growth?

Transcription

growth?

honomichltop50
{ exclusive feature }
5
TOP
marketingnews06.30.09
12
2009
HONOMICHL
WHERE’S THE
GROWTH?
While Actual Research Sales Rose
TOTAL TOP 50 WORLDWIDE REVENUES
 Top 50 U.S. Revenues
 Top 50 Non-U.S. Revenues
$18,749
2008
$17,638
2007
$15,640
2006
YEAR
2005
$14,385
2004
$13,306
2003
$11,496
2002
honomichl top 50
The Top 50
at a glance
■
24 companies had lower
annual revenue or gains
smaller than 2008’s rate
of inflation
■
8 companies made one
or more acquisitions
■
13 companies were acquired
■
32 companies reported
revenue from abroad
■
$10.6 billion, or 54% of total
revenue, came from outside
the United States
■
Nielsen saw 51% of its
revenue, $2.3 billion, come
from abroad
■
Kantar Group buying TNS
was the No. 1 deal of 2008
$9,000
2001
Lead_hono09.indd 12
BY JACK HONOMICHL
$8,318
0
$2,500
$5,000
$7,500
$10,000
$12,500
$15,000
$17,500
$20,000
REVENUES
5/29/09 11:16:58 AM
50
13
Spending for marketing/advertising/public
opinion research services within the
United States was up 1.6% in 2008 from
2007, but after adjustment for inflation,
“real growth” was -2.2%, the first such
downturn in more than 20 years.
REPORT
Real Spending
Turned Negative
■ % REVENUE GROWTH YEAR TO YEAR RIGHT SCALE
■ % REAL GROWTH (AFTER ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION) RIGHT SCALE
15%
■ NUMBER OF RESEARCH FIRMS LEFT SCALE
12%
150
9%
6%
100
GROWTH RATE
NUMBER OF FIRMS
200
3%
50
YEAR
Lead_hono09.indd 13
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
0
-3%
honomichl top 50
0%
5/29/09 11:17:27 AM
honomichltop50
14
This analysis is based on input from 196 for-profit research
organizations operating in the United States.*
IN TOTO, THESE 196 organizations
had U.S.-only revenues of $8.9 billion in
2008. Some of this revenue was from nonresearch activities, but that was screened
out as much as possible. In addition,
artificial revenue growth resulting from
M&A activity was screened out as much as
possible so as not to hype growth rates. This
was accomplished by including the revenue
of an acquired firm entirely for the base
year and 2008, or leaving it out entirely.
To arrive at the so-called “real growth,”
the Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers as computed by the Commerce
Department was used. For 2008, it was 3.8%.
After making these adjustments to the
raw data, the major finding from this, my
36th annual analysis of industry growth
prepared exclusively for Marketing News,
was that 2008 was a downer year. This
should be no surprise given the economic
woes during the year, especially the second
half. That trend does not bode well for revenue levels in 2009, and early indicators
suggest that they probably will be grim.
Big Firms Slump
Of the Top 50 organizations (see table on
page 19), 24 either had a decrease in reve-
nue or their revenue gain did not exceed
the inflation rate. Of special interest every
year is the performance of the very largest
firms because they weigh so heavily in total
revenue calculations. For instance, in 2008
the five largest firms, in toto, accounted for
55% of the 196-firm total revenues of $8.9
billion. And, in 2008, all five were down
in terms of “real” growth (after screening out revenue acquired via acquisitions).
This was debilitating. These losses, in dollar
amounts, simply overwhelmed the large
increases made by many of the smaller
firm, such as Public Opinion Strategies (No.
32), which benefited from the extraordinary amount of money spent on political
polling in 2008.
Of the Top 50 firms, eight made one or
more acquisitions of U.S. market research
firms in 2008, for a total of 13 acquisitions.
Most notable was the acquisition of TNS,
No. 6 on the 2007 list, by the Kantar Group
(and parent company WPP), now No. 2 on
the 2008 list.
Of these 13 acquisitions, seven were
made by three of the largest firms: Nielsen,
IMS and Kantar. While these acquired
revenues were included in firm totals, as
noted previously, the bought revenues
were screened out in calculated growth
rates. Had they been left in, the industry’s behemoths would have shown a better
performance in 2008, but that would have
distorted the main purpose of this analysis, namely, to track the total spending for
research services within the United States.
But it is interesting to note that the largest
firms continued their long-time strategy of
buying revenue growth, even in a slumping
market. As for organic growth, all three laid
off thousands of employees in 2008 and will
continue to in 2009.
Changes in Listing
As usual, each year some established firms
disappear from the Top 50, usually because
they have been acquired by another firm
higher on the list, as was the case with TNS.
And, of course, new firms stepped up to
inclusion: Communispace Corp., Watertown, Mass.; Iconoculture Inc., Minneapolis; CMI, Atlanta; Chadwick Martin Bailey
Inc., Boston; and Roger Green & Associates, New Hope, Pa. These are not flashin-the-pan startups; on average, they were
founded 17 years ago. All enjoyed nice revenue gains in 2008, especially Roger Green,
which was up 40%.
YEAR
The Largest Firms Harvested More of the Crop
 Top 10 Company Worldwide Revenues as a Percentage of
Top 50 Company Revenue
 Top 10 Company Worldwide Revenues as a Percentage of
Top 200 Company Revenues
100
PERCENT
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
honomichl top 50
20
Lead_hono09.indd 14
10
0
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
YEAR
5/29/09 11:18:05 AM
16
As for those that dropped off the list, TNS,
as noted, was acquired by the Kantar Group.
Walker Information, which has been a top-list
participant for 36 years, opted not to participate this year. Hitwise was acquired and now
corporate parent Experian declined to disclose
its revenues. Compete was acquired by TNS
before TNS itself was acquired. Marketing
Analysts had revenue declines that drove it
down below our cutoff level.
So, the U.S. market research industry,
and the firms that cater to it, continued
to evolve in 2008, as usual. Change
is a constant.
Reaping More From
International Markets
100
90
Non-U.S. Revenue
80
70
60
PERCENT
The emphasis and main purpose of this
annual analysis is to track spending within
the United States for research services.
But note that 32 of the 2008 Top 50 firms
reported revenue from work outside the
United States, usually through a subsidiary
or branch office, and that detail is shown
on the table. In 2008, $10.6 billion of their
total revenue, or 54%, came from outside the
United States. For the largest organization,
Nielsen, the figure was $2.3 billion, or 51%.
For IMS, the comparable numbers were $1.5
billion and 64%. While we tend to focus on
U.S. market performance the research industry is global in reach, and the United States
is just a component, albeit a major one. That
global market gets separate analysis in the
Honomichl Global Top 25, which will appear
in Marketing News’ Aug. 30 issue.
Also, to put the U.S. market analysis
in perspective, it should be noted that the
196-firm database of $8.9 billion does not
reflect total spending for research services
within the United States. For instance, the top
50 includes for-profit firms only, and there are
numerous nonprofit survey research centers,
usually affiliated with universities, that collec-
Top 50 International Revenues
Top 50 U.S. Revenues
50
40
30
20
10
0
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
YEAR
COMPANY
PROFILES
What follows are extensive
descriptions of the services
provided by this year’s Top 50, a
statement of ownership (several
are subsidiaries of non-U.S.
conglomerates based in Europe)
and a brief background statement on top management. To
truly appreciate the nature of
honomichl top 50
the U.S. industry and its ups and
Lead_hono09.indd 16
downs, these profiles are “must”
reading. Aggregate, top-line
revenue figures are just that—
the tip of the iceberg.
5/29/09 11:18:39 AM
honomichltop50
tively represent considerable expenditures.
Also, federal government agencies spend
about $5.0 billion a year for what they call
“statistical programs”—basically survey
research.
Only two of the Top 50 firms get
significant revenue from this funding
source, namely Westat Inc. and Opinion
Research Corp. via its Macro International
unit. Much of this spending goes through
Bureau of Census survey facilities,
although the census itself is not counted.
Second, many corporations and advertising agencies choose to do part of their
market research in-house, and that
revenue is not counted. Indeed, there is no
way to get a fix on what that totals. This is
especially true in customer satisfaction
measurement work. m
Jack Honomichl is president of
Marketing Aid Center in Barrington,
Ill., and founder of Inside Research, a
market research trade publication.
* CASRO (Council of American Survey Research Organizations) provided input on
146 member firms that are not included in the Top 50. Almost all of their work is
conducted within the United States.
Marketing Research
Employment Thinning Out
nTop 50 Companies’ Employees
n146 CASRO Firms’ Employees
Top 50 Employees as a Percentage
of All Research Employees
40000
35000
Number of Employees
30000
36,808
34,616
90.5%
35,443
34,150
90.7%
90.5%
90.0%
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
YEAR
Lead_hono09.indd 18
5/29/09 11:20:20 AM
ure }
Top 50 U.S. Market Research Organizations
Organization
Headquarters
Web Site
U.S. Research
Revenue2
($ in millions)
Percent
Change
From 20073
WW Research
Revenue2
($ in millions)
Non-U.S.
Research Revenue2
($ in millions)
Percent
Non-U.S.
Revenue
U.S.
Full-Time
Employees
$2,231.0
-0.4%
$4,575.0
$2,344.0
51.2%
9,592
1
The Nielsen Co.
New York
nielsen.com
2
—
Kantar Group1
London &
Fairfield, Conn.
kantargroup.com
918.5
-5.1
3,616.1
2,697.6
74.1
4,375
—
3
Kantar Group 1
London &
Fairfield, Conn.
kantargroup.com
556.9
-1.0
1,516.1
959.2
63.3
2,575
—
6
TNS1
London
tnsglobal.com
361.6
-10.8
2,100.0
1,738.4
82.8
1,800
3
2
IMS Health Inc.
Norwalk, Conn.
imshealth.com
842.0
3.1
2,392.6
1,487.5
63.9
1,950
4
4
Westat Inc.
Rockville, Md.
westat.com
469.5
0.5
469.5
—
—
1,998
5
5
IRI
Chicago
infores.com
454.0
3.0
725.0
271.0
37.4
1,339
6
7
Arbitron Inc.
Columbia, Md.
arbitron.com
364.4
9.4
368.8
4.4
1.2
1,100
7
8
GfK USA
Nuremberg,
Germany
gfk.com
313.1
-2.2
1,797.2
1,484.1
82.6
1,038
8
9
Ipsos
New York
ipsos-na.com
307.6
4.2
1,442.1
1,134.5
78.7
950
9
10
Synovate
London
synovate.com
245.0
-2.8
959.7
714.7
74.5
761
10
11
Maritz Research
Fenton, Mo.
maritz.com
197.4
5.3
230.7
33.3
14.4
625
11
12
J.D. Power and
Associates1
Westlake Village,
Calif.
jdpower.com
188.6
0.9
272.2
83.6
30.7
594
12
14
The NPD Group Inc.
Port Washington,
N.Y.
npd.com
168.5
4.4
226.1
57.6
25.5
824
13
15
Opinion Research
Corp.
Princeton, N.J.
opinionresearch.com
145.3
14.0
227.7
82.4
36.2
303
14
13
Harris Interactive Inc.
Rochester, N.Y.
harrisinteractive.com
137.1
-14.2
221.8
84.7
38.2
471
15
16
comScore Inc.
Reston, Va.
comscore.com
100.9
22.1
117.4
16.5
14.1
472
16
17
Market Strategies
International
Livonia, Mich.
marketstrategies.com
77.5
-4.1
92.2
14.7
15.9
301
17
18
Lieberman Research
Worldwide
Los Angeles
lrwonline.com
73.7
3.8
90.1
16.4
18.2
224
18
20
OTX
Los Angeles
otxresearch.com
51.0
0.4
55.6
4.6
8.3
207
19
21
Burke Inc.
Cincinnati
burke.com
50.8
8.1
60.4
9.6
15.9
227
20
19
Abt Associates SRBI
Inc.
Cambridge, Mass.
abtassociates.com
49.5
-10.2
49.5
—
—
201
21
23
Knowledge
Networks Inc.
Menlo Park, Calif.
knowledgenetworks.com
39.9
7.0
39.9
—
—
155
22
22
MVL Group Inc.
Jupiter, Fla.
mvlgroup.com
38.7
-8.5
38.7
—
—
138
23
26
Phoenix Marketing
International
Rhinebeck, N.Y.
phoenixmi.com
37.6
12.2
41.4
3.8
9.2
152
24
24
National
Research Corp.
Lincoln, Neb.
nationalresearch.com
37.5
0.5
41.7
4.2
10.1
248
25
25
Directions
Research Inc.
Cincinnati
directionsresearch.com
36.6
-1.4
36.6
—
—
129
26
28
ICR/Int’l Communications Research
Media, Pa.
icrsurvey.com
32.1
11.5
33.5
1.4
4.2
215
Lead_hono09.indd 19
honomichl top 50
1
U.S. Rank
2008 2007
19
5/29/09 11:19:53 AM
honomichltop50
marketingnews 06.30.09
20
U.S. Rank
2008 2007
Organization
Headquarters
Web Site
honomichl top 50
WW Research
Revenue2
($ in millions)
Non-U.S.
Research Revenue2
($ in millions)
Percent
Non-U.S.
Revenue
U.S.
Full-Time
Employees
$29.6
17.9%
$30.6
$1.0
3.3%
46
30
MarketCast
Los Angeles
marketcastonline.com
28
27
Lieberman Research
Group
Great Neck, N.Y.
liebermanresearch.com
29.5
-2.0
29.5
—
—
79
29
—
Communispace Corp.
Watertown, Mass.
communispace.com
29.4
27.3
30.6
1.2
3.9
206
30
31
Data Development
Worldwide
New York
datadw.com
27.8
9.1
28.2
0.4
1.4
88
31
42
Public Opinion
Strategies
Alexandria, Va.
pos.org
27.7
78.7
27.7
—
—
28
32
35
Service Management
Group
Kansas City, Mo.
servicemanagement.com
26.8
19.6
27.8
1.0
2.8
152
33
34
National Analysts
Worldwide
Philadelphia
nationalanalysts.com
26.3
12.9
26.3
—
—
76
34
29
Morpace Inc.
Farmington Hills,
Mich.
morpace.com
25.8
-8.8
31.7
5.9
18.6
115
35
33
Informa Research
Services Inc.
Calabasas, Calif.
informars.com
23.5
NC
23.5
—
—
193
36
32
C&R Research
Services Inc.
Chicago
crresearch.com
23.3
-1.3
23.3
—
—
112
37
41
MarketVision
Research Inc.
Cincinnati
marketvisionresearch.
com
21.4
30.5
21.4
—
—
90
38
36
Market Probe Inc.
Milwaukee
marketprobe.com
21.1
-2.8
44.8
23.7
52.9
93
39
39
KS&R Inc.
Syracuse, N.Y.
ksrinc.com
18.6
8.8
22.5
3.9
17.3
166
40
—
Iconoculture Inc.
Minneapolis
iconoculture.com
17.3
12.3
17.3
—
—
95
41
40
Bellomy Research Inc.
Winston-Salem, N.C.
bellomyresearch.com
16.7
NC
16.7
—
—
95
42
47
Q Research
Solutions Inc.
Old Bridge, N.J.
qresearchsolutions.com
15.6
20.0
16.0
0.4
2.5
79
43
50
The Link Group
Atlanta
tlg.com
15.1
26.9
17.0
1.9
11.2
41
44
45
RDA Group Inc.
Bloomfield Hills,
Mich.
rdagroup.com
14.6
6.6
17.9
3.3
18.4
98
45
—
CMI
Atlanta
cmiresearch.com
14.1
8.5
14.2
0.1
0.7
45
46
44
Savitz Research
Companies
Dallas
savitzresearch.com
12.6
-14.9
12.6
—
—
45
47
—
Chadwick Martin
Bailey Inc.
Boston
cmbinfo.com
12.3
5.1
12.3
—
—
60
48
46
Gongos Research Inc.
Auburn Hills, Mich.
gongos.com
12.2
-8.3
12.2
—
—
71
48
49
RTi Market Research &
Brand Strategy
Stamford, Conn.
rtiresearch.com
12.2
NC
12.2
—
—
43
50
—
Roger Green &
Associates Inc.
New Hope, Pa.
rogergreen.com
11.4
40.7
11.4
—
—
35
$8,092.7
1.2%
$18,749.2
$10,593.4
56.5%
30,740
$827.8
5.4%
$959.4
$131.6
13.7%
3,410
$8,920.5
1.6%
$19,708.6
$10,725.0
54.4%
34,150
All other (146 CASRO companies not included in the Top 50)
4
Total (196 companies)
Lead_hono09.indd 20
Percent
Change
From 20073
27
Total
1
2
3
4
U.S. Research
Revenue2
($ in millions)
Estimated by Top 50
U.S. and worldwide revenue may include non-research activities for some companies that are significantly higher, as well as revenues from other MR companies. See individual company profiles for details.
Rate of growth from year to year has been adjusted so as not to include revenue gains or losses from acquisitions or divestitures. See company profiles for explanation.
Total revenues of 146 survey research companies that provide financial information on a confidential basis to the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO).
5/29/09 11:20:44 AM
honomichltop50
22
1
The Nielsen Co.
Nielsen.com
DAVID L. CALHOUN
THE NIELSEN CO., formerly VNU Group N.V.,
based in New York and Haarlem, the Netherlands, was
founded in 1964 and sold to a consortium of six
private equity firms in 2006. David L. Calhoun, 52, is
chairman and CEO of Nielsen. He earned a B.S. in
accounting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
U.S. research-only revenue in 2008 was $2,231.0
million, down 0.4% from 2007. In 2008, 51.2% of total
research-only revenue, or $2,344.0 million, was from
outside the United States. The growth rate includes
2007 and 2008 revenue for Telephia Inc., acquired
August 2007; and excludes revenue from IAG
Research Inc., acquired May 2008.
Revenue is from two of Nielsen’s consumer and
media research divisions, which include some
nonresearch businesses, mostly information services.
Worldwide research and nonresearch revenue for
Nielsen was $5.0 billion in 2008.
Nielsen is a global information and media firm
offering services in marketing and consumer information, TV and other media measurement, online
intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and
business publications.
In its two research divisions, the firm employs 9,592
full time in the United States and 34,516 worldwide.
Consumer Research
Nielsen’s Consumer Research division measures
markets and trends at the retail level, in the home and
on-the-go. The firm serves consumer product
manufacturers, retailers and sales agencies with
market research, products and services, and analytical
tools. Its core business activities serve brand, category,
sales management and strategic planning:
> Retail Measurement Services provides continuous
tracking of product sales to consumers, based on
information gathered at the retail point-of-sale.
RMS information is available in more than
80 countries.
> Consumer Panel Services research tracks the
purchasing behavior of consumers in more than
300,000 households in 28 countries worldwide,
primarily through the use of in-home scanners.
> Assortment and In-Store Space Services provides
help in making decisions on issues such as shelf
inventories, shelf space, category growth opportunities, product listings and how best to distribute
merchandising information.
> Customized Research Services provides qualitative
and quantitative measures of consumers’ attitudes
and purchasing behavior, customer satisfaction,
brand awareness and equity, advertising effectiveness and other marketing issues.
> Retailer Services are used to evaluate competitive
performance, increase traffic and sales, leverage
frequent-shopper data and build consumer loyalty,
improve performance of private-label products
and understand results across all product classes
and categories.
> Analytic Consulting Services addresses such
business issues as pricing, promotion, marketing
mix, assortment and product rationalization,
category placement, category structure and
in-store, in-market auditing and testing.
> Decision Support Services provides software tools
and delivery methods with tools that range from
analytical and data-management systems to
standard reports that are automatically refreshed
when databases are updated.
> TDLinx provides universal coverage and unique
codes for stores, outlets and accounts, as well as
Trade Dimensions directories.
Nielsen Claritas
Nielsen Claritas (Claritas.com) provides marketing
research demographic data, marketing software and
market segmentation services. Claritas is used to
increase profitability, select the best site locations and
market more efficiently and effectively by targeting the
most profitable customers.
Nielsen BASES
WHAT: More
Web Cams
honomichl top 50
SAYS WHO: Brad Camrud, co-founder
and president of Link Group, based in
Atlanta and Durham, N.C.
hono2_INI.indd 22
WHY: Web cam use for one-on-one
interviews in some industries may
increase to encompass as high as 10% of
marketing research spending compared
with 1 to 2% today, Camrud predicts. “It’s
a lot easier for a doctor to participate in a
study if they hook up a Web cam to a
computer,” he says as an example.
“Clients are seeing the cost savings.
They’re seeing the efficiency of
not having a person travel. And keeping
the person in their natural environment,
there are benefits from that.”
Nielsen BASES (Bases.com) is a leading provider of
pre-market consumer insights for marketers of
consumer packaged goods. BASES combines primary
consumer research with forecasting techniques to
estimate the sales potential of new product initiatives
prior to market entry.
Nielsen IMS
Nielsen IMS (IMSms.com) is an international provider
of information systems and services for the media
industry. It produces media planning and analysis
software for both industry and proprietary research.
Nielsen IAG
Nielsen IAG (IAGr.net) offers real-time measures of
the effectiveness of TV advertising and product
placement. It also measures viewer engagement with
TV programming and Internet content. It collects
metrics about every ad, product placement and
program sponsorship occurring across all U.S.
broadcast networks and major cable networks during
prime time.
NielsenHealth
NielsenHealth integrates and utilizes Nielsen’s
experience in marketing and media information and
analytics to produce insights into the attitudes and
behaviors of consumers, patients and physicians. It
provides intelligence on areas such as trendspotting,
segmentation, physician messaging and advertising
effectiveness.
Scarborough Research
Scarborough Research (Scarborough.com), a joint
venture between Nielsen Co. and Arbitron, identifies
local, regional and national shopping patterns and
media usage of the American consumer. It surveys
210,000 adults ages 18 and older on a variety of
characteristics, including shopping, lifestyle, media
and demographics.
Media Measurement
Nielsen measures audiences for all types of electronic
and print media, on all available technologies. It
gathers competitive information about advertising
expenditures and creative content, measures motion
picture box office results and CD, DVD and book
sales, and provides integrated entertainment information services. The firm offers media planning information, software services, and advertising rate and
circulation data across print and electronic media.
Nielsen Media Research provides TV audience
measurement information for broadcast, cable
network and station executives, cable system and
satellite service providers, program producers and
distributors, and advertisers and their agencies. In
the United States, Nielsen TV ratings are the
currency for more than $70 billion of transactions
each year between buyers and sellers of TV time. U.S.
National TV Services provides viewership data
generated from Nielsen’s National People Meter
Sample, providing demographic audience ratings
daily. U.S. Local TV Services provides local market
TV audience measurement in all 210 Designated
Market Areas (DMAs). Measurement is conducted
by using people meters, set-tuning meters and paper
diaries for local TV stations, agencies, advertisers
and local cable outlets with 70% of U.S. Spot TV
revenue receiving overnight ratings.
> Nielsen Online (Nielsen-Online.com) delivers
independent measurement and analysis of online
audiences, advertising, video, consumer-generated
media, word of mouth, commerce and consumer
behavior, and includes products formerly
marketed under the Nielsen//NetRatings and
Nielsen BuzzMetrics brands. It analyzes the Web
habits of more than 410,000 people around the
world, and quantifies Internet advertising gross
rating point (GRP) delivery, reach, frequency and
ROI. Video Census is a tool for measurement of
streaming video usage.
> Nielsen’s Telecom division provides syndicated
consumer research to the telecom and mobile
media markets. Nielsen integrates Telephia’s
services in telecom with Nielsen’s global media
and marketing research capabilities, and uses its
measurement tools and large-scale consumer
panels to understand the digital consumer’s
behavior, attitude and experience. It provides
analysis of the mobile media consumer via Bill
5/29/09 9:12:52 AM
23
> Nielsen collects radio-listening data in 51
small- to mid-sized U.S. markets with a “sticker
diary” and conducts address-based sampling
that includes more than 20 million homes that
rely solely on a mobile phone for their home
telecommunications.
> Nielsen EDI (NielsenEDI.com) provides box-office
data to the global motion-picture industry by
collecting data from about 50,000 movie screens in
18 markets worldwide. Nielsen National Research
Group (NRG) conducts research for studios and
their home entertainment divisions worldwide.
> Nielsen SoundScan (SoundScan.com) tracks sales
of music and music video products throughout
the United States and Canada. Sales data from
point-of-sale cash registers is collected weekly
from more than 22,000 retail, mass merchant and
non-traditional (online stores, venues, etc.)
outlets as well as all digital music downloads sold
through digital retailers. Nielsen SoundScan is
the sales source for the Billboard music charts.
hono2_INI.indd 23
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems (BDS) monitors
over-the-air music. Nielsen Music Control
monitors music broadcast on more than 700
radio and TV stations across 18 countries
worldwide.
> Nielsen VideoScan tracks sales of videos and
DVDs via point-of-sale data from retail locations
nationwide.
> Nielsen BookScan (BookScan.com) measures retail
sales activity for the book industry via point-of-sale
data from retail locations. Nielsen BookData and
the U.K. ISBN agency provide product identification and resource discovery services. Nielsen
BookNet provides a full B-to-B e-commerce service
for the U.K. book supply chain.
> Nielsen Games provides metrics for the buying and
selling of advertising in video games, while also
tracking the activities of gamers across other media
platforms, such as TV and the Internet.
> Nielsen Monitor-Plus reports advertising activity
across 18 media types. It can be used to track and
analyze units, dollars, GRPs and time-shifted TV
viewing in a single, easy-to-use system.
2
Kantar Group
KantarGroup.com
ERIC SALAMA
Panel, Site Census, On-device Smartphone
Metering, Server Log Analysis and the Mobile
Survey sample of more than 1 million subscribers.
THE KANTAR GROUP, based in London and
Fairfield, Conn., was founded in 1993 and renamed
the Information, Insight and Consultancy Division
of WPP Group plc, a London-based public company.
Eric Salama, 48, is chairman and CEO of Kantar
Group. Robert Bowtell is chief financial officer.
Salama earned an M.Sc. at London’s Birkbeck
College. (See page 82 to read Salama’s thoughts on
marketing research and Kantar’s future.)
U.S. research-only revenue in 2008 was
estimated at $918.5 million, down 5.1% from 2007.
In 2008, 74.1%of total research-only revenue, or
$2,697.6 million, was estimated from outside the
United States.
The growth rate includes 2007 and 2008 revenue
from the U.S. acquisitions of Foresight International
Inc. in March 2007; Teenage Research Unlimited in
April 2007; Cheskin Inc. in December 2007; Yankel-
5/29/09 9:13:17 AM
24
honomichltop50
ovich Inc. in January 2008; and TNS plc in October
2008. It also includes the U.S. acquisitions completed
by TNS of Sorensen Associates Inc. in February 2007;
Cymfony Inc. in February 2007; Retail Forward Inc. in
March 2007; the financial services unit of Abt
Associates Inc. in May 2007; Landis Strategy &
Innovation LLC in December 2007; and Compete Inc.
in March 2008.
Kantar’s 26,500 total employees work across 80
countries and across the spectrum of research and
consultancy disciplines, offering business insights at
each point of the consumer cycle. The group’s
services are used by more than half of Fortune
500-ranked companies.
WHAT: Increased Outsourcing
From Clients
SAYS WHO: Maryana Kaplan, chief
research officer, Q Research Solutions
Inc., based in Old Bridge, N.J.
WHY: To cut costs and focus energy
on core business functions. Kaplan says
companies don’t want to waste their
on-site research and development
facilities, so outside agencies are brought
in to manage testing programs and
delve into deep analysis. Q itself provides
this function for two major clients and
requests for the service have increased,
Kaplan says.
hono2_INI.indd 24
Kantar’s research businesses in the United States,
with an estimated 4,375 full-time employees following
the 2008 acquisition of TNS, restructured in February
2009 by merging Research International with the TNS
Custom division and formed four new vertical
divisions: Kantar Media, Kantar Healthcare, Kantar
Retail and Kantar Worldpanel.
The group now comprises the following research
and non-research business units:
Added Value, Center Partners, IMRB International,
Kantar Healthcare (incorporating TNS Healthcare,
Ziment Group and Mattson Jack Group), Kantar Japan,
Kantar Media (incorporating Kantar Media Intelligence, Kantar Audience Measurement, TGI Global and
Kantar Media U.S.), Kantar Operations, Kantar Retail
(incorporating Glendinning, Cannondale Associates,
Management Ventures Inc., Retail Forward and Red
Dot Square), Kantar Worldpanel, Lightspeed Research,
Millward Brown, The Futures Company and TNS
(TNS/Research International in selected markets).
Added Value
Added Value (Added-Value.com), which includes
Added Value, DR Added Value (formerly Diagnostic
Research) and Icon Added Value (formerly Icon Brand
Navigation), operates in 25 offices across 15 countries.
Added Value focuses on brand development and
marketing insight through the use of its Emotional
Brand Connections methodology to deliver services
such as cultural and trend analysis; market segmentation, mindset mapping and brand portfolio management; brand evaluation, diagnosis and strategy
creation; idea generation and development; marketing
mix optimization and concept evaluation; decoding,
planning and copy testing; and planning, tracking and
spend optimization.
> DR Added Value offers custom research services,
including consumer and B-to-B research, across a
number of product and industry categories that
include copy-testing, brand and advertising
tracking, market/consumer segmentation, product
design and customer satisfaction.
Kantar Healthcare
Kantar Healthcare incorporates the Ziment Group,
Consumer Health Services, Imap Research, Mattson Jack
and TNS Healthcare businesses, which all specialize in
healthcare research, insight and consulting.
> The Ziment Group (Ziment.com) has three
divisions: Ziment, All Global and Syndicated,
which incorporates Imap Research and Consumer
Health Sciences. The Group offers products to
address a wide range of strategic marketing issues
and also provides e-healthcare support, Internet
research and multivariate services.
All Global (AllGlobal.com) operates one of
the world’s largest online physician panels that
includes more than 160,000 participating physicians
across Europe and North America, and a chronic
illness panel with more than 350,000 patients in U.S.
and Europe covering 100 different chronic illnesses.
> The Mattson Jack Group (MattsonJack.com)is a global
healthcare/pharmaceutical consulting firm that
specializes in providing pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients with strategic direction support,
including analytics, corporate development and brand
optimization. In addition, the firm provides subscription services and tools that include the EpiDatabase,
Forecast Architect, Cancer!MPact and Oncology
Marketing Strategies.
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Kantar Media
Kantar Media (KantarMedia.com) includes media
specialists TNS Media Intelligence, TNS Media
Research, KMR and TGI. The business is organized
into four units: Kantar Media Intelligence, Kantar
Audience Measurement (formerly Media Research),
TGI Global (including other single-source services)
and an integrated company covering all disciplines in
the U.S. market. The business also includes Compete
and Cymfony and is leading the development of the
Return Path Data initiative, which tracks digital data
when an ad runs on a digital platform.
Kantar Media is an integrated research, information and software group, specializing in marketing
and media services, software data systems for data
analysis, multichannel planning and analytical
services. Key services include TV audience measurement (TAM); print/single-source service, including
TGI and MARS; KMR Software; and custom projects,
including data fusion and database modeling. TGI
and TAM services are available in more than 80
countries worldwide.
Kantar Retail
Kantar Retail consolidates the companies of Glendinning, Cannondale, Management Ventures Inc., Retail
Forward and the recently acquired Red Dot Square.
The focus of the business is on deepening and rolling
hono2_INI.indd 26
out digitally delivered intelligence on retailers,
extending shopper insights and consulting capabilities. Two recent additions to the division are the
consulting capability for retailers provided by Retail
Forward (formerly part of TNS) and the virtual reality
platforms developed by Red Dot Square.
Kantar Worldpanel
Kantar Worldpanel, formerly TNS Worldpanel,
operates Worldpanel and managed-access panels in
the United States and major countries in Europe and
Asia, including specialty panels and custom proprietary panels. They provide understanding of the impact
of economic and other changes on consumer in-store
purchase patterns.
Lightspeed Research
Lightspeed Research (LightspeedResearch.com) is a
provider of global online market research services.
The firm specializes in Internet data collection to
provide market research services through building
and maintaining proprietary panels for industry
sectors such as financial services, healthcare, B-to-B,
subject matter experts, automotive, family and more.
Through its network of proprietary panels and
accredited panel partners, the company provides
access to more than 20 million registered panelists
across 45 countries in Europe, North America and
Asia Pacific. Consumer panels are available in North
America, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Australia,
China, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Spain,
providing access to adults, teens, kids and other
specialty audiences.
Lightspeed Research’s acquisitions of both
Ultimate Consumer Panel (now Financial Services
Group) and Foresight International expands its range
of services in financial services and employee
satisfaction.
Millward Brown Group
Millward Brown Group includes Millward Brown
(MB), Greenfield Consulting, MaPS, Dynamic Logic
and The Focus Network.
> Millward Brown (MillwardBrown.com) provides a
full range of qualitative, quantitative and consulting services focusing on brands, marketing
communications, media and marketing effectiveness. It works across a wide range of industries and
categories, operating in areas such as brand
strategy and experience; creative development and
campaign evaluation; media planning and
strategy; ROI, forecasting and investment
management; brand valuation and analytics
through its MB Optimor unit; and demand and
activation. Key products and services are Link
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27
> Greenfield Consulting (GreenfieldGroup.com) is a
North American qualitative agency that conducts
focus groups and in-depth interviews
globally, across both consumer and
B-to-B sectors.
copy testing, BrandDynamics, Dynamic Tracking,
D&A, Mbuzz, MB Precis, AdIndex, sales response
modeling and qualitative. Millward Brown Optimor
focuses on maximizing returns on brand and
marketing investments.
> Marketing and Planning Systems (MaPS)
(MapsNet.com) is a North American
research firm and consultancy that
combines marketing science with consultancy experience.
> Dynamic Logic (DynamicLogic.com) is
a leader in measuring the impact of
digital marketing initiatives and
marketing effectiveness as well as the role
they play in the broader cross-media
mix.
> The Focus Network (TheFocusNetwork.
com) is a group of five focus group
facilities located in New York, Chicago,
London, Mexico City and Toronto.
TNS
TNS (operating as TNS Research International in some markets) (TNSglobal.com)
was created from the merger of TNS with
Research International. The merged firm is
the world’s largest custom market research
service provider and the world’s largest
qualitative research service. It has offices in
more than 80 countries.
The firm provides marketing knowledge
and generates insights into consumers and
markets. TNS has experience in most major
sectors, particularly consumer packaged
goods, retail, new media, financial services,
energy and utilities, political and social, and
technology and telecommunications. In each
area, the firm draws on its worldwide
knowledge bases and includes both custom
approaches and proprietary techniques.
Proprietary techniques include:
Equity Engine (brand equity management), MicroTest (sales forecasting),
BrandSight Gallery (an internationally
validated visual system for exploring
brand personality), Locator (brand
positioning optimization), eValuate,
Insightment and Loyalty Driver (evaluating and managing customer loyalty),
TRiM (stakeholder management),
Conversion Model (commitment measurement), Needscope (motivational research),
AdEval and AdEffect (advertising evaluation and effectiveness), InnoSuite (new
product development), WebEval (Web
site evaluation), Optima (usage and
attitude understanding) and BPO
(brand equity research).
hono2_INI.indd 27
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28
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3
IMS Health Inc.
ImsHealth.com
DAVID CARLUCCI
IMS HEALTH INC. (IMS) in Norwalk, Conn., was
founded in 1954 and is a publicly traded company
listed on the New York Stock Exchange. David Carlucci,
54, is chairman and CEO of IMS. He earned a B.A. in
political science at the University of Rochester.
U.S. revenue in 2008 was $842.0 million, up 3.1%
over 2007. In 2008, 63.9% of total revenue, or $1,487.5
million, was generated outside the United States. The
growth rate excludes 2007 and 2008 U.S. revenue from
the 2007 U.S. acquisitions of Value Medics Research
LLC and MIHS Holdings Inc., and the 2008 U.S.
acquisitions of Health Benchmarks Inc. and Skura
Corporation Inc.
IMS is the leading global provider of intelligence
to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries,
providing services in more than 100 countries. The
firm offers market intelligence products and
portfolio management capabilities, commercial
effectiveness services, and managed care and
consumer health offerings.
Its Global Consulting and Services teams provide
insights and recommendations to improve productivity and the delivery of healthcare worldwide.
IMS business lines include:
> Commercial Effectiveness services are used
principally by pharmaceutical manufacturers to
measure, forecast and optimize sales force
productivity and improve territory management.
> Portfolio Optimization offerings are multinational, integrated analytical tools and syndicated
pharmaceutical, medical and prescription audits.
They assist in identifying the optimum mix of
products in their portfolios and pipelines, and in
resolving various strategic issues, including
which therapy classes to enter, which products to
develop and license, and how to pursue market
opportunities.
> Launch and Brand Management offerings
combine information, analytical tools, services
and experience to address needs relevant to
each stage in the life cycle of prescription and
consumer pharmaceutical brands. They provide
insights and support decisionmaking relating
to market segmentation and
positioning, pricing and
market access, promotion and
performance management,
and health economics and
outcomes research.
> Managed Care services
provide an array of
information to quantify the
effects of managed care on
the pharmaceutical and
healthcare industries.
> Consumer Health services
provide detailed product
movement, market share
and pricing information
for over-the-counter,
personal care, patient care
and nutritional products.
IMS’s Consulting and
Services teams support strategic
planning and decision-making
with a combination of information and analytics. Customized
analysis and interpretation of
business intelligence is offered
in key practice areas: Commercial Effectiveness, to help
maximize value of sales and
market investments; Pricing
and Market Access, to help
assess cost, value and anticipated consequences of
therapies and treatment
options; and Product and
Portfolio Development, to
assess portfolio opportunities
by determining the value of
hono2_INI.indd 28
various strategic options, and evaluating choices based
on risk and return trade-offs.
IMS is launching new businesses in implementation services and knowledge process outsourcing
such as market research and sales force compensation and reporting.
IMS employs 1,950 full time in the United States.
4
Westat Inc.
Westat.com
JOSEPH A. HUNT
WESTAT INC. IN Rockville, Md., is an employeeowned company founded in 1961. The president and
CEO of Westat is Joseph A. Hunt, 73. He earned an
M.S. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
over 2007.
Westat conducts survey research for agencies of
the U.S. government as well as businesses, foundations, and state and local governments. Its staff
capabilities are in statistical design and analysis,
survey operations, scientific and clinical research,
program evaluation and computer systems.
Westat’s projects serve a broad range of needs
including assessing the educational achievement of
students, understanding health and environmental
risks, gaining new knowledge of the causes of disease,
evaluating the performance of social programs, and
supporting the development of policy and regulations
in many areas of government.
The firm also provides Internet-based public
information services to federal government agencies
and performs clinical trial work for the U.S. government, pharmaceutical and biotech clients, both in the
United States and through its international operations.
Westat conducts CATI at five telephone research
centers throughout the United States and through its
national network of home-based interviewers.
Westat’s nationwide staff of field interviewers uses
computer-assisted interviewing methods on many
large long-term surveys. To support and manage
these large distributed operations, Westat maintains
a large, secure, nationwide computer and communications infrastructure.
The firm also continues to expand its methods
research capabilities, with an emphasis on maximizing
cooperation across a broad range of respondent types
and applying Web technologies to the collection of
survey information. It operates a behavioral research
facility, specializing in Web usability studies to augment
its cognitive laboratory and focus group capabilities.
Westat distributes and provides user training and
support for its WesVar statistical processing software
and for Blaise, a COTS software system for CATI and
complex survey processing developed by Statistics
Netherlands, which is used internationally.
Westat has a staff of 1,998 full-time salaried
employees. In addition, Westat’s telephone-interviewing, field-interviewing and data-editing staff averaged
about 1,700 during 2008. It also maintains research
offices in Atlanta, Houston, Bethesda, Md., Raleigh,
N.C., and several international locations.
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5
IRI
InfoRes.com
John G. Freeland
IRI, formerly Information Resources
Inc., was founded in 1979 and became a public
company in 1983. It was acquired in 2003 by
Symphony Technology Group LLC, a private
company. IRI is based in Chicago.
John G. Freeland, 55, is president and CEO of IRI,
and Romesh Wadhwani, 61, is chairman. Freeland
earned an M.B.A. at Columbia University, and
Wadhwani earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at
Carnegie Mellon University.
over 2007. In 2008, 37.4% of total revenue, or $271.0
million, was generated from outside the United States.
IRI is a worldwide provider of consumer, shopper
and retail market intelligence and insights for CPG,
retail and healthcare companies. It offers a combination of integrated market information, automated and
predictive analytics, enabling technologies and
domain experience.
The firm operates in 58 countries through standalone operations, wholly owned subsidiaries, partnerships and alliances. IRI offers services in six areas:
Comprehensive Market Content
> InfoScan Retail Tracking: The census-based IRI
InfoScan point-of-sale (POS) tracking service
provides access to detailed information on sales,
share, distribution, pricing and promotion across a
wide variety of retail channels and accounts.
> IRI AllScan Convenience Store Tracking: The
AllScan tracking service provides scanner-based
POS data across the entire convenience channel,
using data from more than 15,000 sample
convenience stores.
> Enhanced Shopper Insights: IRI and the Europanel
Association have formed a single panel research
service combining the IRI Consumer Network
household panel in the United States with
Europanel to create a global consumer network
representing 600 million households in 54
countries. The IRI Shopper Insights platform offers
a series of integrated insights and shopper and
specialty panels that are enabled through a
portable, personal collection device. An analyticsdriven application built on the IRI Liquid Data
platform provides insights into shopper segments,
trip missions and buyer behavior.
Automated, Predictive
Analytic Insights
IRI offers analytical modeling, consumer and shopper
insights, and new product and media testing services
supported by an experienced analytics staff. In 2008,
IRI introduced a new series of pricing and promotion
capabilities for understanding pricing sensitivities,
gaps, thresholds and competitive implications.
The IRI Marketing Mix Analytics services
quantify, test and simulate return on marketing
investment by deconstructing the drivers of current
business trends and simulating the effects of changes
on future brand plans. For scenarios that cannot be
simulated using historical data, the IRI BehaviorScan
in-market testing service is a new product and media
testing capability that executes in-market media
weight and copy tests. IRI also offers other testing
services to compare in-store media, assortment and
pricing decisions, as well as media plan alternatives.
Decision Support Services
The firm’s IRI Liquid Data (ILD), an end-to-end
information management and insights platform,
supports business applications by re-imagining how
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31
that target specific types of consumers who have
a high likelihood to want and buy selected
product categories.
> IBM Corp.: This partnership delivers on-demand
market intelligence to the CPG, retail and
healthcare industries using IBM software to
support the development and delivery of IRI
decision support software services and real-time
market information processing.
> IMS Health Inc.: This alliance provides integrated,
longitudinal marketplace information, analytics
and consulting services for the ethical (Rx),
consumer (OTC) and CPG markets in the United
States and Europe.
businesses make decisions based on immediate access
to strategic information and insights. It leverages
integrated data assets and redesigned workflows to
predict the success of future decisions and initiatives.
ILD provides data management capabilities driven
through a combination of hardware, software,
patented algorithms, industry models, data integration and supporting applications that are offered as a
hosted service or as a separate infrastructure within the customer’s legacy data
environment. The platform holds data in
a flat or unstructured universe of points,
and leverages predictive automated
analytics to generate information and
insights in minutes.
Industry Vertical Services
IRI offers vertical experience and
customized products and services for
multiple industry verticals, including
healthcare and wellness, center store,
confections, beer, wine and spirits,
bakery and dairy.
> Healthcare and Wellness Insights:
The IRI Healthcare Solutions Group
provides pharmaceutical, healthcare,
CPG companies and retailers with
consumer intelligence, targeting and
analytic services for the healthcare
marketplace via a suite of retail
tracking, consumer panel and
analytic-driven products and
services under the RxPulse brand.
> Beverage Alcohol Industry Insights:
This service provides retail tracking
products and analytics for the
beverage alcohol industry, including
retail sales trends, purchase behavior
and consumer insights in grocery,
drug, mass merchandise, convenience, liquor and club stores.
Consulting and Innovation
In 2008, IRI launched a Consulting and
Innovation practice dedicated to providing a comprehensive range of analytics, strategy, implementation, change
management and metrics services with
expertise in several areas: micro-segmentation of major shopper segments; brand
building and sustainment; private label
optimization and opportunity identification; value proposition maximization
and collaboration; and predictive strategic business planning capabilities.
IRI Partner Ecosystem
IRI provides an integrated and differentiated “partner ecosystem,” formed to
leverage the skill sets of the retail tracking
and panel leaders, providing coverage,
experience, products and services.
Complemented by relationships with
sister companies in the Symphony
Technology Group, partial ownerships
and alliances, key partnerships include:
> Acxiom Corp.: The partnership
provides consumer insight services
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What: The
Demise of
“Research as Project”
Says Who: Diane Hessan, president and
CEO of Communispace Corp., based in
Watertown, Mass.
Why: “We’re moving [clients] to listen
to consumers as an ongoing stream
of multiple activities, where the voice
of the consumer is hardwired into the
business on a continuous basis,” Hessan
says. She argues that consumers now
change attitudes so quickly that basing
marketing maneuvers on an annual
comprehensive consumer study won’t
cut it.
> TIVo Inc.: This provider measures the impact
DVR technology has on consumer viewing
patterns and subsequent product sales, as well as
quantifies the effectiveness of specific advertising
campaigns and brand recognition programs in
TiVo DVR households.
> Worldpanel: This partnership with Kantar
provides a single-panel research service, delivering
global consumer insights in 54 countries, covering
88% of the global gross domestic product.
IRI has 1,339 full-time employees in the United
States and 3,600 worldwide. It has offices throughout
the United States and in the United Kingdom, France,
Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Italy and Spain.
6
Arbitron Inc.
Arbitron.com
Michael P. Skarzynski
Arbitron Inc., based in
Columbia, Md., was founded in
1949 and in 2001 became a public
company listed on the NYSE.
Arbitron’s president and CEO
is Michael P. Skarzynski, 52, who
earned an M.B.A. at Northwestern University.
U.S. revenue in 2008 was
$364.4 million, up 9.4% over
2007. In 2008, 1.2% of total
revenue, or $4.4 million, came
from outside the United States.
Arbitron is a leading media
and marketing research firm
primarily serving radio, cable,
advertising agencies, advertisers
and out-of-home media.
Arbitron’s four main services
are measuring radio audiences in
local markets across the United
States; measuring network and
national radio audiences in the
United States; providing
consumer shopping and media
usage information to radio, cable,
advertising agencies, advertisers,
retailers, broadcast TV, out-ofhome media, newspapers and
online media; and providing
application software used for
analyzing media audience and
marketing information.
Media Services
> Measuring Local Market
U.S. Radio Audiences: Arbitron measures the size and
composition of radio station
audiences by periodically
surveying radio listeners in
nearly 300 U.S. markets.
> Measuring National U.S.
Radio Audiences: Arbitron
hono2_INI.indd 32
also provides measurement of network radio audiences through its two national ratings services:
RADAR and Nationwide. The RADAR service
provides a measurement of national radio audiences, and the audience size of network radio
programs and commercials for 58 radio networks. Radio Nationwide is a source for local/
regional market network ratings. The service,
issued twice each year, is based on the company’s
fall and spring surveys.
> Surveying Consumers in Local Markets: In
addition to its radio ratings service, Arbitron also
provides consumer profiles of radio listeners,
broadcast TV and cable TV viewers, newspaper
readers and consumers reached by outdoor and
out-of-home advertising displays.
These profiles contain detailed socioeconomic data and information about what consumers buy, where they shop and what other forms of
media they use. It provides measurements in
approximately 277 local markets in the United
States through the Scarborough service (a joint
venture with The Nielsen Co.) as well as two other
services that conduct ongoing consumer surveys.
> Providing Application Software: The firm also
provides software applications that give access to
media and consumer information from Arbitron
and other research providers. The software assists in
making media buying and selling decisions, as well
as in managing and programming radio stations.
> Out-of-Home Services: Arbitron markets its
consumer information, sales training programs
and custom research services to a variety of
out-of-home media companies. The out-of-home
customer base includes traditional billboard
companies as well as new and emerging “placebased” media in locations such as malls, retail
stores, airports and cinemas.
Traditional out-of-home companies use our
Scarborough local market consumer data as
primary sales tools. For new media, the firm offers
case studies documenting the awareness, acceptance, engagement and effectiveness of these new
media choices.
> Custom Research Services: Arbitron provides
custom research services such as audience
listening estimates for sporting events and custom
research studies for the telecommunications
industry and out-of-home/place-based media.
Portable People Meter System
Arbitron is evolving its data collection business from
diaries to portable electronic measurement devices
that passively provide measurement services without
additional manual effort by the survey participants.
The Portable People Meter (PPM) technology is
capable of measuring audiences for programming and
advertising purposes across multiple media including,
among others, broadcast and satellite radio, broadcast,
cable and satellite TV, Internet, and retail in-store
audio and video broadcasts.
> PPM in the United States: Arbitron plans to
commercialize its PPM ratings service in 49 top
U.S. radio markets by the end of 2010.
As of April 1, 2009, PPM audience estimates
are now the buy/sell “currency” in 14 local
markets, and the company plans to commercialize
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33
> PPM in International Markets: The firm’s commercial
agreements with international media information
services grant licenses to use Arbitron’s encoding
technology in their audience measurement services in specific countries outside
the United States. The technology is
currently being used for media measurement in seven countries, including for
measuring both TV and radio.
offering a wide range of ad-hoc and syndicated research
products, strategic models and consulting services. Its
industry-specific teams include GfK Automotive, GfK
Consumer, GfK Financial Services, GfK Media and
Communications, and GfK Business & Technology
(includes industrial and B-to-B research). Key specialty
practice areas include GfK Brand and Communications,
GfK Customer Loyalty (includes GfK Mystery Shopping), GfK Roper Consulting (consumer trends), GfK
Roper Public Affairs and Media (includes GfK Roper
Omnibus Services), GfK Strategic Innovation and GfK
Qualitative and Ethnography.
A Research Center for Excellence serves as the firm’s
in-house think tank of researchers comprising three
the PPM radio ratings service in 19 additional local
markets in 2009. By the end of 2010, the remaining
local markets will be commercialized.
Arbitron’s executive headquarters were
relocated to Columbia, Md. The firm has six
regional sales offices located in the metropolitan areas of New York, Atlanta, Chicago,
Dallas, Los Angeles and Columbia, Md. It
has operations offices in Dallas, Houston,
Indianapolis and Birmingham, Ala. Its
survey research, technology and data
collection/production operations are
located in its Columbia, Md., facilities.
Arbitron has 1,100 full-time and 500
part-time employees in the United States.
7
GfK USA
Gfk.com
KLAUS L.
WUBBENHORST
GFK USA, WHICH comprises the U.S.
operations of GfK SE, a public company
based in Nuremberg, Germany, was
established in 1934 and is on the Frankfurt
Stock Exchange.
Klaus L. Wubbenhorst, 53, is the CEO of
GfK SE. He earned a Ph.D. from Technical
University in Darmstadt, Germany.
U.S. revenue in 2008 was $313.1 million,
down 2.2% from 2007. In 2008, 82.6% of
total worldwide revenue, or $1,484.1
million, was from outside the United States.
The growth rate excludes the 2007 and 2008
revenue of Arbor Strategy Group, which
was acquired in August 2008.
GfK SE is a worldwide market research
organization providing services in four
sectors: consumer, pharmaceutical, media
and service. The firm has 15 operating
companies in more than 90 countries with
more than 10,000 full-time employees
worldwide and 1,038 in the United States.
GfK sectors in the U.S. include:
Custom Research
This sector specializes in operational and
strategic marketing issues relating to
nearly every industrial sector and market
in the United States. The sources of
information for the Custom Research
sector are specific target groups of
consumers and the medical profession.
GfK Custom Research North America is
a full-service, fact-based research firm
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divisions: Statistical Sampling and Methodology; Online
Strategy and Methodology; and Marketing Sciences and
Analytics. The firm also delivers research support and
data collection services through Friedman Marketing
Services and GfK Research Dynamics in Canada.
GfK Healthcare is a major provider of custom
healthcare marketing research services in the United
States and offers a range of custom and multi-client
research and approaches to meet a product’s life cycle
needs. The firm has a U.S. team of 250 healthcare
consultants and support staff that provide all qualitative and quantitative methods and experience across
60 therapeutic classes.
Retail and Technology
Information on retail sales of technical consumer
goods is gathered on a continuous basis in this sector,
sourced from retailers.
> Etilize Inc. (Etilize.com) is one of largest providers
of aggregated product data in the world. It provides
product content in categories such as IT, consumer
electronics, automatic identification and data
capture (AIDC), sporting goods, professional
photography, home and garden equipment,
appliances and office products. The firm collects
information from thousands of global manufacturers, creates a standard taxonomy and delivers the
finished product as e-commerce-ready Web content
to online retailers, distributors and resellers.
> GfK Audits and Surveys (GfKAuditsandSurveys.
com) focuses on delivering information and
insights from retail-based research. The firm offers
both custom and syndicated services to a variety
of industry sectors. Among its custom services are
distribution audits, controlled store tests, market
description studies, in-store interviewing, trade
sentiment studies and customer experience
programs. Its syndicated services include the
Annual Retail Census—a large in-person measure-
ment of the U.S. retail and service marketplace—as
well as sales tracking programs covering pet food
and animal health pharmaceuticals, optical
products and mobile content (games, music,
ringtones, etc.). It tracks dispensing data through
professional channels that offer products directly
to their clients such as veterinarians, opticians, etc.
> GfK Equity Research/GfK Boutique Research
(GfKBoutiqueResearch.com) division analyzes
GfK data in the context of external data sources,
including government data (GDP, import/export),
financial data (foreign exchange, profits), and
figures released by industry (sales guidance,
factory shipments, supply chain data points).
> IFR Monitoring USA (IFRMonitoring.com) is
experienced in retail in-store shelf analysis, retail
print advertising and Internet advertising analysis.
It analyzes shelf share, ad share and Internet share
to present a complete picture in the “eyes of the
consumer” at the various levels of retail shelves,
retail advertisements and retail online sites, thus
reflecting the market offers, placements and
promotions.
Media
This sector delivers continuous customized research
on reach, intensity and use of TV, radio, print and
online media.
> Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI)
(Mediamark.com) is a provider of media and
consumer research in the United States and is the
primary source of audience data for the American magazine industry. Data from MRI’s Survey
of the American Consumer, conducted continuously since 1979, are used in the majority of
media and marketing plans written in the United
States. Its measurement of all major media
audiences makes it the largest source available for
integrated media planning.
8
Ipsos
Ipsos-NA.com
JAMES T. SMITH
IPSOS IN NORTH America (Ipsos) is based in
New York and is a unit of Ipsos Group SA in Paris, a
public company founded in 1975 and listed on the
Paris Stock Exchange in 1999.
James T. Smith, 58, is chairman and CEO of Ipsos
in North America. He earned an M.B.A. from Cornell
University.
over 2007. In 2008, $1,134.5 million, or 78.7%, of total
revenue, was from outside the United States. The
growth rate excludes 2007 and 2008 revenue from the
2008 acquisitions of Forward Research Inc. in March,
and Monroe Mendelsohn Research in April. Revenue
in 2008 for Ipsos in North America was $418 million,
and for Ipsos Group SA was $1.44 billion.
Ipsos is a global survey-based market research firm
providing services in five areas of specialization:
advertising, loyalty, marketing, media and public affairs
research. The firm has a full line of custom, syndicated,
omnibus, panel and online research products and
services, guided by experienced industry staff and
supported by analytics and methods.
Ipsos’ five areas of specialization are represented
by five firms across North America:
> Ipsos ASI (IpsosASI.com) is a worldwide provider
of advertising pre-testing services. It offers a full
range of advertising research services at all stages
of the advertising development process, including
copy testing, advertising tracking and brand equity
evaluation. It helps in the development, evaluation
and improvement of advertising efforts.
> Ipsos Loyalty (IpsosLoyalty.com) is a global,
specialized practice in customer satisfaction
management, customer relationship
management and employee climate
management and is supported by a modular
suite of integrated research tools.
> Ipsos Marketing (IpsosMarketing.com)
operates under a global structure and is
supported by experienced special teams
that provide integrated qualitative and
quantitative research services, as well as
modeling and forecasting techniques that
include simulations and linkages to
in-market data.
> Ipsos MediaCT (IpsosMediaCT.com) is a
specialization serving media, content,
telecom and technology industries. Areas of
experience include audience measurement,
consumer insight, customer acquisition and
retention, market sizing and new product
development.
> Ipsos Public Affairs (Ipsos-PA.com)
specializes in corporate reputation, issues
management, strategic communications and
sociopolitical trends, serving corporations,
nonprofit organizations, public relations
firms, news media and governments. Its
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35
Ipsos employs more than 8,000 full time worldwide and 950 in 17 U.S. locations.
9
Synovate
Synovate.com
Robert Skolnick
Synovate, based in London, was created in
2003 and is the market research arm of Aegis Group
plc, a London-based public company listed on the
London Stock Exchange.
Robert Skolnick, 56, is CEO of Synovate North
America. He earned a J.D. at the Brooklyn Law School.
U.S. revenue in 2008 was $245.0 million, down
2.8% from 2007. In 2008, revenue from outside the
United States was $714.7 million, or 74.5% of total
hono2_INI.indd 35
revenue. The growth rate excludes 2007 and 2008
revenue from the acquisition of Oncology Inc. in
January 2008. Revenue of Aegis Group was $2.5
billion in 2008.
Synovate is a global market research firm based
around a borderless organization whose flexible
structure allows it to establish teams wherever its
clients are located, mirroring their requirements and
offering local access to the firm’s global knowledge
and capabilities.
Its clients range from Fortune Global 500 companies to entrepreneurial start-ups and come from all
sectors of business: consumer packaged goods,
petrochemicals, media and advertising, government,
restaurants, healthcare, financial services, retail,
technology, automotive and more. The firm employs
more than 6,200 staff worldwide and 761 full time in
the United States.
Synovate’s global capabilities include:
> Brand & Communications: The firm offers Brand
Value Creator, Market Barriers, Mind Clouds and
other services to grow brands, assess obstacles and
track the impact of communications. Synovate’s
brand research can also be integrated with its
customer loyalty and shopper research capabilities,
providing a holistic view of customers.
> Shopper Insights: Synovate’s shopper capabilities
include shopper behavior and segmentation
research to help in-store messaging and
category/aisle/brand optimization. Equipment
counts and tracks shoppers in the store during
all times of the day to assess the impact of
promotions, displays, store locations, layouts
and other factors.
toolbox for conducting tailor-made research
includes quantitative polling, qualitative focus
groups, online panels, elite and stakeholder interviewing, syndicated subscriptions and other
research techniques.
> Customer Experience: This service helps develop
and implement customer, employee and stakeholder loyalty programs, and customer experience
management strategies.
> Marketing Management Analytics: MMA’s
analytics, technologies and consulting address
marketing mix, pricing and sales force effectiveness issues for marketing performance.
> MarketQuest: This service guides clients
through the entire product development
process, from initial concept to ongoing
performance monitoring, to ensure effective
market decisions and accurate volume
estimates, including during challenging
economic situations.
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> Aztec: This specialist service provides data
processing, analysis and support services across
the grocery, pharmacy, liquor, mass merchant and
petrol/convenience channels.
WHAT: Reusable
Research Platforms
SAYS WHO: Chet Zalesky, president of
Atlanta-based CMI
WHY: “Really savvy client companies are
moving to another level,” Zalesky says,
prompted by their need to do more with
less. “They are finding ways to redeploy
the same information time and time
again. That requires a real sense of what
are the core metrics in a study so I can
use it for multiple purposes over time.”
> Syndicated Services: Synovate’s syndicated studies
include PAX and EMS, which examine media
behavior and product ownership among affluent
consumers; Young Adults Revealed, which
provides insights on the changing youth market;
Young Asians, which examines youth behavior
across 12 Asian markets; Mail Monitor, which
tracks direct mail credit card offers; and DuraTrend, which tracks purchases of household
durable goods. Synovate recently partnered with
Vision Critical in offering community panels,
providing a way to regularly engage with customers and prospects online.
10
Maritz Research
MaritzResearch.com
MICHAEL BRERETON
MARITZ RESEARCH, BASED
in Fenton, Mo., was founded in 1973
and is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Maritz Holdings Inc.
Michael Brereton, 49, is president
of Maritz Research. He earned an
M.B.A. at Bowling Green State
University.
U.S. revenue in 2008 was $197.4
million, up 5.3% over 2007. In 2008,
14.4% of total research-only
revenue, or
$33.3 million, came from outside the
United States. Maritz Holdings Inc.’s
revenue in 2008 was $1.5 billion.
Martiz provides services that
close the gap between brand promise
and brand experience through an
understanding of customers,
employees and channel partners. Its
specialized divisions are focused on
the automotive, financial services,
hospitality, technology, retail and
pharmaceutical sectors.
The firm’s services focus on three
customer dynamics. Choice, why
customers select a product or service;
experience, what happens at key
“moments of truth” with customers;
and loyalty, why customers return,
defect or buy more.
Maritz customizes its marketing
research services using advanced
methodologies and technologies
suited to unique situations. In 2008,
the firm adopted new research
techniques for discovering and
communicating survey insights.
Its approach combines these
techniques with communications
models for delivering consultative
research findings.
hono2_INI.indd 36
The firm designs and constructs integrated voice
of customer (VOC) architectures that combine VOC
touch points and link them to business results and
upstream enablers.
It develops uniform sets of customer experience
categories and applies those categories consistently to
all VOC data sources. In addition, in-house experienced text analysis staff categorize and mine verbatim
VOC data for integrated VOC intelligence.
Maritz’s research findings can be acted on through
the other business units of Maritz Holdings Inc. These
businesses offer synergy as a way to apply research
insights and develop learning and motivation.
Martiz Research employs 625 people full time in
the United States and 756 worldwide. Offices are
located in Chicago; Detroit; Hamburg, Germany;
Kansas City, Mo.; Kirksville, Mo.; Los Angeles;
New York; Marlow, U.K.; Minneapolis; St. Louis;
Toledo, Ohio; and in Saskatoon, Montreal and
Toronto, Canada.
11
J.D. Power and Associates
JDPower.com
FINBARR O’NEILL
J.D. POWER AND Associates (JDPA) in Westlake
Village, Calif., was founded in 1968. In April 2005, it
was acquired by The McGraw-Hill Cos., New York.
Finbarr O’Neill, 56, is president of JDPA. He
earned a J.D. at Fordham University Law School.
U.S. research-only revenue in 2008 was estimated
at $188.6 million, up 0.9% over 2007. Revenue from
outside the United States in 2008 was estimated at
$83.6 million, or 30.7% of total research-only
estimated revenue. The growth rate excludes 2007
and 2008 revenue from the acquisition of Umbria in
April 2008.
JDPA is a global marketing information services
company that conducts independent consumer
surveys of product and service quality, customer
satisfaction and buyer behavior. Services include
industrywide and client-commissioned research,
business-to-business consulting, automotive forecasting and media research.
Annual syndicated studies are based on survey
responses from millions of consumers and business
customers worldwide. The firm does not review,
judge or test products and services; it relies on the
opinions and expectations of consumers who have
actually owned the products and used the services
being rated.
JDPA is best known for its work in the automotive industry, for which its metrics have become
the industry standard for measuring quality and
customer satisfaction. A team of associates
worldwide conducts quality and customer satisfaction research across industries including automotive, telecommunications, travel, real estate,
finance, insurance, healthcare, utilities and
consumer electronics.
The firm’s clients include many Fortune 500
companies in the United States and many internationally. JDPA has five U.S. offices and locations in eight
countries. It has 594 full-time employees in the United
States and 850 worldwide.
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12
The NPD Group Inc.
NPD.com
Tod Johnson
The NPD Group Inc., based in Port Washington,
N.Y., is a privately held corporation founded in 1967.
Tod Johnson is chairman and CEO of NPD, Karyn
Schoenbart is president and COO, and Tom Lynch is
CFO and COO. Johnson, 64, earned an M.S.I.A. at
Carnegie Mellon University.
U.S. revenue in 2008 was $168.5 million, up 4.3% over
2007. In 2008, 25.5% of total revenue, or $57.6 million,
was generated from work conducted outside the United
States. The growth rate includes 2007 and 2008 revenue
from the acquisition of Current Analysis in May 2007.
NPD provides consumer and retail information for a
wide range of industries. The firm identifies new
business opportunities and guides product development,
marketing, sales, merchandising and other functions.
Information is available for the following industry
sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology,
consumer technology, entertainment (video games,
music, film, video), fashion, food (foodservice and
food and beverage consumption), home (appliances,
housewares, home improvement, home textiles), office
supplies, software, sports, toys and wireless.
Its products and services include retail tracking,
consumer tracking, shipment tracking, causal information, special reports and custom services.
NPD’s retail tracking services are based on pointof-sale store movement information collected from 750
retail partners representing more than 150,000 doors
worldwide. It also offers market- and store-level
tracking for approximately 50 U.S. designated market
areas, as well as more granular market views in Europe.
Store-level services are available for consumer technology, automotive and athletic footwear in the United
States and for beauty in France.
NPD monitors commercial sales of information
technology products through an alliance with the
Global Technology Distribution Council, whose
members comprise approximately 80% of the IT
distributor market.
The firm’s consumer tracking services in the United
States are based on information collected from the
NPD Online Panel of more than 3 million registered
members that has high cooperation rates compared
with online industry norms. NPD also offers a second
U.S. panel option, its longitudinal panel, AccuPanel.
DisplaySearch (DisplaySearch.com), an NPD Group
company, provides market research on the flat panel
display (FPD) industry’s supply chain, covering component suppliers, equipment manufacturers, FPD producers,
OEMs, brands, distributors and retailers. It offers
information on shipments and revenue, as well as
forecasts for displays, applications, manufacturing
equipment and components.
NPD introduced e-commerce tracking for the
consumer technology industry and online subscriptions tracking for the PC software, PC games and video
games industries. NPD also launched a customized
Consumer Tracking Service for Walmart and Sam’s
Club, for vendors doing business with the retailers.
NPD’s joint ventures include a series of companies
owned by NPD and GfK SE. In 2008, NPD sold its
interest in LatinPanel to TNS.
The firm, which has offices in 25 cities around the
world, has 824 full-time U.S. employees. Outside of the
United States, it has 266 full-time employees.
What: Less
13
Opinion Research Corp.
OpinionResearch.com
Gerard J. Miodus
Opinion Research Corp. (ORC) in Princeton, N.J., is the market research division of infoGROUP Inc., a public company in Omaha, Neb., that
was established in 2007.
The president of ORC is Gerard J. Miodus, 52. He
earned a B.S. in economics at Michigan State University.
U.S. research-only revenue in 2008 was $145.3 million,
up 14.0% over 2007. In 2008, 36.2% of total research-only
revenue, or $82.4 million, was from work conducted
outside the United States. The U.S. growth rate includes
2007 and 2008 revenue of Guideline Inc., which was
acquired in August 2007, and Northwest Research Group
Inc., which was acquired in October 2007. Total research
and nonresearch revenue in 2008 was $225.1 million in
the United States and $265.1 million worldwide.
There are two operating units within ORC.
Opinion Research Corp.
Opinion Research Corp., founded in 1938, offers a
portfolio of research products and services that provide
insight into the attitudes and needs of both consumers
and business executives across a range of industries.
The firm integrates primary research, secondary
research, competitive intelligence and experienced
insight to address strategic issues.
Since 1984, the firm has provided insight and
consulting through its advisory network (Intota.
Sizzle, More Steak
Says Who: Jon Pinnell, president and chief operating officer,
Marketvision Research Inc. in Cincinnati
Why: “Among clients there’s a growing cynicism about things that are
promised with a lot of buzzwords and hype and sizzle,” Pinnell says. What
clients really want now is to know if branded research products with fancy
names actually deliver. “There’s more focus on what the immediate
problems are and less on experimental bells and whistles,” he says.
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39
com), a screened network of more than 12,000
world-class industry, science and technology, and
business experts.
ORC’s experience is focused in the areas of
customer strategies, market planning and development, employee engagement, corporate brand and
reputation, competitive intelligence, product
development intelligence and on-demand business
research. It specializes in the financial services,
pharmaceutical, healthcare, technology,
industrial, energy, telecom and public service
sectors.
ORC delivers the CNN/Opinion Research
Corp. Poll and has partnered with NYSE
Euronext, which surveys CEOs of the New York
Stock Exchange’s listing companies on topics
ranging from globalization and governance to
strategy and human resources.
The company offers several specialized
services in the United States, including its
portfolio of Caravan omnibus products, which
consist of the Caravan Telephone Omnibus (the
oldest continuously running consumer omnibus
survey in the United States), Online Caravan,
Teen & Pre-Teen Caravan, Caravan International and Small Business Caravan. Other
specialized products include the ORC Customer
Strategies Toolkit to measure and monitor
customer expectations; CityMARKS, a citizen
satisfaction measurement tool for local governments; new product testing; in-home use
testing; FDA-related research; and claims
substantiation and copyright infringement
research.
ORC has offices in Princeton, N.J.; Chicago;
Seattle; Maumee, Ohio; and Boise, Idaho. ORC
Guideline has offices in New York, Boston,
Chicago, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C.
Macro International Inc.
Macro International Inc. (MacroInternational.
com), which was sold to ICF International Inc.
in April 2009, has more than 40 years’ experience working with virtually every U.S. federal
government agency and conducting research
and related projects in more than 125 countries.
Macro provides services to the public sector
including research and evaluation, social
marketing, information technology and
management consulting. The firm’s research and
evaluation projects support federal, state and
international programs relating to health,
housing, education, science, energy, nutrition
and related areas.
In 2007, Macro introduced MacroPoll
Wireless, a national omnibus survey conducted
with cell phone users.
Macro is headquartered in Calverton, Md., with
offices in Atlanta; New York; Bethesda, Md.;
Burlington, Vt.; Plattsburgh, N.Y.; Silver Spring,
Md.; and Springfield, Ohio.
ORC and Macro have 303 full-time research
employees in the United States.
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14
Harris Interactive Inc.
HarrisInteractive.com
KIMBERLY TILL
HARRIS INTERACTIVE
INC. (HI), based in Rochester, N.Y., was founded
in 1975 as Gordon S. Black Corp.; and together
with Louis Harris and Associates, which was
founded in 1956, it became a public company in
1999, listed on Nasdaq.
Kimberly Till, 53, is president and CEO of HI. She
earned an M.B.A. at Harvard Business School and a
J.D. at Duke University.
U.S. revenue in 2008 was $137.1 million, down
14.2% from 2007. In 2008, $84.7 million, or 38.2% of
total revenue, was generated outside the United
States. Both revenue and growth rate exclude revenue
from the sale of the Rent & Recruit unit in 2007.
HI is a global custom survey research company
that provides insights and strategic advice. The firm is
widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longestrunning independent opinion polls, and for using
online market research methods. HI serves clients
worldwide through its North American, European
and Asian offices, and through a global network of 12
independent market research firms.
Through its newly formed Centers of Excellence,
Harris offers services and experience in the areas of
brand and communications, loyalty, youth and
qualitative research. Its industry experience includes
advertising, consumer packaged goods, financial
services, healthcare, government, media and entertainment, technology, travel and tourism, public
policy and public relations.
HI has 471 full-time U.S. employees and has
international offices in London; Paris; Toronto and
Ottawa, Canada; Hong Kong; Hamburg, Germany;
and Singapore.
Abraham is president and CEO. Fulgoni earned a
master’s in marketing at the University of Lancaster in
the United Kingdom.
U.S. revenue for 2008 was $100.9 million, up
22.1% over 2007. In 2008, revenue generated outside
the United States was $16.5 million, or 14.1% of total
revenue. The growth rate excludes 2008 revenue from
the acquisition of M:Metrics Inc. in May 2008.
cS continuously measures the online behavior of a
global cross section of 2 million Internet users who
provide their browsing and transaction behavior,
including online and offline purchasing. Its panelists
also participate in survey research that can be
integrated with their observed online behavior.
15
> comScore Media Metrix (CMM) provides Internet
audience measurement for advertising agencies,
publishers, marketers and financial analysts.
CMM reports details of online media usage,
visitor demographics and online buying power for
the home, work and university audiences across
100 local U.S. markets and around the world,
including detailed reporting for 37 countries. It
offers tools for reach and frequency analysis,
day-part planning, online and offline local market
analysis and emerging applications.
Other services in the CMM suite include
comScore Video Metrix, for measurement of
comScore Inc.
comScore.com
GIAN FULGONI
COMSCORE INC. (CS), based in Reston, Va., was
founded in 1999 and listed on Nasdaq in June 2007.
Gian Fulgoni, 61, is chairman of cS, and Magid
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online video viewing; qSearch, for measurement of
search behavior; comScore Ad Metrix, for measurement of online display advertising; Segment Metrix,
which describes the online behavior of various
consumer segments, including those defined by
Prizm and Personicx; and comScore Marketer, a
search marketing intelligence tool.
> comScore Marketing Solutions (CMS) combines
the cS Internet user database with the experience of
comScore analysts to deliver insight into the online
behavior of consumers for clients in the automotive, consumer packaged goods, entertainment,
financial services, media, pharmaceutical, retail,
technology, telecom and travel industries.
CMS also integrates online behavior with
offline purchase and product ownership data. The
cS online tracking technology has been installed on
the computers of IRI’s Consumer Network panel,
which measures CPG buying behavior across all
important retail channels. cS also matches its online
database with clients’ offline buying databases (such
as grocer Kroger’s loyalty card database) to create
large datamarts that allow measurement of the
impact that online marketing
has on offline buying behavior.
CMS offers a full range of custom and
syndicated survey research services for a variety of
industries, using the cS panel with offline and
online applications. CMS also integrates survey
responses with online behavior passively captured
for the same respondents.
cS data and services support numerous
applications including market and competitive
intelligence for any online category; benchmarking
and opportunity gap/SWOT analysis; customer
profiling and segmentation models; the integration
and study of online behavioral data with offline
purchase data; choice models based on pricing, taxes
and promotions, among other factors; the controlled
measurement of the effectiveness of interactive
marketing programs; and the scoring of customer
files for direct marketing programs using markers
and propensities derived in aggregate within the cS
database and applied using shared attributes.
> comScore Mobile Solutions provides mobile
measurement that uses passive on-device
hono2_INI.indd 42
measurement. It surveys mobile users and works
with handset manufacturers and network operators worldwide.
The services currently offered under the cS
Mobile umbrella include MobiLens, a mobile
market intelligence service that connects consumers’ use of mobile devices, content merchandising
and the capabilities/characteristics of the devices;
Mobile Metrix, a passive measurement of mobile
Web browsing using cS’s software application
residing on mobile devices; and Ad Metrix Mobile,
which tracks mobile Internet display advertising.
cS has 472 full-time employees in the United States,
with offices in Reston, Va., Chicago, London, New
York, Paris, San Francisco, Seattle, Tokyo and Toronto.
16
Market Strategies
International
MarketStrategies.com
ANDREW J. MORRISON
MARKET STRATEGIES INTERNATIONAL
(MSI) in Livonia, Mich., was founded in 1989. In 2006,
Veronis Suhler Stevenson LLC acquired a majority stake.
Andrew J. Morrison is chairman and CEO of MSI.
Jan Brown is president and Reg Baker is COO.
Morrison, 60, earned a Ph.D. in mass communications
research at the University of Michigan.
U.S. revenue in 2008 was $77.5 million, down 4.1%
from 2007. Revenue generated outside the United States
in 2008 was $14.7 million, or 15.9% of total revenue. The
growth rate includes full-year 2007 and 2008 revenue of
Doxus LLC, acquired in June 2007, and Flake-Wilkerson
Market Insights, acquired in October 2007.
Market Strategies is a full-service custom
research firm that focuses on the energy, financial
services, healthcare, technology and telecommunications industries. It offers global industry knowledge
and experience, analytical capabilities, unique
market research programs and services, and client
service orientation.
The firm provides customer satisfaction and loyalty
measurement programs, experience in brand development
and management, message testing, segmentation and
conjoint analysis, and market opportunity assessment.
One of Market Strategies’ customer satisfaction and
loyalty programs is the Integrated Research Center
(IRC) service for clients conducting more than 5,000
telephone interviews per month. These dedicated
centers are supplemented by a custom-designed
extranet portal and dashboard reporting system and a
wide range of analytical services.
The firm provides a Customer Experience
Management Modeling capability that sets priorities
for service improvement initiatives and employee
training. It is designed to help develop high-level
customer experience frameworks that facilitate
corporate strategy and resource allocation while
linking to department-level strategy.
Market Strategies’ usability consultants help to
design and evaluate customer-focused, interactive
voice response systems and Web sites.
The firm completed approximately 2.5 million
telephone interviews in 2008 from its six telephone
research centers located throughout the United States
and Canada. These interviews were focused on new
product and brand equity topics with special populations including physicians, technology decision-makers
and business decision-makers regarding financial
services, technology and more.
Its Marketing Sciences unit provides a suite of
products including MSImpact Modeling, a structural
equation modeling system for customer experience
management programs; Brand Manager, a research
program that can help clients develop and derive value
from established and new brands; a product optimization and simulation approach that features proprietary
choice-modeling analysis; and a multiplatform market
segmentation analysis.
Market Strategies’ MSInteractive unit develops and
markets the Perception Analyzer, an interactive
feedback tool that allows moderators to elicit instant
feedback from a group through the use of wireless,
hand-held dials. MSInteractive sells and leases systems
for market research, education and meeting facilitation.
The firm employs 301 full-time staff in the United
States and 1,392 interviewers. It has seven client-serving North American offices and recently opened offices
in London and Hong Kong.
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17
Lieberman Research
Worldwide
LRWonline.com
DAVID SACKMAN
LIEBERMAN RESEARCH WORLDWIDE
(LRW), based in Los Angeles, is a privately held
corporation founded in 1973.
Arnold Fishman, 64, is the founder and chairman
of LRW, and David Sackman, 51, is president and CEO.
Fishman earned a B.S. at Brooklyn College, City
University of New York, and Sackman earned a B.A. at
the University of California at Los Angeles.
over 2007. In 2008, $16.4 million, or 18.2% of total
revenue, was generated outside the United States.
LRW is a full-service custom market research firm
with experience across a wide range of industries,
including entertainment, technology, automotive,
pharmaceutical and healthcare, retail, food service,
financial and business services, consumer goods and
more. Through its affiliate network of more than 60
companies, the firm conducts research in more than
80 countries.
LRW uses a research-based consulting model to
drive business impact. Its staff consists of senior
executives from academia, consulting, advertising,
marketing and marketing research. Its Advanced
Analytics team is experienced in conjoint, choice,
latent class, maximum difference modeling and
Hierarchical Bayes modeling, price testing and
optimization, demand forecasting and modeling,
market segmentation, brand positioning and other
custom techniques.
LRW emphasizes five core areas of research:
> Strategy Development and Segmentation Research:
Strategy experience is LRW’s core strength. In
hono2_INI.indd 46
segmentation research, the firm determines targets,
optimizes marketing mix and develops strategies to
maximize performance within target segments.
LRW uses Segmentation by Optimization, which
blends segmentation approaches with trade-off
analyses to better optimize product coverage and
line demand for target segments.
> Brand Strategy and Tracking: LRW expanded its
brand practice with the launch of its new brand
paradigm developed from R&D work to identify
which brand metrics link to financial performance.
Its Relevant Brand Clarity product helps directly
manage the contribution of brands to their financial
performance by linking two new brand concepts,
emotional clarity and functional clarity, with
traditional measures of the brand funnel (such as
awareness, trial, conversion, etc.), delivering a
predictor of sales and profits.
> Customer Satisfaction Diagnostic Evaluation and
Tracking: The LRW methodology, Diagnostic
Blueprinting, determines to what extent customers’
requirements are being met and provides clear
direction for actions to be taken to meet these
requirements. Utilizing its CIA Approach to
Tracking and CSAT Portal Reporting Platform,
LRW provides continuous improvement and
feedback via intuitive dashboards and other online
analytical tools.
> New Product Development: The firm uses analytical techniques such as discrete choice modeling
where several product configurations are presented
in a scenario that enables researchers to measure
the relative importance individuals place on
product attributes.
> Actionability Suite: LRW offers the Actionability
Suite of products to engage stakeholders in the
research process. It consists of four distinct
approaches built upon an action-oriented philosophy: Immersion, Lieberman Learning Labs,
Actionability Workshops and Synthesis.
In 2008, LRW expanded European operations and
will open three new offices globally in 2009.
LRW has 224 full-time employees in the United
States. Data collection facilities include five CATI
telephone centers with 525 stations and the capability
to conduct interviews in more than 65 languages. In
addition to its Los Angeles headquarters, the company
has offices in London; Chicago; Charlotte, N.C.;
Huntington Beach, Calif.; Shanghai; and Tokyo.
18
OTX
OTXresearch.com
SHELLEY ZALIS
OTX, BASED IN Los Angeles, was founded in 2000
as a division of iFilm Inc. and acquired in 2004 by
Zelnick Media and the Pilot Group.
Shelley Zalis, 47, is CEO and co-founder of OTX.
She earned a B.A. from Columbia University.
over 2007. In 2008, 8.3% or $4.6 million of total
revenue was from outside the United States.
OTX is a global research and consulting firm that
specializes in providing a suite of multimedia research
products to the marketing, entertainment and advertising communities. It has developed a range of
approaches integrating technology and immersive
techniques with traditional research experience to
provide deeper and more profound consumer insights.
The firm has access to more than 40 million consumers worldwide and provides online survey management
that blends respondents from multiple sources to provide
wide and representative populations. In 2008, OTX
introduced a live sampling engine, OTXCortex, to
implement new levels of security and balance sample
sources across demographic and attitudinal data points,
resulting in better targeting and faster delivery
of the most complex requirements.
OTX offers a wide range of tools to the
movie, TV, gaming, and packaged goods
and services industries that focus on
consumer consumption, attitudes and
engagement across all media channels and
platforms. OTX recently launched MediaCEP, a multimedia product that measures
the emotive and cognitive power of
integrated campaigns identifying optimal
media mix and channel planning.
OTX has a portfolio of syndicated
products that assess consumers’ interest,
awareness and attitudes across multiple
categories. The firm’s syndicated suite includes
Movie Dailies, a global movie tracker; TV
Dailies, a daily TV tracker; Gameplan
Insights, a weekly video game tracker that
integrates both attitudinal and industry
behavioral data to focus on every phase of a
video game’s life cycle; A Beta Life, which
investigates the impact of technology change
and proliferation of digital media on the social
behaviors, entertainment choices and brand
decisions of young people ages 12 to 24; LMX
(The Longitudinal Media Experience), a
single-source study that monitors the shift in
consumption of new and traditional media
platforms and content; and ConsumerMaps,
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a product that uncovers the consumer connections that
exist between brands and delivers a unique look at a
brand’s social network.
OTX has experience in measuring consumer
engagement with brands and evaluating media
effectiveness through both traditional and next-generation research tools for understanding consumers today.
OTX has 207 full-time U.S employees and has
offices in London, Los Angeles, New York, Cincinnati,
Miami and Chicago, with strategic partners in
Germany, Russia, Japan, Australia and Mexico.
19
Burke Inc.
Burke.com
MICHAEL BAUMGARDNER
BURKE INC., BASED in Cincinnati, was founded in
1931 and has been an independent, employee-owned
company since 1989. It became 100% ESOP in 2008.
Burke’s president and CEO is Michael Baumgardner,
58. He earned a Ph.D. at Ohio State University.
U.S. revenue in
2008 was $50.8
million, up 8.1%
from 2007. In
2008, $9.6 million,
or 15.9% of total
revenue, was
from outside the
United States.
Burke is a
full-service marketing research firm
that uses advanced
analytical techniques and technology to provide
decision support
services across all
major industry
sectors. It is
experienced in
defining problems,
hono2_INI.indd 48
developing research designs, executing complex
studies, analyzing data and interpreting results. Burke’s
core competencies are supported by internal research
and development programs.
Burke provides marketing research and consumer
insights education through the Burke Institute, which
has trained participants through more than 3,000
public and in-house customized marketing research
seminars in 39 countries. Seminars cover research
topics such as general marketing research, qualitative
and online research, questionnaire design, customer
loyalty, analytical tools and techniques, advanced
multivariate analysis, and linkage and other modeling
techniques.
Primary areas of focus include:
> Custom Marketing Research: Burke provides
full-service custom research, analysis and consulting for consumer and B-to-B product and service
companies. Services include product testing, brand
equity research, pricing research, market segmentation, image and positioning studies, and a wide
range of marketing research protocols.
> Customer Loyalty and Relationship Management:
The company helps clients develop and deploy
customer loyalty and relationship management
systems that focus internal resources on customer
requirements.
> Employee Engagement and Retention: Employee
engagement represents the strength of the overall
connection between the employees and the
organization, and includes commitment, involvement, relationships and initiative.
> International Research: Custom research and other
research services are available worldwide.
> Linkage and Integration: The company helps focus
on where to invest limited resources to optimize
process effectiveness, employee commitment,
customer retention and business results.
> Online Research and Reporting: This area provides
Web survey design and data collection using the
Internet and online focus group moderating. Its
Digital Dashboard online reporting provides
secure, real-time access to survey findings.
> Burke Qualitative: This area is experienced in using
the full range of qualitative formats including focus
groups, dyads, triads, mini-groups and one-onones. Moderators are versed in laddering, ethnographic research, scripting, and a variety of other
qualitative and projective techniques.
> Burke Healthcare: This area provides experienced and dedicated healthcare industry staff,
many with professional accreditation and/or
clinical backgrounds.
Burke has 227 full-time employees and 148
part-time employees in the United States.
20
Abt Associates SRBI Inc.
AbtAssociates.com
WENDELL J. KNOX
ABT ASSOCIATES SRBI Inc. in Cambridge, Mass.,
is an employee-owned company founded in 1965.
Wendell J. Knox, 61, is president and CEO of Abt
Associates. He earned a B.A. at Harvard University.
Mark A. Schulman, 63, is CEO of Abt SRBI, the survey
subsidiary of Abt Associates. He earned a Ph.D. at
Rutgers University.
U.S. research-only revenue in 2008 was $49.5 million,
down 10.2% from 2007. The U.S. growth rate includes 2007
and 2008 revenue from the acquisition of Schulman, Ronca
& Bucuvalas Inc. (SRBI) in July 2007. Total research and
nonresearch revenue in 2008 was $254 million.
Abt SRBI is a full-service global research and
consulting firm whose research activities include policy
and marketing research that serve many Fortune 500
companies, financial service and insurance organizations, advertising agencies, media, university researchers, foundations and government agencies. It tailors
individual services and strategies to help clients
identify, understand and respond to complex issues
and problems.
The firm provides a full range of survey research
capabilities, from sample design and instrument
development, through data collection and data
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management and processing, to data analysis. Its
emphasis on technical quality ensures confidence in
measuring effectiveness, launching new products and
improving customer satisfaction.
Abt SRBI is organized into seven divisions:
> Analytic and Consulting Division has specialized
practice groups in banking and finance, insurance,
healthcare, telecommunications, technology and
media research. Industry specialization, combined
with analytic tools, are used in areas such as brand
equity, advertising tracking, image and positioning,
customer loyalty/satisfaction and market and
customer segmentation studies. Abt SRBI’s B-to-B
research is conducted in this division, including
international B-to-B research.
> Marketing Insights Division focuses on integrated
strategic research approaches, particularly in the
CPG, restaurant and retail sectors. It is responsible
for Abt SRBI’s large-scale customer satisfaction
surveys utilizing innovative methods and technologies, including interactive voice response. This
group manages several large proprietary online
customer and prospect panels.
> Government Division conducts large-scale surveys
and tracking studies for many U.S. federal government agencies. These projects include epidemiological surveys, global healthcare studies, domestic
violence and program evaluations.
> Public Policy and Public Affairs Division conducts
many large-scale public policy and public opinion
surveys for university researchers, foundations,
research institutes and the media. This includes
legal services to the poor, political participation,
surveys of Iraq War veterans, children’s health
surveys and the Annenberg National Election
Survey. This division is responsible for the firm’s
public opinion polling for Time magazine and
other media.
> Transportation Division provides passenger/
customer research to leading public transit
authorities, transportation planners and engineering firms. This includes household travel surveys,
origin/destination studies, new product/service
testing, pricing and customer satisfaction research.
> Utilities Division serves the electric utility industry.
Studies include customer satisfaction and loyalty,
marketing issues and studies of the impact of industry deregulation.
> Interviewing Services Division conducts telephone,
mail, Internet, IVR and in-person interviewing for
other marketing research firms. The firm has five
centralized, fully supervised and monitored CATI
facilities with nearly 450 stations.
Besides its Cambridge offices, Abt Associates has
U.S. offices in Lexington and Hadley, Mass.; Bethesda,
Md.; Chicago; Durham, N.C.; and New York (SRBI).
Abroad it has project offices in Africa, Asia, Europe,
Latin America and the Middle East.
Abt Associates SRBI has more than 1,300 full-time
employees, of which 201 work full time on its survey
research services.
21
Knowledge Networks Inc.
KnowledgeNetworks.com
SIMON KOOYMAN
KNOWLEDGE NETWORKS INC. (KN), based
in Menlo Park, Calif., is a privately held company
founded in 1998.
Simon Kooyman, 51, is CEO of KN. He earned an
M.B.A. at Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.
7.0% from 2007.
KN specializes in solving complex, highimpact problems, providing quality and service
to business, government and academia. KN
creates healthy consumer-brand connections,
effective marketing and advertising, sound
public policies and accurate social science
research. It has established strategic business
units for custom marketing research and government and academic research.
KN excels in study design, analytics and custom
panel creation, delivering statistically valid online
research through KnowledgePanel, a probabilityselected, nationally representative Internet panel.
The firm specializes in media and advertising
analysis, brand health, brand communication
testing, segmentation, new product opportunities
and evaluation, public opinion and social issues.
Other KN resources include KnowledgePanel Latino,
a statistically balanced online sample of the U.S.
Hispanic population (English and Spanish speaking), and the National Shopper Lab, a panel of 8
million frequent shoppers available for in-store and
new product research.
In 2008, KN began using an address-based
sampling frame for recruitment of its online
survey research panel used in addition to a
random digit dialing (RDD) telephone frame
that includes cell phone-only households in its
online surveys.
The firm also maintains an extensive program
of research on research, studying the ways that
different research methods and respondent cooperation—including panel creation and maintenance—
can directly affect the information marketers use to
make decisions.
KN operates from six U.S. offices in Menlo
Park, Calif.; New York; Chicago; Cincinnati;
Cranford, N.J.; and Needham, Mass. There are
155 full-time employees.
22
MVL Group Inc.
MVLgroup.com
M. VAN
LEFFERDINK
MVL GROUP INC. (MVL), based in
Jupiter, Fla., is a privately held firm formed
as a holding company in 1998 and majority
owned by Allied Capital Corp. in Washington, D.C.
M. Van Lefferdink is CEO of MVL,
and Adam L. Rogers is president and COO.
Lefferdink, 59, has a B.A. from DePauw
University.
U.S. research revenue for MVL’s fullservice research units in 2008 was $38.7
million, down 8.5% from 2007. Total revenue
of MVL in 2008, including data collection
and online units, was $78.2 million.
MVL’s full-service marketing research
companies include:
> MRSI (Marketing Research Services Inc.)
(MRSI.com) in Cincinnati provides
custom quantitative and qualitative
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research services in industries such as consumer
goods, financial services, retail, restaurant, pharmaceutical and healthcare. The company specializes in
product development research, Hispanic research
with ENFOQUE and shopper insights research.
> Target Research Group (TargetResearchGroup.
com) in Nanuet, N.Y., offers design, execution,
processing and analytical services using multiple
techniques in the United States as well as internationally. It has experience working with concept,
product, advertising and package testing, as well as
strategic research for the food, beverage, personal
care, other CPG, financial and media companies. It
also conducts legal research in claims substantiation, intellectual property disputes and misleading
ad issues.
MVL’s online research and data collection
companies include:
> ActiveGroup (AG) (ActiveGroup.net) in Atlanta uses
online video-streaming technology products to deliver
qualitative research studies to market researchers via
an advanced, user-friendly interface called Client
hono2_INI.indd 52
Lounge. AG partners with facilities worldwide and
provides portable access to any location across a
network of more than 600 U.S. and international sites.
> Carbonview Research (Carbonview.com) in Jupiter,
Fla., offers visually driven online research products
such as CVOpinions, an online consumer panel;
C2View, an online service for the remote testing/
monitoring of user behavior on the Internet; and
CVEngage, a qualitative one-on-one feedback
mechanism embedded in quantitative online
surveys.
> Discovery Research Group (DRG) (DiscoveryResearchGroup.com) in Salt Lake City specializes in
multimodal survey research, recruiting and panel
management. DRG uses online, IVR and telephone
methods through the use of more than 450 interviewing stations in six U.S. and Costa Rican call
centers. The firm has experience in healthcare,
technology and customer satisfaction research.
> PhoneBase Research (PBResearch.com) in Fort
Collins, Colo., specializes in telephone and
online data collection and has 175 interviewing
stations, a cell phone research product and
recruiting capabilities.
> Quick Test/Heakin (QuickTest.com) in Jupiter, Fla.,
is a mall-based data collection network of more than
50 nationwide mall locations and qualitative
facilities, all centrally linked to their corporate office.
MVL has 420 full-time and 2,200 part-time U.S.
employees. MRSI and Target Research Group have 138
full-time U.S. employees.
23
Phoenix Marketing
International
PhoenixMI.com
Allen R. DeCotiis
Phoenix Marketing International
(PMI) in Rhinebeck, N.Y., is a privately held company
founded in 1999.
Allen R. DeCotiis, 56, is chairman and
CEO of PMI and Sanford M. Schwartz is
president. DeCotiis earned a Ph.D. in administration and statistics at Emory University,
and Schwartz earned a Ph.D. in sociology at
Catholic University.
U.S. revenue for 2008 was $37.6 million,
up 12.2% over 2007. In 2008, $3.8 million of
revenue, or 9.2%, was from outside the
United States. The growth rate includes the
2007 and 2008 revenue of Johnston, Zabor,
McManus Inc. acquired in January 2007.
PMI is a marketing research firm that
combines primary and syndicated research
experience with database analytics and
modeling to serve the financial services,
consumer packaged goods, healthcare, media
and technology, and travel and leisure
industries. Among its sub-specialties within
industry groups are oncology, multicultural,
insurance and copy testing.
PMI’s syndicated products include
Affluent Market Services, Automotive
Concept X, Consumer Convergence 360,
Hotels Scores, Asian American Report,
Virtual Mailbox, MD TouchPoint and a suite
of advertising and communications testing
syndicated products. Its advertising/
communication audit and performance
evaluation system products are founded on
large-scale, syndicated industry tracking
studies known as AdPi (Advertising
Performance Index) and BrandPi (Brand
Performance Index).
Coverage of the financial services
categories include investment services,
retirement services, credit cards, retail
banking, and property and casualty insurance. The Automotive AdPi Audit tracking
program provides monthly reports on which
ads and ad campaigns are generating the
highest consumer response, along with
diagnostics that illustrate creative strengths
and weaknesses, media contribution and
more. QuadPlay AdPi and BrandPi Audit
measures the impact of marketing communi-
5/29/09 9:23:07 AM
53
customer and workforce satisfaction, leadership
and operational assessment, and clinical and
regulatory outcomes.
NRC has 248 full-time and 40 part-time employees
in the United States.
cations on brand and business performance for wireless
phone, wired phone, paid TV and Internet services. A
Cholesterol Audit and a Women’s Contraceptive Audit
are the industry’s first audits in the healthcare space.
PMI has 152 full-time employees in the United
States and offices in nine states. A London office
opened in early 2009.
24
National Research
Corp.
NationalResearch.com
MICHAEL D. HAYS
NATIONAL RESEARCH CORP.
(NRC) in Lincoln, Neb., was founded in
1981 and has been a public company since
October 1997 when it was listed on Nasdaq.
Michael D. Hays, 54, is NRC’s president
and CEO.
U.S. research revenue in 2008 was $37.5
million, up 0.5% over 2007. In 2008, $4.2
million, or 10.1% of total revenue, was from
outside the United States. The growth rate
excludes 2007 and 2008 revenue from
MyInnerView Inc., acquired December
2008. Total company revenue for 2008 was
$51.0 million.
NRC offers performance measurement
and tracking and improvement services to
hospitals, healthcare systems, physicians,
health plans and other healthcare organizations.
NRC provides three primary types of
information services:
> NRC Picker measures and provides
information on the most important aspects
of the patient experience by using research
technologies with a focus on patientcentered care. Its Catalyst toolkit allows
clients to drive the improvement process
through access to data and improvement
linked to performance.
> The NRC Healthcare Market Guide is
an ongoing study of more than 300,000
households assessing consumers’
perceptions of and satisfaction with
hospitals and health systems in more
than 250 markets across the country.
The guide provides consumer-reported
assessments for medical care, access
and administrative services. Consumer
quality perceptions, product-line
preferences, service use and visit
satisfaction are available for more
than 3,200 hospitals and health systems.
The guide also studies household health
status, presence of more than 20
chronic conditions, alternative medicine use and other health behaviors.
> The MyInnerView division provides
quality and performance improvement
solutions to the senior care profession.
Areas of experitise offered include
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25
Directions Research Inc.
DirectionsResearch.com
RANDY BROOKS
DIRECTIONS RESEARCH INC. (DRI) in
Cincinnati is a privately held company founded in
1988. Ownership is held by 25 members of DRI’s
senior staff.
Randy Brooks, 61, is DRI’s founder and president.
He earned an M.B.A. at the University of Cincinnati.
from 2007.
DRI is a full-service custom research company
that develops long-term partnerships with its clients
in which substantial responsibility for design,
analysis and presentation is handled by dedicated
client teams. DRI’s client service staff averages 20
years of experience.
DRI provides custom services, including many
product and concept testing systems. The firm also
regularly executes a wide variety of studies, including
conjoint, discrete choice, demand forecasting and
modeling, price testing and optimization, brand
strategy and tracking, awareness tracking, market
segmentation and structure, and customer value/
customer satisfaction.
DRI has a team of experienced marketing scientists
and data analysts to provide insight and value to its
analyses. This typically includes graphical and multivariate statistical techniques, such as conjoint, Kano,
correspondence analysis, discriminant, factor analysis
and clustering.
The firm is experienced handling research for
packaged goods, restaurant, retail, financial services,
technology and pharmaceutical companies. Its studies
are conducted among consumers, professionals,
medical staff and other business-to-business respondents using a broad range of data collection methods.
DRI partners with industry data-collection specialists
who provide high-quality data at competitive prices.
This approach keeps DRI focused on research design
regardless of data collection methodology.
Since its introduction in 2002, DRI has been using
Navigator, a product-testing norms database in which
results have been compiled from a broad array of
nearly 5,000 food and other consumer packaged goods
tests conducted during the past 10-plus years. This tool,
developed with input from the University of Georgia,
provides guidance for product test research design and
adjusts for the effects of common design elements on
any of the frequently used scales.
DRI regularly invests in R&D projects designed
to examine issues of interest to clients and prospective
clients. Over the last several years, the firm did three
R&D projects to explore issues related to Internet
data quality. In 2008 the firm conducted a study of
restaurant usage and attitudes, and shared its results
with the industry.
DRI has senior client service staff in close proximity
to key accounts with offices in Chicago; Charleston,
S.C.; Dallas; Pittsburgh; and Seattle. The firm employs a
full-time staff of 129.
26
ICR/International
Communications Research
ICRsurvey.com
ALLEN KHORAMI
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS
RESEARCH (ICR) in Media, Pa., was founded in
1983. Since 1986, it has been a subsidiary of Mount
Laurel, N.J.-based AUS Inc., a privately held company.
ICR’s president and CEO is Allen Khorami.
Where are They Now?
It’s not easy breaking into the Honomichl Top 50. Staying there
can be even more difficult if you’re near the bottom of the list.
Here’s a look at what happened to the bottom 10 firms from 2001
and 2002. The number of takeovers points to another fact in this
report, the biggest keep getting bigger.
hono2_INI.indd 54
Greenfield Online
Became a panel company and
was sold to Microsoft
Greenfield Consulting
Sold to Kantar Group (WPP)
Pretesting Co.
Revenue declined
SRBI
Sold to Abt Associates
Cheskin
Marketing Workshop
Sold division and revenue
declined
Symmetrical Holdings
Sold to Experian
B/R/S Group
Revenue declined
Marketing & Planning Systems
Protoco
Bankrupt
Marketing Metrics
Sold to Ipsos
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The firm has three interviewing facilities and
maintains a dedicated Web portal for Internet studies.
There are 215 full-time employees.
27
MarketCast
MarketCastOnline.com
Henry Shapiro
MarketCast, based in Los Angeles, was
founded in 1987 and acquired in 2000 by Reed
Elsevier plc in the United Kingdom, a public
company.
Henry Shapiro, 45, is vice president and general
manager of MarketCast. He has an M.B.A. from
Harvard Business School.
U.S. revenue for 2008 was $29.6 million, up 17.9%
million, was generated from work conducted outside
the United States.
MarketCast is a marketing research firm servicing
the global entertainment industry. The firm consults
on marketing and distribution strategies for movie
and DVD releases and TV shows for a client base that
includes most of the major motion picture studios,
along with independent producers and cable and
broadcast TV networks.
MarketCast’s research services include positioning
analyses, focus groups, advertising testing, DVD package tests, tracking studies, recruited screenings,
volumetric forecasts, attitude and usage (A&U)
studies, brand studies, segmentation studies and
product launch studies.
In 2008, the firm expanded its international
operations and opened an office in London. It
employs 46 full time.
million, was from outside the United States. Total
research and nonresearch revenue for ICR in 2007 was
$39.5 million.
ICR is a full-service market research firm specializing in designing customized methods. Its in-house
resources include three interviewing centers, a data
center and a staff of experienced market researchers.
ICR has experience in CPG, pharmaceutical/
biotechnology, telecommunications/technology,
financial services/banking/insurance, healthcare services,
business to business, public opinion polling, social
science research, public relations/advertising, utilities/
energy, media/entertainment and retailing markets.
Its Advanced Research Methods group designs and
executes custom research for complex business issues.
These include market sizing and segmentation, concept
and product tests, pricing, brand positioning, messaging,
strategy and motivational research, advertising effectiveness, usage tracking, customer loyalty and satisfaction, and
surveying low incidence and multicultural populations.
ICR is a provider of omnibus research services,
including ICR EXCEL, a twice weekly sample of 1,000
adults age 18 and older; TeenEXCEL, conducted
monthly among 500 teens ages 12 to 17; and HispanicEXCEL, ICR’s monthly omnibus targeting a
nationally representative sample of 1,000 Hispanics.
28
Lieberman Research
Group
LiebermanResearch.com
Mark Lefkowitz
Lieberman Research Group (LRG),
based in Great Neck, N.Y., is a privately held corporation founded in 1966.
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LRG’s chairman and CEO is Mark Lefkowitz, 65,
and its president is Stephen Miller, 56. Lefkowitz
earned a B.A. at City College of New York, and Miller
earned a B.A. at the University of Michigan.
from 2007.
LRG is a full-service marketing research and
consulting firm specializing in strategic research,
stakeholder satisfaction, advertising and communications tracking and tactical research among
consumers, healthcare professionals and business
executives. Its clients include healthcare, technology,
banking and finance, travel, leisure, transportation,
retail and food services.
The firm is a member of the International Research
Alliance, a global network of 20 companies in Europe,
Latin America and Asia that provide design and
interviewing worldwide.
LRG is composed of specialized business units
devoted to study design and analysis, data collection
and data management. The firm has an analytic group
with experience in market segmentation, choice
modeling, predictive modeling and forecasting.
LRG’s main products include the following:
> Market Segmentation Research: LRG conducts
strategic market segmentation among healthcare
professionals, business executives, consumers and
hono2_INI.indd 56
patients. It has developed services for defining
global segments and tying market segmentation
models back to client databases.
> Choice Using Simalto is a tool for trade-off analysis,
which is easily understandable and engaging to
respondents. Simalto can accommodate up to 36
features, with nine options per feature. It predicts
consumer preferences for both potential and
existing competitive products.
> COMPEL is a tool for selecting the best set of
messages for promotions, such as advertising, sales
calls and public relations. It is a choice-based
system that combines measures of motivational
power, uniqueness, believability and synergy to
identify optimal message sets.
> TRACER is a communications tracking system that
measures whether advertising has broken through
the clutter, communicated key messages and had an
effect. It provides insights into ideal media weights
and more efficient media mix, and suggestions for
more creative advertising.
> PDA Research is a data collection technique that
uses handheld computers to conduct personal
interviews anywhere at anytime.
The company has 79 full-time employees, with
full-service offices in New York and Great Neck, N.Y. It
has a telephone center with 400 CATI-equipped
stations and can do continuous interviewing in more
than 20 foreign languages. Data processing capabilities
include a fully staffed facility offering tabulations
produced with Quantum software and panel expertise.
29
Communispace
Corporation Inc.
Communispace.com
DIANE HESSAN
COMMUNISPACE CORPORATION INC. (CCI)
in Watertown, Mass., is a privately held company
founded in 1999.
Diane Hessan, 54, is president and CEO of CCI.
She earned an M.B.A. at Harvard Business School.
up 27.3% over 2007. In 2008, 3.9% of total
revenue, or $1.2 million, was from outside
the United States.
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57
> Communication DDW provides techniques
that help build and evaluate advertising
and marketing efforts. AdEPT identifies
the optimal messaging and positioning
platform for a brand or product, and
AdvertisingCheck provides the tools to
evaluate the impact of campaigns.
> Price DDW optimizes price in a competitive
context. PriceDeveloper identifies the optimal
pricing strategy in a competitive context for both
new and existing brands.
> Product DDW optimizes specific products or
product lines. OptionDeveloper maximizes the
impact of a new concept or identifies the best
CCI creates highly engaged online customer communities to gain business insights, ideas and intelligence for
speeding new product development, increasing marketing
effectiveness and building customer loyalty.
More than 300 individual communities have been
built and operated by CCI for 100-plus brands among
Fortune 1000 companies in a range of industries,
including consumer packaged goods, hospitality,
financial services, technology, retail,
Internet service providers and media.
The firm’s full-service capabilities
include facilitation, community management and content analysis in multiple
languages with multiple cultural nuances.
Comprehensive recruiting and member
management services serve global clients
that reach community members in 84
countries to date. This allows CCI to
uncover marketplace trends and new
patterns in customer behavior across
regions and cultures.
CCI communities consists of 300-500
consumers who participate in weekly
activities from brainstorming ideas and
commenting on market trends, to sharing
experiences and reacting to product
innovations or advertising creative. Each
community is run by a team of managers to
ensure relevance and encourage participation; 86% of the people who log into CCI
communities on a weekly basis contribute.
CCI has additional offices in Atlanta;
Austin, Texas; Chicago; New York; San
Francisco; London; and San Remo, Italy.
There are 206 full-time employees in the
United States and 227 worldwide.
30
CHIP LISTER
Data
Development
Worldwide
DataDW.com
DATA DEVELOPMENT WORLDWIDE (DDW) in New York is a privately
held corporation founded in 1960.
Chip Lister is managing director of DDW.
U.S. revenue in 2008 was $27.8 million, up
9.1% over 2007. In 2008, $400,000 or 1.4% was
from outside the United States. The growth rate
excludes 2007 and 2008 revenue of NewmanStein Inc., which was acquired in August 2007.
DDW is a full-service custom marketing
research firm that provides a number of
approaches that address a range of development, marketing and communications
issues. Its methods are appropriate to
specific marketing situations.
> Brand DDW addresses issues related to
brand equity. EquityBuilder is structured
to understand the value of brands and the
elasticity associated with core benefits and
perceptions. Brands can be optimized to
brand proposition and enhance competitive position. EquityCheck monitors
ongoing success of these factors.
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approach to product reconfiguration. LineDeveloper provides a logical and user-friendly service to
select the most powerful set of offerings. Sensor
models the impact of product evaluations on
overall product acceptance. EyeScan provides
insights to ensure packaging captures attention,
holds interest and generates consideration.
> Competitive Assessment DDW provides the
techniques to evaluate competitive position and
suggests ways to improve it. The Opportunities and
Barriers product isolates areas of competitive
vulnerability and helps strengthen positioning.
MarketCheck ensures that a brand is on the right
track by continually monitoring the landscape and
evaluating its competitive relationships.
> Satisfaction DDW provides strategic assessment of
issues driving loyalty. LoyaltyDeveloper highlights
the issues essential to brand involvement and helps
prioritize these issues to optimize loyalty. LoyaltyCheck monitors progress of these efforts.
> Market Strategy DDW is a comprehensive look at
the market landscape, people and competition. The
Configure product provides a vision for market
structure, and the Segmenter product finds core
targets for guiding brand strategy.
hono2_INI.indd 58
Based in New York, DDW also has offices in eight
U.S. cities. The firm employs 88 full time.
31
Public Opinion Strategies
POS.org
BILL MCINTURFF
PUBLIC OPINION STRATEGIES (POS), based in
Alexandria, Va., is a partnership founded in 1991.
POS is headed by partner and co-founder, Bill
McInturff, 57, who earned a B.S. at Boston University.
U.S. revenue for 2008 was $27.7 million, up 78.7%
over 2007.
POS is a national political and public affairs
research firm that has conducted more than 2 million
interviews with voters and consumers nationally and in
more than a dozen foreign countries, including
1,500-plus focus groups.
About half of POS’s research is dedicated to
winning elections for candidates from city council to
the presidential level, and for initiatives.
The other half of the work is involved in public
policy, working with industry coalitions, government
entities and private companies. Research includes
corporate image, community relations and crisis
management for local companies, Fortune 500
corporations and industry associations. Some of the
industries served include airlines, energy, financial,
gaming, healthcare, technology, hospitality, insurance,
real estate, retailers, sports and stadiums, telecommunications, tourism, transportation and utilities.
A wide array of research techniques are used:
> Quantitative: POS’s specialty is telephone polling
using its own telephone center with more than 400
CATI-enabled data collection stations. Telephone
polling includes in-depth executive interviewing,
nightly tracking surveys, monthly national omnibus
surveys, benchmarks and B-to-B interviewing. POS
uses the Internet for targeted research purposes,
including for online focus groups, Web page
testing, advertising testing and online surveys for
companies and associations.
> Qualitative: POS conducts traditional focus
groups and in-depth interviews, and uses techniques that blend quantitative and qualitative
research, including mall intercepts and Perception
Analyzer dial groups. The firm also coordinates
and moderates qualitative research projects,
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including message and advertising testing, and
logo and tagline development.
POS has offices in Hermosa Beach and Redon
do Beach, Calif., and Denver. It has a staff of 29
full-time employees.
32
Service Management
Group
ServiceManagement.com
ANDY FROMM
SERVICE MANAGEMENT GROUP (SMG),
based in Kansas City, Mo., is a privately held firm
founded in 1990.
Andy Fromm, 40, is president and CEO of SMG.
He earned a B.A. at Boston University.
over 2007. In 2008, $1.0 million, or 2.8%, was from
outside the United States.
SMG provides transaction-based store-level
research for multi-unit retail, restaurant and servicebased companies. Its business model demonstrates
the link between a company’s customer satisfaction
and loyalty, employee satisfaction and loyalty, and
financial performance.
SMG measures customer satisfaction and loyalty
in 44 countries and 19 languages. Most work is done
in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Data collection is also conducted in Europe,
Australia, Central America, the Middle East, Malaysia, India and China.
SMG provides several services:
> Customer Experience Measurement: SMG continuously monitors service levels and satisfaction in
each customer-facing location. Data is collected
primarily via Web and IVR surveys. Customer feedback is reported on a Web-based, real-time
performance dashboard that includes online
analytics and service improvement tools.
> Employee LoyaltyPLUS Measurement: The firm
measures employee loyalty, plus satisfaction and
commitment. Surveys are custom-developed by
brand to reveal the strength of the relationships
between the attitudes of employees and the key
drivers of customer satisfaction and loyalty.
hono2_INI.indd 60
> Internal Customer Surveys: For multi-unit
operations, SMG measures the effectiveness of
internal support systems. The firm conducts
internal customer surveys that measure management effectiveness and service quality delivered
from internal service providers.
> Chain Store Industry Normative Data: SMG
maintains databases of comparative data in retail
and restaurant industry segments for performance
comparisons based on common service attributes.
In 2008, SMG upgraded the online analytics,
including verbatim customer comments searchable by
key word, and automated e-mail delivery of survey
comments on demand.
In 2009, the firm is completing a meta-analysis of
the correlations between customer experience metrics
and same-store sales growth for multi-unit retail,
restaurant and service-based companies.
SMG has 152 full-time employees.
33
National Analysts
Worldwide
NationalAnalysts.com
SUSAN MCDONALD
NATIONAL ANALYSTS WORLDWIDE (NA) in
Philadelphia was established as the world’s first market
research unit in 1911 by Curtis Publishing Co.
(publisher of The Saturday Evening Post). It became a
separate privately owned corporation in 1943 and was
reorganized as an employee-owned company in 2004.
Susan Schwartz McDonald, 59, is chairman and
CEO of NA. She earned a Ph.D. at the University of
Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School.
from 2007.
NA is a hybrid market research and consulting firm
that addresses business issues in a wide range of
industry sectors, including pharmaceuticals, information technology, financial services, package transport
and consumer goods. Its depth of marketing experience in key industries, combined with custom qualitative and quantitative market research capabilities and
advanced analytics, provide services ranging from
problem conceptualization to strategy development
and implementation.
Types of projects routinely conducted by NA include
market segmentation, opportunities assessment and
demand forecasting, pricing, positioning and market
entry strategy, product development, brand equity
assessment, portfolio strategy and life cycle management.
Project leaders are supported by an in-house team of
methodologists and a portfolio of modeling tools and
software that are customized to address marketing
problems and applications. NA’s history includes the
development of probability sampling, the early development and application of focus group methodology, and
its work in consumer and business market segmentation.
The firm is widely known for building integrated
forecasting and ROI models that reflect the interactions
of multiple stakeholders and customers (such as healthcare and B-to-B marketing), supported by a suite of
Farsight modeling applications. Specialized services
that draw on research design capabilities include
litigation and regulatory support.
The firm’s NAscence Groups support bio-innovation pharmaceutical companies with forecasting and
other commercialization-related research services.
NA is a founding member of CASRO. It employees
76 professionals full time.
34
Morpace Inc.
Morpace.com
FRANCIS J. WARD
MORPACE INC., BASED in Farmington Hills,
Mich., is a privately held corporation founded in 1941.
Francis J. Ward, 63, is the CEO of Morpace, and
John P. McDonald, 57, is president. Ward earned a B.A.
in marketing at Wayne State University, and McDonald
earned a D.B.A. at University of Kentucky.
from 2007. In 2008, 13.6% of total revenue, or $5.9
million, was generated from work conducted outside
the United States.
Morpace is a full-service survey research and
consulting firm conducting research worldwide. It has
research practices in market and product development,
brand and communications, shopping and choice, and
satisfaction and loyalty.
The firm specializes in automotive, consumer
products, financial services, healthcare, retail and
technology. These industries are supported by its
Advanced Analytics and Qualitative Insights teams,
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which develop and implement approaches such as
understanding the choices buyers make, aligning
resources with segments and providing a richer
understanding of consumer engagement.
Among its tools are:
> PROM: Product Research Optimization Model
models the contribution of individual data
attributes with the overall appeal or purchase
interest, allowing “what if ” scenarios that reflect
potential product changes.
> SOCO: Strategic Optimization of Complex
Offerings is designed to optimize a large number of
features or services to complement the firm’s depth
of experience in choice modeling.
> Common Interests: Morpace recently introduced a
family of syndicated research reports that provide
an understanding of current issues and trends.
> B-Link II identifies the links between the benefits
consumers seek from a product or service and the
particular product features that deliver these benefits.
> Morpace Reports is a monthly omnibus providing
topical insights on current issues among consumers
and small business owners.
> Morpace eCommunity allows consumers to share their
opinions and experiences in an interactive qualitative
and quantitative environment, offering longitudinal
insights not possible with traditional panels.
Morpace has conducted Internet research for more
than 15 years. Its Lighthouse Internet System executes
Internet research in virtually any language and
provides development, tracking and reporting tools.
The Morpace panel quality team manages online and
other sample sources, while its sample team continually
assesses quality and provides analytics. The Morpace
software development team customizes services
incorporating PC and Web-based tools.
Morpace has 115 full-time employees in the United
States. The firm has offices in Irvine, Calif., New York
and London. The Morpace focus group facility is
located in Farmington Hills, Mich.
35
Informa Research
Services Inc.
InformaRS.com
Michael E. Adler
Informa Research
Services Inc. (IRS), Calabasas, Calif., was founded in 1983 as
Meyer Interest Rate survey,
acquired in 1993 by BISYS Group,
and then acquired again by
London-based Informa plc in 2000.
Michael E. Adler, 45, is
president and managing director
of IRS. He earned an M.B.A. from
the Marshall School of Business at
the University of Southern
California and a J.D. from Loyola
Law School.
U.S. revenue for 2008 was $23.5
million, no change from 2007.
IRS is a provider of market
research in the financial and
retail markets and provides daily
competitive intelligence and
market analysis to clients in the
financial industry.
The firm’s researchers are
experienced in mystery shopping;
customer satisfaction and loyalty;
brand equity, awareness and usage;
new product and usability testing;
legal and matched-pair testing; and
compliance, discrimination and
misleading sales practices testing.
IRS offers mystery shopping
programs to industry sectors
including retail, banks, credit
unions, bank-owned and independent mortgage companies,
insurance brokerages and mutual
funds. It has developed a technique
for post-application testing to
detect and limit the risk associated
with allegations of discrimination,
predatory lending and misleading
sales practices.
hono2_INI.indd 62
The firm provides post-transaction interviewing
and Web-based reporting tools to measure and report
customer satisfaction and customer problems within
hours of a recent customer experience. IRS maintains a
Web panel of more than 130,000 Informed Customers
for mystery shopping, interviewing and online surveys.
The firm has a full-time U.S. staff of 193.
36
C&R Research
Services Inc.
CRresearch.com
Robbin Jaklin
C&R Research Services Inc. (C&R) in
Chicago is a privately held corporation founded in 1960.
Robbin Jaklin, 49, is C&R’s president. She earned a
B.S. at the University of Illinois.
from 2007.
C&R Research is a full-service market research
company specializing in both qualitative and quantitative research. The firm uses target-appropriate research
tools, coupled with industry experience, to provide
practical insights that guide business decisions.
C&R’s research specialties include consumer
insights, needs assessment, segmentation, attitude and
usage, concept and product development/testing,
brand imagery/positioning, advertising development/
evaluations and customer satisfaction tracking.
In addition to its research capabilities, C&R has a
number of specialized divisions, bringing demographic
experience and further customization to its projects.
> KidzEyes and TeensEyes divisions offer analysis
into the youth demographics. With years of youth
research experience and analysts trained in
childhood development, they are adept at understanding the youth market.
> MomsEyes, a natural extension of its youth divisions,
offers insight into the world of moms (and dads).
Analysts routinely navigate the complex world of
moms, identifying the key variables and differences to
understand and communicate to this key demographic.
> LatinoEyes is C&R’s Latino market consultancy
division. Services include immersion courses,
strategic consulting, competitive analysis and
full-service qualitative and quantitative market
research. LatinoEyes has a team of dedicated
professionals with understanding of both the U.S.
and Latino culture and more than 15 years
specializing in the Latino market.
> BoomerEyes focuses on what drives the boomer
market and how their business can harness the
purchasing power of boomers. Backed by segmentation, BoomerEyes has the experience to conduct
research and interpret the findings to make
informed decisions.
> ShopperEyes is dedicated to bringing the retail
customer experience to life. C&R has many years’
experience conducting shop-alongs, shopper
intercepts, in-home ethnographies, video/photo
journals, as well as packaging, concept and
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63
The firm released its first installment of YouthBeat
in 2008, a syndicated report that offers a comprehensive view of today’s youth based on 7,900 monthly
interviews of kids, teens and tweens ages 6 to 18.
C&R has 112 full-time employees.
37
MarketVision
Research Inc.
MarketVisionResearch.com
JON PINNELL
MARKETVISION RESEARCH INC. (MVR), based
in Cincinnati, is a private company founded in 1983.
hono2_INI.indd 63
Donald G. McMullen is the chairman of MVR,
and Jon Pinnell is its president. Pinnell earned an
M.B.A. at the University of Texas at Austin.
30.5% over 2007.
MVR is a full-service custom marketing
research company, with a focus on product-based
research, including product and portfolio development, pricing, branding and segmentation in both
the consumer and business sectors. The company
invests significantly in its research-on-research
program, particularly in the area of quantitative
research design and analysis. MVR works across
industry groups.
Its capabilities include:
> Advanced Analytical: MVR’s Marketing Sciences
group blends technical skills with creative
approaches to deliver insights into clients’
businesses. It is especially skilled in discrete
choice and conjoint techniques.
> Viewpoint Forum: The firm’s Internet panel and
research platform has an average cooperation
rate of 50% to 60% and 90% recovery on homeuse tests. Panelists are not permitted to sign
themselves up to participate in the research;
rather, MVR selects who is invited to participate.
> MarketVision/Gateway: MVR’s dedicated
interviewing facilities are located at the
Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando,
Fla., and Los Angeles. These facilities provide
a national sample to conduct product-based
research, including taste tests. All interviewing
stations have high-speed Internet access, and
the facilities are noted for conducting
in-person research among hard-to-reach
groups such as families, adult men, teens
and children.
positioning work for its retail, CPG and restaurant
clients across all key channels and categories.
C&R also offers online kids, teens, moms and
Latino panels, providing demographics for
customized research projects. For each of these
segments, it also offers a monthly omnibus.
Major activities in 2008 included expanded
pharmaceutical and healthcare staff and capabilities;
continued investment in a qualitative research
consulting capability; and continual investments
made in research-on-research programs covering a
variety of advanced research techniques, particularly
in the area of discrete choice modeling.
MVR employs 90 full time and has four client
service offices, two qualitative research facilities, a
research call center and two in-person data collection centers.
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38
Market Probe Inc.
MarketProbe.com
T.R. RAO
MARKET PROBE INC. (MPI) in Milwaukee is a
privately held company founded in 1976.
MPI’s founder and president is T.R. Rao, 68. He
earned a Ph.D. in marketing at Michigan State University.
U.S. revenue for 2008 was $21.1 million, down 2.8%
million, was from outside the United States.
MPI is a full-service global marketing research
and consulting firm specializing in stakeholder
measurement engagements and a wide array of
custom research techniques.
MPI companies span North America, Europe, Asia,
the Middle East and China. Its U.S. operations are
grouped into client service divisions: agricultural and
animal health, auto and manufacturing, banking,
service and telecommunications, as well as employee
satisfaction research. These divisions provide fullservice research and consult with MPI’s international
offices. There are also three support divisions: research
and development, data acquisition services and
information technology.
The firm’s services include customer satisfaction
and loyalty research, employee equity research, brand
management and tracking, new product development
and custom research and consulting services.
Its consulting work provides customer satisfaction
measurement (CSM) that includes interpreting results
and determining the strategic implications of customer
feedback. MPI also provides statistical modeling and
data mining. Special customer satisfaction research
audit services are offered to new clients in testing MPI’s
models and techniques in their current CSM programs.
The products in customer satisfaction and loyalty
research include Loyalty Rx, Rx Optimizer and
Segment Solver, all decision tools used to gauge loyalty
improvement. Its Rx models (Loyalty Rx, Brand Rx and
Equity Rx) provide the means to set goals and take into
account costs of improvements in different key areas.
Rx Optimizer has been developed to help clients test
what-if scenarios.
MPI’s research portfolio focuses on customers
(CSM, customer loyalty management solutions,
benchmarking programs), employees (employee
satisfaction metrics, employee commitment programs,
HR applications and consultations) and brands (brand
health management, market segmentation, new
product development), also with related research in
product quality and distributor/
dealer strategic relationships.
MPI contributes to the
research industry’s knowledge
base through the publication of
articles and books, including
Analysis of Customer Satisfaction
Data, Linking Customer and
Employee Satisfaction to the
Bottom Line and Managing the
Customer Experience.
The firm’s Web Reporter is a
survey analysis tool that explores
data in near real time and
provides customized reports.
Text-based filters include exact
and phonetic matches, allowing
easy detection of patterns within
the data.
In 2008, MPI significantly
increased its presence in China
by acquiring the market research
group of Up-Point China.
MPI operates more than 550
in-house CATI stations among its
call centers in the United States,
Canada, the United Kingdom,
India and Singapore. It maintains
strong partnerships with field
agencies throughout the world to
expand the services they can
provide.
There are eight company
offices in the United States and
subsidiary offices in Toronto;
London; Brussels, Belgium; Paris;
Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Singapore; Beijing and
Shanghai, China. MPI India has offices in Mumbai,
Bangalore and New Delhi.
The firm employs 250 full-time employees worldwide, including 93 in the United States.
39
KS&R Inc.
KSRinc.com
VINCENT CAMA
KS&R INC., BASED in Syracuse, N.Y., is a privately
held company founded in 1983.
Vincent Cama is CEO, and Rita L. Reicher is
president. Cama, 64, earned a Ph.D. in sociology at
Syracuse University, and Reicher earned a Ph.D. in
economics at Yale University.
over 2007. In 2008, $3.9 million, or 17.3% of total
revenue, was from outside the United States.
KS&R’s provides customized, multidisciplinary
marketing research and consulting services. The firm’s
capabilities include service/product concept testing
and development; market opportunity sizing and
segmentation; brand/customer loyalty assessment and
analysis; business retention/attraction predictive
modeling; advertising testing and measurement;
channel and partner strategy; and pricing/buyer
behavior research.
The firm specializes in global B-to-B research
across industry segments, with emphasis on technology, telecommunications, transportation, healthcare,
media and financial services. KS&R also has extensive
experience in consumer markets, especially related to
technology interfaces and the retail environment.
Each project from conception to completion is
managed by a KS&R principal overseeing a dedicated
team of professionals. The firm excels at overcoming
challenges related to geography, culture and language
to deliver in-depth surveying, translation, measurement, modeling and presentation of results worldwide.
In 2008, KS&R introduced new buyer and seller
perception testing and a new approach to concept
testing that uses a heat-mapping technique to provide
a more complete quantitative understanding of how
words and phrases influence the purchase decision.
The firm also developed a comprehensive, 360-degree
approach to B-to-B ethnographic explorations,
including focus groups, in-depth interviews, observation platforms, mystery experiences and day-in-thelife evaluations.
KS&R owns and operates INSITE, a 110-seat
contact center; a unified, global, data collection and
partner network; and Centers of Excellence in
qualitative and quantitative research. The firm
employs 166 full time and has offices in New York;
Atlanta; Memphis, Tenn.; Seattle; Denver; and
Frankfurt, Germany.
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40
Iconoculture Inc.
Iconoculture.com
DAN FRAWLEY
ICONOCULTURE INC., IN Minneapolis, is a
privately held firm founded in 1992.
Dan Frawley, 50, is CEO of Iconoculture. He earned
an M.B.A. at Harvard Business School.
over 2007.
Iconoculture is a cultural trend research firm that
provides voice to cultural trends based on underlying
consumer behaviors.
The firm is experienced in vertical markets such as
food/beverage, health/beauty, home/garden, financial
services, media/entertainment, shopper experience/
fashion, society/culture, sports/fitness, sustainable
living, technology, transportation and travel/leisure.
Its demographic coverage includes the general
market (Gen We, Millennials, Gen Xers, Boomers and
Matures), as well as multicultural markets (African
American, Asian American and U.S. Latino) covering
17 countries worldwide.
Iconoculture has an integrated suite of products
and services that include:
> U.S. Advisory Services: A subscription-based
service offers access to IconoIQ (Iconoculture’s
cultural research database), IconoNewsletters
(monthly e-bulletins), Cultural Zeitgeist (annual
top-level trend report) and an ongoing Consumer
Strategist relationship.
> Global View: A research service that identifies
global cultural trends impacting consumers in 17
countries offers insights, implications and applications for businesses.
> Custom View: A customized Web interface
provides content from Iconoculture’s interactive,
searchable content hub, IconoIQ, that is personalized for individual consumer segments.
> IconoCommunities: Client-facing, consumercentric social networks provide a real-life, real-time
read on consumers’ innermost moods, mindsets
and motivations.
> Iconosphere: Annual client cultural trend conference.
> Consumer Outlooks: Top-level trend reports
present a demographic, category or consumer
segment, or a combination of all three.
> Custom Research and Consulting: This area
delivers personalized research services to address
consumer issues and questions, either on a
domestic or global basis.
In 2008, Iconoculture built out its cultural trend
research services, introduced new deliverables into the U.S.
Advisory Service, expanded the services offered through
the Global View service and introduced Custom View. In
2009, Iconoculture will provide an integrated view of the
consumer through the expansion of research tools
including social media analysis and quantitative data.
The firm employs 95 full time.
41
Bellomy Research Inc.
BellomyResearch.com
SCOTT LAYNE
BELLOMY RESEARCH INC. (BRI), based in
Winston-Salem, N.C., is a privately held company
founded in 1976.
John Sessions, 46, is chairman, and Scott Layne,
48, is president. Sessions earned an M.B.A. from
Wake Forest University and Layne an A.S. from
Winsalm College.
U.S. revenue for 2008 was $16.7 million, no change
from 2007.
BRI is a full-service marketing research firm with
a dedicated team of consultants focusing on responding to client needs, expanding their own intellectual
capacity and working as an extension of their clients’
staff. BRI’s clients span a wide array of industries
including automotive, CPG, healthcare, telecommunications, utilities, retail, finance and textile/apparel.
BRI conducts research among both B-to-B and
consumer segments.
The firm employs a three-pronged strategy building
on core competencies:
> Knowledge: This is derived from the combination
of cross-category experience, an understanding of
how business is conducted in corporate America
and seasoned research skills. Its consultants have,
on average, 20 years of client-side and/or vendorside marketing research experience.
> Science: This is incorporated into the research
process through the use of experimental design and
advanced analytical techniques. Its marketing
sciences staff has advanced degrees in statistics,
with the department head having nearly 30 years of
client-side experience. Analytic approaches that
address business issues include short-term satisfaction and long-term loyalty tracking, market
segmentation, concept development, product
optimization and price elasticity, among other
research methods.
> Technology: BRI encompasses the design and
development of software and tools that enhance its
ability to gather and report information. SmartIDEAS is a modular component architecture that
uses an integrated platform that can adapt to
customized survey development, sample management, data collection across any medium,
panel management, table generation/data
processing and online reporting.
The SmartIDEAS platform supports a
300-unit CATI-station inbound/outbound
center, a nationwide network of more than
75 central location testing facilities and a
sample strategy that reaches more than 30
million online panelists.
BRI designs, develops and manages
proprietary communities and panels for
many of its clients.
In 2008, BRI adapted its SmartIDEAS
platform to incorporate the integration of
Web 2.0 technologies.
The firm, which has a satellite office in
Cleveland, employs 95 full time.
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Q Research Solutions Inc.
www.QResearchSolutions.com
PATTI NELSON
Q RESEARCH SOLUTION Inc.
(QRS), based in Old Bridge, N.J., is a
privately held firm founded in 1983.
The founder and CEO is
Patti Nelson.
U.S. revenue for 2008 was $15.6
million, up 20.0% over 2007. In 2008,
2.5% of total revenue, or $0.4 million was
from outside the United States.
QRS is a marketing research firm that
specializes in sensory research services
with a focus on beer, wine and spirits,
fine fragrance, household care, oral care
and personal care products.
The firm has consumer packaged
goods knowledge and experience,
methods, facilities and technology
designed for product development from
the idea generation through the product
launch stages.
QRS was the first to create high-tech
ventilation booths for consumer product
testing. It is designed to simulate kitchen,
laundry and lavatory environments and
include washable and nonporous surfaces
and observational technology.
In 2008, it launched adaptable
household rooms that can be customized to create any large environment
such as living rooms or bedrooms. The
rooms include observational Web
cameras and high-tech exhaust systems,
and can validate the reduction of
malodor.
In 2009, QRS launched HUT Plus, a
custom, home-use test method that
provides understanding in a product
usage context and how that impacts
product performance, giving clear
direction for advancing product development efforts.
QRS provides global coverage with
experience in the United States, Europe,
Asia Pacific and South America.
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44
TOM PFEIL
DONALD
PIETROWSKI
The Link Group
TLG.com
THE LINK GROUP (TLG) in Atlanta, is
a privately held company founded in 1994.
Tom Pfeil, 41, is co-founder and
managing partner of TLG. He earned an
M.B.A. from the University of Texas.
revenue, or $1.9 million, was from outside
the United States.
The Link Group is a full-service market
research firm with services that include
study design, fielding, analysis and
reporting, and encompasses a wide range of
methodologies.
TLG’s primary industries are healthcare,
technology, retail and CPG, and serves both
consumer and business clients, nationally
and internationally. It has significant
international experience, most frequently
among developed economies and international markets in Europe, Asia Pacific and
South America.
The firm primarily conducts qualitative
research, using traditional facility-based
focus groups and in-depth interviews as
well as non-traditional qualitative techniques such as bulletin board focus groups
and Web cam-based in-depth interviews.
Its Onsite Insights group conducts inhome interviews, on-site observations,
out-of-box experience research and other
ethnographic approaches.
TLG regularly conducts multi-phase
projects with both qualitative and quantitative components. High-end analytics and
statistical heavy modeling such as conjoint/
discrete choice, segmentation, structural
equation modeling and latent driver
analysis is handled by its Ph.D. staff.
One of its specialties is retail-based
customer satisfaction research, and the
company has experience running very large,
highly automated, receipt-driven customer
satisfaction studies for its retail clients.
TLG’s staff is divided between offices in
Atlanta and Durham, N.C. Senior managers
come from a variety of industry backgrounds and have Fortune 100 marketing
management and research experience.
WHAT: Better
RDA Group Inc.
RDAgroup.com
RDA GROUP INC. (RDA), based in
Bloomfield Hills, Mich., is a privately held
corporation founded in 1969.
Donald Pietrowski, 47, is president of RDA.
He earned an M.B.A. at Oakland University.
revenue, or $3.3 million, came from outside
the United States.
RDA is a full-service market research
and consulting company that provides
information regarding customer behaviors
and attitudes to businesses in a broad range
of industries including automotive,
financial services, utilities, healthcare,
insurance, advertising, recreational vehicle,
temporary staffing, housing and food.
Using quantitative and qualitative
methods, RDA offers insight into customer
satisfaction and loyalty, product quality,
statistical modeling, product development,
customer profiling, custom research and
consulting services. The firm employs
cross-disciplinary knowledge to customdesign research that meets each client’s
specific information needs.
RDA uses its Quality Management
System to conduct Internet, mail and
telephone surveys, central location testing,
focus group research, one-on-one interviews
and intercept research. Research and
industry experience is complemented by
database integration, advanced statistical
analysis and data mining.
The firm addresses a variety of research
needs including:
> Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty:
Designing tools for analyzing customer
satisfaction to determine what drives
satisfaction and loyalty.
> Product Quality: Leveraging positive
product attributes, as well as identifying those that hurt customer perceptions of quality.
> Global Research: Adapting research
design, survey development, data
Visualization Online
SAYS WHO: Roger Green, president and CEO of New Hope, Pa.-based
Roger Green and Associates Inc.
WHY: “It makes the research more compelling to respondents,” Green says.
His pharmaceutical marketing agency is working on this with prescription
and purchase simulations that are more visually appealing.
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collection, language and analytical insights to fit the local
culture and conditions worldwide. RDA developed a global
Internet CATI system, e-CATI, that allows for central management of research studies.
> Statistical Modeling and Consulting: Integrating data from
multiple sources, RDA’s statistical capabilities range from multivariate techniques to customized modeling and analysis.
> Six Sigma Consulting: Supporting and validating Six Sigma
initiatives, RDA’s Six Sigma Black Belts consult on the use of
customer voice in, and the analysis of data from, Six Sigma
projects to measure the impact of process improvement.
> Internet Research: The firm conducts online research among
businesses and consumers, as well as Web site usability testing.
> Advanced Product Research: The firm gathers and interprets
consumer opinion throughout the product development
process, including the creation of customer profiles, product
usage profiles, concept ideation, prototype evaluations and
marketplace launches.
> Qualitative Research: Using focus groups, one-on-ones and
executive interviews, online groups and telepanels, the firm
uncovers information important to marketing endeavors.
The firm has 98 full-time U.S. employees and operates a call center
and two focus group research rooms at their offices in Michigan.
45
CMI
www.CMIresearch.com
CHET ZALESKY
CMI IN ATLANTA is a privately held company founded in 1989.
Chet Zalesky, 51, is founder and president of CMI. He earned a
B.A. from Villanova University.
U.S. revenue in 2008 was $14.1 million, up 8.5% over 2007. In
2008, 0.7% of total revenue, or $0.1 million, was from outside the
United States.
CMI is a full-service custom marketing research firm with
experience in B-to-B and consumer markets, and a wide range of
industries including utilities, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, financial
services, insurance and hospitality.
The firm employs a variety of methods, combining quantitative
research surveys, advanced analytics, and qualitative methods used
by its research teams together with a collaborative approach.
Recent projects include longitudinal ethnography research across
a range of media among target customers and their key influencers
across social networks, and the use of decision pathways and
structural equation modeling to prioritize marketing resources.
CMI directly conducts and manages all U.S.-based projects
using a network of sample providers for contact with the target
customers. The firm’s international projects often use a range of
partners who are experienced in local cultures and languages.
CMI’s Project Mapping and Report Insights processes align
business objectives with findings. Its WIN (Web Insights Navigator) service provides a platform for sharing and aligning information throughout its clients’ organizations.
CMI employs 45 full time.
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46
Savitz Research
Companies
SavitzResearch.com
JEFFRY N. SAVITZ
SAVITZ RESEARCH COMPANIES (SRC) in Dallas is a
privately held corporation founded in 1981.
Jeffry N. Savitz is founder and president of SRC. He earned an M.S.
and an M.B.A. at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
U.S. revenue in 2008 was $12.6 million, down 14.9% from 2007.
SRC is a full-service marketing research company whose
experience includes quantitative market, product and advertising
research. SRC executives all have extensive client-side experience.
The company offers customized models and products in
customer satisfaction, benefit segmentation, brand equity, promotion evaluation, direct mail list screening, pricing and optimal line
extension models.
The Savitz Field and Focus division offers facilities in 16 major
U.S. cities and 3 foreign cities through its membership in Focus
Coast to Coast, an alliance of focus group facilities worldwide.
Markets include: Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Houston; Los
Angeles; Miami; New York; Philadelphia; San Francisco; Columbus, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Hartford,
Conn.; Tampa, Fla.; Washington, D.C.; Moscow; St. Petersburg,
Russia; and Kiev, Ukraine. It facilitates focus groups, in-depth
interviews, litigation research, taste tests, music tests, dial tests,
usability tests, simulated store tests, product trial tests and ethnographic studies.
SRC employs 45 full-time staff and offers a 50-line CATIequipped system, complete Internet interviewing and data
processing. The firm also provides graphical and statistical
services, SPSS and other software packages.
47
Chadwick Martin
Bailey Inc.
CMBinfo.com
ANNE BAILEY BERMAN
CHADWICK MARTIN BAILEY Inc. (CMB), based in Boston,
is a privately held corporation founded in 1984.
Anne Bailey Berman, 60, is president and CEO. She earned an
M.B.A. from Boston University.
U.S. revenue in 2008 was $12.3 million, up 5.1% over 2007.
CMB is a custom market research and consulting firm in areas of
brand management, product development, segmentation for market
development, and customer experience and loyalty management.
The firm uses market science and research techniques and
consulting for problem solving applied across each of its five practice
areas: financial services, information technology and telecom, travel
and hospitality, retail and e-commerce and insurance.
Its specializations, applied across all industry verticals, include
segmentation, market performance measurement, new and existing
product optimization, customer loyalty program development and
optimization, customer experience measurement, and brand
development and tracking.
One in four of CMB’s 60 U.S. employees has been with the firm
for more than 10 years.
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71
Gongos Research Inc.
Gongos.com
JOHN GONGOS
GONGOS RESEARCH INC. (GRI),
based in Auburn Hills, Mich., is a privately
held company founded in 1991.
John Gongos, 48, is president and CEO
of Gongos Research. He earned an M.B.A.
at the University of Cincinnati.
U.S. revenue for 2008 was $12.2 million,
down 8.3% from 2007.
GRI is a full-service custom marketing
research company that specializes in
research methodologies that support
product development, service development,
retail and marketing decision-making.
To support product and service
development, GRI utilizes methods such as
concept development, concept testing, voice
of the customer, product testing and price/
feature optimization. Its consumer immersion techniques provide in-store research to
support a variety of initiatives for retail
clients. The firm also provides a wide range
of research methods to support marketing
decision-making, including emotional
connections, segmentation and positioning.
While it initially focused entirely in the
automotive industry, today GRI partners
with Fortune 500 companies in the
powersports, consumer product, retail and
services sectors, while still maintaining a
strong presence in automotive.
While the majority of clients are
U.S.-based, Internet methodologies are
employed to conduct research globally for
several clients.
A major thrust for GRI is to leverage
technology to gain competitive advantages.
Some of the technologies that GRI has
developed include i°Community, metaCommunity, gongos goSHOP virtual
shopping, ConsumerView virtual focus
groups and real-time date collection/
reporting for product testing.
The firm’s i°Community manages
numerous private online research communities for clients, ranging from topics such
as alternative fuels to chocolate consumption to beverage shopping habits. Its
metaCommunity, called Consumer Village,
is used to conduct quick-turnaround,
ad-hoc studies and to test new research
methods. Consisting of more than 20,000
consumers, it is also used for philanthropic
purposes.
GRI’s focus for 2009 is to continue
to develop holistic qualitative and
quantitative approaches to research, and
to leverage technology to develop new
research products. Concentrations include
enhancements and extensions to its online
research communities and virtual focus
group facility.
GRI has 71 full-time employees.
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48
RTi Market Research &
Brand Strategy
RTiResearch.com
DAVE ROTHSTEIN
RTI MARKET RESEARCH & Brand Strategy, in
Stamford, Conn., is a privately held company founded
in 1979.
Dave Rothstein, 42, is president of RTi. He has an
M.B.A. from the University of Rochester.
U.S. revenue for 2008 was $12.2 million, unchanged
from 2007.
RTi is a custom research firm offering services related
to both consumer and B-to-B issues across a diverse client
base. The firm’s research teams are led by company
principals, and its services are aligned with client business
objectives and brand-specific strategic priorities.
In 2008, RTi introduced its Hispanic Research Practice, which delivers insights that connect brands and
Hispanic audiences. The firm also expanded its
Portfolio Manager application, which provides product
line optimization. Portfolio Manager identifies
incremental volume items, least-negative volume
impact for de-lists, and/or the best line-up if starting
from scratch orre-launching a product or service.
RTi conducts qualitative and quantitative research
simultaneously on projects to offer a richness of data
that creates instant knowledge.
RTi’s specialized research tools support and extend
its custom-designed research. These are:
> BrandStar: A facilitated, interactive strategic
marketing tool used to define all aspects of a
brand’s competitive position.
> Qualmark: A satisfaction and loyalty research
program designed to help prioritize improvement
efforts by focusing on the aspects of service that
have the largest impact on overall satisfaction.
> Construction Test: A product development tool
that is used to identify optimal combinations of
new product or service components.
> ScreenPlay: After a quantitative screening of ideas,
concepts or benefits, ScreenPlay considers these
multiple opportunities and determines which make
up the optimal set.
> Pathways: Using wireless audience response
technology, quantitative and qualitative research
can be combined in a single
two-hour session. It also
provides cost, speed and
learning benefits.
> Mature Market Omnibus:
A regularly scheduled
omnibus study among 1,000
consumer ages 50 to 74. This
demographic can be reached
and queried quickly and
cost-effectively.
The firm has offices in
three U.S. cities and employs
43 full time.
50
Roger Green
& Associates Inc.
RogerGreen.com
ROGER GREEN
ROGER GREEN & Associates Inc. (RGA), in New
Hope, Pa. Is a privately held firm founded in 1991.
Roger Green, 55, is CEO of RGA. He earned an
M.B.A at Columbia University.
over 2007.
RGA provides custom primary research and
forecasting support for pharmaceutical and biotech
manufacturers and marketers. The firm’s primary focus
involves pinpointing how branded medicines bring
value to the overall markets in which they compete,
and to specific customer groups within those markets.
RGA conducts surveys and qualitative interviews with
physicians, consumers, payers and regulators, using
quantitative and qualitative methods to simulate physician
prescribing decisions and other market activities.
The firm has a range of products including:
> Dynamic Practice Simulation: DPS is a quantitative
method that models physician prescribing behavior
by replicating the reality of a physician’s office.
Physicians “treat” simulated patients described by a
full medical chart and personal history. DPS
provides clear, prescription-level data sets that
provide tools in an array of strategic research
activities. Also, the firm deploys multiple future
simulations within a single DPS study for modeling
market behavior 5 to 7 years in advance.
> Qualitative-to-Modeling: QTM is a blended
research tool that models future market scenarios
using qualitative interviews to augment the client’s
existing research and readily available secondary
data. QTM provides detailed “probability of
success” models and related sensitivity analyses,
supporting forecast-based decision processes.
> Consumer Cascade: Consumer Cascade is a series
of questions which, when inserted into quantitative
patient surveys, characterize the role of the
consumer in the pharmaceutical prescribing and
purchase processes.
> Market Impact models. Impact models integrate
existing primary and secondary data with qualitative and/or quantitative research to forecast market
behavior in pharmacy, hospital and physician-office
purchase models. These models incorporate an
array of data from RGA primary research with
legacy primary and secondary research from clients
to replicate patient flows into the medical system
and commercial transactions within the system.
m
Methodology: Invitations to market research firms with estimated annual U.S. revenue
of more than $10 million are sent in January of each year, requesting revenue information for the prior year, a company profile of activities and other company metrics. The
Top 50 rankings are based on U.S. revenue. Verification of revenue is required of each
private firm by their outside accounting firm. For further information, call Larry Gold at
(847) 526-0707 or Jack Honomichl at (847) 382-3246.
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