Chicago-based Information Resources Inc. (IRI) received two Pinnacle awards from PROMO magazine. IRI's QScan database service, which provides data from more than 10,000 supermarkets, was recognized in the promotion support category forproviding excellence in techniques and services for planning, tracking, measuring, controlling and fulfilling promotional activities as well as addressing product replenishment issues. IRI's division, Customer Marketing Resources, (which uses QScan data) received the award in the marketing relevance category, recognizing its "efficient promotion practices," which assist manufacturers in executing and administering trade marketing programs. These are the third and fourth Pinnacle awards IRI has received.
Group Dynamics in Focus Inc. has moved "up" - to the sixth floor at its offices at 555 City Line Ave., Bala Cynwyd, Pa. 19004. Each of the four focus group suites includes a conference room, tiered one-way mirrored observation seating 20, client lounge, and respondent reception area. The facility also includes a commercial kitchen for taste-testing projects and home cooking.
The Chicago Group Inc., a Chicago-based management consulting firm, has established a permanent office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This is the first office established in Vietnam by a U.S.-based management consulting firm. The Chicago Group provides domestic and international strategic business and market planning services. The new office will serve American clients investigating Vietnam as a potential investment market, export country or offshore manufacturing site. When the U.S. embargo on Vietnam is lifted, the office will operate as an in-country support system for clients and serve as the headquarters for the firm's Asian operations.
New York-based FIND/SVP Inc., has formed a published products division to oversee the firm's non-consulting business operations. The new division covers a rapidly growing area in the company. Its purview includes published studies under the FIND/SVP and Packaged Facts brandnames; electronic editions of FIND/SVP products on-line and on CD ROM; newsletter and book publishing; conferences; directories; multi-client studies; the bimonthly Information Catalog; and upcoming products to be offered through 900 and fax modes. The division is also marketing the recently published resource book, "The Art of Being Well Informed," by FIND/SVP president Andrew Garvin.
Audits & Surveys has reached an agreement in principle to integrate the operations of marketing research firm Oxtoby-Smith. Both companies are based in New York. A&S will establish an Oxtoby-Smith division that will continue to service clients including Block Drug Co., Coca-Cola Foods, Doubleday, National Spa & Pool Institute, Snapple and Utopia Bottled Water. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Last year, Oxtoby-Smith posted sales of $4.1 million. Jack Goldberg Sr., Oxtoby-Smith CFO, and Tony Timiraos, A&S CFO, will direct the integration of Oxtoby's 21-person staff into the A&S operation through the end of the year.
OKRA Marketing Corp., Tampa, Fla., and Fortis Inc. have entered a strategic alliance. Fortis will apply OKRA's database marketing technology to improve its responsiveness to customer needs and reduce the cost of many of its products and services. For OKRA, the alliance will provide financial backing to further develop its products and services. Fortis' worldwide position in the insurance and financial services industries will allow OKRA to expand its client base into these categories. Fortis is a worldwide financial organization with joint headquarters in Utrecht, The Netherlands, and Brussels, Belgium.
Mid-Iowa Interviewing Inc. has opened its second Des Moines permanent mall location in the Southridge Mall. The new location is designed to complement the firm's existing facility at Valley West Mall. The Southridge facility has a test kitchen, 10 enclosed interviewing stations, a small conference room for one-on-on observation and a 9' by 28' display area. The Southridge facility is 10 minutes from the airport and is near several hotels and motels.
Indianapolis-based DataSource is re-engineering company structure and processes by establishing self-managing teams. The new approach brings together specialists from various areas in the company that were previously separated by department or division barriers. It will also result in all employees focusing on client requirements as well as their discrete job requirements.
New York-based FIND/SVP has added a legal research group to its Quick Consulting & Research Service. The new group will provide the firm's retainer clients with services like public record retrieval, jury verdict searches, legislative history research, legal document retrieval and current awareness services to determine how pending legislation might affect a particular industry. Joshua Blackman, an attorney with a background in computer programming and systems analysis, will head the new consulting group.
R.L. Polk & Co. has formed a strategic alliance with The Blackburn Group Inc., London, Ontario, a Canadian provider of automobile statistics and demographic information. The two firms have combined their business expertise to form Blackburn/Polk Marketing Services Inc., Toronto. R.L. Polk & Co. Ltd., Folk's Canadian subsidiary, has merged its automotive marketing, list operations, automotive statistics, automotive databases and National Demographics and Lifestyles Inc.'s database services in Canada with Blackburn Marketing Services, a subsidiary of The Blackburn Group, to form the new company. R.L. Polk & Co. will be continuing its city directory and specialty advertising businesses in Canada independently under the name Polk Canada Ltd.
Indianapolis-based Walker: Customer Satisfaction Measurements is restructuring its branches to better serve clients in the western and southwestern U.S. The company is consolidating branches from three in Dallas, Scottsdale and San Francisco to two in Dallas and San Francisco. "This consolidation supports our continued commitment to be close to our customers and provide the highest level of service of responsiveness in the industry," says Alien Paison, CEO of Walker: CSM.
Effective December 20, Marketing Advertising Communications Specialists, a Washington-based marketing research firm, has moved its Seattle offices to nearby Bellevue, Wash. The new address will be: 400 108th Ave. N.E., Suite 201, Bellevue, Wash., 98004.