News notes
The Texas A&M Mays Business School, Center for Retailing Studies (CRS) has announced a partnership with St. Louis-based Maritz Research to provide students with firsthand knowledge of the retail marketing industry. Maritz Research will be involved in many of the Center’s programs including: visiting “Professor for a Day” executive lecturers, internships for qualified CRS students, financial support for CRS and participation in new CRS projects where possible.
Reston, Va.-based research firm WirthlinWorldwide is sponsoring a book project in partnership with the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) which will include an analysis of over 100 case studies, focused on the value market research delivers to advertising effectiveness, submitted by Fortune 100 organizations to the David Ogilvy Research Awards program, run by the ARF since 1994.
Key features of the ARF book, tentatively titled Re:Thinking Advertising: What The David Ogilvy Awards Have Taught Us, include an analysis and synthesis of the core characteristics of winning advertising efforts as exemplified by over 100 Ogilvy Award finalist case studies; interviews with Fortune 100 advertising and marketing executives, as well as leaders on the agency, media and research side, addressing the major issues confronting the industry. The author of the book is Raymond Pettit, senior independent consultant, WirthlinWorldwide, based in Wirthlin’s New York office. The book is scheduled for publication in 2005.
New York-based Nielsen Media Research announced in June it would begin offering Local People Meter (LPM) data in New York on June 3rd. Nielsen will also continue to operate the current Meter/Diary system in New York for three more months, and during this time either set of data may be used commercially. Nielsen believes that it is in the best interest of its clients for both systems to be run concurrently during a transition period. Nielsen originally planned to launch the LPM service in New York on April 8th. However, the introduction was postponed for two months in response to community leaders and elected officials who raised questions about the system’s measurement of the viewership habits of African-American and Latino households.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Chicago-based Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), has entered into an information-sharing agreement with Family Dollar Stores under which IRI will now offer account-specific point-of-sale sales tracking and analysis for Family Dollar, providing CPG manufacturers with sales information to measure product performance and competitive activity within the Family Dollar chain and other dollar-store sectors.
Millward Brown now has an office in Central America following the signing of a licensing deal with Honduran research firm Mercaplan.
Evansville, Ind.-based The ARS Group has announced a partnership with AdSAM Marketing to combine the ARS Group’s capabilities in behavioral advertising measurement related to sales with AdSAM’s background in understanding the emotional response to advertising.
Seattle research firm NetReflector, Inc., and Genticity, Inc., a Canada-based provider of customer interaction management software, have announced a strategic partnership. Under the terms of this alliance, Genticity will integrate NetReflector’s enterprise online survey technology, InstantSurvey, into Customer1, its suite of software applications and services that enable multiple contact centers to function as one.
Association/organization news
The Advertising Research Foundation has named a host of new members to its board of directors: Laura Bright, vice president, marketing research for Allied Domecq Wines and Spirits; Neil Canter, managing partner for the North American Marketing Sciences practice at Accenture; Stacey Lynn Koerner, executive vice president, director of global research, at Initiative Media; Satish Korde, president of the Ford Motor Company Group at WPP Group PLC; Jerry Lee, president and partner of WBEB 101 FM Philadelphia; Joan M. Lewis, consumer and market knowledge director, corporate function, Procter & Gamble; Jim Nyce, vice president, strategy and insights, PepsiCo Beverages & Foods; Mary Ann Packo, chief client and marketing officer, Millward Brown; Michael I. Schwartz, vice president, global consumer insights and strategy, Kraft Foods; Kate Sirkin, senior vice president and global media research director of Starcom MediaVest Group; and Greg Stuart, president and CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
Awards/rankings
WebSurveyor Corporation, Herndon, Va., has won a Stevie award from the American Business Awards. WebSurveyor 4.1 was named best new product within the computer software category. Stevie awards recognize outstanding business leadership, innovation, perseverance, creativity, teamwork and integrity through more than 40 categories.
New accounts/projects
New York-based Arbitron Inc. has signed Sporting News Radio as a new radio network provider for the company’s RADAR network radio ratings service. RADAR will report Sporting News Radio effective with the RADAR 82 release on October 4, 2004. Sporting News Radio, targeting men 25-54, will offer one program per daypart Monday-Sunday for a total of 35 minutes or 70 thirty-second, weekly commercial units. Sporting News Radio is the first standalone sports-talk network to become a RADAR client. Its addition will bring the current count of RADAR-rated networks to 41.
The PGA Tour has selected Scarborough Sports Marketing, New York, for consumer and fan research services. Through the agreement, the Tour will utilize Scarborough’s Multi-Market database, a study of consumer shopping, media and lifestyle behaviors in the 75 local markets Scarborough measures, to aggregate information across local markets and perform consumer and fan analyses.
Brass Craft, a Novi, Mich., plumbing supply firm, has selected Clarkston, Mich.-based Intellitrends LLC to survey its customer base to identify ways to maximize customer service.
New companies/new divisions/ relocations/expansions
Cincinnati-based Sigma: Research Management Group has expanded into southeastern Michigan to service its clients in the Detroit area. Paul Johnson has been named senior research executive and will manage the new operation.
St. Joseph, Mich.-based research firm Smith-Dahmer Associates has opened an office at 1128 Harmon Place, Minneapolis, Minn., 55403. Phone 612-746-0556. Fax 612-746-0558. The office will be managed by Regional Director Laura Holderness.
New York-based MarketRe-search.com, an online aggregator of market research reports, has opened an office in London to support its European customers. The office will be managed by PowerInfo Ltd. of London, a European business development and marketing agency.
Paris-based Ipsos has added a new global division, Ipsos Loyalty, which will provide customer satisfaction measurement and customer relationship management services.
Market Segment Research has moved to Colonnade Corporate Center, 2332 Galiano St., Coral Gables, Fla., 33134. The new telephone number is 305-728-7115. The new fax is 305-728-7116.
Company earnings reports
For the first quarter ended March 31, 2004, New York-based NetRatings, Inc. reported revenues of $13.3 million, a 47 percent increase over revenues of $9.0 million in the first quarter of 2003. Revenue growth reflected additional sales of existing Nielsen//NetRatings products and the integration of acquisitions made during 2003.
In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), net loss for the first quarter of 2004 was $6.5 million, or ($0.19) per share, on approximately 34.1 million shares. This compares with a net loss of $5.2 million, or ($0.15) per share, in the first quarter of 2003, on approximately 33.6 million shares.
On an EBITDA basis, the company reported a first quarter loss of $3.1 million, or ($0.09) per share. This compares with an EBITDA loss in the first quarter of 2003 of $2.8 million, or ($0.08) per share. Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments at the end of the first quarter were $198 million, compared to $210 million at the end of 2003, reflecting cash usage from operations and the acquisition of the balance of RedSheriff.
The company reported a 76 percent global renewal rate for the first quarter of 2004 (excluding RedSheriff clients), up from 72 percent during the first quarter of 2003, and signed or renewed contracts with companies including aQuantive, CareerBuilder.com, Deutsch, Dow Jones Interactive, Forbes.com, Google, Modem Media, Tiscali and U.S. News and World Report. With the integration of the RedSheriff acquisition, NetRatings now has more than 1,166 clients globally.
Survey Sampling International, Fairfield, Conn., announced that sales in the first quarter of 2004 increased by 47 percent over Q1 2003. March sales set a new company record. Sales of eSample were 60 percent of total sales, up from 50 percent for Q1 2003. Global telephone sales increased 20 percent. RDD sample sales increased almost 5 percent. And 46 new accounts were opened and 62 accounts were reactivated.
The first quarter of 2004 was successful for the Germany-based GfK Group, with a 10.5 percent increase in sales to EUR 149.9 million. With an increase of almost 64 percent to EUR 15.0 million, EBIT after income from participations again rose much more strongly than sales. In the first quarter of 2004, the margin increased to 10 percent (compared to 6.7 percent in the same period in the previous year). The stronger rise in EBIT than in sales resulted both from organic growth and from acquisitions. Consolidated total income increased by almost 52 percent. Net of tax of EUR 5.4 million and the share of consolidated total income attributable to minority interests of EUR 2.2 million, consolidated total income amounted to EUR 6.9 million.
Paris-based Ipsos posted first-quarter 2004 revenues of EUR 127.1 million, up 7.2 percent compared with the same period of last year. At comparable structure and at constant exchange rates, the group’s quarterly revenues increased by 8.9 percent, a higher rate than during the year-earlier period.
For the second quarter in a row, Europe posted significant organic growth (7 percent). In North America, organic growth came to 8 percent, reflecting the consolidation of business. Latin America posted 14 percent organic growth. The strongest rate of organic growth (33 percent) was posted in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, which doubled the size of their contribution to group revenues from 3 percent to 6 percent. China posted organic growth of 90 percent, but this figure should be kept in perspective since its first quarter 2003 revenues were depressed by the SARS epidemic.
Revenues for the first quarter ended March 31, 2004 at Opinion Research Corporation, Princeton, N.J., were $48.0 million versus $43.2 million in the prior year’s first quarter, an increase of 11 percent. Social research revenues were $30.9 million versus $27.8 million in last year’s first quarter. Market research revenues totaled $13.4 million versus $12.0 million in the prior year’s first quarter. Teleservices revenues were $3.6 million versus $3.4 million in last year’s first quarter. Market research revenues were favorably impacted by $0.8 million due to the depreciation of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies.
Operating income for the first quarter was $3.4 million, versus $2.4 million in last year’s first quarter, an increase of 40 percent. Net income for the first quarter was $0.9 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, versus net income of $0.7 million, or $0.12 per diluted share in last year’s first quarter, increases of 28 percent and 25 percent respectively. Net income growth lagged operating income growth due to the income tax provision, which is adversely affected as the company is not providing tax benefits on state and non-U.S. losses. Cash flow was used to further reduce debt by $1.7 million during the quarter.