MRA-NY

New York, New York (1 February 2012) – Opinion Access Corp. (OAC), the recognized industry experts and the one-stop-shop for marketing research quantitative data collection has announced that their Vice President of Business Development, Lance Hoffman has been made a Partner in the company. Jim Hoffman, President, and Joe Rafael, Chairman, who are the founders and original partners since 1995 made this announcement effective on 1 January 2012.

“Lance has been an integral part of OAC for over 10 years and has been instrumental in growing our expanding client base. Joe and I felt it was an important step to make Lance a partner,” said Jim Hoffman. Prior to OAC, Lance had a strong background in B2B sales that translated to results when he joined OAC. He is the former President of the Greater NY Chapter of the Marketing Research Association, was one of the first recipients of the National MRA Rising Star Award, and is currently a MRA PRC Certified expert in quantitative data collection.

“From the moment I came to work at OAC, I have strived to learn and to grow both myself and the company through industry education, new client acquisition and existing client management. Being a partner has solidified my continued commitment to the growth of the company for the shared future of our employees,” said Lance Hoffman.

OAC leads the way in Diverse Data Collection Options for our Culturally Diverse Society.

• Bilingual English/Spanish Experts
• Domestic and Offshore Owned Centers
• Multi-language Capabilities
• Tracking Projects
• Political Projects
• Multi-mode Surveys
• Data Processing
• Online Surveys
• CATI and CATI Over Web
• Global Field Management

About Opinion Access Corp.

Opinion Access Corp., the leading market research data collection center is now the only independent data collection, data processing and translation company that can execute English and Hispanic Bilingual telephone interviews either in the United States and/or in the Dominican Republic.  All data and is maintained in our New York facility. We provide telephone interviewing utilizing the flexibility of CFMC or TelAthena software integrated with the most advanced predictive dialer.  We have expanded to online, in-person, and other forms of field interviewing and offer interviewing in over 11 languages emphasizing Hispanic Bilingual.

OAC, based in metropolitan New York City, is a strategic company that is focused, committed to long-range planning and development while concentrating on solid, long-term relationships. OAC leads the way in diverse data collection options for our culturally diverse society.

Improved Response Rates Starts At Home

As a young man starting out in this industry, I took a business trip to Nielsen Media headquarters in Florida and witnessed the processing of millions of paper diaries used to capture TV viewership information.  If you never have seen an original Nielsen paper diary,  I highly recommend you seek one out.  The diaries, in my opinion, were a confusing complex grid of monotonous questions that required a tremendous commitment from the Nielsen panelists.   As I stood in the data processing facility, I could not image why anyone would complete this book of questions disguised as a questionnaire. Needless to say panelists did complete the diaries and response rates were good for incentives amounting to just cents on the dollar.  So it is a bit puzzling that with all the strides made in market research, increasing survey response rates remains an industry challenge today.

One can point to the very limited time consumers have nowadays as a contributing factor to declining response rates.  Adults are working longer hours, and are in some cases, working several jobs in this troubled economy.   Our youth who have traditionally been difficult to recruit, are also more pressed for time. I suspect their interest in survey-taking is more heavily taxed from a multiple of available entertainment options rather than from increased school-related workloads.  Let us also not forget that we are surveying consumers more now than perhaps ever before. The increased frequency at which consumers are asked to take surveys certainly contributes to declining response rates.

We as an industry have responded to the challenge of improving response rates by writing more appealing survey invitations, using reminders responsibly and offering an array of incentive options.  Whereas participants in the original Nielsen paper diary were rewarded with just cents on the dollar, survey respondents today have many choices of cashing out.  Incentives have become more personalized, and thus more relevant. Survey respondents can choose to receive gift cards from their favorite retailer or even use incentives points to make a charitable donation.

While we have made tremendous strides towards protecting survey response rates, there is more to do, including work in our very own backyard.  They say doctors make the worst patients.  The response rates for the last several waves of the Chapter Membership Survey did not meet expectation. Our Membership Survey helps sets the strategic direction for the Chapter. Let us lead by example and make a commitment to complete the Member Survey.

Tim Taylor, PRC
Authentic Response, Inc.
304 Park Ave. South, 7th Floor | New York, NY 10010
P. 646.367.3930 | C. 718.938.0719 | F. 212.905.5501

REMINISCENCES

Having recently left the Board of the Greater New York Chapter of the MRA, I find myself reflecting over the many years of change I have experienced during my long tenure on the Board.

First I will share a few early recollections:

Lynda Manning of Data Development approached me at an ARF and asked if I would be interested in getting more involved with the MRA.  I, of course, knew of the organization, but perceived it as a group of data collectors and field services who mainly worked from their homes.  Please remember this is MANY years ago. And so, I gave it a try and came to a few meetings which were then at the Princeton Club.  The rather sterile atmosphere and stilted evening lectures did not do much to encourage my interest but I did meet a few members who strongly suggested I give the organization more of a chance.

My first conference was in Atlantic City.  Knowing very few people made this a bit daunting. It did not take more than a few minutes before Ilene Kaplan and Ruth Ann Chesnoff, literally strode across the crowded meeting room and greeted me and my business partner with such warmth and enthusiasm that we immediately became part of what heretofore seemed like an ‘in-crowd’. The proverbial ice had been broken!

There were others who were key in my becoming more involved.  Mary Wang, SPSS/IBM, who although already a personal friend, furthered my involvement by asking me to volunteer for a task force which revised the Code of Ethics,  Standards and Best Practices.  And so I became familiar with one aspect of the organization –Task Forces – which are formed to deal with periodic activities, such as By-Law updates or other initiatives that come up with less regularity. 

Then at an End-of-Year installation event, I wound up in conversation with Steve Gerzovich of KantarHealth, who was then the President of our Chapter.  He spent the time to talk to me about the benefits of becoming more involved.  I then got truly  ‘hooked’ and never spent a minute regretting it.

The process continued:

I slowly learned about the structure of the Chapter, how the Board functions with many Committees to steer the activities which make us achieve our goals of educational and networking events, publishing a quarterly newsletter, organizing a Joint Chapter event with the Philadelphia Chapter, to name a few.  There are Board liaisons who work with Committee Chairs and their Committee members to keep communication going and to execute the various activities throughout the year.

This is all possible through VOLUNTEERS.  The most wonderful volunteers at that. 

The best part:

Besides the rewarding aspect of being part of the Chapter’s Board as a Director-at-Large for more than 2 terms and as President, there was an amazing benefit that I had not anticipated. I hope I have engaged your interest enough so that you will follow me to the end of this journey.

As an integral part of the Chapter, I saw the changes over the last decade. We have grown into a truly professional organization with educational events that make one proud.  We publish an online newsletter that is informative and sophisticated. We run events that have more networking time since our Membership Survey has shown us that is what members want.  We have a better relationship with the National organization and we interact with other Chapters. We have evolved into an amazing organization and we also have fun!

There was a lot to learn and a lot of effort was made to bring us to where we are today. I, for one, have a great feeling of pride in our Chapter and the MRA. We have truly ‘come a long way, baby’.

For me, it has been a life enhancing experience.  I learned the joys of volunteering. My business has been remarkably increased by developing many more associates through the organization and now for the VERY BEST PART—

I have made the most wonderful friends whom I hope and trust will be lifelong ones.  This was the hidden treasure of my experience and one I wanted to share above all others.  And lucky for all of you (and for me), one of them is your new President, Janet Baldi of RTI Research.  She is an absolute joy and her energy, warmth, intelligence, dedication and her constantly bright glow all attest to the wonderful year you will have ahead.

I will stay involved and encourage all of you to do the same. Don’t be shy. Contact me if you need a little nudge.

This is a GREAT organization. Try it. You will definitely like it!!

Rhoda Brooks

IPC

(212) 213-3303

rbrooks@ipcgroup.us