The Marketing Research Association has launched a new and improved Web site at www.mranet.org. The new site allows members to access an on-line directory of MRA members and their organizations. Using a personal password, members create a profile and can update their information or access the read-only information of a colleague. Members can also link their company’s Web site to the MRA’s site at no cost.
Angus Reid Group, a Vancouver, B.C.-based research firm, has agreed to be bought out by French marketing research company Ipsos. In Ipsos’s first expansion into Canada, a North American unit of the company will be created and named Ipsos-Angus Reid. It will be run by Angus Reid’s current management. Ipsos will pay about C$100 million ($68.9 million) for the Canadian company, which has 11 offices, 300 full-time and 800 part-time employees.
Eastern Research Services, Springfield, Pa., has opened a new division, Bilingual Research Services. Located in E1 Paso, Texas, the division features a bilingual staff and a 90-station facility for data collection in CfMC and Quantime. The branch manager is Jack Morales. The personnel manager is Grace Hernandez.
Boston-based Mature Marketing & Research has opened an office at 1180 East Broadway, Suite 6, Hewlett, N.Y.
Socratic/Modalis Research Technologies, San Francisco, has expanded the international compatibility of its proprietary interface test equipment, the Socratic Usability Lab. The new lab configuration allows it to be used with VHS, NTSC or PAL video formats and is built to be compatible with both U.S. and European power standards.
STAR Market Research, Hayward, Calif., is now offering a new focus group room. The room, which measures 30x26, can be set up classroomstyle, theater-style, with booths, or configured to other special needs. The attached viewing room seats 12 clients.
U.K.-based Consumerdata has launched web-satisfaction.com, its Web-based customer satisfaction and surveying solution. Services include survey definition. Web page design and hosting, and data retrieval. Additional analysis, reporting and data cleaning services complete a total service package.
Total Research Corporation, Princeton, N.J., is acquiring Romtec plc, a London-based Internet researching in the IT and telecommunications markets. For its fiscal year ended January 31, 2000, Romtec reported revenues of approximately $6,600,000 and net income of approximately $300,000. Romtec’s stock is publicly traded on London’s Alternative Investment Market. The acquisition price consists of cash and notes amounting to a maximum of $7,200,000. Romtec will continue to operate under its own name as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Total Research Holdings, Ltd. Romtec Chairman Russ Nathan will become chairman of Total Research Holdings, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Total Research Corporation.
A new organization, the Interactive Marketing Research Organization (IMRO) is being formed with the goad of "providing an open forum for the discussion of best practices and ethical approaches to research being conducted via the Internet." Its other stated objectives are: as a confederation of word leaders among firms involved in new technology marketing research, to lead in the development, dissemination, and implementation of interactive marketing research concepts, practice and information; through demonstrated competence of its members, to be the primary source for interactive research information technology interests of business, consumers, education, government, and other institutions; to stimulate ethical research principles so that marketing knowledge and practice are used toward legitimate ends.
For those interested in receiving more information about membership (including information on dues, committee work and organization activities) a Web site has been set up to Zake contact information at www.imro.org. People registering at the site will receive membership information as soon as details are officially released. A formal announcement is expected early this summer.
Skokie, Ill.-based RFL Communications, Inc., has introduced the RFL Market Research New Products and Services Library on its Web site at www.rflonline.com. The Library will provide a centralized repository of new products and services of interest to market researchers.
London-based Virgin Radio has become the first international Webcaster to join Arbitron’s InfoStream ratings service. Virgin Radio’s Internet channel, www.virginradio.co.uk, recorded a monthly audience of 205,000 listeners in December. This would have placed the Webcaster as number one in the rankings had it joined the InfoStrearn service in time to be included in the ratings. Additionally, "streamies," on-line listeners who tuned into the Web chalmel, spent an average of 50 minutes listening on-line to Virgin Radio in December.
Rochester, N.Y.-based research finn Harris Interactive Inc., and Witeck-Combs Communications, a Washington, D.C.-based marketing firm specializing in marketing to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) communities, have teamed up to develop marketing information on the GLBT consumer segment.
Information services company Computerworld Inc. is using Austin, Texas-based Catapuk Systems Corp.’s Inquisite product to conduct research. Computerworld currently uses Inquisite for on-line market research on career topics like the IT Job Satisfaction survey and the National Survey of IT executives. Computerworld magazine is currently using the product to survey companies for its 7th annual "100 Best Places to Work in IT" study.
Venture capital firm Novestra has exercised its warrants to increase its ownership in Swedish Intemet research firm Netsurvey from approximately 24 to 30 percent. Through the private equity issue, Netsurvey will receive additional capital to continue the ongoing international expansion. Already present in the U.K., Netsurvey will continue expanding in the rest of Europe and explore expansion into Asia.
Subsequent to approval by shareholders of Greenwich, Conn.-based NFO Worldwide, Inc., the Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has completed its acquisition of NFO Worldwide.
Information Resources, Inc., Chicago, has introduced CPGNetwork.com, a new information service that uses Internet technology to provide a decision support network for consumer packaged goods companies.
Under an agreement between Taylor Nelson Sofres, a Horsham, Pa., research firm, and Norwegian software company The Firm, Taylor Nelson Sofres Interactive, the company’s Internet research division, has licensed The Firm’s software package, Confirm, on a worldwide basis.
In a study conducted by Cheskin Research, Redwood Shores, Calif., of the habits, attitudes, and usage patterns of digital technology and the Internet within the U.S. Hispanic population, www.quepasa.com, an on-line community for the U.S. Hispanic market, ranked as the most preferred Hispanic Web site. Cheskin Research based its findings on a nationally representative survey of 2,017 Hispanic households. Key household measures of the study included the presence of computers and computer users, technology penetration and adoption. Key individual measures included, but were not limited to computer brand awareness, e-commerce attitudes, future purchase intent and usage of Internet services. Overall, Yahoo! and AOL were the most used Web sites.
Shareholders of ACNielsen Corporation, Stamford, Conn., have elected four directors to new terms, and ratified the selection of independent public accountants at the company’s 2000 annual meeting. Shareholders approved new three-year terms for Donald W. Griffin, Robert M. Hendrickson, Brian B. Pemberton and Nicholas L. Trivisonno - all of whom are Class I directors. Trivisonno is chairman and chief executive officer of ACNielsen. Shareholders also ratified the appointment of Arthur Andersen LiP as independent public accountants for 2000.
Greenfield Online, a Wilton, Conn., research firm is forming a strategic partnership with Adlink, a cable advertising sales firm serving Southern California, which will enable advertisers focusing on the Los Angeles market to obtain a package of research and marketing services pertaining to the on-line activities of L.A. cable viewers.
New York-based Nielsen//NetRatings, the Internet audience measurement service of Nielsen Media Research and NetRatings, Inc., and New York-based o, have formed a strategic alliance to provide customers with information on how consumers are using the Internet on a local market level. Intemet usage information by DMA (designated market area) will include detailed demographics and lifestyle profiles. Under this multi-tier agreement the two companies will work together on the following initiatives: development of new measurement and analytical services specifically covering local market multimedia usage; Scarborough will market Nielsen//NetRatings services to local newspapers in 20 U.S. markets, thus extending the range of information available to these customers from Scarborough; Scarborough will use Nielsen//NetRatings data on leading Intemet sites as the basis for expanding the information it gathers via surveys on local media usage.
Separately, Nielsen//NetRatings announced that it has expanded its range of services to provide information on on-line usage and advertising in the top 20 local Internet markets.
In addition, ACNielsen eRatings.com, a venture between ACNielsen Corp., Stamford, Conn., and NetRatings Inc., has announced that 55 clients in the U.K., Australia, Singapore, Ireland and New Zealand subscribed to the NielseN/Net Ratings Internet audience measurement service in the first quarter.
New York-based research information firm USADATA.com has teamed with cPulse LLC, an Internet satisfaction monitoring firm, to monitor and measure customer satisfaction through the use of 60-second interactive interviews. Data from surveys will be collected from random Web interviews with customers, who will be asked to rank USADATA.com’s customer service on a scale ranging from poor to excellent. Customers also will be asked questions such as how important customer service is when specifying marketing information, and how USADATA.com compared to other Web sites.
Decision Insight, Inc., has moved to new offices at 106 W. 14th St., Suite 2500, Kansas City, Mo.
Opinion Research Corporation, Princeton, N.J., announced that a global technology company has awarded it a total of $2.5 million in new contracts. Among the awards, the company has received a $1.9 million contract to create an Internet-based business- to-business panel. The panel, which consists of approximately 5,000 IT decision-makers among medium and small businesses in the United States, Europe and Asia, will be used to track the attitudes and behaviors of the participating executives over time. The initial term of the contract is for one year, but is expected to be multiyear.
The National Retail Federation (www.nrf.com) and Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research, Inc., in conjunction with Greenfield Online, a Wilton, Conn., research firm, have announced advances made in the NRF/Forrester Online Retail Index methodology. Survey data has expanded to include detailed analysis of big-ticket purchases. The improved Retail Index will provide greater insight into consumers’ spending patterns.