Deck 7: Standardized Information Sources

Question 1

A form of external, secondary data that collected in a standard format and made available to subscribers is:

A) published data
B) syndicated data
C) trade association's publications
D) business periodicals
E) syndicated services

Answer 1

B

Question 2

When retail store tracking data are not collected by scanners, they may be collected by:

A) income tax documents
B) auditors who prepare the financial statements for the firm and have access to sales records
C) auditors who conduct retail-store audits
D) customers of stores who are surveyed and asked for their recollections of the inventory levels in stores they have recently patronized
E) field services firms using CATI (Computer Assisted Tracking Intelligence) systems

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Nielsen's Scantrack Services and Information Resources, Inc.'s, InfoScan Custom Store Tracking services are:

A) market tracking services
B) consumer tracking services
C) UFO tracking services
D) market tracking services at the retail (store) level
E) customized segmentation services for supermarkets

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The Maritz Poll samples consumers and asks them different questions for each poll they take. The Maritz Poll is an example of:

A) customized research
B) limited service research
C) standardized information
D) causal research
E) an experiment

Question 5

Which of the following would be best for providing information on members of the industrial market?

A) ESRI's Tapestry Segmentation
B) the Gallup Poll-B2B Division
C) Business-to-Business Profilers, Inc.
D) Dun's Market Identifiers (DMI)
E) audits and surveys

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT one of the VALS segments?

A) RedNecks
B) Innovators
C) Thinkers
D) Believers
E) Achievers

Question 7

The primary benefit of geodemography is:

A) demographic information may be detailed down to census blocks
B) demographic information is available on all standard geographical areas (whether relevant to the application or not)
C) demographic information is available on arbitrarily (i.e., area relevant to the application) defined geographical areas
D) demographic forecasts may be made quickly and accurately
E) demographic data are available in increments as small as millimeters

Question 8

Which of the following is an area to which standardized information may be applied?

A) measuring consumer attitudes and opinion polls
B) defining market segments
C) conducting market tracking
D) monitoring media usage and promotion effectiveness
E) all of the above

Question 9

Standardized services differ from syndicated data services. In the former, each client is provided with:

A) data shared from a common database
B) no data is used
C) intermittent service
D) data collected in a standard format
E) the same service as a result of a common process

Question 10

Which of the following statements about VALS is true?

A) VALS is now a system that represents different consumer groups based upon enduring personality traits.
B) Consumers are placed into one of 65 VALS segments based on their level of income according to IRS reports.
C) VALS now stands for Values, Analysis, Lifestyles & Segmentation
D) Though it would be useful, there is no way of linking client firms' product/service usage to specific VALS groups.
E) Though it would be useful, knowledge of which VALS group(s) are linked to a firm's target market cannot be attained.

Question 11

ESRI has grouped U.S. consumers into 65 different groups and given them descriptive names such as "Top Rung" (highly educated & wealthy)and "Aspiring Young Families" (young, ethnically diverse, spend money on children's toys, theme parks, etc.). This is an example of a:

A) customized information strategic planning service
B) standardized information segmentation service
C) VALS application
D) highly governmental regulated service due to Privacy of Information Act
E) scanning data service

Question 12

Which of the following is a disadvantage of standardized services?

A) The company providing the standardized service may not know the idiosyncrasies of the buyer firm's industry.
B) The company providing the standardized service may know the idiosyncrasies of the buyer firm's industry.
C) Buyers have little control over what information is collected.
D) It is regulated by the FTC, Standardized Services Division.
E) Data are distributed only every six months to end users.

Question 13

ESRI's Tapestry Segmentation which profiles neighborhoods according to each client's customer demographics is an example of:

A) a syndicated data service
B) a customized segmentation system
C) a marketing research service for forestry products
D) a standardized service
E) a synthetic services firm

Question 14

Both syndicated data and standardized services are a form of:

A) demographics
B) standardized data
C) syndicated data
D) standardized information
E) synthetic services

Question 15

Which item below is NOT a key advantage of syndicated data?

A) the currency of the information
B) client has absolute control over which data are to be collected
C) the shared costs
D) high quality of the data
E) data are quickly disseminated to users

Question 16

Which of the following was discussed in the textbook as a firm that tracks consumer attitudes?

A) ConTrak.com
B) Consumer Attitudes America
C) the Harris Poll
D) the Nielsen TV Index
E) Arbitron

Question 17

Q Scores measures the appeal of different performers such as actors/actresses, announcers, sports celebrities, and so on. The ratings of different performers are made available to all subscribers, so a client firm may be in a better position to select a company spokesperson for their company. Q Scores is an example of:

A) syndicated data
B) standardized services
C) Entertainer Employment Act Services
D) Customized services
E) Nielsen services

Question 18

Which of the following would be best for providing information on members of the consumer market?

A) the Gallup Poll-B2C Division
B) Consumer-to-Consumer Profilers, Inc.
C) Dun's Market Identifiers (DMI)
D) NAICS
E) VALS

Question 19

The Nielsen TV ratings would be considered an example of:

A) syndicated processing firms
B) syndicated data services firms
C) standardized processing firms
D) standardized services firms
E) community tapestry firms

Question 20

A company offering a predetermined method of measuring customer satisfaction would be an example of:

A) an experiment
B) a syndicated data service firm
C) a standardized service
D) geodemography
E) synthetic services firm

Question 21

Which of the following market tracking studies provides members of its panel with an ID card they present at checkout counters in grocery and drugstores?

A) BehaviorScan
B) Scantrack
C) DEMOScan
D) Procision
E) PRIZM

Question 22

Firms subscribing to syndicated data have substantial control over what information is collected and what format the information comes in (i.e., class definitions).

Question 23

Nielsen's service that is designed to gather and report WOM or online "buzz" about companies and their products and services is known as:

A) Online Reporter
B) WOMDataMetrics
C) NielsenBlogMagnet
D) BuzzMetrics
E) WOMSphereReporter

Question 24

What kind of data are recorded continuously from a panel of respondents to measure their exposure to promotional materials (usually TV as well as in-store promotions)and subsequent buying behavior?

A) market tracking data
B) UPC data
C) Nielsen TV Index data
D) Longitu-Panel data
E) single-source data

Question 25

Standardized information is a type of secondary data in which the data collected and/or the process of collecting the data are standardized for all users.

Question 26

Because firms subscribing to syndicated data share the costs of data collection and dissemination, the information comes to them at a lower cost than if they collected it themselves.

Question 27

The Nielsen TV ratings are reported in 210 geographical market areas in the U.S. market. These "TV markets" were devised by Nielsen and are called:

A) DNAs; Designated Network Areas
B) DTAs; Determined Television Areas
C) TVMs; Television Market Areas
D) DMAs; Designated Market Areas
E) TNMs; Television Nielsen Markets

Question 28

Standardized information services collect market tracking data at the household level by using:

A) video cameras, 35 mm cameras, tape recorders, and scanning devices
B) panels of auditors, diaries of store managers, and video cameras
C) consumer protocol data, household pantry inventories, and private investigators
D) panels of consumers who may use scanning devices, diaries, and home audits
E) focus groups, ethnographic studies, and diaries

Question 29

The Maritiz Poll, because it uses a standardized process to ensure that consumer attitudes and opinions are correctly measured and represented on a variety of projects means, is an example of syndicated data services.

Question 30

Syndicated data are data that are collected in a standard format and made available to all subscribers. Such data are stored in a common database and the same data are made available to subscribers for a fee.

Question 31

One company is developing a multimedia recording device that will measure a person's exposure to TV, radio, and even Web pages. The name of the device is:

A) personal portable walkman (PPW)
B) personal portable meter (PPm)
C) the people meter (TPP)
D) WebWatcherandBeyond.com
E) E-meters Corporation

Question 32

Which of the following standardized information sources provides information on several media such as magazines, newspapers, television, radio, cable, and so on?

A) NBC
B) Simmons National Consumer Study
C) MultiMediaMavens.com
D) Nielsen Multi-Media Markets
E) Burke Inc.

Question 33

Which of the following standardized information services firms is developing a device that will automatically record media (radio, TV, or Web pages)to which a person is exposed?

A) ACNielsen
B) Information Resources, Inc.
C) RoperASW
D) Arbitron
E) AllMediaRecording, Inc.

Question 34

The Nielsen Television Index collects data on TV viewership using diaries or:

A) Nielsen researchers
B) people meters
C) Information Resources researchers
D) television cameras
E) cell phone monitoring systems

Question 35

Which of the following standardized information services, a syndicated data service, provides readership scores by type of magazine ad, which helps marketers determine the characteristics of "good" ads?

A) GOODAD/BADAD.com
B) Adreader.com
C) Adnorms
D) NTI
E) StarchScorer

Question 36

Which standardized information service is primarily responsible for providing radio listenership data?

A) RADCustomers
B) RoperASW's Starch Radio Listenership Studies
C) Arbitron
D) DON'TTURNTHATDIAL, Inc.
E) Nielsen Radio Ratings

Question 37

Consumers create a great deal of information through blogs, discussion boards, forums, user groups and the like. This information is valuable to companies and would be called:

A) government protected media
B) consumer generated media
C) distributor created media
D) spurious information
E) WOM, "Word of the Month" media

Question 38

One of the problems with today's complex information technology is ________. Marketing research firms are attempting to deal with this problem by offering products and services labeled "decision support systems," "data mining systems," or "expert systems" like IRI's Builder Suite services or Nielsen's Category Business Planner.

A) data costs more than the value they bring to the decision maker
B) information "decay"; the data have lost their value by the time they are processed
C) information overload
D) "garbage-in; garbage-out"
E) the "needle in the haystack" problem; the answer is there but almost never found

Question 39

Standardized services refers to data that are collected in a standard format and made available to all subscribers. Such data are stored in a common database and the same data are made available to subscribers for a fee.

Question 40

Which of the following services provides measuring the extent to which magazine ads are seen and read?

A) MAGAD Readership Service
B) Arbitron Magazine Readership Service
C) Curtis Publishing Ratings Index
D) MAGSRUS.com
E) MRI's Starch Readership Service

Question 41

Consumer product manufacturers do not need certain information, such as the number of products they are selling in retail stores around the nation, because they know what they are selling.

Question 42

VALS is a system that has identified consumer segments based upon personality traits. VALS has also associated personality traits with purchase behavior. As an example, the VALS segment, "Innovators," are known to make purchases that reflect cultivated tastes for upscale, niche products and services.

Question 43

Tracking studies gather data from retail stores by using either scanner data or by conducting retail-store audits.

Question 44

One method that marketing tracking data are collected at the household level is by providing panel members with wands or scanners that they use to scan the UPC codes on the products they purchase.

Question 45

Although tracking data are useful, they are limited to only sales made through either Wal-Mart or Target Stores. If a firm does not have its products distributed through either of these two chains, it may not purchase scanning data.

Question 46

GIS stands for Geodemographic Information Systems.

Question 47

A standardized service for classifying consumer markets is called PRIZM. It specializes in GIS and combines census data with proprietary data to categorize neighborhoods into different segments.

Question 48

Although useful information, geodemographic information is limited in that one must use only pre-defined geographical boundaries such as cities, counties, or state definitions.

Question 49

VALS stands for Value Added by Logistical Support and is a tool used in the industrial market. It represents a form of syndicated data.

Question 50

Whereas market tracking studies are done at the retail store level by either scanning data or auditing, there is no market tracking conducted within households.

Question 51

Tracking consumer attitudes and opinions is not the kind of information that is available from standardized information firms.

Question 52

Auditors conducting tracking studies determine sales by using the following formula: Beginning Inventory - Purchases Received + Ending Inventory = Sales.

Question 53

ESRI's Tapestry Segmentation is a standardized service that classifies all U.S. neighborhoods into 65 different segments such as "Top Rung" and "Aspiring Young Families."

Question 54

Auditors conducting tracking studies determine sales by using the following formula: Beginning Inventory + Purchases Received - Ending Inventory = Sales.

Question 55

As market trends emerge, the marketing research industry responds. An example of this has been the recent growth of natural and organic foods. SPINS provides syndicated data by providing tracking data for this growing segment of the food industry.

Question 56

A key advantage of a standardized service is the shared costs among many firms of the data that are collected.

Question 57

One advantage of the Gallup Poll is that the company has been tracking the same attitudes and opinions over many years, and business executives can track how these attitudes, such as attitudes toward private brands, are changing.

Question 58

Standardized services firms are marketing a process more than anything else. Examples include standardized methods of measuring customer satisfaction or providing a system for segmenting the market.

Question 59

Nielsen's Scantrack Services is an example of market tracking data collected at the retail level. That is, data are collected from retail stores' scanners.

Question 60

Dun's Market Identifiers (DMI)is useful for providing market segmentation information on members of the industrial market.

Question 61

Certain products such as gasoline and diesel engines require very precise drilling. Tolerances are extremely small, and drill bits that can accomplish the near-perfect drills are very expensive. Unfortunately, the drill bits must be discarded after only a few drills as they sustain distortions that cause them to exceed the tight tolerances. Harold Kushner invented a new method to sharpen high performance metal drill bits to their original specifications. Harold's process meant that companies could extend the life of drill bits. Harold knew that his invention would be a success, but he needed to find the users of high-performance drill bits and direct personal sales calls to them. Using both SIC and NAICS Harold was frustrated because, for example, he could compile only very general lists of potential users and many on the lists would not be users of drill bits at all. Harold needed a service that would provide much more specific information about business firms in order to determine if they were really potential customers. Which of the following services would likely help Harold?

A) VALS
B) the Gallup Poll
C) PRIZM
D) Dun's Market Identifiers (DMI)
E) ESRI's Community Tapestry

Question 62

One of the key advantages of single source data is that they may be used to help managers determine causal relationships. BehaviorScan is a single source service.

Question 63

Tracking data is widely available for products sold through "brick and mortar" stores (stores having physical locations). However, there is no tracking data for products purchased online such as music from Apple's iTunes or other products that have been digitized such as movie videos or books.

Question 64

Arbitron provides syndicated data on radio listenership.

Question 65

MRI's Starch Readership Service specializes in determining the extent that magazine ads are seen and read.

Question 66

Tapestry Segmentation, an ESRI service, was described in detail in Chapter 7 on Standardized Information Sources. Tapestry applies a process of segmentation that identifies neighborhoods by the major demographic and consumption patterns and then determines which of these neighborhood "segment types" is the client's potential customers. Which of the following best illustrates how this service was applied in your text?

A) ESRI segments were examined to determine which segments were likely to be gourmet coffee drinkers. Once the segments were identified, ESRI could provide direct mail lists that identified the names and addresses of gourmet coffee drinkers. This allowed Donofrio's Coffee to send these "likely" customers a frequent user card to promote their patronage.
B) The owner of a Nature's Beauty retail store has a loyalty club of 400 members who purchase regularly, and she wants to attract other prospective customers who match the club member demographic and lifestyle profile. By determining the distinguishing characteristics of the club members, the owner can identify the Tapestry Segmentation segments, i.e. "Metropolitans," "Metro Renters," etc. which will allow the owner to locate and establish communications with members of these segments.
C) ESRI has data stored in a common database that identifies zip code areas that offer the most potential in terms of sales for a gourmet coffee shop like Donofrio's. Donofrio's subscribed to this information for a fee, and the information was used to help find new coffee shop locations.
D) Present customers for a gourmet coffee shop were determined. ESRI then, through its Community Tapestry syndicated data service, found census data which identified household addresses of the present customers. This information allowed Donofrio's Coffee to target customers with promotional offers to induce greater sales during warm months of the year.
E) None of the above. There was no example illustrating how Community Tapestry was applied.

Question 67

For many years Nielsen Media Research used diaries to measure TV viewership. However, today TV ratings are gathered exclusively by having small electronic sensors sewn just beneath the skin on the wrists of panel members. The sensors record all TV signals to which panel members are exposed.

Question 68

If a firm were interested in obtaining information on several media such as magazines, Sunday magazines, newspapers, television, radio, cable, outdoor, and Yellow Pages, it could use the personal portable meter.

Question 69

A disadvantage of scanning data is "information overload." Standardized information firms provide products that help managers attach meaning (intelligence)to the huge volume of data collected.

Question 70

Clay Holladay owns a chain of radio stations. The advertising time he sells to advertisers is directly related to the number of persons who are listening to each station in each radio market. Clay purchases estimates of the number of persons who listen to the different radio stations in each market from Arbitron, a marketing research firm. In every radio market Arbitron gathers the same data; the number of persons listening to every program on each station as well as their age and gender. Arbitron records this information in a database and they offer it to every person who wishes to subscribe to it for a fee. Arbitron is an example of a:

A) syndicated processing firm
B) syndicated data services firm
C) standardized processing firm
D) standardized services firm
E) community tapestry firm

Question 71

Some methods used to gather marketing tracking data collected at the household level is by providing panel members with wands or scanners that they use to scan the UPC codes on the products they purchase, by asking them to keep diaries of their purchases, and by having auditors conduct audits in the consumers' household.

Question 72

Single-source data refers to the practice of buying all a firm's information from one, single syndicated data firm, thus allowing for a substantial quantity discount in most cases.

Question 73

Arbitron is testing its personal portable meter, which is designed to measure the number of types of magazines being read by a panel member carrying the PPM.

Question 74

The Nielsen Television Index specializes in providing information on TV ratings.

Question 75

Adnorms is a standardized service that allows managers to determine the characteristics of TV ads that are most likely to lead to actual purchase of consumer durables such as automobiles.

Question 76

Mary Elizabeth Yarbrough is a farmer in the San Francisco, California area. She grows herbs thought to be medicinal and other products thought to promote health and nutrition. Her business is quite large, but in the past she has found it hard to make decisions about which products to add, drop or to consider for future crops because she has a difficult time finding market data. However, she learned recently there is a firm by the name of SPINS that happens to be located in San Francisco that provides data collected by scanners in natural and organic food stores. Her problem, now solved, illustrates which disadvantage of scanner tracking data discussed in your textbook?

A) For those products distributed through small stores, not covered by Nielsen or Information Resources, there is no scanner tracking data.
B) Herbs, nor any product that is not endorsed by the American Medical Association, may be tracked via scanning devices.
C) Scanning data is useful only for products that are distributed nationally because all scanner data are reported as a percent of national distribution.
D) Scanner data, even from small stores, is reported quickly to decision makers.
E) None of the above is true; there is no discussion of this topic in your text.

Question 77

Adnorms is a standardized service that allows managers to determine the characteristics of magazine ads, such as ad size, color, or copy that are most likely to have a high impact on readership.

Question 78

James Murphy owns a small number of upscale candy and gift shops in a three-state area. The shops are unique in that they offer very unusual candies and gifts made from many different areas of the globe. The products are very expensive and appeal only to a particular type of consumer. James is interested in expanding to other areas of the country, but outside the three-state area he is not at all familiar with the demographics of the cities in the states in which he has an interest. He needs a firm that will allow him to combine geodemography allowing him to select arbitrary (two-mile circles around proposed site locations)and a standardized service that associates his customer profile with that of predetermined "types" of customer groups. Once this is done, the service should be able to tell him which proposed site locations have a large number of the desired customer "types" that will likely be good customers for his unique shops. Which service should James select?

A) Arbitron Candy/Gift Ratings Index
B) Claritas PRIZM
C) Duns Market Identifiers (DMI)
D) Starch Services, Inc.
E) NAICS Business Location Service

Question 79

The Nielsen TV Index provides data only on how many persons watched a TV show. Data can report how many persons watched an episode of The Tudors or American Idol, but no other data are collected.

Question 80

Radio listenership is recorded at 15-minute intervals and data on gender and age are also collected.