Two years ago, we checked in with a rising star of the media-research industry: Baxter Research Center. In October 2024, we sought to get a closer look at the company, as well as the state of media research in general—the trends, the market conditions, and the types of research that media operators want. We spoke to Jodie Cook Redwood, then the director of business development and now BRC’s president. Then, last September, Baxter announced it was merging with Harvey Research, a 72-year-old firm that also served the media market.
Baxter, founded in 1989, was acquired in 2020 by Rick Schumacher, founder and publisher of LBM Journal, a B2B publisher based in Lakeville, Minnesota. Baxter was known for its branding, audience, and website studies for B2B and B2C publishers. Harvey, founded in 1953, served publishers and advertisers with audience and content research, helping them to measure their impact on different platforms. Suddenly, Baxter had more scale and a broader array of services, not to mention the brand equity that Harvey built up over the decades.
It was a major strategic shift in the media-research world and a natural moment to reconnect with the folks at Baxter, now called Baxter Research Group. We caught up with Cook Redwood again earlier this month. Here’s a report on our conversation.
Fox Tales: What was Baxter Research Center’s primary objective in merging with Harvey Research?
Jodie Cook Redwood.
Jodie Cook Redwood: Our primary objective was to expand both the scale and the capabilities of Baxter Research Center in serving media brands and industry organizations. Harvey Research built a strong reputation for delivering reliable audience and market insights, particularly in sectors where media companies want deeper engagement with their audiences and advertisers.
By merging Harvey Research into Baxter, we’re able to combine complementary strengths—Baxter’s strategic research design and thought-leadership positioning with Harvey’s operational depth and long-standing client relationships. Both companies had strong reputations for delivering analytics for print ads, which has evolved into digital ads, branding, and market positioning. Our overall goal was to create a more robust platform to help media brands turn audience data into products, partnerships, and revenue opportunities.
Fox Tales: How did the deal come about? Had you been discussing it for a while before deciding to move forward?
Cook Redwood: It began when we learned that Harvey was open to being acquired. And it happened very quickly—less than 60 days from the initial conversation until the deal was done. We learned quickly that our company values, cultures, and long-term visions matched well, which made moving forward with the acquisition a natural step.
As the research market has evolved—particularly with media brands looking for more sophisticated ways to package insights for advertisers and partners—it became clear that combining forces could create a stronger offering. Since Rick [Schumacher, Baxter’s president] and I have spent our careers in B2B media, and we’ve seen first-hand how research can lead to more advertising revenues and stronger relationships.
Fox Tales: With the two businesses combined, how has your market footprint expanded?
Cook Redwood: The combined organization, Baxter Research Group, expands our footprint in several ways. First, we now serve a broader base of media brands and industry organizations. That means more clients across a wider range of sectors, which gives us a richer pool of audience data insight. Second, the scale of research we can conduct has grown. With expanded operational capacity, we can run more studies simultaneously and support both large flagship industry surveys (like the SIIA Media Revenue Benchmark Study) and highly customized research projects for industries and niches. Third, the combined expertise allows us to work with a wider range of research objectives—from audience studies and advertiser perception work, to brand positioning, and ranking.
Overall, it extends both our reach and the value we can deliver to media companies that want research to be a strategic asset rather than just a reporting exercise.
Fox Tales: Usually in an acquisition, the buyer assesses how one-plus-one can equal more than two. How does that work in your situation?
Cook Redwood: In our case, the value comes from combining complementary strengths. Baxter Research Center has focused heavily on strategic insight—delivering analytics to help clients prove ROI on print advertising, helping clients translate research findings into positioning, editorial strategies, and advertiser-facing thought leadership. Harvey Research brings a strong base of existing relationships and ongoing research programs across multiple platforms including single-advertiser brand lift studies, digital campaigns and even radio.
Rick Schumacher.
When those capabilities come together, we can deliver both scale and strategic impact. Clients benefit from deeper analytics, and research that is more easily turned into marketing, sales, and editorial initiatives. So the “more than two” effect comes from integrating the data, the expertise, and the client relationships into a single research platform.
Fox Tales: Where is the research market for media brands headed in the next 12 months?
Cook Redwood: Over the next year, we expect research to become even more central to how media brands position themselves in the marketplace. Specifically, we’re talking with more companies who view research as a powerful sales tool and revenue generator, and as a way to create separation from their competitors.
We’re also seeing a shift toward research that can power multiple functions simultaneously—editorial strategy, audience development, and advertiser marketing. Studies that generate thought leadership and market intelligence will become especially valuable. Bottom line: Advertisers are demanding clearer evidence of audience quality, engagement, and influence. When media companies provide evidence in the form of independent, third-party data, as opposed to claims and “the publisher’s own data,” they have a clear advantage over the competition. When the research is affordable and the revenue boost exceeds the investment, it’s easy to see why more media brands are taking a fresh look.