Global market research firms ACNielsen, Research International, and GfK have signed on with Stamford, Conn.-based FocusVision Worldwide to offer videoconferenced focus groups from FocusVisionequipped studio locations in Europe and Asia.

Nine teams of researchers won the  Advertising Research Foundation’s (ARF) 1998 David Ogilvy Research Awards for outstanding research programs that impacted successful advertising. The team from Campbell Soup Company, Camden, N.J., led by Michael Schwartz, market research U.S. Group Director, its advertising agency BBDO/NY and IPSOS-ASI Market Research, Stamford, Conn., won the David Ogilvy Research Trophy for their research for Campbell’s Swanson Broth "How Much" campaign.

Runners-up receiving Gold Medallions were two Kraft Foods, Glenview, N., research teams. The first, led by Sue Lynch, category information manager at Kraft for Miracle Whip "What’s For Lunch/Don’t Skip the Zip." Ad agency: J. Walter Thompson Chicago and Loran Marketing Group, Chicago. The second, Kraft Brand Salad Dressing’s "Everyday’s Got a Taste for Kraft" campaign led by Raj Rajaratnam, director of marketing information. Ad agency: Leo Burnett and Murtaugh Match, Madison, Wis., market research.

Silver Medallions went to:

  • Unilever HPC, Helene Curtis Business Unit, Chicago, for "Degree/Competitive Research" campaign; DDB Needham, Chicago, and Ameritest, Chicago.
  • Star Enterprises of Norcross, Ga., for "Texaco Gasoline/1997" campaign; Bates SW, and National Decision Systems, Vienna, Va.
  • Anderson Consulting, Chicago, for Image Advertising; Young & Rubicam NY, and OmniTech Consulting Group, Chicago, Goldfarb Corporation, London, and Frank Small Associates, East Sydney, Australia.
  • Ultrafem, N.Y., for Instead "Women Have Changed" campaign; Bozell, NY and KRC Research & Consulting, N.Y.

Bronze Medallions went to:

  • Campbell Soup Company of Camden, N.J. for Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookies "Suspicions" campaign; Saatchi & Saatchi, NY and ASI Market Research, Stamford, Conn.
  • Bell Atlantic, Arlington, Va., for Bell Atlantic Caller ID; Saatchi & Saatchi, and Gallup & Robinson, Pennington, N.J., Mapes and Ross Communications Research, Princeton, N.J.
  • Schefing-Plough Health Care Products, Liberty Comer, N.J., for DynaStep "BioMechanics" campaign; ad agency Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer, N.Y.

The David Ogilvy Awards were created in 1994 to acknowledge the vital role played by market research in the development of successful advertising campaigns. Entries for these awards take the form of case histories that describe research conducted by advertisers, agencies, research companies, media or a combined team. The awards are sponsored by the ARF in cooperation with the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association of Advertising Agencies.

Market Facts, Inc., Arlington Heights, Ill., has acquired Tandem Research Associates, Inc., with offices in Mahwah, N.J., and Suffem, N.Y. Tandem will operate as an autonomous subsidiary of Market Facts under the direction of its current management team led by co-founders Daniel Fish and Donald Rupnow.

MRCPhone has moved to a new call center facifity. MRCPhone has 50 CATI Stations supported by a Novell 4.11 network and the Meridian T-1 telephone communications system.

Focus on Boston has opened a suburban focus group research center in Braintree, Mass., 10 miles south of Boston next to the Sheraton Tara Hotel and adjacent to the South Shore Mall. The facility features two suites, viewing, conference and lounge areas.

Khalifa Al Mukheini has opened SIMPA Market Research & Consultancy, the Sultanate of Oman’s first local market research agency, at Box 208 P.C. 118, A;1 Harthy, ComplexMuscat 118, Sultanate Of Oman. The firm offers qualitative and quantitative research services. Headquartered in Muscat, it has field offices in Dubai, UAE. For more informarion

Menlo Park, Calif.-based CustomerSat.com, a provider of customer satisfaction measurement services using the Intemet, and San Francisco-based Flycast Communications Corp., a provider of Web advertising management services, have formed a partnership to enable the 350+ member sites of the Flycast Open Network to measure the satisfaction and determine the demographic profiles of their Web site visitors in real time. In other news, CustomerSat.com conducted customer satisfaction and loyalty research for Aumm Software, Clarify Inc., Onyx Software Corp., and The Vantive Corp.

Siemens Medical Systems, Inc. has retained Gordon Bailey & Associates, Inc., Atlanta, to develop a customer profiling, brand positioning and communications program for its line of medical instrumentation devices.

Market Segment Research & Consulting, Miami, has been selected by Frito-Lay as a Minority/Women Supplier of the Year for the marketing department. Frito-Lay cited the firm for its contribution to helping Frito-Lay achieve its 1997 corporate objectives.

NFO Worldwide, Inc., Greenwich, Conn., has acquired Ross-Cooper-Lund, a Teaneck, N.J., research firm, and MarketMind TechnoloNes, a Melbourne, Australia firm which developed the MarketMind continuous information tracking system. In separate transactions, NFO acquired substanrially all the net assets of each company for the combined consideration of $16.6 million. In other news, NFO announced it has concluded a private placement of $40 million in fixed rate Senior Notes and entered into a $75 million revolving credit agreement with four major U.S. banks. Also, NFO has signed a definitive Agreement of Offer to Purchase Toronto-based CF Group, Inc., a research organization which operates three divisions within Canada - Canadian Facts, Applied Research Consultants, and Burke International Research. Annual revenues are approximately $31 million (CAN).

Intelligent Marketing Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, will provide market research services to Seren Innovations, a subsidiary of Northern States Power Co. In addition, IQ will provide tracking and database management to Ciprico, Inc.

Tim Huberty has founded Huberty Marketing Research at 1924 Jefferson, St. Paul, Minn.

Decision Insight, a Kansas City, Mo., research firm, recently celebrated its 15th year in business.

Jim Steber has opened Communicatious for Research, Inc., a data collection and consulting firm, at 61 East Highway 8, P.O. Box BF, Steelville, Me.

F-Squared Market Research + Consulting, Moscow, Russia, has celebrated its first anniversary. The firm has two Moscow offices housing a central location test facility and a focus group facility.

ACNielsen Corp., Stamford, Conn., has launched an audit-based retail measurement service in India.

U.K.-based IMS SelfMedication is using Pulse Train’s Bellview CAPI and its pen computer technology for Motivations, its new consumer tracking service.

Sky Alland Marketing, a Columbia, Md., a provider of research services and customer relationship management programs, projects a 285 percent increase in revenues from its financial services client in 1998.

20/20 Research Inc., Nashville, Tenn., was rated the number one focus group facility in the U.S., according to a study by Impulse Surveys. The firm received an overall score of 90 out of 100.

Clearwater Research, Boise, Idaho, has opened a second facility in Council, Idaho, which will serve as a satellite data collection facility. Market Insights. Inc., has moved to 2000 N. Ocean Blvd., Suite 102, Boca Raton, Fla.

Directions in Research, San Diego, has opened a new 100-station phone facility.