2014,YouGov will launch YouGov Profiles,our segmentation and media planning product for brands and their agencies.Profiles will improv

172、e the ability of marketers to understand the people and audiences that matter to them.It will enable media owners to identify potential advertisers and make more informed content and scheduling decisions so as todeliver the target audience that advertisers require.YouGov Profiles offers the largest,

173、most detailed and real-time consumer database in the UK,updated weekly.Powered by data collected in the YouGov Cube our connected data vault which holds over 120,000 data points,collected from 190,000 UK YouGov members Profiles connects data on profiles,brand,sector,media,digital and social data all

174、 in one place.For example,it provides brand usage and perception data for some 1,000 brands(plus usage for thousands more),TV show viewing for 5,000 programmes,website usage for a most active commercial websites and much more.Profiles allows users to profile their target audience across multi-channe

175、l data sets from a single source,with greater granularity and accuracy than ever before.Profiles will be delivered on a subscription basis(like BrandIndex)through a dedicated online portal which gives users access to a wide range of detailed and connected data and provides analytics methods with whi

176、ch to interrogate and interpret the data.Our revolutionary social media analysis tool,SoMA,forms one of the backbones of YouGov Profiles.At the same time,YouGov BrandIndex acts as a complementary tool:Profiles allows users to define and understand their potential target customers while BrandIndex al

177、lows them to measure the effect of campaigns and other events on how their own and other brands are perceived.The full UK launch of YouGov Profiles will take place at the Festival of Marketing in November 2014,followed by rollouts to US and Germany later in FY15.We believe YouGovProfiles to be uniqu

178、e to the research industry and of value in the daily workflow of every marketer.“I like to see how many people have viewed my opinion,skipped it,rated it or made a comment.”Strategic reportOpigram“Really pleased I signed up for this,great way to hear other peoples opinions on a whole range of subjec

179、ts.”“I spend too much time on YouGov its addictive.”“Brilliant,the thinking mans Facebook.”16YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014Opigram is a highly personalised,constantly engaging,gamified online experience theres nothing else like it in the research industry.OpigramOpigram is a fun,panellist-cen

180、tred programme to create rich,structured,shareable,personal profiles.By using Opigram,our panellists can share opinions and information with YouGov whenever they choose and not just in response to survey invitations.Opigram allows YouGov panellists to proactively share opinions,build up their own pr

181、ofile of likes and dislikes and to compare them with others.Through a combination of ratings,inputting opinions,and agreeing or disagreeing with other panellists,panellists build up a 360 degree profile of their tastes,habits and interests(their personal Opigram).At the same time,opinions come toget

182、her to form detailed profiles of the fans of brands,movies,celebrities,books and much more.It provides people with a way to record their opinions and experiences that is organised to be useful to them,and to other people.The platform also offers a social network via which panellists can get to know

183、one another over a shared opinion,hobby or passion.Developed in association with CoEditor Ltd(now 100%owned by YouGov),Opigram has proven very popular among panellists and quickly become an integral part of YouGovs panel engagement and website strategies.Furthermore,the aggregated,crunchable data fr

184、om Opigram helps to power our new product for marketers,YouGov Profiles(described on page 15).The YouGov Online team is preparing the launch of a new YouGov website-featuring Opigram-in the US,the UK and Germany later this year.We expect the roll-out of Opigram to boost the engagement of our panelli

185、sts in these geographies significantly.As an added bonus,we expect the roll-out to also boost organic panellist recruitment and increase the amount of data freely shared with us.The past 12 months has seen a tremendous growth in the number of freely shared data points collected from the panel via Op

186、igram,such that in the latest complete month of August 2014,almost 6 million data points were collected from the UK panel.Until now,Opigram and the entirety of the YouGov interactive experience has only been visible to existing YouGov panel members.Our new website is designed to allow people outside

187、 of the 3-million-strong YouGov panel to share their opinions on the platform by taking part in the key questions of the day.This is a major shift which will open up YouGov as a place for many more people to share their opinions.It also opens up the exciting possibility that,through the Opigram plat

188、form,YouGov will gain as much data from the continuous,freely shared,structured conversation of its members on the website as we do from formal surveys.The commercial aspects of Opigram are discussed in more detail in the CEOs Report on page 11.Strategic reportShare a Coke:case studyStrategic report

189、GovernanceFinancial statementsAdditional information17YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014CampaignFor the Share a Coke campaign,the soft-drink giant replaced its usual branding with 150 of the UKs most popular first names.It was a multi-media effort including TV adverts,billboards and experiential

190、marketing.Each bottle also carried the hashtag#shareacoke to encourage users to share images on social media.YouGov chose to study the innovative campaigns progression and impact with UK consumers.Our studyWe used connected data to combine actual(rather than claimed)advertising exposure with daily b

191、rand perception data to understand the impact of the advertising campaign and which elements were most effective.We also conducted online qualitative focus groups to gain a deeper understanding of how Share a Coke connected with consumers.Actual exposure data comes from panellists who complete our d

192、aily media consumption surveys,allow us access to their social media feeds and let us track their web behaviour.In this case,we looked at the impact of TV,Twitter and Facebook by taking those exposed on each platform and assessing how their perceptions of Coca-Cola compared to matched samples who we

193、re not exposed.Brand perception comes from our daily brand perception tracker,YouGov BrandIndex monitoring views on over 900 UK brands across 15 metrics each day.ResultsWe saw that consumer perception of Coca-Cola,Diet Coke and Coke Zero improved substantially on virtually every measure for those wh

194、o were exposed to Share a Coke TV adverts and on social media,with consumers who were exposed on Facebook showing the most dramatic improvement.While all age groups were positively affected by exposure to the campaign,18-24-year-olds were the group most positively impacted,with the effectiveness dec

195、reasing with age.LessonsThe campaign was so effective because it created unique and individual moments and interactions where consumers feel they have personally connected with the Coca-Cola brand and at the same time it gave them a reason to reach out to other people within their own personal netwo

196、rk through social media.The fact that the Share a Coke message was communicated through multiple modes of media also contributed to its inclusivity.While the social media elements worked best with younger consumers,older people still had a positive reaction to the TV and physical elements of the cam

197、paign.The bottom line for other brands hoping to emulate the Share a Coke success is that in the age of social media,a campaign only works if it can be shared,enjoyed and interpreted by consumers in their own way.Changes in YouGov BrandIndex measures of the Coca-Cola brand during the UK Share a Coke

198、 campaignBy connecting data from YouGov BrandIndex and YouGov Pulse with qualitative custom research,we were able to measure the effectiveness of Coca-Colas 2013 UK Share a Coke campaign across different target groups.“If I see a bottle with one of my friends name on it Ill tweet it to them.”“I actu

199、ally took a picture of myself with the billboard with my name on it and put it on Facebook.”TV exposed vs Nat-Rep9%+5%9%+10%28%21%+8%BuzzImpressionRecommendFacebook exposed vs Facebook population11%+6%11%BuzzImpressionRecommendTwitter exposed vs Twitter population+10%26%22%+8%10%+5%10%BuzzImpression

200、Recommend+19%24%+18%30%Data from YouGov BrandIndex(daily UK sample size 4,000,September 2013)YouGovs reputation for providing accurate and authoritative information is enhanced by the strength of our public profile.YouGov conducts public opinion polls in collaboration with a number of the worlds lea

201、ding media organisations and academic institutions.Partnership with The New York Times and CBS NewsIn the USA,where there has previously been significant resistance to the use of online polling methods for elections,YouGov has been appointed jointly by CBS News and The New York Times to provide nati

202、onwide polling for the 2014 Congressional elections.In August 2014,The New York Times“rocked the polling world”(in the words of Washington Post columnist Chris Cillizza*)by announcing the partnership with YouGov and CBS News.This ambitious new effort involves YouGov polling over 100,000 panellists f

203、our times during election campaign.Our polling covers every state and all 435 congressional districts.Unlike traditional telephone polls,which usually involve samples of a thousand or so,by using our online methodology YouGov can deliver consistent,accurate and timely readings on every race througho

204、ut the election cycle.Because YouGov uses a panel methodology and most of our panellists were also interviewed during the 2012 U.S.presidential election campaign,our samples are balanced to reflect actual votes cast in the 2012 election as well as demographics.This gives us a large advantage over tr

205、aditional polls which lack reliable data on past voting behaviour and are forced rely upon demographic weighting alone to achieve representativeness.The Battleground Tracker results are published on The New York Times new data visualisation and analysis website,The Upshot,as well as CBSs and YouGovs

206、 websites.In explaining why The New York Times chose to partner with YouGov,David Leonhardt,editor of The Upshot said that he was optimistic that“technological change usually brings more benefits than drawbacks”.YouGov is leading this technological transformation in the polling world.YouGov-Cambridg

207、eNow in its fourth year,the YouGov-Cambridge Programme is a unique partnership between YouGov and the Department of Politics and International Studies(POLIS)at Cambridge University.Its objectives are:to grow a YouGov hub for survey research at a world-leading University;and to support a regular prog

208、ramme of public-interest research and events that inform the national debate.To those ends,the past year has been productive,generating a wide range of studies on domestic and international issues,from compulsory voting in Britain to political optimism in the Middle East and American attitudes to Me

209、dicare.YouGov practitioners have also become guest teachers and associate lecturers at the University,giving workshops,seminars and lectures as part of postgraduate teaching programmes.This now includes annual contributions to methodology courses,thereby rooting YouGovs data and expertise in the cor

210、e syllabus for social science research methods at Cambridge.The annual YouGov-Cambridge Spring event in April 2014 brought together many of the key players in the UKs household energy market,including both Secretary and Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change,plus Big Six CEOs,the en

211、ergy press,Ofgem,consumer watchdogs and Energy UK,the trade association for the energy industry.The debate focused on findings from a YouGov special report on“Energy,Politics and the Consumer”,which combined extensive surveys of public and industry attitudes by Stephan Shakespeare,as well as collabo

212、rations with the POLIS Department and Energy Policy Research Group at the University.After front-page coverage by The Times*,the survey results informed a widely reported debate.Follow YouGov-Cambridge on Twitter YouGovCamStrategic reportYouGov in the press*The Washington Post,31 July 2014*The Times

213、,31 March 2014 Battleground Tracker18YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014Amour,Haine et Pronostics:La Coupe du Monde vue par 19 paysYouGov,en collaboration avec Le New York Times,vient de publier une tude analysant lopinion des fans de foot sur le Mondial tout autour du globe.GQ France,11 June 2014

214、Brits say no to war in SyriaAn exclusive YouGov survey for The Sun has revealed there is still strong opposition to all types of UK involvement in the bitter two year long civil war.The Sun,28 August 2013Here are the Brands that Won the World CupAccording to YouGov BrandIndex,the big winners this Wo

215、rld Cup were Pepsi,Coke,and Hyundai.The Wall Street Journal,16 July 2014Americans Wont Stop Loving AmazonAmazon,the worlds largest online retailer,kept its spot as Americas favorite brand in YouGov BrandIndexs semi-annual ranking of how US consumers feel about some of the biggest global companies.Th

216、e Huffington Post,16 July 2014The New York Times rocked the polling world over the weekendThe New York Times shook up the polling world this weekend when the Upshot decided to including Internet polling conducted by YouGov in election models.The Washington Post,31 July 2014Groes Ranking:Diese mensch

217、en bewundert die welt!Fnf kontinente,13 lnder,14,000 personen und die frage des umfrageinstituts YouGov:welche person bewundern sie am meisten?Die antworten sind oft erwartbar aber ebenso oft erstaunlich!Bild,7 February 2014YouGovs Scottish poll has investors rushing for coverUntil this weeks polls,

218、investors had largely disregarded the September 18 Scottish independence referendum,pointing to the consistently large lead enjoyed by the No camp as a reason not to worry.But yesterdays survey from YouGov changed that not by suggesting the Yes camp could win but by implying such an outcome could no

219、 longer be ruled out.The Financial Times,3 September 2014UAE police forces have the trust of their residents,poll showsThe YouGov survey,which was commissioned by The National newspaper and is the first of its kind in the UAE,revealed that the vast majority of those polled felt confident in local po

220、lice.The National,21 September 2014Hver anden synes at kresten er for tyk eller slap“Skat,synes du,jeg er blevet tyk?”Det sprgsml ved enhver,der nogensinde har vret i et parforhold,at man skal besvare med yderst stor forsigtighed.I en helt ny undersgelse,som YouGov har foretaget for Metroxpress,svar

221、er danskerne dog mere frit.Metroxpress,4 July 2014Revealed:the worlds most admired peopleBill Gates is the most admired person in the world,according to a global survey for The Times by YouGov.The Times,11 January 2014Strategic reportGovernanceFinancial statementsAdditional information19YouGovAnnual

222、 Report and Accounts 2014Strategic reportReview of geographic operationsfor the year ended 31 July 2014UKUSA20YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014The UK business recorded another successful year with revenue growth of 11%,again well ahead of the overall market and adjusted operating profit increasi

223、ng by 13%.As with the Group as a whole,data products and services revenue grew strongly by 16%to 9.4m and further increased its share of total UK revenue to 48%.This is a key driver of the UKs high profit margins since BrandIndex and Omnibus are both more scalable than custom research.BrandIndex rev

224、enue grew by 61%due in part to the benefit of previous investment in sales and client services resources.The UK BrandIndex version now has 74 UK clients.It is increasingly being adopted as an important source of brand health data by leading UK as well as international brands including Intercontinent

225、al Hotels Group,LV=and PapaJohns.The UK is also beginning to follow the US business in securing multi-country contracts with its clients.Revenue from UK Omnibus grew by 7%to 6.3m,helped by good growth in the segmental omnibuses including the recently launched SME Omnibus and the Parents and Children

226、s.The launch of the new 24 hour standard service and of the“Slides!”facility has been well received by clients and is expected to help to maintain YouGov Omnibus UK market leadership position.YouGov Reports increased its revenue by 17%to 1.1m.It increased its focus on the financial services sector w

227、here it has achieved good penetration and the proportion of clients contracting for a package of reports also grew as planned.UK custom research grew revenue by 6%with the specialist Reputation practice in particular winning business among major corporate clients such as Barclays and BNP Paribas.The

228、 Political team and indeed the business as a whole continued to benefit from the close partnership with News UK and the coverage of YouGov polls that this provides.The UKs major clients in the year included Asda,Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation,ITV,JUST EAT,Morrisons,Prudential and Santander.Our US bus

229、iness has built on the progress reported at the interim stage and delivered overall revenue growth as well as a substantial improvement in profitability with adjusted operating profit increasing by 32%to 3.0m.This performance was due in part to the continued strong growth of the data products and se

230、rvices element whose revenue grew by 43%to 5.3m.It now represents 24%of total US revenue.Custom research revenue fell by 4%but its profitability increased significantly.BrandIndex,for which the US remains the largest market,increased revenue by 44%to 4.4m and now has 80 US clients.New clients signed

231、 up in the year include Carnival Cruise Lines and The Weather Channel and it continues to enjoy strong relationships with agencies such as OMD,Universal McCann and Mediacom as well as corporate clients such as Bank of America and Subway.The corrective actions taken in the custom research business ov

232、er the last twelve months to improve sales effectiveness and reduce costs have succeeded in improving its performance and profitability.A number of senior roles were reduced which will yield annual savings of 1m.As a result,custom research operating margins increased to 11%from 6%.Sales orders grew

233、by 20%compared to the prior year with the technology,electronic games and FMCG sectors performing strongly.However,sales were higher towards the end of the financial year so that the revenue effect will partly be seen in the next year.Leading clients included Coca-Cola,Sonos,Amazon and several leadi

234、ng global Internet companies including Facebook and Google.The traditionally strong academic and political business is already benefiting from the CBS/New York Times polling collaboration and the overall US business is well-positioned for future growth.Year to 31 July 2014 mYear to 31 July 2013 m%Ch

235、angeRevenue21.920.85%Adjusted Operating Profit 3.02.332%Adjusted Operating Profit Margin(%)14%11%Year to 31 July 2014 mYear to 31 July 2013 m%ChangeRevenue19.417.411%Adjusted Operating Profit 5.04.413%Adjusted Operating Profit Margin(%)26%26%Middle EastGermanyStrategic reportGovernanceFinancial stat

236、ementsAdditional information21YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014The Middle East region delivered another year of strong growth with revenue increasing by 38%and adjusted operating profit up by 45%.Custom research makes up most(90%)of the Middle East business and grew by 45%.This performance refle

237、cted the expansion of the new operation in Kurdistan as well as the continued development of the existing YouGov operation,based in the United Arab Emirates(Dubai)and Saudi Arabia.During the year,sales included major contracts from public economic development bodies,notably the Saudi Commission for

238、Tourism and Antiquities and the Dubai Tourism Commission as well as further work from existing regional and international commercial clients such as PepsiCo,Saudi Telecom and Yahoo.In Kurdistan,major studies are being conducted for commercial and public sector clients,focused around public opinion p

239、olling.While data products and services still represent a small part of the business,more resources are being devoted to their growth in the region.Development of both parts of the business is supported by the strong reputation for quality of YouGovs regional panel,which covers 21 countries.In the c

240、oming year,an operation will be started in Egypt,largely in response to client demand.New heads have recently been appointed to manage the Dubai and Saudi operations following the promotion of the regional CEO to a Group role.Although the regions political instability is of concern,the economic stre

241、ngth of the countries in which YouGov is based continues to attract local and international investment.YouGovs knowledge of the region gives us the confidence that it will continue to provide opportunities for our business to grow there.While this years decline in profitability of our German busines

242、s was disappointing,especially following the progress achieved in the previous two years,the two main elements of the business performed very differently.Data products and services continued to grow well with BrandIndex increasing revenue by 35%and Omnibus by 33%.This element now accounts for 25%of

243、total revenue and is achieving margins approaching 20%.BrandIndex now has 30 clients in Germany including Air Berlin and Plan.Net.Omnibus growth reflected the move to a full daily service at the beginning of the year and a new Qualitative Omnibus that was launched during the year.Custom research how

244、ever,faced challenging market conditions and its revenue fell by 13%due both to general weakness in the German research market and changing demands among its important financial services client base and this led to a reduction in profitability.Actions were taken in the year to address this and espec

245、ially to improve sales effectiveness and reduce costs.Active marketing and PR campaigns together with collaborations with leading media organisations such as the Deutsche Presse-Agentur(DPA)and Handelsblatt are helping to build more awareness of the YouGov brand in Germany.As the core YouGov offer i

246、s working well here in spite of the local market challenges,we have decided to accelerate its development through the planned launch of the new YouGov Profiles product in Germany early in 2015.These initiatives,together with the continued expansion of BrandIndex and Omnibus,areexpected to lead to an

247、 improved overall performance inthe coming year.Year to 31 July 2014 mYear to 31 July 2013 m%ChangeRevenue8.99.4(5%)Adjusted Operating Profit 0.50.9(43%)Adjusted Operating Profit Margin(%)6%9%Year to 31 July 2014 mYear to 31 July 2013 m%ChangeRevenue10.17.338%Adjusted Operating Profit 2.21.545%Adjus

248、ted Operating Profit Margin(%)22%21%NordicFranceStrategic reportReview of geographic operations continued22YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014The significant improvement in the profitability of the Nordic business,which more than doubled adjusted operating profit despite a revenue decline of 6%,re

249、flects the success of the turnaround programme which,as previously reported,began in 2013 under an interim CEO.This included a re-organisation of the sales and research resources and a shift towards a structure that more closely reflects the UK model,including stronger focus in the region on the You

250、Gov core services.Data products and services revenue grew significantly by 73%,driven especially by Omnibus,which more than trebled its revenue following the launch of a more frequent service.Custom research revenue fell by 16%although this reflected in part the aim of reducing the number of smaller

251、,less profitable projects undertaken.In geographic terms,the re-organisation focused especially on the Swedish market where YouGovs position is less established.YouGov Denmark in contrast,is now the most often quoted market research agency in the media.A new CEO was appointed in February 2014,with a

252、 background in global data products and we expect the region to make further good progress in line with our strategy.Major regional clients include Carlsberg,Danske Bank,Orkla Foods and Omnicom.Now in its third year,our French operation doubled revenue in line with its planned development.It focuses

253、 on developing YouGovs core products in France with BrandIndex and Omnibus each accounting for approximately half the revenue.The London office provides operational support.The local team was doubled during the year to drive further strong growth in the coming year.BrandIndex clients include interna

254、tional groups such as KFC and OMD and a number of leading French companies including La Banque Postale.Other clients include Bic,Havas and Mercer.Year to 31 July 2014 mYear to 31 July 2013 m%ChangeRevenue8.08.5(6%)Adjusted Operating Profit 0.80.3139%Adjusted Operating Profit Margin(%)10%4%Year to 31

255、 July 2014 mYear to 31 July 2013 m%ChangeRevenue0.80.3123%Adjusted Operating Profit(0.1)(0.1)Asia PacificStephan Shakespeare Chief Executive Officer13 October 2014 Strategic reportGovernanceFinancial statementsAdditional information23YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014YouGov Asia Pacific is report

256、ed on for the first time following the acquisition of Decision Fuel in January 2014.This business,which has offices in Hong Kong,Shanghai and Singapore,started trading in the middle of 2013 and is still in start-up mode although now fully integrated within the YouGov Group.It achieved revenue of 0.2

257、m in the six months following the acquisition,which was as expected.This was mainly generated from custom projects using the proprietary mobile platform developed by the founders.In line with the business plan,the focus over the six months to July 2014 was on expanding sales resources in order to la

258、unch the YouGov Omnibus and to support growth of BrandIndex in the region following the launch of a Chinese version by YouGov in 2013.The team had grown to 24 by 31 July 2014 and the regional coverage was extended in September with the opening of an office in Jakarta,Indonesia.We consider the Asia P

259、acific unit to be well positioned to achieve its planned future growth.Strategic reportChief Financial Officers reportfor the year ended 31 July 20141.Staff costs are defined for this purpose as excluding the deemed remuneration element ofacquisition consideration charged.“Group revenue for the year

260、 to 31 July 2014 of 67.4m was 8%higher than the prior year,while adjusted group operating profit increased by 24%to 7.4m compared to 6.0m in the previous year.”24YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014Key performance indicatorsThe Board monitors business performance via six financial key performance i

261、ndicators:revenue,adjusted operating profit,adjusted earnings per share(shown on page 1),adjusted operating profit margin,revenue per head and staff costs as apercentage of revenue.Adjusted operating profit margin%2014201320122011201011.09.69.69.48.6Income statement reviewGroup revenue for the year

262、to 31 July 2014 of 67.4m was 8%higher than the prior year.The Groups gross profit(calculated after deducting costs of panel incentives and external data collection)increased by 4.5m to 51.6m and the gross margin increased by 1.2%points to 77%reflecting the higher proportion of survey work conducted

263、on YouGovs proprietary panels.Operating expenses(excluding amortisation and exceptional items)of 44.2m increased by 3.0m.The growth rate of 7%was broadly in line with revenue so that the operating expense ratio stayed constant at 66%of revenue.The average number of staff(full-time equivalents)employ

264、ed during the year increased by 76 to 578 from 502.47 of the additional staff reflected hiring to support organic growth(an increase of 9%)while 29 of the new staff joined at the time of or following the acquisitions of YouGov Asia Pacific(added 18 staff)and CoEditor(added 11 staff).Average revenue

265、per head fell slightly to 117,000 from 125,000,due in part to the Asia Pacific acquisition(which is still in start-up mode)and to the increase in analytics and technical resources.However,staff cost as a percentage of revenue fell by 2%points to 48%as most of the staffgrowth was in relatively junior

266、 positions.Adjusted Group operating profit increased by 24%to 7.4m compared to 6.0m in the previous year.There was a net finance cost of 0.3m compared to income of 0.1m last year,primarily due to unrealised foreign exchange translation losses on cash balances.This resulted in an adjusted profit befo

267、re taxation of 7.7m,an increase of 12%over the prior year.Adjusted earnings per share for the year rose by 0.5p to 6.1p.The statutory operating profit(which is after charging amortisation of 4.0m and exceptional items of 2.4m)fell by 0.5m to 1.0m due to the higher amortisation charges and exceptiona

268、l items.This was reflected in the reduction of 0.8m in statutory profit before taxation to 0.7m.Staff costs as a percentage of revenue1%201420132012201120104850504951Revenue per head 00020142013201220112010117125121118105Strategic reportGovernanceFinancial statementsAdditional information25YouGovAnn

269、ual Report and Accounts 2014Analysis of operating profit and earnings per share 31 July 2014 00031 July 2013 000Group operating profit before amortisation of intangibles,impairment&exceptional costs 7,3895,982Share-based payments547767Imputed interest3271Net finance income/(cost)(292)118Share of pos

270、t-tax loss in associates(14)(122)Adjusted profit before tax7,6626,816Adjusted profit after tax attributable to owners of the parent6,0275,312Adjusted earnings per share(pence)6.15.61.Adjusted earnings per share is calculated based on the post-tax result derived from the adjusted profit before tax.Am

271、ortisation of intangible assets and impairmentAmortisation charges for intangible assets of 4.0m were 0.7m higher than the previous year.Amortisation of the consumer panel increased by 0.3m to 0.7m reflecting the additional investment made to grow the panel.Amortisation of software increased by 0.5m

272、 to 2.5m,partly due to amortisation on assets acquired through business combinations of 0.2m.Of the remaining software charge,1.6m(2013:1.3m)related to assets created through the Groups own internal development activities and 0.7m(2012:0.6m)to separately acquired assets.Exceptional itemsExceptional

273、costs of 2.4m(2013:1.2m)were incurred in the year.1.2m of this related to acquisitions,of which 0.9m represents contingent consideration which is deemed under IFRS3 to be staff compensation costs.0.6m of the total acquisition related cost related to CoEditor,0.5m to YouGov Asia Pacific and 0.1m to D

274、efinitive Insights.The remaining balance of exceptional costs(1.2m)related to the costs of restructuring,of which 0.5m was incurred in the Nordic business and 0.3m respectively,in the US and German businesses.Cash flowThe Group generated 8.9m(2013:6.9m)in cash from operations(before paying interest

275、and tax)which reflected a higher cash conversion rate of 120%(2013:116%)of adjusted operating profit,including a 1.8m(2013:0.7m)net working capital inflow.Expenditure on investing and financing activities remained at a similar level at 6.7m(2013:6.5m).1.0m(2013:2.0m)of this related to acquisitions,i

276、ncluding the payment of deferred consideration,and 5.8m(2013:4.0m)to capital expenditure.1.0m(2013:0.4m)of the capital expenditure was spent on purchasing tangible assets including 0.5m relating to the expansion of the London office.4.7m(3.6m)was spent on intangible assets,of which 1.7m was for pane

277、l recruitment which increased by 1.1m reflecting the higher recruitment activity and 2.9m(2013:2.7m)on software development of which 2.3m(2013:1.8m)arose from internally generated assets.Taxation The Group had a tax charge of 0.3m(2013:0.6m credit)on areported basis,the current tax charge of 0.5m(20

278、13:0.5m)being offset by a deferred tax credit of 0.2m(2013:1.1m).On an adjusted basis,the tax charge was 1.6m(2013:1.5m),which represents a tax rate of 22%on the adjusted profit before tax.This was unchanged from the prior year.Balance sheet Total shareholders funds decreased to 57.9m from 61.1m at

279、31 July 2013 and total net assets decreased to 58.0m compared to 61.1m at 31 July 2013.Net cash balances increased by 0.6m to 7.2m.Net current assets fell to 8.4m from 11.0m.Current assets decreased by 0.8m to 29.9m,with debtor days decreasing to 64 days from 68 days.Current liabilities increased by

280、 1.8m to 21.5m,with creditor days increasing to 44 days from 31 days in 2013.Panel developmentAs at 31 July 2014,the Groups online panels comprised a total of 3.0m panellists,an increase in increase of 7%from the total of 2.8m as at 31 July 2013.There was substantial investment in panellist recruitm

281、ent during the year both to support development of the newer panels such as in France and Germany and to extend the coverage of more mature panels such as in the UK and USA.All the panels grew as a result although there was a small net reduction in the reported US panel numbers as the addition of 24

282、0,000 active panellists was offset by the removal of 427,000 non-active registrations from thedatabase.The panel sizes by region were:Region Panel sizeat 31 July 2014 Panel sizeat 31 July 2013*UK600,106442,100Middle East388,546326,400Germany 170,775140,500Nordic140,994101,700USA1,526,0011,704,900Fra

283、nce108,72383,300Asia Pacific61,862N/ATotal 2,997,0072,798,900*Restated26YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014Strategic reportChief Financial Officers report continuedCorporate development activitiesDuring the year,the Group acquired 100%of Doughty Media 2 Limited(“DM2”)which owns 67%of CoEditor Limi

284、ted,the company that has developed the Opigram service.YouGov already owned 30%of CoEditor and now owns 97%.This acquisition was made in two stages:40%was acquired in September 2013 and 60%in December 2013,following the approval by shareholders at the 2013 AGM.The maximum purchase price for DM2 is 1

285、.2m,payable in February 2015.0.9m of this is contingent upon the achievement of performance criteria relating to the delivery of expected benefits arising from the incorporation of the Opigram technology within YouGovs online presence.As the entire deferred consideration is dependent upon Stephan Sh

286、akespeare and the other vendor(the Opigram manager)remaining in YouGovs employment,it has been treated under IFRS as an employment cost and charged to the income statement.On 9 January 2014,the Group acquired the entire issued capital of Decision Fuel(“DF”),later renamed YouGov Asia Pacific.The init

287、ial purchase consideration payable was 0.6 million.Additional earn-out consideration is payable(in cash and/or YouGov shares,at YouGovs option)dependent on the performance of the business in the two financial years ended 31 July 2016 and 2017.The total purchase consideration in the balance sheet is

288、expected to remain at approximately 0.6m as 97%of the deferred payment relates to the management team and is dependent on their continued employment,so this portion will be treated under IFRS as an employment cost and charged to the income statement.In December 2013,YouGov entered into a joint devel

289、opment agreement with Crunch.io,a US company in which Doug Rivers(a Director of YouGov)has an equity interest of 40%.YouGov andCrunch.io have agreed jointly to fund the development of a cloud-based data analytics software application.Both parties have rights to use the application.YouGov intends to

290、use it to support delivery of services for both custom research and data products.Crunch.io intends to develop a business based on selling the application to third-parties.The benefit for YouGov is that the joint development is accelerating the delivery of costs of an application that offers importa

291、nt commercial benefits as well as reducing its net costs.Proposed dividendThe Board is recommending the payment of a final dividend of 0.8p per share for the year ended 31 July 2014.If shareholders approve this dividend at the AGM,it will be paid on 15 December 2014 to all shareholders who were on t

292、he Register of Members at close of business on 5 December 2014.Alan NewmanChief Financial Officer13 October 2014Strategic reportPrincipal risksStrategic reportGovernanceFinancial statementsAdditional information27YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014RiskDescriptionMitigationFinancial Risks*Currency

293、riskThe Company is exposed to currency translation risk in the consolidation of accounting records.The main reporting currencies of Company subsidiaries are Sterling,US Dollar,Euro,Danish Kroner and Arab Emirate Dirham.The Company aims to align assets and liabilities in a particular market.It also s

294、eeks to reduce currency risk by invoicing in local currency thus reducing exposure in normal trading.Liquidity riskThe Company is exposed to liquidity risk in both its operating and investing activities.The Company seeks to ensure that sufficient liquidity is available to meet foreseeable needs and

295、to invest cash assets safely and profitably.The Company currently has no general borrowing arrangement in place.Interest rate riskThe Company is exposed to interest rate risk,which results largely from its investing activities.Where possible,the Company manages its interest rate risk on cash balance

296、s by negotiating fixed interest rates on deposits for periods of up to three months.Capital riskThe risk of the Company making a loss on the value ofcapital investments,such as acquired businesses.The Company manages its capital to ensure that all entities within the Company are able to continue as

297、a going concern.It undertakes a detailed investment appraisal process prior to making any material capital investments.Operational RisksProjected growthThe Companys plans incorporate continued growth in the coming years.This growth will be in part dependent on the marketing and research budgets of t

298、arget clients over which YouGov has little control.This is mitigated through effective key client relationship management and continually reviewing order pipelines and sales targets.CompetitionYouGov faces competition both from larger international research groups with well-developed brands as well

299、as smaller businesses operating in each geography.Although it is a leader in Internet based research,other research organisations have adopted online methods.The Companys strategy is to focus on business areas in which it has demonstrable competitive advantages;these include its data products and se

300、rvices and custom research services that are centred around data generated from its proprietary panels.TechnologyA strong software platform is essential for carrying out online research.This software must be reviewed and updated on a regular basis to ensure that it does not become superseded by newe

301、r technologies in other companies.YouGov has an experienced team of software specialists with responsibility for developing its proprietary software systems.A disaster recovery plan is in place and is reviewed by the Audit Committee annually.StaffThe success of YouGov will be influenced by the recru

302、itment and retention of high calibre staff.Senior staff that manage key client relationships and those with software expertise are particularly important to the continuing development and smooth running of theCompany.YouGov has built account and project management teams for key clients and larger re

303、search projects.In this way the client relationships and project related knowledge are shared among a number of individuals rather than concentrated with one person.We also incentivise key personnel and encourage retention through participation in the LTIP.InternationalisationYouGov now has wide geo

304、graphical spread.Monitoring and reporting these businesses performance relies upon the operation of key controls.There is a risk that these controls may not operate effectively in each jurisdiction.The performance of all of YouGovs units is monitored and managed through control and reporting process

305、es that are applied consistently and supported by the use by all units of a Group-wide ERP system that includes CRM,financial reporting and budgeting and forecasting applications.AcquisitionsThe Directors plan to expand and develop the business through a strategy of targeted acquisitions.The risk ex

306、ists that integration of any acquired business will be unsuccessful or that key employees or clients of the acquired business will be lost.Directors aim to mitigate this risk by careful due diligence and communication with the clients of target companies.The Directors also seek to communicate YouGov

307、s strategy to staff and ensure that acquisition terms,levels of remuneration and benefits are appropriate to retain key employees.*The financial risks facing the Group are discussed in more detail in Note 20 on pages 73 and 74.This Strategic Report is approved by the Board and signed on its behalf b

308、y:Stephan ShakespeareChief Executive Officer13 October 2014The Board reviews risks facing the business on a regular basis.The following paragraphs describe the principal risks and uncertainties identified.Doug Rivers Chief ScientistExperience:Doug was CEO of YouGovs American business from 2007 to 20

309、11,following YouGovs acquisition of Polimetrix which Doug founded in 2004.Prior to this he was CEO of Knowledge Networks.He has been a Professor of Political Science at Stanford University in California since 1989,and is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.Doug holds a PhD from Harvard Univers

310、ity and a BA from Columbia University.GovernanceBoard of Directors28YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014Roger Parry CBE Non-Executive ChairmanExperience:Roger is also Chairman of Aves Enterprises,MSQ Partners and Mobile Streams.He is a Visiting Fellow of Oxford University.Roger was previously a con

311、sultant with McKinsey&Co;CEO of More Group,and Clear Channel International,Chairman of Johnston Press,Future and Shakespeares Globe Trust.Roger was educated at the universities of Oxford and Bristol.He was awarded the CBE in 2014.He is the author of five books:People Businesses;Enterprise;Making Cit

312、ies Work;Delivering the Neural Nudge and The Ascent of Media.Stephan Shakespeare Chief Executive OfficerExperience:Stephan co-founded YouGov in 2000.One of the pioneers of Internet research,Stephan has been the driving force behind YouGovs innovation-led strategy.He also founded PoliticsH.He was cha

313、ir of the Data Strategy Board for the Department for Business,Innovation and Skills 2012-2013 and led the Shakespeare Review of Public Sector Information.He is a now amember of the Governments Public Sector Transparency Board and a trustee of the National Portrait Gallery.Stephan also sitson the Adv

314、isory Board of the Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance.Alan Newman Chief Financial OfficerExperience:Alan has been YouGovs Group Chief Financial Officer since 2008.Prior to joining YouGov,Alan was a Partner with Ernst&Young LLP and KPMG LLP where he led the TMT sector financial management c

315、onsulting practice.Alans previous corporate management roles include International Finance Director of Longman and Group Development Manager of MAI plc(now United Business Media).He is a Trustee of the Freud Museum London anda Director of the Quoted Companies Alliance.Alan is a Fellow of the Institu

316、te of Chartered Accountants and has an MA in Modern Languages(French and Spanish)from Cambridge University.Strategic reportGovernanceFinancial statementsAdditional information29YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014Nick Jones Non-Executive DirectorRoles:Chair of the Audit Committee,member of the Remu

317、neration Committee.Experience:Nick is Chief Financial Officer of Achilles Group,who create global collaborative communities of trading partners.Prior to this,he was Global Head of Finance for Reuters plc where he also led the integration of Thomson and Reuters.Nick has held senior financial roles in

318、 technology and media businesses in the UK,the US and Europe including Virgin Media,Phillips Electronics and RR Donnelley.He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and holds a BA(Hons)inAccounting and Finance.Ben Elliot Non-Executive DirectorExperience:Ben Elliot is the co-

319、founder of Quintessentially,the luxury lifestyle group and 24 hour global concierge service,which he started in London in December 2000.The Quintessentially Group operates in 60 cities globally and has 32 sister businesses in the luxury lifestyle market.Ben is the chairman of the Quintessentially Fo

320、undation.Since it was established in 2008,the Foundation has raised over four million pounds for charity.He was also proudly involved in the fundraising for Her Majesty Queens Diamond Jubilee in 2012.Ben is Executive Producer of the award-winning feature documentary Fire in Babylon.Ben holds a numbe

321、r of non-executive board positions and was rated by GQ magazine as one of the top 100 most connected men in Britain,2014.Sir Peter Bazalgette Non-Executive DirectorRoles:Senior Independent Director,Chair of the Remuneration Committee,member of the Audit Committee.Experience:Sir Peter is Chair of Art

322、s Council England and former Chair of English National Opera.He has raised funds for arts and media organisations,notably as Chair of The Crossness Engines Trust and as Deputy Chair ofThe National Film and Television School.He has a number of media interests,serving on the Boards of ITV and MirriAd

323、and the Advisory Board of BBH.He is active in the television industry and is the president of The Royal Television Society,served as the Chief Creative Officer of Endemol,served on the Board of Channel 4 and devised several internationally successful television formats.He was also a Non-Executive Di

324、rector of DCMS.Peter writes a regular food column for The FinancialTimes.GovernanceCorporate Governance Reportfor the year ended 31 July 201430YouGovAnnual Report and Accounts 2014The YouGov plc Board is committed to delivering high standards of corporate governance commensurate with its size,stage

325、ofgrowth and the nature of the Companys activities to its shareholders and other stakeholders including employees,panellists,customers,suppliers and the wider community.As an AIM-listed company,it is up to the Board to decide which,if any,corporate governance code it wishes to adopt for the Company.

326、The Board has decided to follow the principles of the Quoted Companies Alliance Corporate Governance Code for Small and Mid-Size Quoted Companies(the QCA Code)wherever possibleand as appropriate to the size,nature and resources of the Company.The Quoted Companies Alliance is the membership organisat

327、ion which represents the interests of small and mid-size quoted companies,of which YouGov is a member.The QCA Code aims to apply the key elements of the UK Corporate Governance Code andother relevant governance guidance to the needs of small and medium-sized listed PLCs.The Board At 31 July 2014,the

328、 Board consisted of three Executive Directors and four Non-Executive Directors,including a Non-Executive Chairman.The names of the Directors and their respective responsibilities are shown on pages 28 and 29.The Board operates both formally,through Board and committee meetings,and informally,through

329、 regular contact amongst Directors.High level decisions on such matters as strategy,financial performance and reporting,dividends,risk management,major capital expenditure,acquisitions and disposals are reserved for the Board or Board committees.The Board receives regular information from management

330、 on the Companys performance and appropriate information relating to the agenda for formal Board and Committee meetings is sent to members in advance of those meetings.All Directors are required to submit themselves for re-election at the first Annual General Meeting following their appointment and

331、subsequently on a rotational basis,which ensures that each Director is submitted for re-election approximately every three years.Proposals to re-elect Directors are set out in the Notice of the Annual General Meeting.Board evaluationThe Board undertakes an evaluation of its own performance on an ann

332、ual basis.As part of this evaluation,the Chairman undertakes an individual assessment with each Director and holds a meeting with the Non-Executive Directors without the Executive Directors present.The Board meets once a year without the Chairman present to appraise the Chairmans performance.This co

333、nclusion of these assessments undertaken during the year was that the Board and its individual members continue to perform effectively.Shareholder communications The Boards assessment of the Companys position and prospects are set out in the Chairmans Statement on pages 6 to 7,the Chief Executive Officers review on pages 9 to 13 and theChief Financial Officers Report on pages 24 to 26.The Executiv