Scott joined the Adept Consumer Testing team in 1998 where he initially worked as Project Director/Technical Manager prior to becoming a Senior Project Director and then to his current position Executive Vice President in 2006.  Prior to joining Adept Consumer Testing, he worked in marketing research at Herron Associates / The Herron Group of Tampa in various capacities of the firm (Marketing Director, Project Manager, Vice President).  Prior to Adept, Herron and the Marketing Research Industry, he held several executive positions in the advertising industry.

Over the years, he has participated in all related aspects of the research process, from executive interviewer to facility management, from field directing to quantitative and qualitative project design, management and implementation.  Although broad, his research emphasis includes medical, business-to-business, entertainment, internet-usability testing and consumer research projects.

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Wow, remember the old site? that was so cool. Here’s a permalink to the archive of the old site. man, that was cool.

http://2008.socalmra.com/

Hope everyone is doing well.  Just wanted to send out our first reminder for our 5th SoCal MRA San Diego Meet & Greet.  The Meet & Greet will be at  BASIC, on Thursday, February 26th.  ”Converted from a circa 1912 warehouse, Basic is left open and raw with original brick walls, high ceilings and industrial garage doors.  The atmosphere is relaxed, attracting a cool urban crowd that live, work and play in Downtown San Diego.” www.barbasic.com   (Located near Petco Park.) This is an informal get together, so there is no registration, no tickets to purchase or cover charge.  It will be Dutch treat!

We have managed to reserve the “VIP” section, which is exciting!  There will be special drink discounts and free sampling of their famous brick-oven pizza, until 6pm and then we will also have pizza available after 6pm.  So far there’s been a lot of interest and we have received quite a few RSVPs, including an attendee who is coming from as far as Nebraska!!!

You can show up anytime between 5:30pm & 8:30pm, earlier if you want (Happy Hour starts at 4pm.) However, I would appreciate an RSVP, just to let me know that there is a possibility that you can make it, so we can ensure we get an area that will suit the number of people.  (Remember – All members and non-members are welcome.)  Please note that your response will not be “set in stone”.  Thank you to those who have responded so far.

So come join us!  This gives us all the first opportunity in 2009 to catch up with each other!

We just wanted to remind you that the early bird registration for our Spring Event titled ‘Pursuing a Competitive Advantage’ ends this Monday, February 16th.

We’ve got some great speakers lined up that will provide crucial insights for marketing research during this trying economic time. Sessions include:

• Karen Manne – Online Communities- How Disney uses their online communities to find key insights and develop a competitive advantage.
• Keiko Powers – Data Mining- Learn how JD Power & Associates uses sophisticated data mining tools to analyze data and identify critical issues.”
• Elisa Galloway – How is the economy impacting you? A roundtable discussion moderated by Elisa Galloway.”
• Dan Safreno – Large scale tracking studies- How Intuit uses large scale tracking studies and other research techniques to understand their customer’s needs.”
• Justin Wyatt – Welcome to Hard Times- Marketing in today’s economic environment. Growing your business during hard times.
• Beth Kane & Christie Kawada – Researching Latino Viewers- How Si’ TV and Nielsen teamed up to understand the unique needs of the 18-49 Latino viewer.”
• Merrill Dubrow – Special Economic Panel- How is the economy impacting our industry? An interactive discussion of how industry leaders are dealing with the current economic crisis.” 

These sessions are valid for PRC credit.

The conference takes place the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, NV on March 18 – 20, 2009.

Hope to see you all there!

Michael is a Digital Research Director for The Nielsen Company’s Strategic Marketing Science group previously designing online research applications for the primary television research group. He currently works on cross company research projects fusing behavioral, attitudinal and psychographic data. During his four years at Nielsen he has focused much of his time creating a network of digital labs for hands on testing with a national sample focusing on testing television pilots, digital media usability and advertising effectiveness. Michael has pushed for the labs to have cutting edge technology.
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I have nearly 13 years of custom research experience in all steps of the research process. Through my past employment at The Walt Disney Company, Lieberman Research Worldwide and Nielsen Entertainment I have performed both qualitative and quantitative studies using mall-intercept, face to face, focus group, telephone and online methodologies. My current position as Vice President of Client Development at Research Now focuses on multi-country online data collection. I am PRC certified at the Expert level.

While I have no prior experience serving on a board for the MRA at the national or local level, I have attended many events and believe in it’s mission.
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Frannie started her career in the marketing research profession after a long career in the entertainment industry. She has been involved in marketing research for over 14 years and is an active member of MRA and AMA. Frannie is very involved with the volunteer committee and education sessions for MRA. Her current role at Schlesinger Associates is that of Field Director.

My background covers both consumer and business research, including medical interviews, audits, mystery shops, taste tests, car clinics, radio testing, mock juries and exit interviews. I have personally been involved in every facet of data collection, as an interviewer and supervisor, to manager, regional manager, and as Vice President of Qualitative Operations for a national company. I am currently President of Accent on Research, a data collection company located in the San Fernando Valley.

When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with my family and 4 grandchildren, traveling, going to the movies and the theater.

I was born in Germany and came to the U.S., when I was five years old. I grew up in Los Angeles. I graduated from Cal State Los Angeles and majored in Business Administration-Administrative Management. I have been in market research for 25 years. I started out with Schlitz Brewery doing beer taste testing in the U.S. and Canada. Next I joined ASI Market Research in Hollywood, working with the television, movie and advertising industries. In 1990, I moved to San Diego and joined Taylor Research where I am currently the Executive Vice President.

I am a Director at Large for the Southern California MRA Chapter. I am very diligent and always attend our chapter meetings– even if it means traveling great distances to get there – as I love to drive.
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I have worked in the field of qualitative marketing research for more than 30 years and am currently the President of Field Dynamics Marketing Research. I live with my wife of 25 years, Eileen (co-owner of Field Dynamics) and two children in Winnetka. 

 I have been president of the Southern California Chapter of the MRA on two occasions (1993-1994 and 2006-2007).  I have also served on the board of directors of the Southern California American Marketing Association (for which I received the Ford Sammis Award).  I have been a featured speaker for various business and civic organizations, such as the “Under Our Wings†conference on juvenile justice with keynote speaker Martin Luther King III. In addition to my work in marketing research, I am currently an Associate Producer for Italian production company, Bibi Film TV S.R.L. and have been a finalist for the Roy W. Dean LA Film Grant. 

Ginger has over fifteen years of proven market research management experience, working with top national firms throughout her career history, specializing in multiple methodologies and many facets of B2B and consumer research.

Ginger is currently working at Directions In Research, a market research company in San Diego, which was established in 1985.  Ginger began in the field operations department in the capacity of Field Director and progressed to VP of Operations, where she designed and instituted comprehensive quality control procedures and monitoring initiatives that created comprehensive company-wide improvements. Currently, as SVP of Business Development, Ginger is responsible for marketing and business development for the company.
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Lorei Musselman has been active in Marketing Research for over thirty years. She started her career as an interviewer and excelled in that capacity. Consequently, she was promoted to supervisor and then advanced to the position of Office Manager which ultimately led to her present title–Owner/President of LA Research.

Lorei has served on the Southern California Chapter of the MRA as a Director, Past President and advisor. She also has served on several National MRA committees. Lorei’s interest in public education led to her nomination as a LAUSD volunteer of the year.