MediaAnalyzer tool tracks emotional response to TV ads
MediaAnalyzer, a New York research company, has globally launched EmotionTracking, a new technology designed to allow advertisers to measure consumers’ emotional responses to TV advertisements.
Research participants using EmotionTracking have access to an online slider designed to enable them to give feedback based on how they are feeling while watching the ads on their computers.
EmotionTracking differs from other testing technologies in that, prior to this technology, online sliders forced respondents to avert their attention away from the ad so that they could properly use the slider to input their feedback, plus post-hoc research measured overall emotional impression and not the emotional process.
Compared to traditional lab-based slider methods, the problem is that geographical diversity in sample testing is limited, while the laboratory environment is time-consuming and costly. MediaAnalyzer aimed to address these shortcomings by implementing an online slider that only needs to be moved back and forth to measure emotion, thereby allowing respondents around the country to test commercials on their PCs. For more information visit www.mediaanalyzer.com.
Firms partner to create specialist B2B panels
Research Now, London, and Reed Business Information U.K. (RBI), a Surrey, U.K., business-to-business publisher, have joined forces to create online panels for the business-to-business research sector. Research Now and RBI intend to build, operate and sell specialist co-branded online panels of business professionals utilizing RBI’s client base, namely its Web site users and magazine readers.
The first of these panels will comprise IT decision makers, using RBI’s Web products and publications including Computer Weekly and ComputerWeekly.com. Further panels using RBI’s business-to-business products in vertical markets are expected as the partnership develops.
Each specialist panel will be by invitation only, stand-alone and research-only, designed to provide access to respondents working in market research. The panels will be profiled using over 70 different parameters with a series of tailored incentives and respondent-specific content to encourage active participation and engagement. For more information visit www.reedbusiness.co.uk.
OTX launches ad effectiveness measurement tool
Los Angeles research company OTX (Online Testing Exchange) has launched MediaCEP, a research solution developed to measure ad effectiveness and aid channel planning for integrated multimedia advertising campaigns. This methodology is designed to bridge the gap between creative ad testing and the media planning process.
MediaCEP is part of OTX’s ad testing product line and a further step in OTX’s AdCEP product that tests individual ads across a variety of media including online, TV, print and in-store. MediaCEP includes key brand metrics including the CEPTest measures, which are proprietary measures of cognitive and emotional power developed for OTX. MediaCEP is designed to expand the capabilities into a planning tool for advertisers using multimedia campaigns. For more information visit www.otxresearch.com.
A new Revelation for qualitative research
Revelation, a Portland, Ore., research tool developer, has ventured into Web 2.0 with Revelation Project v2, designed to allow researchers to see through customers’ eyes and gain a deeper understanding of how, when, why and where they use today’s products and services by allowing customers to provide instant feedback via different online mediums.
In addition to blog-like or journal postings, respondents are able to upload photos or respond to images posted by the researcher from the privacy of their computers. On the researchers’ side, Revelation Project v2 is designed to provide tools to analyze, filter, categorize and organize the collected data into a manageable format. Revelation Project v2 is available now. For more information visit www.revelationglobal.com.
Representative mobile sampling now a SNAP; SSI reveals Verify for respondent validation
Survey Sampling International (SSI), Shelton, Conn., has launched wireless sampling capability through SSI-SNAP. SSI-SNAP offers continuous access to SSI telephone sample by providing clients with direct access to SSI’s production system. SSI now has mobile sampling available in nine countries (Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S.) with plans to expand this service into additional markets.
Separately, SSI has released SSI Verify, a technology-based system designed to enable higher quality standards in online survey research. SSI Verify comprises a digital fingerprinting capability from RelevantView called RelevantID and a set of quality processes that SSI has deployed for years. Together, these components are aimed to provide researchers with solutions for ensuring the reliability of online sample. SSI Verify addresses the issue of respondent authentication to avoid duplicates and misrepresentation in the online survey research process.
The RelevantID digital fingerprinting capability of SSI Verify works by gathering approximately 60 data points about a participant’s computer such as IP address, Mac address and more. Data that might personally identify respondents is not collected. These data points are then encrypted to ensure the participant’s privacy and saved as a single ID code on secure servers. No information on the survey participant’s PC is changed, and nothing is added. When a person logs in to take a survey, their ID code (generated in real time) is screened against the millions on file and those being simultaneously created. In the few instances where duplicates exist, the participants are politely screened out from the possibility of completing the survey. This process is fully compliant with the standards of conduct issued by major marketing research associations.
SSI Verify includes other aspects of respondent authentication. These can include geo-IP violation trapping, address matching in some countries, profile-specific queries that only a legitimate participant should know, and a brief series of short questions designed to catch straightlining, hyperactivity or other patterned responses. For more information visit www.surveysampling.com.
ESRI offers two updates
Redlands, Calif., geographic mapping software company ESRI has launched BusinessMAP 5, the latest version of ESRI’s database mapping solution. Maps created with BusinessMAP are designed to allow users to make business decisions for territory design, demographic analysis, customer prospecting, route planning and more.
In addition to BusinessMAP 5 being Windows Vista-compatible, new features include: up-to-date map data, connection to contact management software, enhanced spider diagrams, creation of smart polygons, ability to edit data and include latitude and longitude in database, ability to add photos to maps and enhancement to Google Earth and Google Maps. For more information visit www.esri.com/businessmap.
Additionally, ESRI has updated its GIS Portal Toolkit for ArcGIS. GIS Portal Toolkit is a free technology and services solution for implementing local, regional, national and global spatial data infrastructure (SDI) portals. The toolkit is designed to give users a Web site starter and all the functional capabilities needed to deploy a GIS portal for an organization’s SDI.
GIS Portal Toolkit is now based on ESRI’s ArcGIS Server technology and includes the following enhancements: support for finalized Open Geospatial Consortium Inc., specification standards; a REST-style interface for searching and supporting OpenSearch, GeoRSS and KML; LDAP authentication support for improved security; configurable support for ISO 19139 metadata profiles, Federal Geographic Data Committee metadata and Dublin Core metadata; integrated clip-zip-ship function for data download; and improved context-sensitive help and product documentation. For more information visit www.esri.com/gisportaltoolkit.
Vovici releases CRM 2.0 Connector for Oracle CRM On Demand
Vovici, a Dulles, Va., research company, has unveiled the Vovici CRM 2.0 Connector for Oracle CRM On Demand. Operating as an add-on module to the Vovici enterprise feedback management platform, the Vovici CRM 2.0 Connector has been designed to accelerate the integration of feedback data into San Francisco research institute Oracle’s CRM solution. The product is designed to allow customers to view customer attitudes, transactional experiences and overall history.
Through the Connector, customers are expected to benefit from automatic scans of Oracle CRM On Demand for standard and custom information, the ability to link an event to a survey and the ability to set sampling rates for surveys in order to control survey fatigue. The Oracle CRM On Demand connector is designed to enable Vovici customers to push contact and lead opportunities, among other pieces of data, from their solutions into the Vovici platform, as well as to incorporate feedback data into their CRM records.
Vovici has also been selected as an Oracle CRM On Demand Inner Circle partner as a result of direct collaboration with the Oracle CRM On Demand product strategy, product management, engineering, QA and Global Alliance ISV organizations. For more information visit www.vovici.com.
ConsumerView offers up-close look, remotely
Gongos Research, Auburn Hills, Mich., has introduced a product designed to allow qualitative researchers to go face-to-face with consumers from multiple markets using ConsumerView, an online method for conducting in-depth, interactive focus groups. By integrating Webcam technology, ConsumerView is designed to offer the same insights gathered in traditional focus groups while reducing travel and time constraints associated with conducting research in multiple markets.
ConsumerView offers an approach to qualitative research that includes technical management, moderators and documentation of typed, verbal and video responses. A chat feature also allows for offline correspondence between clients and moderator. For more information visit www.gongos.com.
Briefly
Data Development Worldwide, a New York market research company, has launched LineDeveloper, a tool designed to help marketers achieve an optimal lineup of product or services. LineDeveloper is designed to provide an accurate simulation of market conditions, including competitive landscapes, allowing marketers to fine-tune offerings before they go to market. For more information visit www.datadw.com.
The Marketing Research Association (MRA), Glastonbury, Conn., has launched the Virtual Business Guide, a resource for managing day-to-day business objectives, as a membership benefit. Found on the MRA Web site, members can use the guide to access tools for human resources, finance, sample contracts and agreements, business management or careers. Periodically new resources will be added, including a blog to create space for members to act as a collective brain trust. For more information visit www.mra-net.org.
Eaagle Software, a Chicago research software company, has released Full Text Mapper (FTM), a desktop software program that provides analysis of unstructured data. Full Text Mapper is designed to read and map unstructured data residing in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, text, HTML and PDF files. FTM is designed for knowledge workers dealing with large volumes of text in their daily work. For more information visit www.eaagle.com.
MRSI (Marketing Research Services Inc.), a Cincinnati research company, has launched an online shelf-testing tool designed to provide respondents a virtual shopping experience simulating a store shelf. Offering results about product demand, packaging, pricing, features and labeling, the tool is designed to allow respondents to select among competing products, view product details more closely (including price) and place products in a shopping cart for purchase. For more information visit www.mrsi.com/onlineshelftesting.html.
Eularis, a London/New York research company, has released a study on the ROI of named patient programs (NPP), also known as compassionate use programs. The paper aims to provide pharmaceutical companies with insight and mathematical justification into the cash market share and revenue impact of pre-launch NPPs on brands, while outlining the benefits and challenges that they create. For more information visit www.palgrave-journals.com/jmm/.
Angus Reid Strategies, a Vancouver, B.C., research company, has launched its Excel Program, a year-long paid internship program intended to train new graduates in the marketing research field. Excel will couple curriculum with mentorship to assist participants in their careers. The program is open to new graduates from a variety of disciplines who have interest in market research. The first Excel session will commence January 2009 with participants across North America. The program will evolve to include curriculum for Angus Reid’s sister company Vision Critical and its European operations. For more information visit www.angusreidstrategies.com/excel.
All Global, a New York data collection company, has introduced its Palliative Care Panel for marketing research, which is designed to provide access to 18,000+ physicians, nurses, pharmacists and health care professionals in 39 countries who specialize in palliative care. For more information visit www.allgloballtd.com.