NeuroFocus updates hardware to get inside consumers’ Mynds
Berkeley, Calif., research company NeuroFocus has unveiled Mynd, a dry, wireless headset designed to capture brainwave activity across the full brain. Mynd combines medical-grade technology with mobility and is intended to capture data on consumers’ subconscious responses in real time wirelessly to improve mobile in-store market research and measurement of media consumption at home. NeuroFocus has also begun building full-brain home panels in addition to its labs.
Highlights of Mynd include full-brain coverage with dense-array EEG sensors; brainwave activity captured across the full cortex; wireless transmission of brainwave signals, capable of interfacing with Bluetooth-enabled devices; dry “smart” electrodes (sensors), eliminating the use of gels; an updated design with easily-replaceable sensors. For more information visit www.neurofocus.com.
Kinesis adds two features to its panel and survey offerings
Kinesis Survey Technologies LLC, an Austin, Texas, research company, has added a Diary Campaign feature to its panel management solution Kinesis Panel. Diary Campaign is included in the latest release of Kinesis Panel and is designed to enable detailed management and analysis of market research diary projects by allowing users to set panelist participation metrics, including the minimum/maximum number of survey completes for a given time period, as well as track target quotas, participation by respondent and participation over time.
Via the Kinesis Panel interface, diary projects can be created, implemented and managed throughout the diary’s lifecycle. Ongoing participation analytics are available with reports that can be generated in real time, filtered and exported in .csv format.
Additionally, the company has updated its Kinesis Survey platform to include built-in support for quick response (QR) code generation, thereby enabling respondents to take a picture of a displayed QR code with their camera phone and trigger a mobile survey. For more information visit www.kinesissurvey.com.
Crowdtap debuts site for crowdsourced social media research
Crowdtap, a New York consumer participation network, has introduced a site designed to allow brands to crowdsource research and drive word-of-mouth campaigns while consumers earn points toward rewards, such as gift cards or free products, by participating on the site. Consumers sign up to use Crowdtap through their Facebook accounts and earn rewards points by participating in polls and discussions. Brands can enlist participants to share content on Facebook, sample products or throw sponsored house parties. Companies can view responses, including share rates and impressions, for research purposes. Crowdtap does not share member-specific information like e-mail addresses with brands but companies can view the demographic information of members such as age and gender. For more information visit www.crowdtap.com.
Advertisers only charged for what is seen with Pay-per-Look concept
Ayuda Media Systems, an East Lansing, Mich., advertising software firm, has debuted its Pay-per-Look concept that integrates the Intel Anonymous Impression Metrics Suite (Intel AIM Suite) into Splash, Ayuda’s ERP system for digital out-of-home networks.
Pay-per-Look is designed to allow advertisers to be billed based on how many people actually looked at their ad, which will be determined by using Intel AIM Suite technology that relies on optical sensors to detect faces that turn toward the display while still honoring viewer privacy.
Current practice in the ad-based digital out-of-home industry is to bill based on the number of impressions delivered. However, impression counts are typically based on audience measurement research that counts how many people are exposed to, or have the chance of being exposed to, an ad. By combining anonymous audience detection technology with digital signage software, it aims to detect exactly how many “looks” each campaign received. For more information visit www.ayudasystems.com.
Firms partner to offer integrated biometric research products
Ipsos, a Paris research company, and Innerscope Research Inc., Boston, have partnered to integrate biometric measures of unconscious emotional engagement into a suite of Ipsos’ products.
The initial product launch will integrate Innerscope’s biometric methods and technology into Ipsos ASI AdLab. This launch is expected to be followed by the integration of Innerscope biometrics into the Ipsos ASI Next*Connect ad testing approach, as well as Innoscreen Concepts and Pack Evolution, the concept and package testing tools from the Ipsos Marketing group. In each case, the goal is to increase the value of the insights that clients will gain by using the insights from the existing product with the additional power of the biometrics. For more information visit www.ipsos.com.
Synovate expands marketing-mix modeling with m360
Synovate Marketing Management Analytics, a Wilton, Conn., research company, has introduced m360, an analytics solution designed to expand the insights delivered by marketing-mix modeling. The solution uses data from Reston, Va., research company comScore Inc. to provide a direct comparison of all media activities in a single analysis and aims to allow marketers to have a common ROI metric across traditional, digital, social and experiential media.
In addition to marketing-mix modeling, m360 is designed to help marketers determine their creative execution, consumer segment targets and media placement, including which digital tactics work best. For more information visit www.mma.com/m360.
New tool brings semi-DIY mystery shopping to small businesses
Corporate Research International (CRI), Findlay, Ohio, has developed a customizable, self-managed mystery shopping tool for small businesses, dubbed Eye on Your Business.
Designed exclusively to help small businesses implement and manage their own mystery shopping program autonomously, Eye on Your Business is controlled by the client, allowing users to decide what questions to ask, how many times per month to have the business evaluated and how much to spend.
Users are given access to a personal administration Web site where they can create their own mystery shopping form or choose one from a standard industry template, along with customized instructions for their mystery shops. Users then assign mystery shops using CRI’s database of trained mystery shoppers from across the country and place an order for their business to be evaluated using the form and shopper instructions they created. For more information visit www.eyeonyourbusiness.com.
Mobile survey solution to collect data three ways
Raydar Research, Selangor, Malaysia, has debuted its mobile survey platform, ECHO, designed to distribute its online surveys on mobile phones and PCs simultaneously. ECHO can be used for data collection in three ways. First, pull surveys require a respondent to enter a survey link to launch the survey on their mobile device. Second, push surveys are surveys that are “pushed” to online panels via mobile e-mails or SMS. Third, ECHO also has an added function that can substitute pen-and-paper interviews with mobile phone surveys. No hardware purchase is required. For more information visit www.raydarresearch.com.
ComScore announces global launch of Web analytics solution
Reston, Va., research company comScore Inc. has released comScore Digital Analytix, a solution in Web analytics intended to allow digital marketers and analytics professionals to conduct in-depth forensic research on site-level activity through the data analysis architecture. Additionally, digital marketers are expected to be able to map the behaviors occurring across their sites to the audience demographics of the people engaging in these activities. Powered by comScore’s Atomix technology, Digital Analytix aims to offer a flexible reporting architecture; fast reporting and insights; an easy-to-implement design for publishers; campaign-level insights; crossplatform measurement; and a new interface. For more information visit www.comscore.com.
Compete tool pinpoints online audiences
Boston research company Compete has launched Compete Media Planner, an online measurement tool for brands designed to offer a view of their online media and behavioral classifications. The Compete Media Planner aims to allow brands to map out thousands of sites where audience segments spend the majority of their time and deliver insights based on actual behavior of more than two million consumers. The tool also offers access to Compete Segments, an audience segmentation repository; media planning capabilities; defined segments; coverage of long-tail Web sites; real-time estimates of potential cumulative and duplicated audience across user-chosen sites as media selections are made; and custom views. For more information visit www.compete.com.
EFM solution features new upgrades
Cvent, a McLean, Va., management technology company, has launched an enhancement to its Web survey solution, featuring upgrades designed to improve enterprise feedback management. Upgrades to the solution include a more robust presentation module with over 20 new chart types; new interactive question types, including sliding scale, gauge, drag-and-drop and grade options; enhanced integration with Salesforce.com that enables the mapping of question answers and scores to specific contact fields within Salesforce and the consolidation of data; question display updates; and a timed-survey option. In addition, e-mail marketing capabilities for sending survey invitations, reminders and confirmations are also available. For more information visit www.cvent.com.
Briefly
MarketVision Research, Cincinnati, has updated its Gateway consumer research centers at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., with enhanced wireless mobility and the use of iPads for consumer interviewing. For more information visit www.marketvision.com.
Opinionology, an Orem, Utah, research company, has launched Real Customers, a service intended to build and manage verified customer panels. The custom panels are designed to match Opinionology’s panel of survey research respondents with a company’s internal customer list. After initial verification, the match also pairs Opinionology’s profiling questions with information in the firm’s customer database to provide a detailed understanding of each customer. For more information visit www.opinionology.com.
New Orleans research company Federated Sample has launched Fulcrum, a project management suite that aims to improve delivery, decrease project costs and create efficiencies by removing redundant and manual field management processes through a software-as-a-service model. The Fulcrum platform offers a project management infrastructure and routing solution designed to simplify the use of multiple sources while providing security and quality control. Fulcrum also provides reporting control and management tools. For more information visit www.federatedsample.com.
Decipher Inc., a Fresno, Calif., research company, has developed an interactive dashboard intended to allow clients to view and manipulate market research data on the fly. The dashboard is designed to present data in any variety of combinations, track projects and create what-if scenarios. Data can be displayed via graphs, sliders, gauges and other visuals depending on desired complexity. For more information visit www.decipherinc.com.
Vancouver, B.C., research company Techneos has introduced version 2.0 of its survey on demand application (SODA). SODA 2.0 includes barcode scanning capability and video capture for Android smartphones and tablets. For more information visit www.techneos.com.
Interpret LLC, a Santa Monica, Calif., research company, has released InTime, a solution created for digital advertising effectiveness research. Developed to provide more accurate measurement of the effectiveness of online advertising, InTime uses ad-tagging technology to track ad exposure among representative consumer panels. Interpret matches each panelist to specific exposure to understand the impact of each ad unit/campaign on brand awareness, interest and sentiment. For more information visit www.interpretllc.com.
Portland, Ore., research company Revelation Inc. has released its Activity Library, a collection of research activities intended to engage research participants and allow market researchers and marketing professionals to incorporate best practices and online immersive methodology in their research. Activities include warm-ups, welcome exercises, diaries, journals and more. For more information visit www.revelationglobal.com/activitylibrary.
Miami research company Geoscape has released an updated version of its Geoscape Intelligence System platform, designed to help corporate operations and marketing departments improve distribution strategies, store operations, customer service and marketing campaigns. The update, called Next-Generation System, includes an integrated set of browser-based software, nationwide maps and data resources that offer access to consumer and market information, data visualization and analysis functions within a Web browser. A 30-day free trial version (Freemium Edition) is available at www.geoscape.com.
Oakland, Calif., Web publishing company dlvr.it has debuted its Social Demographics service, designed to provide insight into the demographic makeup of a company’s social audiences. For each of a company’s social networks, dlvr.it provides a demographic profile of the audience, including percentage composition by gender, age, income, education, ethnicity and children in household. The service also compares each company’s audience composition to the Internet average. For more information visit www.dlvr.it.com.
Portland, Ore., research company Rentrak Corporation has introduced time-shifted DVR ratings data within its StationView Essentials service. A range of playback choices will be available to Rentrak clients, including same day, one day, two days, three days, seven days and 15 days. For more information visit www.rentrak.com.
Kantar Media, a New York research company, has debuted RapidView, a media planning tool designed to create and analyze TV audience profiles based on shopping behaviors, including brand loyalty and product category usage. The application aims to identify custom audiences that actually buy a specific brand or product category. For more information visit www.kantarmediana.com.
New York researcher The Nielsen Company and Yahoo!, Sunnyvale, Calif., have launched Brand Impact, a study aimed at quantifying the branding effectiveness of online advertising campaigns across Asia, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. For more information visit www.nielsen.com.
20|20 Research Inc., Nashville, Tenn., has added photo capability and an updated interface to its QualAnywhere mobile platform. Smartphones are not required. For more information visit www.2020research.com.
Stockholm, Sweden, research company Cint has doubled the number of panelists housed in its Cint Panel Exchange to 5 million in one year. For more information visit www.cint.com.