1. Established: 1970 Headquarters: Mumbai, India Member of
Kantar Group Type: Subsidiary Company Founder: Hindustan Thompson
Associates Parent Co: Hindustan Thompson Associate Operations: In
15 countries Employees: 1200 (full time) Official Website:
www.imrbint.com
2. We pioneered: Indias first TV rating system Indias first
Radio Audience Measurement system Indias first and largest
Household Panel Instrumental in setting up of Market Research
Society of India (MRSI) in 1988 (Founding member) Creation of
Social Economic Classification (SEC) system by Ashutosh Sinha of
MSG, now used by all MR companies in India. Indias first IT &
Internet studies endorsed by industry associations. SECSystem
Icube
3. Quantitative Research Wing (1970) Probe Qualitative Research
(1979) Quantitative custom and syndicated research, National Foods
Surveys. Responsible for a wide range of data analytics. It
comprises bulk of IMRB's custom research. This is the oldest and
most profitable division of IMRB International. Ethnographic,
qualitative custom research. Integrates insights from anthropology,
psychology and social sciences.
4. Social and Rural Research Institute (1991) Media and Panel
Group (1992) Developmental Research, Public Health Research, All
India Health Survey. Primarily services aid agencies, NGOs and the
government. Responsible for the largest UNICEF Survey on polio,
data collection for National Family Health Survey. Market Pulse,
TGI, custom media research. Tracks over 70,000 households purchase
behaviour. Conducts custom specialized media research.
5. Business and Industrial Research Division (1994) BIRD, the
Business & Industrial Research Division of IMRB International,
is the market research and consultancy division servicing B2B and
industrial markets. For catering to technology markets including IT
hardware, software & services and Telecommunication, there is
an exclusive e- technology Group within BIRD. At the macro level,
BIRD offers services covering industry trends, regulatory
environment, economic scenario, international trade and market
overview. At the micro level, BIRD offers services such as brand /
product positioning, customer segmentation, channel perception,
market sizing, pricing, distribution strategy, product development
assistance etc. Apart from syndicated studies such as ITOPS and
ICUBE, BIRD offers research services to meet clients specific
requirements. BIRD services private sector, public sector,
government departments and multilateral agencies. It has clients in
all the five continents of the world. Runs WAM, India's Web
Audience Measurement service.
6. Customer Satisfaction Management & Measurement (1994)
Customer and Employee satisfaction surveys, Loyalty Programs. Here
the focus is on stakeholder researchers, employees, vendors and
shoppers. Tracks employee satisfaction and stakeholder loyalty
levels. They offer: CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP ASSESSMENT (CRA) CUSTOMER
TRANSACTION ASSESSMENT (CTA) CHANNEL LOYALTY SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIP
REPORT (SRR) LOST CUSTOMERS ASSESSMENT (LCA) Internal Customer
Satisfaction REPUTATION & STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT (RSA)
Financial Impact Modelling (FIM) MYSTERY SHOPPING THE TAO OF
LOYALTY.
7. Brand Science (1996) New tools that help understand brands,
and communication in an Indian context. Provides brand and
communications consulting and advisory services. Brand Science
Group has introduced 3 new models in the following areas: Spotlight
for Communication Evaluation Brands In Motion for Brand Health
Measurement & Tracking /Communication Tracking/Post launch
evaluation both discrete and continuous data capture Brand Gene for
Brand Equity Measurement
8. Abacus Business Operations ABO is an ISO 9001:2008 certified
specialist unit of IMRB International. It has the largest Custom
research fieldwork and data collection capabilities in the country.
With over 200 full time employees managing and supervising the work
of over 4000 interviewers on any given day, we conduct over 4
million interviews annually. Over and above this, we interview
another 1.5 million + telephonically. We have 15 Field Offices and
teams in over 100 towns of India, covering the entire topography of
India and the heterogeneous population of the country. Bulk of the
face-to-face interviewing still happens in local languages. IMRB
has a pool of trained and skilled manpower to conduct interviews in
local languages - the key to high quality data collection. Abacus
Business Operations has a rigorous 3-Tier quality check processes
to ensure you get high quality data to take your business
decisions. The ABO team has its own set of translators and
scrutinisers to check the quality of output and translation of
verbatim. It has trained Freelance Professionals capable of
conducting interviews on laptops, PDAs and using hi tech gadgets
like GPS meters, digital cameras and recorders.
9. Abacus Research Abacus Research looks after the domestic and
International Field and tab business. They service Clients and
Research Agencies which have their own Research set up and only
want the data collected and clean data sent to them. Abacus
Research also runs Flexi Bus a study which gives Clients the
advantage and of quick turnaround on a few critical questions and
the flexibility to study the Target Group in markets of their
choice at the cost of an Omnibus. It has a team of expert Project
Management Executives led by a seasoned and highly experienced
Operations Director . This team also has the experience of managing
the largest number of automotive clinics and have a protocol set up
for the same.
10. MindTech Systems (2001) Abacus Market Analytics (2001)
Market research software, data fusion, computer aided survey
systems). Provides customized software & platforms for data
collection & analysis. It provides software support for TAM and
retail purchase data collection. Data processing, advanced
analytics, market research software. Handles operations in data
processing, charting, statistical analysis, database management and
updating, software development and testing. It offers a wide range
of services to all the research units in IMRB. These include data
processing, charting, statistical analysis, database management and
updating, software development and testing.
11. Advertising and Promotion research: Advertising Research
Advertising research derives its importance from the fact that
today, a huge chunk of any organisation's marketing expenditure is
spent on advertising. A good advertisement can do wonders to an
organizations top line; a bad one can tarnish its image for several
years to come. The advent of globalisation has actually left only a
nominal significance for national boundaries. Promotion Research
Promotion has been defined by many marketers as the most
significant of the four Ps of marketing. A marketer may create a
great product, price it reasonably enough and place it in outlets
all over the country, but unless he has promoted it well, the
consumer would not even ask for it. Promotion research helps an
organisation foresee the outcome of all such activities, it wishes
to undertake. Media Research Often interpreted as being synonymous
with audience measurement, particularly in the case of newspapers
and magazines, media research is much more than that. Selecting the
right media of communication is of paramount importance to every
marketer.
12. Brand research: Usage and Attitude Studies Brands today are
operating in an extremely dynamic market. As the marketplace
changes, clients need to evaluate a brand's position compared to
the competition. IMRB International designs usage and attitudes
studies that provide quintessential information to lay the
foundation for successful strategic marketing. IMRB studies also
serve as useful benchmark tools, allowing clients to measure their
performance across all the parameters important to the category,
and target specific areas to track over time. Name Tests What's the
most appropriate name for a product ? What does a name connote to a
consumer ? Naming research answers these and other important
questions. IMRB International has been associated with the
christening of a number of leading brands. Segmentation and
Profiling Studies Segmentation and profiling is critical in
targeting specific groups and understanding the purchase behaviour
of those consumers who represent the greatest sales opportunities.
Key groups are identified, based on a number of different criteria
including attitudes, psychographics, motivations and barriers,
usage habits, loyalty, etc. Once the segments have been identified,
analysis is conducted to provide insight into the purchase
behaviour and demographics of each such group.
13. Channel and retail research: Mystery Shopping Mystery
Shopping is the best, most objective way to gain information about
customer service and satisfaction, condition of the store /
showroom and employee performance across locations. Mystery
shopping services also provides the opportunity to covertly examine
the performance of competitors and the operative prices for
competition. IMRB International provides effective consulting on
Mystery Shopping that includes operational, incentive-based,
competitive and telephone-based mystery shopping. Retail Audits
IMRB International provides professional auditing services for
manufacturers and retailers across the Indian sub-continent. IMRB
has more than 20 years of on-site auditing experience. Location
Research In order to beat competition, marketers constantly have to
look for differentiators which can make their brand 'visible' and
'acceptable' to the consumers. Until now product and price were the
sole differentiators but over the years, brands have realized the
significance of 'point of sale' as a brand building tool. In this
way the role of the store is also getting redefined. Location has
become a key factor to reach consumers. IMRB International provides
tailor made solutions to meet customers location related
requirements
14. Pricing Research: Gabor Granger Customers are asked if they
would buy a product at a particular price. The respondents are
exposed to the price in a randomised manner and are again asked if
they would buy or not. The technique helps understand the price
elasticity for the product by working out what levels of demand
would be expected at each price point . Price Sensitivity Monitor
(PSM) This technique helps one identify the acceptable range of
prices in the minds of the consumer and determine whether the price
is set too low (creating suspicion about quality) or too high
(offering poor value for money). Conjoint Analysis Conjoint
Analysis is a technique that allows one to understand how people
make trade-offs between different products and services and the
values they place on different features. Brand Price Trade-Off
(BPTO) BPTO is a variation of the Conjoint Technique, where several
brands are shown at once and the customer chooses the preferred
option. The BPTO determines the impact of price increases and
decreases on the sales of the brand, provides the response to
competitors' changes in price and provides an analysis of gains and
losses.
15. Corporate and Employee research: Corporate Image Studies In
today's world of keen competition, a company is evaluated not just
by its products but to a great extent by the imagery it conjures.
With the consumer becoming more educated, this aspect is gaining
importance by the day. Corporate image of a company is the sum
total of its image among its various internal and external publics
- consumers, employees, shareholders, suppliers and dealers, the
financial community and even the government. The image of the
company among industry federations and workers' unions etc is also
important in understanding the equity of the company. A
comprehensive Corporate Image study helps understand ones strengths
and weaknesses as compared to the other corporates. IMRB
International has handled Corporate Image studies for a number of
leading corporates in the country. IMRB International's specialist
division CSMM is the sole licensee for Walker Information Network
processes for Corporate image studies. Good company image
eventually leads to increase in sales, profits and market
share.
16. Strategic market research: Concept IMRB International plays
an important role in the concept stage by helping to establish a
clear understanding of the consumer and the market through Market
mapping, Demand estimation and Feasibility studies. Development
IMRB International can help create and refine all aspects of
product development, working quickly and in line with the demands
of rapid development cycles - Refining product, Positioning,
Naming, Visual Identity and Web Interface. Usability research can
help eliminate confusion, increase intuitive usefulness and ease
navigation and increase trust. Communication IMRB International can
help ensure that the message a product or service is intending to
send to consumers is actually what they perceive. In addition,
multilingual insights can guide you around potential linguistic and
cultural minefields. IMRB provides crucial information about ideal
packaging, communication strategy and merchandising strategy.
Relationship IMRB International can help provide a very effective
on-going link to consumers and markets and impart a deep
understanding of market and consumer changes through Customer
Satisfaction research, Trend research studies and Redesigning.
17. Product Research: IMRB has decades of experience in product
testing. This experience has been drawn upon to create tools for
product testing. IMRB has access to a wide array of techniques:
MDS, correspondence analysis or the Biplot to visualize the results
of a test involving a large number of tests. Correlations analysis,
run factor analysis or cluster attributes to understand
relationships within attributes. Penalty analysis, regression and
structural equation modeling are employed to understand the impact
on overall liking. Penalty analysis is a simple and effective way
of prioritizing the areas for improvement. Structural equation
modeling can provide an insight into the drivers of liking- and the
manner in which impressions are formed. Packaging Testing: IMRB
over the years has been involved in package testing and development
for several FMCG clients. IMRBs expertise spans the following broad
areas: Basic Pack Evaluation to make pack choice decisions
Measuring the contribution of the pack in driving the brands vision
Pack Optimization Studies Evaluating, decoding and measuring the
impact of pack elements such as colours, fonts, graphics, shape and
size . The packaging test protocol at IMRB involves integrated
qualitative and quantitative modules to provide a holistic solution
to support all facets of pack related decision-making..
18. Mystery Shopper Insights (MSI) Mystery shopping is now
being used by many organizations to evaluate their in-store service
standards and conformity to the processes. Trained shoppers
anonymously evaluate the infrastructure, processes, service
delivery, customer service, operations, employee integrity,
merchandising and product quality. They independently audit
processes & staff, giving constructive actionable input for
improvement of service delivery. Objectives of Any Mystery Audit
Program: To check conformance to guidelines for service delivery as
laid-out by the retailer. To measure the effectiveness of training
imparted to employees. To recognize good employees based on
findings of the audits. To measure the extent of brand advocacy by
multi-brand outlets. To audit prices through a pre-designed
negotiation process and determine market operating prices.
Specialist team at IMRB International has experience with nearly 30
regular mystery shopping programs conducted across diverse sectors.
By Mystery Shopping Insights, IMRB helps managers in both tactical
and strategic decision-making processes and also in improving the
quality of services provided at the outlet. IMRB has a team of 40
researchers across Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore who design and
manage mystery shopping studies.
19. Customer satisfaction research: It is very important to
determine the customers' perception of quality for products and
services provided. It is a known fact that customers rarely
complain - they just don't come back. Customer loyalty is
considered worth ten times more than the price of a single
purchase. Moreover, researchers claim that if a customer doesn't
like the product or service, he will tell on an average eleven more
people about his experience. This illustrates the importance of
ensuring customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction research is
increasingly becoming an essential ingredient of any program aimed
at maintaining the existing customers and revenue, increasing the
customer database and enhancing brand value. Conducting customer
satisfaction research by a third party organization has an
advantage that the responses obtained are more reliable. It
eliminates the errors due to perception and stereotyping of
in-house researches. This is because in third-party research, the
customer-vendor relationship does not get affected. However, the
costs involved in outsourcing such research work to external
agencies must be duly considered. Customer Satisfaction Management
& Measurement (CSMM) is an independent, specialist unit of IMRB
International. CSMM is also a exclusive member of the Walker
Information Global Network (WIGN) in the Indian subcontinent. CSMM
has many proven methodologies and processes for customer
satisfaction research.
20. B2B and Industrial research: B2B and Industrial Research is
about understanding the market for goods and services that are
consumed by entities other than individuals. BIRD, the Business
& Industrial Research Division of IMRB carries out wide variety
of B2B and Industrial studies in a numerous sectors. For catering
to technology markets including IT hardware, software &
services and Telecommunication, there is an exclusive e-technology
Group within BIRD. At the macro level, BIRD offers services
covering industry trends, regulatory environment, economic
scenario, international trade and market overview. At the micro
level, BIRD offers services such as brand / product positioning,
customer segmentation, channel perception, market sizing, pricing,
distribution strategy, product development assistance etc. Apart
from syndicated studies such as ITOPS and ICUBE, BIRD offers
research services to meet clients specific requirements. It helps
clients all through the product life cycle from product development
to launching it in the market to making a success out of it. While
researching the buyers, users, influencers, installers, traders,
marketers, importers, exporters and manufacturers of the product,
BIRD keeps in perspective the global market situation. BIRD
services private sector, public sector, government departments and
multilateral agencies. It has clients in all the five continents of
the world.
21. IMRB also offers a variety of syndicated research products
and reports that are widely used as industry bench-marks of
consumer behavior, such as: MarketPulse, a continuous monthly
tracking of household purchases across various FMCG categories. The
panel covers over 70,000 homes with 56,000 homes in urban and
14,000 in rural India and is widely used as a benchmark for
purchase, and pricing behavior* WAM and RAM, which is a
standardized audience measurement systems that sample web and radio
audiences, and provide real time detailed segmented data on web
usage behaviors ITops and ICube, syndicated annual research reports
on the landscape of new technology in India. ITOPS is a half yearly
track of the Indian PC, Networking and Software market. TGI India,
collaboration with TGI, which provides the largest single source
marketing and media information covering data on consumer
attitudes, motivations, media habits and purchase behavior.
Homemaker Bioscope - A decision support system for a comprehensive
understanding of Homemakers. National Food Survey It is a
comprehensive study on food habits and consumption across urban
India. IMRB KidScan- It is a syndicated study launched by IMRB
International as an attempt to understand the Indian kids world and
their interaction with their environment.
22. Highly loyal Client relationships: Our top clients include
BAT Group, Bharti Group, Cadbury, Ford Group, Frito Lay, Glaxo
Smithkline, Heinz, Indian Airlines, ITC Group, Millward Brown,
Nestle, Pepsi Group, Reckitt Benckiser, Research International, TVS
Motors, Unilever Group, VST and so on *
23. Other prominent clients:
24. Industry Associations & Government bodies:
25. Walker Information Global Network (WIGN) Walker is a
consulting firm specializing in customer strategy. The Walker
global network, work with CSMM, a specialist unit of IMRB
International, to provide a unique combination of local knowledge
and global reach - all aimed at managing stake holding relationship
and improving business performance. Associates and Affiliate
companies IMRB International has acted as a catalyst in the
development of market research infrastructure in neighbouring
countries. We work with associate companies in Sri Lanka (Lanka
Market Research Bureau) and in the Middle East (Arab Market
Research Bureau), and through affiliates in Australia, Singapore,
Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Egypt, Tunisia, Nepal,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Yankee Group Yankee Group is the
expert in navigating the global connectivity revolution. Yankee
Group has partnered with IMRB to be their exclusive representative
for India. This strategic partnership between IMRB International
and Yankee Group will bring in an international perspective in the
fields of telecommunications & wireless/mobile, consumer, media
and entertainment and IT hardware, software and services.
26. Agriculture/Agro-products Distribution/Retail Trade Finance
/Banking /Insurance IT Hardware & Software Alcohol Real
Estate
27. E-governance Logistics and Transportation Health Care
Automotive Education & Training Media and Entertainment
28. Chemicals & Petroleum Energy & Environment
Engineering Sector Internet Processed Food Telecom
29. Tobacco Construction and Building Materials Travel &
Tourism Social & Rural Steel & Other Metals
30. IMRB is one of the top 20 market research companies in the
world. IMRB is the market leader in India and has been awarded the
MR agency of the year, five times since 2005. It also won WPPs
Atticus award jointly with JWT. It is a part of WPP, which is a 5.9
billion (2006) revenue company with 100,000 employees in 2000
offices across 106 countries. It operates through own offices,
joint ventures and associates in 17 countries - Algeria, Australia,
Bangladesh, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Morocco,
Netherlands, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri
Lanka, UAE and UK. IMRB is aligned with the Kantar Group, an
umbrella network of global market research companies that together
account for over $2 billion in revenues and form the worlds second
biggest market research conglomerate.
31. IMRBs Footprint :Own offices in 19 cities covering Seven
Countries: Delhi Mumbai Bangalore Chennai Colombo Hongkong
Singapore Seoul Guangzhou Taipei Manila Bangkok Kuala Lumpur
Shanghai IMRB offices/ associates Field associates Beijing Tokyo
Kathmandu Calcutta Jakarta ` Morocco Algiers Tunis Cairo Beirut
Damascus Kuwait Dubai Muscat Islamabad Lahore DhakaKarachi
Jeddah
32. Australia Indonesia Nigeria Sudan Argentina Italy Oman
Syria Bangladesh Japan Pakistan Taiwan Bahrain Jordan Philippines
Thailand Brazil Korea Poland Tunisia Cambodia Kuwait Qatar Turkey
China Lebanon Romania UAE Egypt Laos Russia UK El Salvador Malaysia
Saudi Arabia USA France Mexico Seychelles Vietnam Ghana Morocco
South Africa Venezuela Germany Myanmar Spain Zambia Iran Nepal Sri
Lanka Zimbabwe Study done all over the world! IMRB has worked in
over 54 markets in the last two years..
33. Awards won: Agency of the year award in 2006 the first year
of institution of MRSI. Won the award in all the subsequent years
as well. Presenting cutting edge research for several years at
international forums including ESOMAR & won awards . Won WPPs
Atticus award jointly with JWT