Ms. Vivien Marles to Lead InterMedia's New Africa Office in Nairobi

WASHINGTON and NAIROBI, Kenya, April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- InterMedia (http://www.intermedia.org), the global research-based consultancy, announced Tuesday the appointment of Vivien Marles as Managing Director of the company's Africa branch office, which is set to open in Nairobi, Kenya, on 9 May 2011. Marles, a distinguished research professional with deep experience in Africa, will lead and expand InterMedia's operations in this high-priority region.

Marles comes to InterMedia from Synovate Pan-Africa (formerly, The Steadman Group) in Nairobi, where she has been Research Director since 2006. She was also founder and director of The Steadman Center of Applied Research, a unique capacity-building initiative run in partnership with Strathmore Business School in Nairobi.

"We are delighted to bring Vivien on board as InterMedia implements a full globalization of our operations, of which Africa is an important step," said Robert T. Coonrod, president and chief executive officer of InterMedia. "Vivien is a seasoned research practitioner with extensive knowledge of the media, communication and global development sectors. She is ideally qualified to further InterMedia's business development plans in these domains while also strengthening our corporate presence and local capacity in Africa."

As managing director, Marles will build on an already-growing volume of InterMedia activity in Africa, where clients value the company's ability to deliver high-quality research and consulting services amid challenging conditions. InterMedia has worked in 25 African countries for a broad range of clients and funders, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme, the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors, the BBC, the Population Reference Bureau, USAID, and Cisco Learning Institute.

"This is an exciting step forward for InterMedia as it chooses to establish its first regional office in Africa" said Marles. "It underlines the growing importance of the continent in media and communications research and is a testimony to InterMedia's commitment to building strong research capacity in Africa."

Prior to joining Synovate Pan-Africa, Marles held a number of senior-level positions in the media and research sectors, including: Founding Partner of The Fuse Group; International Managing Director at Frank Magid Associates; Director of Planning, Broadcast Strategy and Research for Granada Media Group; and Head of Research and Planning at the BBC. Marles is a member of the UK Institute of Directors, the Market Research Society and the Royal Statistical Society. She earned a B.A. Economics (Honors) with a focus on Politics and Social Anthropology from Manchester University.

Marles is also a technical consultant on research to the African Media Initiative and serves on the Investment Board of the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, where she evaluates the communication research components of proposals submitted to the Fund. In addition, Marles is has an active member of the Pan-African Media Research Organization (PAMRO), a group devoted to improving the quality and raising the profile of media and communication research in Africa. She has been a featured speaker at the past three annual meetings of PAMRO.

The Nairobi office will be InterMedia's third location after London, UK, and Washington, D.C. Going forward, InterMedia will combine internal growth with strategic partnerships to create a worldwide presence, responding to clients' needs for local expertise and local project ownership.

For enquiries about InterMedia's services in Africa, please contact the Nairobi branch office at:

+254-720-109183; email: marlesv@intermedia.org

About InterMedia:

InterMedia (http://www.intermedia.org) is a research-based consultancy providing strategic guidance and insight on the views and behaviors of people worldwide, especially among hard-to-reach populations. We create strategies for effective engagement in an increasingly complex media and communication environment - notably, by helping clients to map and measure how people gather, share and shape information. InterMedia also works with partners across the developing world to strengthen local research capacity.

On the ground in about 60 countries annually, InterMedia's 40-plus research experts use innovative techniques to understand how information, communication and media resources can deliver impact. InterMedia's clients include the World Bank, USAID, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNESCO, the BBC World Service, the Department of State, Deutsche Welle, Sesame Workshop and the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors.

InterMedia created AudienceScapes (http://www.audiencescapes.org), the integrated research program and online resource center that improves development outcomes through knowledge sharing and dissemination of research and analysis in a user-friendly format.