Report examines perceptions of packaging
The Consumer Network, a Philadelphia research firm, is now offering Packaging Report Card 2002, which presents consumer perceptions of 38 product categories and the improvements they want in those categories. The report is based on national research conducted by The Consumer Network and augmented with findings from focus groups and site visits in consumers’ homes and cars. It encapsulates users’ experiences, perceptions, frustrations, wishes, needs and purchase influences. It shows how demographics do and don’t make a difference and which demographic is most influenced by packaging improvements. It also shows how and where performance shortfalls limit use and dampen sales.
NPD product tracks appliance market
The NPD Group, Port Washington, N.Y., has launched its fifth Web-based service, NPDHouseworld, offering both retail point-of-sale and consumer data on the appliance market. The service examines what is selling, where, to whom and why. Information for NPDHouseworld is collected from both consumers and retailers. Consumer information is collected via NPD’s online consumer panel. Respondents report appliance purchases across all channels. Participating retailers provide actual sales counts by product and price.
MarketVision Research offers seminars
Cincinnati-based MarketVision Research is now offering MarketVision Research Seminars. The focus of the seminars is the marketing research application of descriptive statistics, multivariate statistics, data mining, conjoint and discrete choice analysis and related topics. The core seminar is a four-day session split into two days of descriptive statistics and two days of multivariate statistics. Attendees can participate in either a two-day block or the entire four-day session. In addition, separate seminars will be offered focusing on conjoint and discrete choice modeling as well as on data mining. Each seminar is also available to companies as an on-site training seminar. The on-site seminars can be customized.
ISA gains access to users of Chinese Web portal
Interviewing Service of America (ISA), Van Nuys, Calif., has announced an agreement that will allow it to access the panel and user base of SINA.com, a Chinese media and Internet services company with over 35 million users, to conduct market research and gather information. SINA.com acts as a news and community site for Chinese users in Taiwan, Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore, Canada, the U.S., and other countries with Chinese populations. Through the agreement, ISA can invite, via email, the more than 500,000 members of SINA’s opt-in panel to participate in research studies for ISA’s clients.
New comScore service measures Hispanic Internet usage
ComScore Networks, Inc., a Reston, Va., Internet behavioral measurement firm, has launched comScore Media Metrix Hispanic Services, which will measure the online surfing and buying behavior of the online Hispanic population. ComScore Media Metrix Hispanic Services are based on the Web-wide buying and surfing behavior of a representative online panel of 50,000 U.S. Hispanics. Online behavioral data are collected using comScore’s monitoring technology, which measures all online media usage, including activity at proprietary content such as AOL. ComScore also measures online purchase activity.
Recruitment for the new comScore panel is conducted in both Spanish and English, allowing comScore to quantify usage of Web sites in both languages. This broad recruitment ensures representation of each of the five key language segments that comprise the U.S. Hispanic population: Spanish-only, Spanish-preferred, bilingual, English-only and English-preferred.
ComScore Media Metrix Hispanic Services will feature both national and local market detail, including data for Hispanic markets including Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, and Chicago. Data for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico will also be available as a supplement to the U.S. service. The service will be broadly available to clients in the fourth quarter of 2002, delivered via the comScore Media Metrix online reporting system.
Expansion aids Peryam & Kroll’s parent/child testing capabilities
Chicago-based Peryam & Kroll (P&K) Research Corporation has expanded its 40,000-square-foot Chicago headquarters and testing facilities. The 2,500-square-foot addition has been designed with two large classroom-style testing rooms and a central portioning area to make product preparation convenient. Each of the testing rooms has a one-on-one interview room attached to enable clients to conduct qualitative research interviews immediately following quantitative testing. The firm is largely devoting the new facilities to developing its parent/child testing, as the new configuration allows the parents to be tested in one room while the children test close by in the other. Follow-up client interviews with the children can be conducted in the immediate vicinity, under the watchful eye of the parent.
New research facility in-Texas Medical Center
Houston-based MMR-Medical Marketing Research has opened a facility in the Texas Medical Center to give clients access to doctors and other health care personnel for marketing research studies. The medical complex, located south of downtown Houston, is comprised of 100 buildings and spans 700 acres. It is home to more than 40 institutions, including two trauma facilities and organizations specializingin every major aspect of health care.
Free report offers tips on site design
Change Sciences Group, New York, has released a new research report, "Task Design for the Web: Getting Customers from Point A to Point B," which provides tips on how to create good task design to easily guide people to successfully perform tasks on Web sites. Potential customers come to Web sites with goals in mind. Whether or not these goals are accomplished depends on how well a Web site allows people to perform their tasks. A site that is effective in getting people through their tasks will enjoy increased conversion rates, reduced call-center volume, and foster a favorable brand-perception.
Idea generation services from Decision Analyst
Arlington, Texas-based Decision Analyst has launched a new idea generation and concept development service, offering innovation services such as ideation, concept development, concept testing, and simulated test marketing. The ideation services will be conducted using a new Internet panel, IdeasUnlimited, which the company has developed specifically for this purpose. IdeasUnlimited comprises over 2,000 consumers who receive ongoing creativity training to enhance their natural abilities. More than 50,000 consumers were screened and tested to recruit the Internet-based panel. Decision Analyst’s new concept generation service was developed with assistance from Foy Conway of Conway Creative Group, L.L.C.
SurveyWriter upgrades survey development product
SurveyWriter, Inc., a Chicago-based firm specializing in online market research tools and Web surveys, has released SurveyWriter IN, an upgrade of its online application service. This version features an intuitive menu system, which guides the user through survey development and deployment. Formatting capabilities provide users with control over the look and feel of their surveys. An HTML editor with continuous question preview is included to help users create and format questions. Filter wizards guide the user through the construction of advanced logic questions, including branching, piping, and other formula questions.
New in this release is a customcrosstab reporting package that features real-time reports and presentation- ready charts in a variety of formats. E-mail invitations, popup surveys, and access to sample are also available. Quota controls are used to preserve sample. No programming or network expertise is required.
Additionally, SurveyWriter now facilitates conjoint analysis. Customers with a conjoint model can apply that model in a research study using question features available in SurveyWriter.
Estimated business counts available
Winter Park, Fla.-based Bamberg-Handley, Inc., is now offering a single computer file containing estimated counts of all businesses in each neighborhood in the United States by type and by revenue range. Specifically, over 200,000 neighborhoods (Block Groups), 82 business categories, and 10 revenue ranges are covered. Business categories are defined by the two-digit SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) codes. The files are available for 2000 block groups or 1990 block groups. The 1990 data is made available because major U.S. business databases still contain only the earlier geographical codes.
Briefly...
Mature Marketing & Research, Boston, has released findings from a recent quarterly study among the Boomer/maturing market. Respondents in the national probability sample were asked a series of questions covering their usage and attitudes with regard to: diet and nutrition; their outlook on the world; financial security; vacation and travel; technology; computer ownership and Internet usage; new products and advertising; dining out; and automobiles.
ACNielsen U.S. announced that its Convenience Track service now reports on sales of over-thecounter products in convenience stores. The new categories are: cold remedies (adult and children’s), antacids, pain remedies, anti-gas, sinus remedies, breath fresheners, cough drops, oral antiseptics, cough syrups and tablets, vitamins, and throat lozenges.
Field Dynamics has relocated its Los Angeles facility to a larger suite in a high-rise office complex in Encino. The facility features a large test kitchen and three focus group suites. Other amenities include client lounges, tiered viewing rooms, built-in interpreter equipment, high-speed Internet access, ActiveGroup Webcasting, videoconferencing and Spanishand Asian-language recruiting and interviewing.
London-based Taylor Nelson Sofres has launched EmployeeScore, a new service for measuring employee satisfaction and commitment in Britain. EmployeeScore will provide companies with employee insight, helping to reduce employee turnover and increase the performance of individuals and the company as a whole. EmployeeScore measures underlying commitment not only to the company, but also to the type of work that individual members of staff are involved in.