The Marketing Research Association (MRA), Rocky Hill, Conn., has formed a new council to aggressively address the growing technology needs of its membership. The Technology Council's key objectives are to enhance the existing MRA Web site (www.mra-net.org) as an information resource to its existing and future members; to educate consumers and government via the MRA Web site about the value of research and why it is important they participate in research projects; to provide cost-effective products and services to MRA members via the Internet. The members of the new council are: Glenn Fishback, council chair, director of sales and marketing for DBM Associates, Menlo Park, Calif.; Jacqueline Herman, council vice chair, COO at Pat Henry Market Research, Inc., Cleve]and; Scott Spain, special technology advisor, sales and marketing manager with Venture Data, Salt Lake City, Utah; Mike Exinger, council member, director of research administration at Clearwater Research, Boise, Idaho; Gene FiJipi, council member, western regional sales manager, Computers for Marketing Corp., San Francisco; and Gabe Oshen, counci] member, VP. account services, Interviewing Service of America, Inc., New York.
The A. C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research at the University of Wisconsin School of Business has announced the First Annual EXPLOR Award and Competition. The contest honors companies that achieve "Exemplary Performance and Leadership in Online Research." Participating research sponsors include Digital Marketing Services, ASI Market Research, Inc., Custom Research, Inc., Elrick & Lavidge, Guideline Research Corporation, M/A/RJC and Roper Starch Worldwide. A panel of independent industry and academic experts, representatives from research supplier companies and experts from organizations such as the Advertising Research Foundation will review the submissions, which were due July 1. The winning organizations will be announced September 1 and the prize and trophies wi]] be awarded during a market research seminar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in October.
The management team of Greenfield Online, Inc., a Westport, Conn., research firm, has purchased the company from Andrew Greenfield. Details of the private transaction were not disclosed. Funding for the buyout included the support of an investment group led by the New York venture firm of InSight Capital Partners. The group includes Forrester Research: BurtManning, former chairman and CEO of J. Walter Thompson Advertising; Stephen Friedman, former chairman of Goldman, Sachs & Co.: UBS Capital and Wexford Management.
Paradigm Technologies International has moved to a new location at 391 Draco Road, Piscataway, N.J.
SPSS MR, Chicago, has announced plans to establish a new standard for market and survey research software as a part of its Vision 2000 development strategy. While continuing ongoing maintenance and support of the current line of products, SPSS MR has begun to focus development efforts on technologies for the new millennium. Vision 2000 will result in open standards for research software, enabling the easy movement of data between different computer systems or software packages, regardless of the source of the data or the manufacturer of the systems.
Amy Davidoff has launched a new business analysis firm, Market Voice Consulting, LLC, and will serve as its president. The new firm focuses on helping small-to-midsize companies analyze their business operations. The firm is located at 333 East Ohio Street, Suite 120, Indianapolis, Ind.
John Houlahan, founder and chairman of FocusVision Worldwide, a Stamford, Conn.-based videoconferencing firm, forecasts that if current growth trends continue, more than 200,000 focus group interviews will be conducted in the U.S. next year. Houlahan estimates that 174,000 focus groups were conducted in the U.S. during 1998, a 12 percent increase over the prior year. This is a 56 percent increase over 1993, when 110,000 such interviews took place.
Houlahan believes the dramatic increase in qualitative research activity reflects the fierce competition among marketers for consumer loyalty and spending. In addition, more companies are trying to establish stronger brand recognition so they can create preference for their products and services in this competitive marketplace. Technology and financial services are two categories where there has been an especially marked increase in the amount of branded marketing and research activity, Houlahan says.
The growth in qualitative research isn't confined solely to the U.S. "On a worldwide basis, we estimate that 407,000 focus groups were conducted in 1998, which is a 14 percent increase over the prior year," Houlahan says. The analysis indicates that the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain accounted for 31 percent of total world volume. The U.S. represents 43 percent; Asia, Latin America and the rest of Europe account for the remaining 26 percent of total focus group volume.
ACNielsen U.S., an operating unit of ACNielsen Corporation, announced that Campbell Soup Company has signed a five-year contract to use ACNielsen's market research, information and analysis services beginning August 1, 1999. The agreement will cover all product lines in Campbell's U.S. Grocery Division and Pepperidge Farm Division. In addition to ACNielsen's core SCANTRACK retail measurement service, Campbell's will be utilizing the company's Homescan consumer panel and its modeling and
analytic capabilities.
Opinion Research Corporation, Princeton, N.J., has completed its previously announced acquisition of Macro International Inc., a research, consulting and technology company based in the Washington, D.C., area. The total cost of the acquisition, including the assumption of pre-existing debt, was approximately $28 million plus certain future payments contingent upon performance ofthe acquired business. Macro's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is approximately $5 million out of revenues of $62 million.
Elrick & Lavidge Marketing Research, Tucker, Ga., is launching a series of syndicated information products that will survey how America shops. Featured will be the role of ecommerce in both consumer and business purchasing.
Market Facts, Inc., an Arlington Heights, Ill., market research and information company, has announced an agreement with Harris Black International, Ltd., a Rochester, N.Y., research company whereby Harris Black will provide Market Facts with access to its Harris Poll Interactive Panel under a preferred pricing arTangement. Market Facts also acquired 4 percent of the common stock of Harris Black for an investment of $4.1 million.
America Online, Inc., has acquired total ownership of Digital Marketing Services, Inc. (OMS), a provider of on-line incentive' marketing programs and on-line custom market research. America Online, which previously held a majority share of OMS, acquired the outstanding minority stake to give the company full ownership of DMS. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. DMS founder Dennis Gonier will remain president of DMS and will also become senior vice president of America Online in theAOL Interactive Properties Group.
NFO Worldwide, Inc., Greenwich, Conn., and French research firm IPSOS, S.A. will pursue independent strategies for access panel activities within Europe. As part of the agreement, the companies agreed to terminate their almost four-year joint venture relationship, and IPSOS agreed to purchase NFO's entire joint venture interest. The purchase price was not disclosed. However, NFO indicated that the transaction would not have a material effect on its financial statements. NFO's recently acquired European subsidiary, Infratest Burke, currently owns and operates two access panel companies - tpi in Germany and Infratest Burke at Target-On-Line in France. In addition, Infratest Burke continues to be part of the Target Access Panel Consortium in Europe, which provides access panel services in five European countries. NFO and IPSOS will continue to cooperate on client projects currently in progress, as well as in areas of activity other than access panels.
Macro Consulting has moved to 1900 Embarcadero Rd., Suite 110, Palo Alto, Calif.
Decision Making Research, Washington, D.C., has received the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce "Best Service Company of the Year" award, which is presented annually to the company judged as "providing the highest quality of service excellence above and beyond industry standards."
James Madden and Doris Walsh have formed Paramount Market Publishing (PMP), a publishing house that will focus on books by experienced market researchers. Besides publishing its own line of books, PMP will also sell books of other publishers who focus on market segments and marketing tools.
Jeri Meola, co-founder of Satisfaction Management Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, has received the 1999 Lucent Technologies "Enhanced Business Through Communication Technology" award. She received the award as part of the National Association of Women Business Owners' 1999 Annual Awards Gala honoring achievements of Minnesota women business owners. Lucent Technologies sponsored this award for the woman-owned business that best uses technology to enhance overall business performance.
Decision Data has moved to Lakeside Office Center. 7962 Madison Ave., Suite A, Burr Ridge. Ill.
Ebony Marketing Research has opened a new full-service marketing research and focus group facility at 666 II th St., N.W., in Washington, D.C.
The Fieldwork Network has added three locations: fieldwork Dallas, fieldwork Minneapolis, and fieldwork Seattle.
Lockheed Martin/EDS has contracted Optimum Solutions Corp., Rockville Centre, N.Y., to provide its proprietary FAQSS data capture system for processing the United States Census 2000 project.
Allting, Inc. has acquired San Francisco-based Socratic Software's Visual Q software for interactive Webbased surveys. The transaction. valued at approximateJy $2 million, consists of both cash and royalty payments. Allting is a software firm whose principals have been key members of the Visual Q development and quality assurance team since the product's introduction in 1997. The company will continue to provide customer support and product assistance to existing as well as new customers and will continue developing the product.
Focus Groups of Cleveland Survey Center has opened its third research suite. The new suite features a large multi-purpose respondent room with multiple lines for access to videoconferencing, teleconferencing and Internet usage.
Milwaukee. Wis.-based Market Probe, Inc .. has formed Market Probe India. a new subsidiary located in New Delhi. India.
Wirthlin Worldwide, a McLean. Va.. research firm. and DS Griffen & Associates. a Scottsdale, Ariz., organizational development consulting group, have entered into an agreement for the continued delivery and further development of Advanced Strategy Lab, a technology which facilitates group interaction using networked laptop computers and electronic brainstorming software.