News notes
Crain Communications Inc., parent of Advertising Age, has purchased American Demographics magazine from Primedia Inc. and shut it down. Crain plans to incorporate coverage of demographic trends into Ad Age and AdAge.com.
San Francisco-based CfMC has adopted a new logo, color scheme and signature line: “Research Software.” CfMC has been known as Computers for Marketing Corporation over the years, although researchers and clients increasingly have referred to the firm as simply CfMC. With this redesign, the company now is known exclusively by those four letters.
New York-based Nielsen Media Research and Univision Communications, Inc. announced that Univision has dismissed litigation that sought to halt Nielsen’s use of Local People Meter (LPM) service in Los Angeles , and Nielsen has withdrawn its motion against Univision under California ’s Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) statute.
LPMs, which measure TV ratings electronically, have been used in Los Angeles since July 8, 2004. The Media Rating Council, which independently audits ratings systems, has conditionally accredited Nielsen’s LPM systems in New York , Los Angeles and Chicago and fully accredited Nielsen’s LPM system in Boston . In 2005, Nielsen will introduce Local People Meters into Philadelphia , Washington , D.C., Dallas and Detroit ; and will launch the service in Atlanta in 2006.
Arbitron Inc., New York , has selected Octave Technology Inc., College Park , Md. , a software and technology company, to explore the possible integration of passive auto identification (ID) technology - such as radio frequency identification (RFID) functionality - into Arbitron’s Portable People Meter (PPM) system. The two companies expect to gain a greater understanding of the capabilities of passive RFID readers and chipsets for media and market research applications as well as develop insights into the likelihood, costs and challenges in integrating these technologies.
Waukesha, Wis.-based Call_ Solutions has changed its name to NOVO 1, Inc.
Acquisitions
New York research firm Schulman, Ronca, & Bucuvalas, Inc. has acquired Cincinnati-based Catalina Marketing Research Solutions (CMRS), formerly Alliance Research. CMRS/Alliance will be integrated into SRBI’s Marketing Insights Division, also headquartered in the Cincinnati area. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The Fairfield, Conn.-based Kantar Group has acquired Cannondale Associates. With offices in Wilton , Conn. , and Evanston , Ill. , the company provides strategic consulting services in areas such as category management, trade promotion, channel development and frequent-shopper data analysis, as well as offering proprietary software solutions and industry benchmark research to augment these consulting services. All senior Cannondale management, including Jack Ryder, John Carlson, Paul Crnkovich, Ken Harris, Bob Hilarides, Sven Risom and Don Stuart, will remain in their current positions with company.
The NPD Group, Port Washington , N.Y. , has acquired control of the Parkod companies: Parkod France and Parkod Europe. With this acquisition, The NPD Group will now leverage Parkod’s software, brands and databases with NPD’s BeautyTrends service. Claude Charbit has been named chairman of Parkod.
Alliances/strategic partnerships
Sterling, Va.-based competitive intelligence firm Current Analysis, Inc. and Sage Research, Natick , Mass. , have formed an alliance to deliver customer-informed competitive response analysis and market strategy recommendations. The partnership will combine competitive intelligence and analysis with primary end-user research, and offer clients of the respective firms a suite of competitive response tools.
Fairfield, Conn.-based Survey Sampling International is partnering with Stephen Jenke to develop both a presence and a SurveySpot Internet panel in Australia. SSI projected that its SurveySpot Internet panel in Australia would comprise 130,000 household members representing 50,000 e-mail addresses by the end of December. Jenke is managing director of Information Research Management Pty. Ltd., a specialist consultancy in the deployment of online survey software and systems integration.
Association/organization news
Three associations representing about 200 market research firms in Canada have merged to create one national body intended to “promote and enforce rigorous professional standards.” The Marketing Research & Intelligence Association (MRIA) began operating January 1st. It is made up of members of the Canadian Association of Market Research Organizations, the Canadian Survey Research Council and the Professional Marketing Research Society.
Among other things, the MRIA will audit member companies to ensure that best practices are used and industry standards are maintained. It will also operate the School of Marketing Research and certify qualified professionals. In addition, it offers a toll-free number (800-554-9996) which consumers can call to verify the legitimacy of research projects and to register complaints.
“Creating one concerted voice greatly strengthens our position as a leader in corporate responsibility by helping us to promote and enforce rigorous professional standards,” Don Mills, president of the new association, said in a statement. “The public benefits by receiving greater assurances that the person they are sharing their attitudes and opinions with is a legitimate researcher, working for a certified, accredited and auditable organization, compliant with some of the highest professional standards in the world.”
The Marketing Research Institute International (MRII), Rocky Hill , Conn. , has named Betsy J. Peterson director emeritus of the organization. Peterson was the original founder of MRII (formerly known as the Marketing Research Association Institute) in 1995. During this time, she held the position of executive director of the Marketing Research Association.
In 1994, under Peterson’s leadership, a task force was formed to determine the feasibility of creating a separate non-profit organization to create educational and training materials for the marketing and opinion research industry. This was fueled by a desire to create an independent study program based on the Marketing Research Core Body of Knowledge developed by William Neal of SDR, Inc. and Malcolm McNiven of the University of Georgia. Approval was given and funds allocated in 1995 to establish the Marketing Research Association Institute.
MRAI was formally incorporated in June of 1996 and was granted non-profit status as a 501(c)3 educational foundation by the IRS. In 1998, the organization officially changed its name to MRII. Peterson held the title of executive director of MRII from 1996-2002. Her active role in the creation and development of MRII has earned her the honor of being named director emeritus. She joins Neal and McNiven as the third individual so distinguished by the organization.
The Council for Marketing and Opinion Research (CMOR), Wethersfield , Conn. , has named Harry E. Heller director of respondent cooperation. Heller will be responsible for two overlapping initiatives: helping the marketing and opinion research industry develop best practices for enhancing consumer cooperation, and educating consumers as to the importance of participating in survey research.
“Respondent cooperation can be increased in two ways: by improving what we do and by reaching out to the public to help them understand why their cooperation is important,” Heller said in a statement. “Research companies need to train their interviewers to ensure that their surveys are interesting; identify respondent incentives to encourage cooperation; enable respondents to be interviewed at convenient times; and we must let the public know that their opinions will be kept confidential and their privacy will be protected. Ultimately, the public should know that opinion research is the best way by which political and business decision makers can make decisions driven by their input.”
“Harry Heller brings to this position a wealth of experience and great industry visibility,” said Kathy Pilhuj, chairman of the respondent cooperation committee, CMOR. “Improving the public’s perception of surveys is an area in which Harry has done extensive research and writing. He comes to CMOR with a long-term goal of making the public more interested in and motivated to understand the role of surveys in our society and to be more willing to provide their opinions.”
Awards/rankings
Harris Interactive, Rochester , N.Y. , has been named to the 2004 Deloitte Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the 500 fastest-growing technology companies in North America . Rankings are based on percentage revenue growth over five fiscal years, from 1999 to 2003. Harris Interactive grew 351 percent during this period, from approximately $29 million to $130.6 million in revenue.
The title of “Best Research Company in Spain ” (2003-2004) has been awarded to Millward Brown Spain by Premios Control, a research and marketing magazine.
Maritz Research, St. Louis , has been awarded the United States Postal Service (USPS) Quality Supplier Award for helping the USPS make an impact on supply chain management, and achieve positive, bottom-line results. Maritz’ nomination was prepared and submitted by a Postal Service Contracting Officer’s Representative, and reviewed by an independent panel of USPS evaluators. Maritz Research received the USPS Quality Supplier Award for its development and execution of the organization’s mystery shopper program (see related article on p. 38). During this program, Maritz conducted more than 66,000 mystery shopper evaluations to assist the Postal Service in maintaining customer service and image standards. After analyzing the results of the Mystery Shopper program, Maritz identified opportunities for the USPS to increase revenue and customer satisfaction. Due to the quality standards applied to this program and the data collected as a result, Maritz Research was nominated and ultimately won the Quality Supplier Award.
A paper by employees of New York-based Ipsos Loyalty that examines the positive relationship between customer satisfaction and actual share-of-wallet in a business-to-business environment won the Excellence in Service Research Award for 2004 from the Journal of Service Research. Authors Timothy L. Keiningham and Tiffany Perkins-Munn of Ipsos Loyalty, and Heather Evans, an employee at a financial services company, won the award for their article, “The Impact of Customer Satisfaction on Share-of-Wallet in a Business-to-Business Environment.” The article appeared in the August 2003 issue of the Journal of Service Research.
New accounts/projects
New York-based Nielsen Media Research and NBC Universal have signed a seven-year contract for audience measurement services covering all of NBC Universal’s national and local television businesses. This includes the NBC Television Network, NBC Enterprises/NBC Universal Domestic Television, Telemundo, the cable networks Bravo, CNBC and MSNBC , USA Network, and SCI FI Channel, the 13 NBC-owned-and-operated television stations, and the 11 Telemundo television stations.
ESA, a U.K.-based retail and trade research firm, has been contracted by Skillsmart Retail to conduct an analysis of the retail sector in Wales. The project will combine a variety of research methodologies, encompassing mystery shopping, street interviews and town center assessments, and will aim to map out the training needs within the retail sector in Wales.
Arbitron Inc., New York , will survey the radio listening of Chinese-American consumers using bilingual Chinese-English diaries in the Los Angeles and New York metropolitan radio markets in Winter 2005. This is the first time the company will use the Chinese-language version of its standard radio diary to track the listening habits of Chinese-Americans. The study will be done on behalf of Multicultural Radio Broadcasting, Inc.
The study will take place during the Winter 2005 Arbitron survey period (January 6-March 30, 2005) among Chinese-speaking consumers, age 12 and older, in the Los Angeles and New York radio metros. Each survey will have in-tab samples of 500 Chinese-speaking individuals.
The data will be released following the delivery of the Winter 2005 syndicated Arbitron market reports. The study will be available for purchase by advertisers, agencies and broadcasters.
New York-based Simmons has signed Sirius Satellite Radio to a multi-year agreement for the Simmons National Consumer Survey (NCS). Simmons Spring 2004 Unified Hispanic and National Consumer Survey reveals over three million adults 18+ already subscribe to satellite radio and over 5.5 million plan to subscribe in the next 12 months. The study also examines the demographics of consumers who plan to subscribe to satellite radio in the year and finds that men are 9 percent more likely than the average consumer to plan to subscribe; potential subscribers are 30 percent more likely to be age 25-34; they are 38 percent more likely to be single and the mean household income of adults planning to subscribe to satellite radio is $74,066 (7 percent above the national average).
Company earnings reports
Paris-based Ipsos generated consolidated revenues of 427.8 million euros in the first nine months of 2004, an increase of 6.7 percent over the same period in 2003. At constant scope and exchange rates, growth was 8.2 percent. Movements in exchange rates dragged revenues down by 4 percent.
The scope of consolidation has changed little since 2003, with newly-integrated companies accounting for 2.3 percent of total revenues. South Korean company Active Insights entered the scope of consolidation on January 1, 2004, and TQA (Australia ) and Hispania Research (Puerto Rico ) on July 1, 2004.
The renewed growth trend in Europe remained in place, despite a slight slowdown compared to the first half of 2004, due to a less favorable base for comparison. In North America , organic growth stabilized at 6 percent. The proportion of revenues coming from online data collection systems is continuing to rise, and is now above 50 percent in some businesses. This trend is putting temporary pressure on growth in billings.
Germany-based GfK Group has continued its successful path of the first six months into the third quarter. The target sales figure was EUR 487.1 million, which is 13 percent more than that of the same period in the previous year. Rising by 24.5 percent to EUR 58.3 million, EBIT after income from participations once again increased at a higher rate than sales. At 12 percent, the sales margin remained a percentage point above the previous year. Consolidated total income rose to EUR 34.6 million with the result that after nine months it was already greater than that of the previous year as a whole (EUR 33.3 million).
In the first nine months of 2004, GfK invested EUR 72.2 million (previous year, EUR 38.1 million). Seventy-eight percent of these investments concern acquisitions and companies in which GfK has increased its shareholding.
The Group’s five business divisions have witnessed growth. GfK’s Consumer Tracking division increased its sales by 5.1 percent, of which 5.4 percentage points were attributable to organic growth. Sales in Healthcare improved by almost 57 percent compared with the same period in the previous year. The increase is essentially attributable to the GfK Group’s acquisition on July 1, 2003 of a 51 percent share in V2 GfK, USA, and of a 100 percent share in GfK m2A, France, at the beginning of 2004.
With its sharp growth rate, the Retail and Technology division contributed significantly to the success of the GfK Group as a whole. Sales increased by 10.8 percent. Organic growth amounted to 9.1 percentage points and there was acquisition growth of 2.2 percentage points.
There was organic growth of 1.9 percent in the Media division. Currency effects reduced growth by 0.5 percent. The operating income was 6.4 percent lower than that of the previous year. This was partly due to the costs incurred for contract tenders to measure TV viewer ratings in Russia, radio audience ratings in Belgium and to create a Media Usage Panel in Russia with its newly developed measuring technology, MediaWatch. As a result of this, the margin was half a percentage point below that of the first six months, standing at 10.5 percent.
With the highest numbers of sales, GfK’s largest division, Custom Research, has recorded growth of 13.8 percent. Almost a third of this is attributable to organic growth. Operating income rose more sharply than sales. The positive growth is mainly due to the successful activities of GfK Marktforschung in Germany, and GfK Arbor in the U.S.
GfK Group Services, GfK Data Services and GfK Business Solutions & Processing essentially provide core services for the Group and their cooperation partners. The drop in sales and operating profit is notably due to the reduced volume services provided by GfK Business Solutions & Processing for Information Resources GfK.