Ace Metrix, based in LA, announced that Mark F. Bryant joined the company as vice president and general manager, politics and advocacy.  Bryant will be based in the company’s new D.C. office and will be focused on Ace Metrix POLITICS, which, said a release, “measures the effectiveness of political and issue advocacy video ads during campaign season.  Launched in 2012, Ace Metrix POLITICS provides video ad effectiveness metrics and data to political campaigns, PACs and advocacy groups based on 500 respondents per ad and a sample of national registered voters balanced to the U.S. Census. The data collected provides insights into the effectiveness of the ad, verbatim responses and the likelihood the ad changed the way respondents will vote.” Before joining Ace Metrix, Bryant spent nearly seven years at analytics and media company Resonate

Fluent, Inc., based in NYC, opened a D.C. office to support what it said “the surging demand from political campaigns and causes for the company’s recently unveiled Political Acquisition Channel (PAC) product offering. PAC leverages Fluent’s people-based targeting capabilities and expansive audience reach to enable political campaigns to identify and acquire their best advocates, with precision, at a massive scale.”  Jeff Pavelcsyk, general manager, political and advocacy solutions, will lead the company’s sales and client services efforts from the new office.

Reston-based comScore Inc. and digital media measurement and research company Rentrak Corp. will combine operations in a stock-for-stock merger. Under terms of the agreement, Portland, Oregon-based Rentrak will merge into a wholly owned subsidiary of comScore reports Washington Business Journal.