Digital measurement firm ComScore, Inc. just announced that it has signed a definitive all-cash agreement to acquire the ARSgroup, a communications research agency. ARSgroup measures advertising persuasion for TV and multimedia campaigns, working with many of the world’s largest brands in the consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, retail and entertainment industries.

“The acquisition of ARSgroup marks an important step forward at an opportune time for ComScore in the area of cross-media measurement,” said Dr. Magid Abraham, ComScore President & CEO, in the announcement. “As the advertising market continues to become more fragmented as it migrates toward various emerging digital content channels, understanding how to measure the effectiveness of one’s advertising messages has never been more important. We believe that the high-quality, proven research tools and practices of the ARSgroup will powerfully complement ComScore’s existing product suite, allowing us to strengthen our portfolio of advertising measurement services.”

The Evansville, Ind.-based ARSGroup specializes in brand strategy, all stages of creative development, campaign evaluation across all marketing and media channels, media planning and strategy, return-on-investment, and forecasting.