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General Mills Adopts MarketTools TrueSample Technology; TrueSample Panel Network Increases to Six with Research Now

^{Published on 2008-12-17 07:36:01 - Market Wire}
 

SAN FRANCISCO--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--MarketTools, Inc. today announced that General Mills (NYSE:GIS) has adopted TrueSample, the first technology-based solution in the market research industry to ensure that online survey respondents are real, unique and engaged. MarketTools also announced that Research Now, a leading provider of online data collection and panel services to the global market research industry, has joined the TrueSample Partner Program, a global network of leading sample providers that have their panels validated by MarketTools TrueSample technology. Today's news demonstrates continued momentum for TrueSample technology and reinforces the critical importance of a new, global, industry standard for the delivery of quality online market research and consumer insights.

General Mills is now standardizing on TrueSample for all of the company's U.S. online research and has plans to extend TrueSample to its European research. By applying TrueSample to all of its sample suppliers and research projects, General Mills is able to ensure that none of the respondents used in its research are fake, duplicate or unengaged in the survey process. This, in turn, helps General Mills ensure quality data from its research, leading to better business decisions.

"General Mills is fully committed to the implementation of TrueSample to assure online data integrity in our market research efforts," said Jeff Hunter, consumer insights director, innovation toolkit and cereal partners worldwide at General Mills.

In addition, Research Now joins a global network of leading research organizations as part of the TrueSample Certified Partner program that includes: Luth Research, Greenfield Online, Ciao Surveys, the European arm of Greenfield Online, and Toluna in the United Kingdom. These companies meet MarketTools' stringent criteria for respondent validation and together delivering the highest level of sample quality. Research Now is a leading provider of online data collection and panel services to the global market research industry, and a market leader in Europe. The company's 36 proprietary, research-only online panels (called "Valued Opinions") are used by leading research agencies and some of the world's best known companies across Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific to conduct fieldwork exclusively via the Internet.

"Research Now is committed to the highest standards of panel quality," said Chris Havemann, CEO of Research Now. "We are pleased to join the TrueSample Partner Certification program and partner with MarketTools."

Recent research conducted by MarketTools found a clear connection between bad respondents and the risk of making incorrect conclusions from survey data. Specifically, MarketTools' research demonstrated that even a small number of bad respondents (those who cannot be validated as real, unique and engaged)––as low as 30 percent––can double a company's risk of making a bad decision. The report went out to determine that increasing sample size, a tactic often used to counteract the effect of bad respondents, increases the risk of making a wrong decision, and that eliminating one type of bad respondent at a time (for example, removing duplicates, then straight-liners, etc.) further compounds the risk.Thisnew research shows that fraudulent respondents have the potential to impact billions of dollars in product and marketing decisions each year and reinforces the need for companies using online market research to require the sample validation technology that only MarketTools and Certified Partners provide.

"MarketTools is pleased to see this level of interest and adoption in the industry," said John Ouren, executive vice president and general manager of panels and communities at MarketTools. "We firmly believe that an industry standard for sample validation will help not only deliver better research, but also improve confidence in online research."

About TrueSample

TrueSample is the industry's only multi-layered technology for eliminating inaccuracy and fraud in online market research. Only TrueSample employs six distinct layers of validation––three at the panel level and three at the survey level––to catch and remove questionable respondents from the company's own ZoomPanel and the panels of TrueSample Certified Partners. The result is a solution that provides objective assurance that survey respondents are real, unique and engaged. To date, TrueSample has removed an average of 29 percent of prospective and existing panelists, improving the quality of survey data industry wide.

Members of the TrueSample Certified Partner Program include: ZoomPanel, [ www.zoompanel.com ]; Luth Research, [ www.luthresearch.com ]; Greenfield Online, [ www.greenfieldonline.com ]; Ciao Surveys, [ www.ciaosurveys.com ]; Toluna, [ www.tolua-group.com ]; and Research Now, [ www.resesarchnow-usa.com ].

About MarketTools

MarketTools is the leading technology and solutions provider of Customer Insight Management solutions for the world's market leaders. Through a unique combination of best-in-class research platforms, quality-assured global panels and research innovation, MarketTools enables companies to better identify new opportunities, fuel greater product success and build customer advocacy. As the first company to make online surveys widely available on the web, MarketTools continues its market-leading position by providing the broadest range of powerful, accurate and integrated customer insight technologies that empower companies to become the most customer-centric organizations in their industries. MarketTools' premier portfolio of technology-based insight brands includes Zoomerang™, zTelligence™, CustomerSat™, TrueSample™, Insight Networks™, Idea Networks™ and ZoomPanel™.

MarketTools is a privately held company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco and European headquarters in London. For more information, please visit: [ www.markettools.com ].