So Cal Ch apter MRA News & Eve nts – Oc to ber, 2015

A Message From The President: Upcoming Events:

Challenges in Multicultural Research Feat. David Burgos, TNS: Thursday, November 12• Museum of Making

Music, Carlsbad• 6:30-9:30 PM• $40 for Members, $50

for Non-Members and $30 for students

• Includes seminar, dinner, parking & open bar.

• See page 6 for details. Information or sponsorship opportunities, call Ginger Blazier at 619-724-9727

Annual Holiday Party: Tuesday, December 15• Details coming soon!

Spring Networking Mixer: February• Greater Los Angeles

location.

Education Day• Coming in April 2016

“May you live in interesting times.”

Interesting times, indeed. This could easily be the catchphraseof the marketing research industry over the past few yearsand, possibly, even more so as we move forward. Technologyhas provided us with exciting changes, advances andopportunities. Social media continues to impact the way wethink about research and the possibilities for harnessingdifferent and more representative groups of respondents.And, regulatory challenges at home and from abroad continueto abound. It is clear that, more than ever, the marketingresearch industry and its representative organizations need tocome together with one strong, united voice. To be inclusiveand supportive of each other, and work together to protectand serve our industry.

In the 2015-2016 SoCal MRA chapter year, we hope to provideimportant content, thoughtful speakers and at least a little funto our members (and non-members). We’re off to a greatstart. Our joint PAPOR “Legal Short Course” event this week atLoyola Marymount University featuring Stuart Pardau was agreat success with nearly 50 attendees on site and livestreaming. Next up will be a seminar on multicultural researchin November, followed by our annual holiday party inDecember. I hope you will have the opportunity to join us.

Lynn Stalone

President, SoCal Chapter MRA

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Congratulations to Ginger for receiving the Chapter Service Award for the SoCal Chapter MRA. Ginger has continued to contribute countless hours to the success of chapter events since leaving the board as Past President a few years back. Last year she was instrumental in planning and executing our Pub Crawl, as well as assisting with other events. Ginger continues to be involved with chapter activities and planning for 2015-2016.

CONG RATULATIONS G ING ER BLAZ IER! – So Cal Ch apter Se r v ice Award fo r vo lunteer contr ibut ions 2014 - 2015

TH ANK YOU LOREI MUSSELMAN! – Lo re i le aves th e So Cal Chapter board af te r 20+ years o f se rv ice

Our heartfelt thanks to Lorei Musselman for the impact she has made on the SoCal Chapter over the years – most recently as Treasurer. Lorei has served on the SoCal board in virtually every position –including 2 stints at President (which means 2 rounds of President-Elect and Past President!). The good news is that we’ll still be seeing her at chapter events and conferences! As a small token of appreciation, the chapter has sent Lorei a gift card to Burke-Williams Spa so she can enjoy some well-deserved pampering.

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We lcome New Membe rs!

Brady Darvin Kia Motors America

Annett Thom CENTRA Language Solutions

Marcos Memran Morgan Stanley

Kevin Lewis Research Now

Dave Oventhal Student

Luke Thalen Hiner & Partners, Inc.

Jenny Yeon Student

Julian Ramirez Scientific Telephone Samples

Ashley Albright

Andrew Barosso ACB Research, LLC

Brian Cluster

Raphael Ghieuw Sien Scientific Telephone Samples

Kevin Korgaonkar Phoenix Marketing International

Maureen Ladley Ladley & Associates

John Nienstedt Competitive Edge RES Comm, Inc.

Scott Richards Reconnect Research

Cathy Tran SEMA

Jason West Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.

Natalie Young DirecTV

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San D ie go P u b Craw l at MRA ISC Co nfe rence a Su c cess!

A great time was had by all at the SoCalChapter Pub Crawl during the June MRAISC Conference in San Diego. The groupvisited 7 unique venues in the GaslampDistrict where they were treated tofabulous food and beverages at every stop.A special thanks to Ginger Blazier, alongwith volunteer herders Lori Kolde, MicheleJames, Jocelyn Thomas and EleanorMartin. Thank you, again, to our eventsponsors without whom we could not puttogether amazing events like this!

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MEET THE SOCAL MEMBER – Debby Sch les in ger -Hel lman

When was the company founded and where? The company was founded in 1966 in our home in Woodbridge, NJ. My mom was looking for a way to make some extra money to send to my brother (spending money) while he was in College. She started as an executive interviewer and then quickly became the regional supervisor for a large MR firm in NYC. She managed a group of interviewers. At that time much of the work was door to door, telephone interviews and in person executive interviews at offices of C level folks at fortune 500 companies.

Your mom was one of the pioneers in the data collection field – what’s your fondest work-related memory of her? I have so many fond memories. My mom loved this industry and was passionate about her work. One of my favorite things about my mom is that she was a mentor to so

many other folks in the industry. To this day, there are insights providers who will come up to me and tell me a story about how my mom helped them build their career, gain confidence and become successful. When that happens I am clearly very proud of my Mom’s contributions to our industry.

Still thinking about your mom, what is the one piece of advice she gave you that you still pass on today? My mom was a believer that anything is possible as long as you think it through, be creative, have a little time and money to make it happen. She was a great example to her children, as well as many others, on how to be professional and at the same time enjoy the work. She always said, “work hard and play harder”- the Schlesinger motto!

Schlesinger is a real success from scratch story…from an in-home business to now a global company. What were the big challenges? There are many challenges in growing a business. Ours is no different. We needed to find talented team members, be a bit of a risk taker, think strategically how to tackle the landscape of the ever changing industry and talking to others in business (both MR and other businesses)

to learn from a their stories. Being open minded helps move things along. Being informative about global nuances is definitely a key once you decide to venture out past the US. We have been fortunate to find great folks to join our team in the EU which definitely helped us grow globally.

What advice/words of wisdom would you give to people who are considering a career in Market Research? The MR industry is an exciting place to be! There are so many areas to explore, it touches every industry you can imagine and you get to see the outcomes in everyday life. There are opportunities for advancement, in general as well as in specific areas of interest. I have personally made so many lifelong friends from working in this industry.

A few tidbits of info about me… I was a premed student wanting to be a neuro surgeon- very much like MR, right! I was helping my mom one summer during college and decided MR was way more fun. I love to listen to stories about businesses and how they got going. I love to tell stories as well! One of my favorite things about my job is that I get to work side by side with my brother.

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J O I N U S O N N O V E M B E R 1 2 T H I N C A R L S B A D !

P r e s e n t e d b y D a v i d B u r g o s , T N S

November 12th, 2014 - 6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. Members $40 - Students $30 - Non-Members $50

(includes seminar, open bar, dinner & parking)

Event Sponsors:

The importance of addressing multiple and diverse cultural groups in research continues to grow. David Burgos, Senior Vice President of Cultural Strategies at TNS and author of Marketing to the New Majority: Strategies for a Diverse World delivers this thought-provoking presentation on overcoming the challenges associated with the multicultural component of research, best practices and other considerations. Network with colleagues, friends, & new acquaintances before and after the seminar. PRC credits will be awarded.

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MEET THE SOCAL MEMBER – Michael Ha lberstam

How long have you been in the MR industry? Since February 13th 1978. I was 8 years old then.

What attracted to you to this industry? There was nothing in particular that led me to Market Research. I was between classes at Fairleigh Dickinson and decided to go to the Bergen Mall to pick up my weekly comic books. (Yes, I’ve been collecting comic books since 1961 even though I was 8 years old in 1978 when I started in MR) I got stopped to do a survey at the mall and afterwards I asked the manager for a job as an interviewer. I had hair below my waist at the time which I had to tuck in my shirt when I was interviewing. A random job at the time.

What do you feel have been major challenges, along the way? Well, cutting my hair was one challenge. It had been a very long time but Bill Bartlett the owner of Suburban Associates said he would promote me if I cut it. I did and he did. Other challenges included moving to Los Angeles in 1980 to work for LRW. Leaving LRW to work at ISA in 1983 and growing ISA over the years through many changes in technology and research. It’s been a great ride.

Tell us about how ISA and SoapBox started and how you’ve had such success there. ISA opened in 1982 with 30 telephone stations, with no CATI and the cost, per minute, for a telephone call was over $.18! The idea for SoapBox was one that had been discussed, internally, for a number of years. We felt the time was right in early 2012 and put everything in place to hire the right team and launch later that year.

ISA covers many languages for telephone data collection… How many in total and what are the most interesting ones? We have done projects in 67 languages, to date. I find all of them interesting. You get to meet people from many cultures who come to our office to work. It’s fascinating talking with them and hearing about their home countries, culture, food and how they came to LA.

What advice/words of wisdom would you give to people who are considering a career in Market Research? Listen carefully. There’s no need to speak or have the last word. Surround yourself with people smarter than you. I’m living proof of that.

Why we love Michael:He added his own Q&A …

Boxers or Briefs? Boxers! It’s a perennial question, so there’s no point in dodging it.

Dogs or cats? Dogs! I love cats but can rarely eat a whole one by myself.

You’re well-known for the style of shirts you wear. Where do you get all of them, and the weird socks? I get them all over. I have shops I go to in LA, San Diego, Las Vegas, Houston, NYC and Ft. Myers, as well as a number of online sites.

What other interesting jobs have you had? I was a cab driver for three years in the NY Tri-State area. You really learn how to deal with all kinds of people when you do that. I had a baby born in the back of my cab in a Shop Rite parking lot.

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Congratulations are in order for the following students who graduated and successfullytransitioned into professional world this past June, 2015. They are now working full timeat the various companies below.

•Jenny Yeon, Market Research Analyst, MaPS, part of Millward Brown•Somi Kang, Research Associate, Communicus, Inc. •Tiffany Tran, Television Research Analyst, Sony Pictures Entertainment•Leilani Schelstrate, Jet Propulsion Laboratory•Raphael Ghieuw Sien, Account Services, Scientific Telephone Samples•Amanda Smiley, Research Associate, Lieberman Research Worldwide•Julius Tan, Client Services Representative, Capital Group

Cal Poly Pomona students selected for competitive national marketing and marketing research workshops hosted by Google were:

Ashley Lam (top), participated I-MIX (Interactive Marketing Immersion Xperience) Summer Program.Janna Esguerra (bottom), selected to participate I-MAX (Interactive Marketing Analytics Xperience) Summer Program.

Cal Poly Pomona undergraduate students participated in a research competition hosted by Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Group, and placed at 2nd, for their research entitled, “Customer-Centric Health Care Management in the Face of Consumerism.” Congratulations to Armand Yerjanian, Janna Esguerra, Rebeca Barreiro, Ashley Lam, and Ana Huerta.

NEWS FROM CAL P OLY POMONA

National Google Workshops & PMRG Competition Winners:

Graduation & Transition

Cal Poly Pomona has students who are eager to experience market research in a real world setting. Consider hiring one of our exceptional students for your next internship. Regarding internship or other jobs, contact Professor Jung at jmjung@cpp.edu

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NEWS FROM CAL P OLY POMONA - cont inued

Fundamentals of Marketing Research Certificate Program

Cal Poly Pomona professional certificate program “Fundamentals of Marketing Research” is the first of its kind in Southern California.This affordable, four-course certificate program will prepare youto succeed in marketing research as a project manager, account executive, or field research supervisor in any organization - big or small, profit or non-for-profit. It takes only 20 weeks to complete in a face-to-face setting and it is affordable. No prior knowledge or degree is required. Anyone new to marketing research can benefit from this program. Go to http://www.ceu.cpp.edu/courses/cert/MS/CMR.html for more details.

The Cal Poly Pomona Market Research Club is looking for professionals to share their experiences at its general meetings held on Tuesdays from noon to 12:50 pm throughout the year. This student organization helps to further the skills and abilities of students interested in becoming marketing research professionals. If you are interested in becoming a guest speaker, contact either Sarah Angelia(sangelia@cpp.edu) or Kelly Tolle (ketolle@cpp.edu), MRC co-presidents.

Two New Faculty Join Cal Poly Pomona Marketing Research Department

GUEST SPEAKERS NEEDED!

Assistant Professor Randy Stein holds a Ph. D. in Social Psychology from Yale University. His research interests include looking at how consumer behavior is automatically affected by the social influence of others, the effects of chain branding on consumer choice, and how emotions shape decisions. His work has been published in the Journal of Consumer Research and Consciousness and Cognition. Prior to joining the faculty of Cal Poly Pomona, he worked at Lieberman Research Worldwide.

Dr. Kristen Schiele received her Ph.D. in marketing from University of California, Irvine, and she

joins Cal Poly Pomona as an assistant professor of marketing. Her primary areas of research are Digital Marketing and Marketing Education. Some of her recent awards include "Best Overall Civic-minded Project Award" at the 2015 Cross-Disciplinary Civic Engagement Symposium. Dr. Schiele frequently presents her research and serves as a regular reviewer for professional communities such as Association of Consumer Research, American Marketing Association, and Marketing Educators’ Association. She has over 10 years of industry experience including: The Irvine Company, Fit for Green and Susan's Healthy Gourmet.

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President: Lynn Stalone, IHR Research Group

President-Elect: Todd Costello, CMR, LLC.

Past President: Tobin Bailey, Research Now

Treasurer: Kevin Lewis, Research Now

Secretary: John Hegelmeyer, Research Now

Technology – Website: Ken Hartley, The Uncle Group

Membership: Mechelle Timmons, CASO

Education Directors: Jae Min Jung & Bob Fabrize, Cal Poly Pomona

Events: Heather Scrittorale

Advisor: Ginger Blazier, Issues & Answers

2015- 2016 SOCAL MRA BOARD

Tidewater is an informational newsletter publication of the Southern California Chapter of the Marketing Research Association.

We welcome contributions from our members and others in the marketing research community. If you would like to contribute an article or op-ed piece to Tidewater, please contact Lynn Stalone at 714-368-1885 or Lynn.Stalone@ihr-research.com.

The opinions expressed in Tidewater are the views and opinions of the writers, and not necessarily those of SoCal MRA or the Marketing Research Association.