GfK Group: www.gfk.com
MRI to Acquire Starch Communications
NEW YORK, NY, July 22, 2008: Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI) announced today that it will acquire Starch Communications, which has long been recognized as the most trusted source of market intelligence on print advertising effectiveness.
Both MRI and Starch are currently owned by The GfK Group. Starch Communications will become a division of MRI, delivering syndicated and custom ad impact studies and analyses to the marketplace.
Among other plans, MRI intends to use the research resources at Starch to expand MRI’s Issue Specific Readership Study to include measurement of ad recall and actions taken for ads within specific issues and, potentially, to develop ad ratings for magazines.
"MRI’s clients, and the industry in general, are calling for metrics and insights that will further enhance magazine advertising accountability,” said Kathi Love, President and CEO of MRI. "Starch’s unquestioned leadership in conducting ad readership studies and analyses is critical to realizing our strategic vision with regard to the Issue Specific study.”
Launched in June 2007 and based on weekly Internet surveys, MRI’s Issue Specific Readership Study estimates audience levels for individual issues of magazine titles so marketers can measure the reach of a specific magazine ad campaign against specific targets.
"As champions for greater accountability within the print advertising industry, we applaud and are encouraged by the Starch and MRI announcement," said Brenda White, Senior Vice President/Director of Publishing Activation Group at media agency Starcom USA. "As the industry moves toward accurate ad ratings measurement—a preferred return on objective and ROI measure for many print advertisers—this brings the buying and selling community closer to a working solution."
Dr. Mickey Galin, a Senior Vice President of Research at MRI, will continue to hold her position at MRI in addition to running Starch Communications and leading the development of syndicated issue-specific ad metrics. Galin joined MRI in 2001 after earning her Doctorate from Cornell University. She has been instrumental in developing and launching MRI’s Issue Specific Readership Study.
The acquisition of Starch Communications will become effective on August 1.
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About MRI…
Founded in 1979, MRI interviews approximately 26,000 U.S. adults in their homes each year, asking about their use of media, their consumption of products and their lifestyles and attitudes.
MRI is the country's leading provider of magazine audience and multimedia research data via its Survey of the American Consumer and other studies. The company's in-home interviews each year represent the biggest survey of its kind.
MRI is part of GfK Group AG, Nuremberg, Germany. For more information, please visit http://www.mediamark.com/