Thanks to everyone who came out for our education event last week. We had an amazing turnout and learned some really great stuff.

Greetings friends,

We’re hosting our Hispanic Research Event this upcoming April 16th at the Miami Grille in La Jolla, CA.  We’ll be having beverages, appetizers, dinner,  and a featured speaker, Walter Meneses. We’ll also be giving away some great prizes for those who are in attendance.

“Miami is the epicenter of its staggering choice of ethnic restaurant choices – Cuban, Nicaraguan, Honduran, Peruvian, Argentinean, Haitian, Bajan, Jamaican, and Trinidadian. Miami Grille introduces a new style of cooking with a new food vocabulary to San Diego- boricua, canasta de fritas, tostones, yucca, maduros, plancha and plantains-gathered from these exotic destinations and prepared with superlative raw materials imported and found here in California. The cultural richness and ethnic diversity of the Miami Grille displays our fondness for grilling, salads and planchas. The interior ambiance reflects the warmth of the tropics and our love of the traditions and music of the colorful, Latin ethnic heritage.”

Buffet Style Dinner 7:00pm—8:30pm
Sponsor: e-Rewards

Featured Speaker:
Walter Meneses, Owner of Meneses Research
“How To Effectively Reach The U.S. Hispanic Consumer”
PRC Contact Hours – pending approval by MRA

8:45 pm Everybody is invited to a Group Salsa Dance Class

9:15 pm Open Dancing with live Cuban Band / 1:30 am close
(Embassy Suites and Marriott close by)

Cost for the evening is $45!

RSVP by April 9, 2010
Sponsorships still available – Contact Ginger Blazier, Directions In Research (619) 299-5883 / gblazier@diresearch.com

Download the Hispanic Research Event Flyer & Registration Form

We’ve heard from Ginger doing some fieldwork that the special SoCal MRA Sangria is a hit!
Special Thanks to all of our sponsors for making this event possible.

• Taylor Research
• Directions in Research
• Toluna – Greenfield
• LA Research
• e-Rewards
• ISA
• Worldwide Translation Center
• Frank Magid & Associates
• America’s Survey Corporation

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Greetings friends,
We’re hosting our Hispanic Research Event this upcoming April 16th at the Miami Grille in La Jolla, CA.  We’ll be having beverages, appetizers, dinner and a featured speaker Walter Meneses. We’ll also be giving away some great prizes for those who are in attendance.

“Miami is the epicenter of its staggering choice of ethnic restaurant choices – Cuban, Nicaraguan, Honduran, Peruvian, Argentinean, Haitian, Bajan, Jamaican, and Trinidadian. Miami Grille introduces a new style of cooking with a new food vocabulary to San Diego- boricua, canasta de fritas, tostones, yucca, maduros, plancha and plantains-gathered from these exotic destinations and prepared with superlative raw materials imported and found here in California. The cultural richness and ethnic diversity of the Miami Grille displays our fondness for grilling, salads and planchas. The interior ambiance reflects the warmth of the tropics and our love of the traditions and music of the colorful, Latin ethnic heritage.”

Buffet Style Dinner 7:00pm—8:30pm
Sponsor: e-Rewards

Featured Speaker:
Walter Meneses, Owner of Meneses Research
“How To Effectively Reach The U.S. Hispanic Consumer”
PRC Contact Hours – pending approval by MRA

8:45 pm Everybody is invited to a Group Salsa Dance Class

9:15 pm Open Dancing with live Cuban Band / 1:30 am close (Embassy Suites and Marriott close by)

Cost for the evening is $45!

RSVP by April 9, 2010
Sponsorships still available – Contact Ginger Blazier,
Directions In Research (619) 299-5883/gblazier@diresearch.com

Download the Hispanic Research Event Flyer & Registration Form

We’ve heard from Ginger doing some fieldwork that the special SoCal MRA Sangria is a hit!

Special Thanks to all of our sponsors for making this event possible.

• Taylor Research
• Directions in Research
• LA Research
• e-Rewards
• ISA
• Worldwide Translation Center and Frank Magid & Associates

Please welcome us in congratulating Monica Brown of Loyola Marymount University as she has been awarded our annual scholarship of $1,000. She is currently working on her MBA with an emphasis on marketing. Congrats Monica !

March 3rd through 5th, 2010 at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV.

Tentative Schedule

Thursday, March 4

Peter Summersgill
Director Consumer Insights, Sony Computer Entertainment

Chris Robson & Scott Laing
Principals, Parametric Marketing

Lunch – Round Table Discussions

Bart Steiner
CEO, Bulbstorm, Inc.

Meredith Lind, Partner, Definitive Insights
Aaron Lee, Research Director, Definitive Insights

Friday, March 5

Frank Stagliano
Group EVP/GM, Entertainment Custom Research, The Nielsen Company
Presentation will focus on work conducted at Nielsen’s Digital Labs/CBS Television City Research Center will include tour of the facility at the MGM Grand. 

Panel Discussion:

Moderated by:  Patrick Howley, President, The Howley Group, LLC

Includes Panel Members:

• Rudy Yu, Consumer Insights Manager, NBC Universal
• Karen Manne, Vice President, ABC Disney

Costs include: All seminars – Opening Reception (6:00 pm on Wednesday, March 3rd). Thursday Breakfast & Lunch,

and Friday Breakfast & Lunch. Conference concludes at 2:00 pm on Friday, March 5th.

Registration Options:

• Early Bird Registration – Deadline: Monday, February 1st, 2010 – $329 Members (Southwest, SoCal & Northwest)
• Regular Registration – Deadline: Thursday, February 18th, 2010 – $379 Non-Members (All Others)
• Late/ On-Site Registration – (After February 18th ) – $399 Members (Southwest, SoCal & Northwest),  $449 Non-Members (All Others)
• Reception Only / Additional Reception Tickets – $125 (All)

Registration and payment must be received by deadline at 5:00 pm MST- either faxed or postmarked.

Cancellation policy – A cancellation fee of $25 will be applied. No refund will be issued after registration cut-off February 18th.

Click to download the 2010 Vegas Conference Registration Form

Fax or Mail Form To: Vaughn Mordecai, SWMRA Treasurer, 6975 Union Park Center, Suite 450, Midvale, UT 84047

Phone (800) 678-3748 Fax (801) 565-7137

Register early for the conference by February 1st and have a chance to WIN a 2010 MRA Annual Conference package for Boston, June 2010.

Register early at the MGM Grand 877-880-0880. Rates are $109 Tues – Fri. Use code “Market Research Association Las Vegas. Rates good through Feb 3rd or until room block is full.

Greetings and happy new year to all our SoCal MRA friends. We hope you all had a joyous and prosperous holiday.

We’ve had a sleepy start to the year and have now picked up full steam heading into March, kicked off by our Joint Conference Chapter Event in Las Vegas, March 3 – 5. We’re putting it on with the Northwest and Southwest Chapters of the Marketing Research Association. Receive an early bird rate by registering before February 1st, at the Southwest Chapter website.

We just wanted to let everyone know that the membership challenge has been updated. The winning Chapters will receive awards which can be raffled off at a future event to raise money for the Chapter, presented to a member or local company for outstanding service, etc.

The awards are as follows:

• Winning Chapter with 10 or more new members will receive a full conference registration to the 2010 Annual Conference in Boston.  This is a $900 value.
• The 2^nd Place Chapter with at least 5 new members will receive a National MRA eNews banner ad for one month (2 issues).  This is a value of $175.
• The 3^rd Place Chapter with at least 5 new members will receive one MRA archived or live webinar.  This is a $65 value.

So please reach out to your colleagues and urge them to join today. SoCal membership form available here.

Read more from

the National MRA site.

Just a reminder that the Annual Holiday Party is only 10 days away. You now have until the end of next week to signup for the Holiday Party. Tickets are available at the door and the signup forms are available here and on the website. We’ve picked up and moved from the Sofitel a few blocks down the street to the SLS Hotel, as recently seen in Entourage and Top Chef, where Marcel from Season 2 is now a chef. We’re having a cocktail hour and a tapas style dinner. Valet parking is complementary provided by our friends at e-Rewards.

You asked for it and we deliver: The Raffle is back, in a bold new way! Please let us know if you’re interested in sponsoring a raffle prize.
Current raffle prizes include:

• Amazon Kindle from Research Now
• Nintendo Wii
• And others…

Special thanks to our sponsors for making this event possible:

• Research Now
• Greenfield Online
• e-Rewards
• Adept Consumer Testing
• Schlesinger Associates
• Peanut Labs
• LA Research
• PeekABoo Research
• Taylor Research
• Frank Magid Associates
• Focus and Testing
• I/H/R Research
• United Sample
• Universal Studios Hollywood
• Directions in Research

Click here to download the registration form: SoCal MRA Holiday Party Registration 2009 Form

If you’re interested in sponsoring please contact Shelia Thompson.

We look forward to seeing you there.

We’ve been getting a number of requests to push back the early bird registration period, so we did! You now have until the end of this week to signup for the Holiday Party. The signup forms are available here and on the website. We’ve picked up and moved from the Sofitel a few blocks down the street to the SLS Hotel, as recently seen in Entourage and Top Chef, where Marcel from Season 2 is now a chef. We’re having a cocktail hour and a tapas style dinner.

Early Bird: Register by November 13^th for $75/ticket
Special rate for party of 10 – $700

Regular admission $85/ticket after November 13^th
Special rate for party of 10 – $800

Special thanks to our sponsors for making this event possible:

• Research Now
• Greenfield Online
• e-Rewards
• Adept Consumer Testing
• Schlesinger Associates
• LA Research
• PeekABoo Research
• Taylor Research
• Frank Magid Associates
• Focus and Testing
• I/H/R Research
• United Sample
• Universal Studios Hollywood
• Directions in Research
• Peanut Labs

Click here to download the registration form: SoCal MRA Holiday Party Registration 2009 Form

If you’re interested in sponsoring please contact Shelia Thompson.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Just wanted to inform you that the signup forms are available for the upcoming annual SoCal MRA Holiday Party. We’ve picked up and moved from the Sofitel a few blocks down the street to the SLS Hotel, as recently seen in Entourage.  We’re having a cocktail hour and a tapas style dinner.

You asked for it and we deliver: The Raffle is back, in a bold new way!

Date Friday 12/4/09
Time: 6pm

SLS Hotel
465 S. La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles,California 90048

Early Bird:
Register by November 13^th for $75/ticket
Special rate for party of 10 – $700

Regular admission $85/ticket after November 13^th
Special rate for party of 10 – $800

Special thanks to our sponsors for making this event possible:

• Research Now
• Greenfield Online
• e-Rewards
• Adept Consumer Testing
• Schlesinger Associates
• LA Research
• PeekABoo Research
• Taylor Research
• Frank Magid Associates
• Focus and Testing
• I/H/R Research
• United Sample
• Universal Studios Hollywood
• Directions in Research
• Peanut Labs

Click here to download the registration form: SoCal MRA Holiday Party Registration 2009 Form

If you’re interested in sponsoring please contact Shelia Thompson.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Hello So Cal Members,

Due to unforeseen circumstances and to accommodate the schedule of the majority of our prospective attendees, we have decided to postpone our Education Day to a future date that is yet to be determined. We will be working to reschedule our Education Day and will send details as soon as possible.

For those who have signed up for this event, please contact Shelia Thompson at sthompson@magid.com for your reimbursement.

We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and look forward to seeing everyone in the near future. Please continue to visit our website for the latest updates and Calendar of Events.

We’d also like to take this opportunity to gather comments from you for the types of information you would like to see at upcoming SoCal MRA Events. Please feel free to leave information in the comments section.

Sincerely,

Rudy Yu
President
Southern California Marketing Research Association

Dear Southern California Chapter of MRA Members,

It’s that time again to cast your vote for the Southern California Chapter Board of Directors/Officers.  This year we are offering you the choice to vote via an online survey (see link below) or to print and scan, fax or mail or e-mail your votes for the 2009-2010 slate (only current members need to vote and once via one of these options).  As an MRA Member it is important to take the time to vote for your Chapter representatives as the membership finalizes the election process with the seal of approval!  So, please remember to get your vote in by Friday, May 22nd for your vote to count. 

In addition, we’re always looking for volunteers to assist with activities through-out the year.  We hope to have you and your company involved this year in some capacity!  Board Installation will be announced in June at a membership gathering (date/time/location - TBD) and will be listed on the website (which is always good to check for upcoming SoCal MRA News).

https://surveys.itracks.com/survey/2009BODElection?ID=9115

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!