Scarborough adds Claritas products to database

New York-based Scarborough Research has augmented its service to provide more consumer detail in the financial and telecom industries with the addition of the Claritas Inc. segmentation products ConneXions and P$YCLE NE to its database.

Scarborough clients seeking in-depth information on consumer habits in the telecom categories can execute analyses that combine Scarborough’s local, regional and national consumer shopping, media, lifestyle and demographic information with ConneXions product usage, purchasing intent, product preference and product switching behavior insights. Similarly, financial marketers can use the consumer investment and financial behavior information in P$YCLE NE along with Scarborough’s measurements.

ConneXions is a household-level segmentation system for the telecom industry, designed for video, voice and data services. It differentiates individual households by the types of communications products and services they currently have or intend to purchase, as well as monthly bill expenditures for these services. Scarborough’s measurements in the telecom category include cellular, local and long distance usage and spending, television connections (cable, digital cable, VOD, satellite, etc.), and Internet usage, connections and shopping insights.

P$YCLE NE evaluates consumers using demographic factors that have an effect on their financial behavior, such as income, age, presence of children and home ownership. Each of the 58 consumer segments within P$YCLE NE has distinct usage patterns for financial products and services. Scarborough information in this category covers the banks and financial institutions consumers use on the local-market level, as well as the banking services in their household (investments, online banking, checking and savings accounts, credit cards, etc.). For more information visit www.scarborough.com.

New Dub versions from Nebu

Netherlands-based research software firm Nebu BV has released new versions of its software suite. Version 2.3.1 of its Dub Knowledge panel management system includes new features such as rim-based sampling capabilities, enhanced query structures to enable excluding of previous samples, improvements to automated/scheduled “lights out” sampling runs and UNICODE support. The new 6.3 version of its multimode interviewing system Dub Interviewer adds tools for managing a distributed CATI/Web interviewing environment. New releases of the Dub Planner CATI and Dub Planner CAPI field force management tools are also available. For more information visit www.nebu.com.

Simmons launches media engagement study

Simmons Research, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has unveiled plans for its new National Multi-Media Engagement Study, a measurement system that will provide ratings of the cognitive, behavioral and emotional involvement consumers have with media. Simmons is developing this measure of engagement to help marketers communicate with the consumer. Brand advertising, as well as the media environments supporting that advertising, must resonate on key dimensions that result in an “engaged” prospect or customer.

The Simmons National Multi-Media Engagement Study will enable marketers to evaluate consumer engagement levels both within a single medium as well as across multiple media channels. The study will measure and report on several hundred individual media vehicles across broadcast and cable television, Internet and print properties in both English and Spanish. In addition, Simmons will also link results to the product and media usage behaviors and lifestyle descriptors in its Unified National Consumer Study. This will permit subscribers to look at engagement levels for both English- and Spanish-language media vehicles and consumers. Simmons will provide the metrics and the platform for marketers to identify on which specific dimensions consumers are most engaged and how they can tune content, programming, creative and message strategy to drive ROI. For more information contact Ken Wollenberg at 212-863-4569 or visit www.smrb.com.

Historical business demographics for 1998 to 2002

The Demographic Data Center is now offering the Historical Business Demographics DVD, a five-year set of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s County and Zip Code Business Patterns from 1998 to 2002 on a single DVD. This set of the annual county and zip code business patterns gives users the historical data to do trend analysis of local and regional industrial growth. The industries available include: forestry, fishing, hunting and agriculture; mining; utilities; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; information; finance and insurance; real estate, rental and leasing; professional, scientific and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative, support, waste management and remediation services; educational services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment and recreation; and accommodation and food services. Also included is the Census 2000 dataset from the U.S. Census Bureau 2000 SF3 (Long Form). This database includes information on age, sex, race, marital status, households, language, citizenship status, transportation, school enrollment, education, employment, occupation, industry, disabilities, poverty status, income, housing, rent, mortgage status and more. For more information visit www.usa-demographics.com.

New online ad measurement platform

Marketing Evolution, an El Dorado Hills, Calif., research firm, and InsightExpress, a Stamford, Conn., research firm, have partnered to create an online advertising measurement platform called ADI Plus, which links creative testing, online campaign tracking and online campaign reach-and-frequency reporting and market mix model input.

The ADI Plus system employs a test/control survey methodology, allowing marketers to isolate and understand the attitudinal impact of specific campaign elements. The platform also generates reach and frequency data that may be used to plan against different market conditions and brand scenarios.

ADI Plus will allow marketers to measure incremental sales and profit from an online campaign using sales analytics models. Plus, the data provided makes it possible to plan over time optimal reach and frequency based on pre-determined creative strength. For more information visit www.marketingevolution.com or www.insightexpress.com.

System tracks beverage advertising

Adams Beverage Research, Norwalk, Conn., has launched Featuretrac.com, a Web-based retail advertisement tracking application. Featuretrac.com provides customizable geographies and competitive sets, three years of online historical brand data, a pricing module, chain-store aggregation, flexible reporting periods, user-defined data views and vehicle circulation numbers. The product is third-party hosted, eliminating any capacity limitations, and all processing is real-time. On-screen output is formatted with drilldown capabilities, brand-level aggregations, and hide/unhide functionality on key fields. Custom queries can be saved for future personal or shared use. Output may be exported into single or multi-tabbed Excel workbooks depending on the user’s needs. For more information visit www.beveragenet.net/research.asp.

Briefly

Nichols Research has opened a new East Bay focus facility in Fremont, Calif. The San Francisco-area facility offers a 20’ x 16’ focus room with an observation room featuring three-tiered seating for 15, T1 high-speed and wireless Internet access and other technological amenities. For more information contact Aaron Nichols at 510-794-2990, ext. 102 or visit www.nicholsresearch.com.

Research firm Ipsos has introduced its Product Precision product testing system, which features data-driven direction and consulting for developing new products, enhancing existing products and making decisions about cost reductions. Product Precision addresses business issues that arise throughout the product lifecycle, using test designs tailored to the client’s specific business objectives, whether measuring the success of a new product, improving product performance, assessing reformulation risk or reducing costs. For more information visit www.ipsosinsight.com/products/productprecision.aspx.

New York-based Charney Research is making its focus group facility available for rental to companies and focus group moderators. Recording and transcription services are available, as are moderators. For more information contact Dwayne Allen Thomas at 212-929-6933 or visit www.charneyresearch.com.

Global Market Insite Inc. (GMI), Seattle, has introduced MedPerspective, a global online medical panel of over one million doctors, nurses and chronically ill patients from over 200 countries, representing over 35 languages. As incentive to participate, panelists are offered either cash honorariums or, for every survey taken, 30 days of access to Vivísimo (http://vivisimo.com/) a biomedical search engine developed by GMI and Pittsburgh-based Vivísimo Inc. For more information visit www.medperspective.com.

Synovate Healthcare has extended its Tandem Global Oncology Monitor into China, Korea and Australia. For more information visit www.synovate.com/healthcare.

London-based Research Now has launched three online panels in Eastern Europe. The panels in Russia (www.vazhnoemnenie.ru), Poland (www.cenneopinie.pl) and the Czech Republic (www.cennenazory.cz) are standalone, locally recruited entities with their own local country incentive choices. All three panels have been recruited solely for market research purposes. For more information visit www.researchnow.co.uk.

FocusVision Worldwide, Stamford, Conn., now offers Privacy Plus, which locks the CD recordings of videostreaming projects so they can only be opened using the project password. Privacy Plus is available at no additional cost and by request only. For more information visit www.focusvision.com.

Richard K. Miller & Associates, Norcross, Ga., is offering the 2006 Entertainment, Media and Advertising Market Research Handbook. Now in its eighth edition, the 340-page book offers an assessment of the media and advertising markets including television, radio, newspapers, video games, online advertising, sports marketing, licensing and sponsorships. For more information visit www.marketresearch.rkma.com.

The Analytical Group Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz., has released new versions of CATI, CAPI and Web interviewing software WinQuery 6.0 and QueryWeb 6.0. New features include the ability to define custom data locations, real-time CATI reporting via the Web and direct sample loading for Excel and Access files. For more information visit www.analyticalgroup.com.

Seattle research firm QuestionPro has added the Spotlight Report feature to its online survey tool. The Spotlight Report enables participants in multi-question surveys to see how their answer on each question compares to the aggregated responses of all other survey respondents. At the end of a survey, a participant can see the aggregate answers to each question, along with how he or she answered. For more information visit www.questionpro.com/spotlight-report.

Arbitron Inc., New York, has posted its Comprehensive Resource Guide to Next Generation Electronic Measurement on its Web site at www.arbitron.com/portable_people_meters/industry_main.htm. The guide contains information on the company’s Portable People Meter technology and associated issues and questions raised by clients and the industry.

Anderson Analytics, a Stamford, Conn., research firm, unveiled a new research tool, AA-Projective, which combines psychoanalytic projective techniques from the social sciences with Anderson Analytics’ text mining techniques to help clients explore the subconscious motives of customers. For more information visit www.andersonanalytics.com.

Waltham, Mass., research firm Invoke Solutions and Norcross, Ga., research firm The Marketing Workshop Inc. have partnered on Da Vinci ForeSight, which uses Invoke’s technology platform to combine qualitative and quantitative researching techniques in live Internet sessions with a large, targeted audience. The platform can be used for projects from brand exploratory research to final copy testing and product concept tests to in-home use studies. For more information visit www.invokesolutions.com or www.mwshop.com.

Russell Herder, a Minneapolis marketing communications firm, has opened the Insight Café, a research facility created by researchers for researchers. Located in the agency’s Minneapolis office, the facility features leather furniture, a plasma television and a fireplace. For more information visit www.theinsightcafe.com.

LexPark Studio, a new focus group facility, is now open in New York City’s Union Square. The facility hosts one client at a time. The space offers a variety of arrangements, from informal to conventional, with features including a mezzanine-style observation room, digital projection, a Web usability lab, digital recording, Web conferencing, simultaneous translation and note-taking services. For more information visit www.lexparkstudio.com.

New York researcher Guideline Inc. has launched its Sales Intelligence Services, which give sales executives a range of business and market research information to aid the sales process. After consultation with a Guideline research manager, a sales executive will receive a briefing that analyzes the information and provides business profiles, current financial data, competitor information and prospecting angles, among other customized strategic intelligence. For more information visit www.guideline.com.