Archive for November, 2009

The MRA chose the Hilton waterfront in San Diego to host their Fall conference.  San Diego is best known as a navy town.  One only has to look along the waterfront to see the vast presence of the United States Navy.  Carriers’ numbers 74 and 76 (the USS Ronald Reagan) are positioned opposite the USS Midway.  The Midway is permanently anchored as a museum, much like the Intrepid back in New York. 

South of the highway bridge going to Coronado Island the Navy has docked a veritable fleet of warships.  Nothing could prepare us for the sight of so many ships.   As we passed by at night they were dark and foreboding.  There were a few that were ablaze with lights like a brightly lit furnace.  The contrast to those draped in darkness gave us a very eerie feeling.  A line of anti-terrorist floats keeps the curious away.  As we passed ship after ship we felt weighed down by one question… What purpose could so much firepower play? 

I was surprised at my own reaction.  I just sent my second book to my agent: a biography of Alfred Vanderbilt the hero of the “Lusitania”.  I immortalized none other than U-21… the killer submarine that sank the “Lusitania”.  Now that I was confronted by modern-day war ships I cowered in their shadows thinking of the men and women who carry out their mission.  we are grateful to those who serve and are thankful that our sons have been spared. We know that looking at these ships in safe waters, close to home, is a far cry from when they are in foreign seas.  We pray for peace…

On the last day of the conference the hotel was preparing for a huge gathering.  The Marines had landed… We were told that two thousand non-commissioned officers would be in attendance for the NCO ball that night.  We hope they had a great time… they deserve it!

The very nature of survey research requires that online sample sources have robust quality standards. It is impossible to interpret market research results with confidence without a thorough understanding of the sample sources from which respondents are drawn. This is particularly important in the case of both tracking studies and multinational studies, where both validity and consistency are critical.

Since late 2007, our firm has been compiling and analyzing data for just such an assessment. The Grand Mean Project is an extensive study of global online panels. For the study, at least 400 respondents are collected from each participating panel. A standard online questionnaire, translated into local languages, is utilized, including a focus on buying behavior and a broad spectrum of other subjects. This program has collected data on more than 150 panels across 35 countries. In eight countries, at least five companies have participated, allowing the creation of a grand mean. In 17 countries, multiple panel data has been collected and in 10 countries one panel has participated. To our knowledge, it is the largest and most comprehensive online sample assessment to date.

You can read the full article published in Quirks / November 2009:
Finding the strength in numbers by Steve Gittelman and Elaine Trimarchi