Version 6 of Microtab
Alpharetta, Ga.-based Microtab has released version 6 of its Microtab crosstabulation software. Though the XP year designator has been discarded in favor of the more common version designator, the software continues to operate on multiple platforms - from Windows 95 through the not-yet-released Windows Vista operating system.
Feedback about the usefulness of the charting Add-on Module prompted its inclusion as a standard part of the Professional Edition of Microtab version 6. Also, building on the popularity of the enhanced table creation features added during development of the SPSS add-on and Triple-S module, the company has added new automation features for creating tables. It also expanded the user’s options for setting defaults and enhanced options for customizing the appearance of tables. A “no limits” evaluation edition of the software is available for download. For more information call 770-664-9244 or visit www.microtab.com.
Product combines GIS and health care info
Redlands, Calif., ESRI and health care software company Planning 2.0, Brentwood, Tenn., have teamed for Business Analyst Online for Health, which combines geographic information system technology with demographic, consumer expenditure and hospital discharge information as well as diagnostic related groups and ICD-9 codes from Planning 2.0.
Health care planners and marketers can use Business Analyst Online for Health to get data re
ports and maps in a ready-to-use format. Health care providers’ upper management, strategic planners and business development can use the software for product planning, market forecasting and other marketing applications. For more information visit www.esri.com/ baohealth or www.planning2.com.
Test new products online with ProSelect
Marketing Research Services Inc. (MRSI), Cincinnati, is now offering ProSelect, an online product testing solution designed for marketing researchers and product developers in a variety of consumer product markets. As part of MRSI’s PRISM system for product development, ProSelect answers product development questions such as: Is my product as good as I think it is? Does it have strong consumer appeal? How well does it perform in real-world conditions? What needs improvement? Does the product deliver on its promises?
With ProSelect, surveys are available 24/7 and results are monitored as they come in. Clients can ship products to one central MRSI facility instead of malls across the country. Through ProSelect’s primarily monadic testing technique, consumers provide likes and dislikes about the product, rate the product overall and on key diagnostic product attributes. Analysis of product strengths and weaknesses is then used to provide specific guidance on areas of product improvement (prior to an actual product launch). ProSelect can also be used to test frozen products. MRSI can pack and ship products from one centralized facility using dry ice and insulated coolers. For more information visit www.mrsi.com/proselect.html.
Syndicated study tracks C-store shopping habits
Meyers Research Center, New York, has launched the sixth wave of its syndicated category management research program, Convenience Store Close-Up, which takes a look at behavior, attitudes and decision-making patterns of convenience store shoppers in the United States.
The research objective of the 2006 study is to get into the minds of convenience store consumers in order to identify and quantify behavior. The results will provide the convenience store industry with a framework for thinking about the positioning of the convenience store, including how and why consumers shop this type of store and insights into how to best target the convenience store consumer with a special emphasis on convenience shopping.
A minimum of 1,000 shoppers will be interviewed about their attitudes, perceptions and behavior in convenience stores. Interviewing will take place across the four broad geographical census regions in order to achieve a thorough cross-section of shoppers. Only traditional convenience store chains and petroleum retailers will be utilized for the sample. For more information contact Jeff Friedlaender at 800-221-5015 or visit www.meyersresearch.com.
Mosaic Japan now available
Costa Mesa, Calif., information firm Experian has released Mosaic Japan, which classifies every Japanese household into 11 main groups and 50 different socioeconomic types. It uses the Japanese National Census and a range of other statistical datasets to build a set of typologies and deliver insight into the structure of Japanese society.
Developed over two years with Acton Wins, a Japanese lifestyle data specialist, it uses the same capabilities found in Experian’s other Mosaic solutions, offering international marketers a familiar, standardized consumer segmentation tool. For more information visit www.experianmarketingsolutions.com.
Conduct online research in China’s Internet cafés
Los Angeles research firm Online Testing eXchange has formed a partnership with Market China Inc. (MCI) that will enable global and local Chinese brands to conduct online market research in 120,000+ Internet cafés in urban and suburban areas throughout mainland China.
China’s popular Internet cafés have an environment set up to promote social interaction - “couples” stations, team/group gaming areas, VIP areas, food/drink, etc. - and are now one of the dominant places where young adults gather for peer interaction, while surfing the Net, playing video games and watching online entertainment content.
The 120,000+ Internet cafés across China have an average of 70 computers each - more than eight million total - and an estimated 50 million users per month. Over 50 percent of the 18-25 population of mainland China’s urban markets visit cafés, according to the 2004 China Media and Marketing Survey by Sinomonitor International. The official government report states that nearly 30 percent of all Internet users in China cite the Internet café as their most preferred Internet access point. For more information visit www.otxresearch.com.
Focalyst study targets Boomers
New York research firm Focalyst has launched the inaugural Focalyst View survey, which is expected to have a return of 35,000 respondents, ages 42 and older. It covers a range of topics, from media preferences and technology adoption to retirement plans and spending habits, with the goal of understanding the needs, behaviors and attitudes of older Americans. The study will be conducted annually, providing clients with year-over-year measurements to help them see trends and assess the impact of strategies and services. Focalyst is a joint venture of AARP Services Inc. and the Kantar Group. For more information visit www.focalyst.com.
Update to panel management system
MARSC Version 4.1 is now available from U.K.-based Centurion Marketing Systems Ltd. Enhancements to the sampling and panel management system include the ability to specify simple or complex selection criteria based on previous activity within the panel. An example of this would be to select names from those who took part in projects A, B and C but did not take part in project D. MARSC can also now accept bonus-point information from interviewing systems. Response rate calculations have been improved and MARSC will now support the output of sample lists to a database table for immediate pickup by an interviewing system. For more information visit www.marsc.co.uk.
MarketSight 5.0 now shipping
Monitor Software, Cambridge, Mass., is now offering MarketSight 5.0, a data analysis application. In addition to usability enhancements, MarketSight 5.0 introduces new features and functionalities, including: interactive banner runs; support for tracking studies; statistical test automation and optimization; an automated variable creation process for top-box and other common groupings; expanded export capabilities and home page and navigation improvements. MarketSight 5.0 is available as a hosted application or as an application that can be installed behind a corporate firewall. MarketSight uses a Web-based architecture to facilitate collaboration and sharing of research data and analysis. For more information visit www.marketsight.com.
New demographic datasets available
Demographic Data Center is now offering On-Line Census 2000 Long Form (SF3), which puts the complete Census 2000 Long Form (SF3) at users’ fingertips. The Census 2000 Long Form has detailed information on the social and economic characteristics of the U.S. population, including employment, occupation, income, education, poverty and more. The On-Line products give downloads of data in .dbf and .csv formats for use in spreadsheets and statistical programs, as well as exports of geographic boundaries for use in mapping programs such as ArcGIS and MapInfo.
The firm has also released an expanded data set of the U.S. Population and Housing. This demographic data set has more detailed variables for the 2005 population including income by race, sex by age and by race, household by race and by age, total housing units and housing tenure. For more information call 800-577-6717 or visit www.us-census.biz/products.htm.
Attract more automotive advertising with MatchMAKER
Equifax Inc., Atlanta, is now offering the 2006 version of MatchMAKER, a research tool that arms publishers with the most recent market data to help attract automotive advertising. It contains more than 11 million records for new cars and trucks purchased between October 1, 2004 and September 30, 2005. With MatchMAKER, publishers gain insight into subscribers’ recent automotive purchases as well as their demographics, attitudes and lifestyles. MatchMAKER delivers a picture of vehicle purchases in the most recent model year, revealing the latest consumer trends and behavior.
MatchMAKER customized reports are created by matching subscriber names to millions of new state motor vehicle registrations, showing the actual number of subscribers that bought specific new makes and models of cars and trucks. Delivered as spreadsheet files and as hardcopy, MatchMAKER demonstrates marketplace patterns and behaviors based on aggregate statistics. To protect consumer privacy, the report does not divulge the buying and leasing behaviors of individual consumers.
With every MatchMAKER report, Equifax offers a subscriber study, called a FOCUS report, which provides insights into the demographics, purchasing behavior and lifestyles of magazine and newspaper subscribers. For more information visit www.equifaxmarketingservices.com.
ACNielsen expands Homescan Suite
Schaumburg, Ill.-based ACNielsen U.S. is offering its Homescan Consumer & Shopper Insights Suite, which offers data on consumer behavior across 96 custom-projected retailer trading areas, providing an expanded view of retail shopper behavior. This broader geographic coverage of trading areas is a result of the expansion of the Homescan consumer panel to 125,000 households. The trading areas represent a retailer-defined view of the consumer landscape which provides demographic and shopping behavior reads and fosters alignment for better manufacturer-retailer collaboration. Trading areas feature increased sample sizes when compared with traditional local market views, to enable better coverage of shoppers across the marketplace.
The Consumer & Shopper Insights Suite has also expanded its local market coverage to offer nine new local markets (for a total of 32); released new channel reads including automotive and liquor retailers; and introduced a syndicated reporting sample of 91,500 households. It includes Consumer Facts, which provides brand-level consumer purchase behavior and demographic insights; Channel Facts, for category-level consumer purchase information by channel/account; Account Shopper Profiler, providing demographic and new shopping trip profiles of channel/retailer accounts; and Cross Outlet Facts, which helps users understand shopper loyalty and dollar opportunity for key product group segments. For more information visit www.acnielsen.com.
Arbitron begins PPM rollout
Arbitron Inc., New York, will begin the rollout of the Portable People Meter (PPM) system as its radio ratings service in the top 50 markets. Beginning with Houston in July 2006, Arbitron will start making the change to the Portable People Meter, an electronic audience measurement technology that has been in U.S. market trials since 2001. The PPM will be used in place of the current paper-and-pencil diary method that the company has employed to collect radio audience estimates since 1965.
The rollout schedule the company announced in March would put the Portable People Meter into the top 10 radio markets by the fall of 2008, and into all of the top 50 radio markets two to three years thereafter.
Arbitron believes that the introduction of the Portable People Meter will offer advantages to local-market radio broadcasters and their advertisers including: faster and more frequent delivery of ratings reports; better insights into how people listen to radio; more reliable measures of the total audience reached by a radio station - the PPM indicates that a typical radio station often reaches twice as many listeners compared to current measures of the audience; additional sales opportunities for stations through better measures of the audience to special programming events and during evenings or weekends; more stable audience trends with far less “bounce” from one report to the next; and the ability to report all of radio’s new distribution methods: HD Radio, Internet streaming, digital multicasts, podcasting and others. For more information visit www.arbitron.com.
Briefly
New York-based Scarborough Research is offering a free report, “Unbanked Consumers: A Unique Opportunity for Financial Marketers,” on its Web site. It can be downloaded at www.scarborough.com/freestudies.php.
Norway-based research software provider FIRM has launched Confirmit Kiosk, a standalone module for its Confirmit research software that allows research agencies to conduct product testing and surveys in malls and shops. Confirmit Kiosk is fully integrated with the Confirmit platform. It can be implemented in both online or offline locations and integrates with Confirmit Reportal, enabling live access to customized reports. For more information visit www.confirmit.com.
20/20 Research Inc., Nashville, Tenn., has opened a new, 9,500-square-foot focus group facility in the Doral area of Miami. Located at 8350 N.W. 52nd Terrace, close to the Doral Resort, the site was selected because of easy access from both Dade and Broward counties and its close proximity to the Miami airport. The facility houses four focus group rooms, each with a client viewing room, separate telephone suite and complete technology and A/V connections.
India-based research firm Pulse has established an online panel of approximately 245,000 Indian consumers. Data from 2005 showed 4.5 percent or approximately 45 million of India’s population are now online or Internet-savvy. A majority of Indian Internet surfers are urbanites from major markets such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai. For more information visit www.pulse-group.com.
U.K.-based E-Tabs has launched E-Tabs AutoGraph, designed for users who have to prepare ad hoc PowerPoint presentations and Excel reports. Accepting data from all industry-standard crosstabulation/analysis products, E-Tabs AutoGraph enables the creation of complete PowerPoint presentations containing fully formatted charts and tables. For more information visit www.e-tabs.com.
Seattle-based QuestionPro has enhanced its QuestionPro online survey tool with Spotlight Report, which enables participants in multi-question surveys to see how their answer on each question compares to the aggregated responses of all other survey respondents. For more information visit www.questionpro.com/spotlight-report.