Build communities with Vovici module
Dulles, Va., research company Vovici has launched the Community Builder module, which is designed to allow organizations to create and manage online community panels. Community members are invited to join and given profiles to garner interest in participation and ensure that member feedback will be shared. The profiles are used to eliminate the need to repeatedly request basic demographic and lifestyle data and to verify that panelists are qualified for surveys before they are invited to participate. Profiles also allow members to log in and view results from surveys they previously participated in.
The screens built with Community Builder are customizable so that they may look and feel like an extension of an enterprise’s existing marketing efforts. Community Builder contains all of the functionality to build a stand-alone community page or function as a complementary extension of an existing community site. This functionality is available without the need for specialized product knowledge or specific coding skills. For more information visit www.vovici.com.
OptimusID software targets fraudulent respondents
San Francisco research company Peanut Labs has unveiled OptimusID, a patent-pending software technology developed to eliminate fraudulent online responses and help improve data quality.
OptimusID utilizes a proprietary algorithmic method to fingerprint a survey taker’s computer, without using cookies or downloads, for accurate measurement of individual online response. OptimusID gathers some 150 publicly-available machine information points from a respondent’s computer and then processes the information points through the algorithmic method and assigns a digital fingerprint to each unique computer-user combination to build a survey-specific behavioral history for each respondent.
Using this survey history and machine fingerprint, OptimusID blocks professional respondents using multiple e-mail accounts for survey taking on the same computer as duplicates and filters respondents using multiple accounts from multiple research firms on the same computer. Survey takers found to be participating in too many surveys within a predetermined time period are identified as professional respondents and blocked. Respondents speeding through surveys are stopped, and respondents straight-lining, lying or satisficing through answers are flagged and entered into the rehab database.
Even if users delete their cookies or change IP addresses, OptimusID provides an extra layer of detection that still recognizes habitual bad respondents.
With OptimusID, Peanut Labs has also unveiled its respondent rehab database, a centralized database of repeat bad respondents that restricts these professional respondents from taking further surveys until clearing rehab. For more information visit www.peanutlabs.com.
MarketTools enhances zTelligence online survey software, launches online data quality service
San Francisco research company MarketTools Inc. has updated its online survey software zTelligence to offer new features designed to allow marketers and researchers to be more self-sufficient while increasing the efficiency and productivity of survey creation, study deployment and data analysis.
A new feature of zTelligence is the zTelligence resource center, which offers guided, interactive video tutorials; FAQ and tips sheets on zTelligence functions and capabilities; a library of templates for conducting various types of research projects; whitepapers to help users conduct more informed research; a search function for all resource center content; access to product and company news and support information; and live, hosted, bi-weekly trainings on zTelligence.
In addition, zTelligence offers new authoring features intended for more experienced users, including a section copy-move-delete feature that enables users to work with groups of pages as a single page. The new scale rollup feature, part of zTelligence real-time reporting, provides users more flexibility in applying top-, middle-, or bottom-two box rollups to any combination of questions. For more information visit www.zoomerang.com/ztelligence.
The firm is also now offering TrueSample, a product designed to improve the quality of online sample by ensuring real, unique and engaged responses from the company’s proprietary ZoomPanel and from samples sourced from certified TrueSample partners.
TrueSample is a three-part process aimed at ensuring authenticity in survey respondents. First, MarketTools verifies each prospective panelist against external databases with consumer demographics, including age, gender, address and income, to ensure that respondents are who they say they are. MarketTools applies this validation process to all prospective panelists and to those of MarketTools’ participating certified partners. All panelists are required to provide accurate data or they are prevented from joining any panel.
Second, TrueSample ensures that no respondent can take a survey more than once, regardless of whether he or she has joined ZoomPanel or one of the firm’s certified partner panels. Panels are also de-duplicated against each other to ensure that studies using multiple panels have only unique survey takers. MarketTools also identifies suspicious respondents, removes them from the data set and eliminates them from across the network.
Finally, MarketTools works to ensure that surveys are completed by engaged respondents. It uses data validation technology that correlates survey-taking time and response patterns to identify fraudulent behavior, remove offenders from the data set and eliminate them from the panel moving forward. For more information visit www.markettools.com.
Nielsen’s Homescan builds another home in China
The Nielsen Company, New York, has launched a Homescan consumer purchase panel in China. With over 40,000 households, this is expected to be the largest consumer purchasing panel available in China. The panel’s size and design are intended to help marketers measure and understand the purchasing behavior of Chinese consumers. The Homescan panel will cover a geographic footprint similar to Nielsen’s Retail and Media Measurement services beginning later this year. The service will provide reads for key cities and provinces, as well as city-tier reporting.
In addition to Nielsen’s existing Homescan panel in Hong Kong and in conjunction with the Homescan panel launch in China, Nielsen will also introduce a Homescan consumer panel in Taiwan to provide full coverage of consumer purchasing behavior for the Greater China region. For more information visit www.nielsen.com.
Arbitron’s PPM homepage hopes to bond your meter and you
New York research company Arbitron Inc. has introduced a personal homepage system for Portable People Meter (PPM) survey participants that is designed to track reward points and encourage panelists to carry the meter every waking hour. Entitled My Meter and Me, the personal panelist Web site is one of several initiatives that Arbitron has undertaken to improve PPM sample performance and increase industry confidence in the PPM measurement system.
Available in English and Spanish, the My Meter and Me (or Mi Medidor y Yo) Web site offers panelists a secure and personalized way to check their earned reward points and see how they’re doing toward earning bonuses and sweepstakes entries.
PPM respondents can also use My Meter and Me to graphically review their hour-by-hour carry time over the last seven days; compare personal performance to others in the same household; share compliance tips with any PPM respondent in any city through an anonymous, moderated Web forum; inform Arbitron when they are traveling away from home or change their contact information; contact panel relations via e-mail, text messaging or phone; ask questions or submit comments; participate in instant polls; and read or listen to commonly asked questions for additional information. For more information visit www.arbitron.com.
CARMA’s NewsAccess relays relevant media to businesses
Washington, D.C., research company CARMA International Inc. has introduced a new, online media measurement tool called CARMA NewsAccess, which is designed to help companies and communications professionals stay abreast of daily media coverage that affects their business, issues and interests.
NewsAccess provides basic, automated access to clients’ relevant coverage in traditional, non-traditional and social media and generates related metrics that measure their impact. Designed to offer an immediate service to its existing, human-based media analysis offerings, CARMA NewsAccess is available as a stand-alone product.
CARMA’s customized searches include specific company names and key topics designated by each client. With its real-time scans, NewsAccess can then provide a continuing list of articles in a bibliographic format categorized by article date, headline and media source. Basic charts and graphs for further analysis and presentation are also provided.
NewsAccess offers 24/7 access to a desktop dashboard that is designed to allow viewing, navigation and drill-down capability with data breakouts and charts of articles, competitive share of voice and trends by media outlet and journalist. For more information visit www.carma.com.
GMI and TechTarget join forces to build online IT panel
Bellevue, Wash., research company GMI has partnered with Needham, Mass., publisher TechTarget to provide market research professionals with direct access to a community of IT professionals and decision-makers worldwide. GMI built, manages and operates the TechTarget IT research panel, a double-opted-in panel of IT professionals and decision-makers who actively participate in online research.
The TechTarget IT research panel is designed to enable market researchers to gain insights into the buying trends and decision-making process for these purchases from respondents’ perspectives.
TechTarget’s own database is derived from the company’s 50 technology-specific Web sites.
The following are some of the protocols GMI will implement to enhance the integrity of the TechTarget panel: screen before surveying; purge straight-line clickers; eliminate speedsters; scrub e-mail addresses; permanently block suspicious e-mail address, domains and IPs; and implement a formalized incentive program. For more information visit www.gmi-mr.com.
ESRI releases ArcGIS 9.3 beta
Redlands, Calif., geographic mapping software company ESRI now offers the beta version of ArcGIS 9.3, which fully supports the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. The beta program is designed to enhance performance and improve functionality and integration of data and services. Using the Web, mobile devices and desktop applications, geographic information system (GIS) content and capabilities can be shared with people who may not even be aware they are using GIS.
New in ArcGIS 9.3 are JavaScript APIs that are intended to create mash-ups using ArcGIS Server technology. These APIs are included with ArcGIS Server and let GIS users integrate, view and use disparate data through standards-based tools. Various Web services, such as those provided via Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth, can be combined with content and capabilities served from ArcGIS Server, allowing end-users to access geospatial analytic capabilities while customizing how they view information.
Other highlights of ArcGIS Server 9.3 include improved performance resulting from on-demand caching and enhanced caching geoprocessing tools; new options in ArcGIS Server Manager, including role-based security; additions to the online help; a new ArcGIS Server Resource Center; and better diagnostics.
Additional enhancements of Arc-GIS 9.3 include an out-of-the-box mobile editing application to help field staff participate in a common operating picture, additional platform support and expanded support for Open Geospatial Consortium Inc. and ISO standards to continue to improve the interoperability of ArcGIS with other enterprise systems.
Beta testers will also be able to try several ArcGIS Desktop improvements, including modeling tools with geostatistical error tracking. ArcGIS Desktop 9.3 also offers new cartographic tools that enhance productivity as well as numerous general mapping enhancements.
Additionally, ArcGIS 9.3 includes support for the Collaborative Design Activity (COLLADA) file format. These new capabilities were designed with the goal of allowing users to leverage COLLADA files in ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Server, as well as display more realistic 3-D models. For more information visit www.esri.com.
DetailMed may help measure sales rep performance and efficacy
Horsham, Pa., research company TNS Healthcare has introduced a new service to help pharmaceutical and biotech companies measure the effectiveness of their own and competitive sales calls. DetailMed is designed to help clients pinpoint where their reps are on- or off-message and determine the impact this has on prescribing intent, evaluate brand awareness and usage, understand brand commitment and assess how their reps’ performance compares with the competition.
The system also measures share of voice as well as message recall and effectiveness while providing norms that allow companies to benchmark their results. Real-time feedback is delivered through an online dashboard which is custom-built to each customer’s specific needs.
Currently the service covers the U.S. and major European markets and the firm is considering expansion into Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Users can choose the geographic level and frequency with which they want to view results, as well as the therapeutic classes and physicians they want covered. In addition, they can add proprietary questions and custom analytics to enrich their insights. For more information visit www.tnsglobal.com/healthcare.
Briefly
New York research company Arbitron Inc. has upgraded its diary processing with a new facility layout and equipment. Arbitron has re-worked the diary to improve the instructions to motivate better compliance and return; enhance the layout for more accurate and complete entries; expand the collection of consumer and lifestyle information to assist local advertisers; and update the appearance and functionality to keep pace with the consumer, media and marketing environment. For more information visit www.arbitron.com.
Jordan, Utah, research company Allegiance Inc. has introduced a full range of educational services for customer and employee engagement principles and enterprise feedback management solutions that combine computer-based e-learning, instructor-led training and on-site courses, including a certification program. Allegiance education services are designed to address the needs of customers for anytime, anywhere training with pay-as-you-go convenience or an all-access passport. The Allegiance education program offers a variety of methods to fit different learning styles, including self-paced, computer-based learning; instructor-led Webcasts; on-site instruction; and printed training manuals. For more information visit www.allegiance.com/training.php.
GSD&M Idea City, an Austin, Texas, research company, and San Antonio developer Metaversatility have partnered to create IdeaBot, a program aimed at researchers in the 2-D and 3-D virtual worlds. The IdeaBot system automatically screens and surveys market research panelists in various virtual worlds, allowing for a large and diverse selection of responses. The IdeaBots allow for the research to happen in-world, instead of being kicked out to the Internet to complete an online survey. For more information visit www.ideacity.com
Chicago research company Synovate has launched a new brand-building solution called Market Barriers. The system, which can be added to clients’ existing tracking programs, quantifies the degree to which brand performance is a function of factors beyond brand relationship. For more information visit www.synovate.com.
Reston, Va., research company comScore Inc. has debuted comScore Video Metrix, an online video measurement service, in four new markets: the U.K., France, Germany and Canada. ComScore Video Metrix was introduced in the U.S. two years ago. For more information visit www.comscore.com.
Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI), New York, has released Market-by-Market, a study of consumer research specific to the 205 Designated Market Areas (DMAs) in the continental U.S. Data was derived from 52,000 in-home interviews that MRI conducts for its Survey of the American Consumer report. For more information visit www.mediamark.com.