Merrill News Immediate Release
Contact: Tom Morgan, Penton Electronics Group
(201) 393-6273
email:
tmorgan@penton.com
Contact: Dave Schneer, Co-Founder and General Partner, Merrill Research & Associates
Phone: (650) 954-2941
Email:
dschneer@merrill.com
Penton Media's Electronics Group Announces Strategic Partnership with Merrill Research & Associates
High-tech publisher and leading research firm join forces to create syndicated research and independent survey programs for OEM product marketers
Hasbrouck Heights, NJ, February 12, 2002 - The Penton Electronics Group has signed an exclusive agreement with Merrill Research & Associates to provide a far-reaching program of objective, custom research services for technology marketers in the electronics OEM. The parties said they plan to co-brand two major syndicated research projects in 2002, and will work jointly on several vendor-sponsored projects throughout the year.
According to Group Publisher Tom Morgan of the Penton Electronics Group, the agreement allows Penton to offer a broad range of qualitative and quantitative services to advertising customers while providing unique opportunities to create groundbreaking research initiatives.
"Keeping up with fast-paced technology trends is a major challenge for most component manufacturers in the OEM," said Morgan. "Increasingly, these companies look to us for knowledge about emerging markets and applications, and for information on technologies that can help designers shorten product development times. This agreement with Merrill Research permits us to round out our current research capabilities by providing a well-balanced portfolio of high-quality, unbiased market intelligence." Morgan indicated that the Penton Electronics Group sales team and Merrill Research will work in tandem to identify and implement strategic market intelligence for correlative OEM customers.
Expanded research services now available to Penton Electronics Group advertisers comprise custom qualitative studies (focus groups, in-depth personal interviews) as well as quantitative surveys (telephone interviews, Internet-based studies), including:
- Market segmentation studies
- Product concept testing
- Customer satisfaction surveys
- Ad effectiveness studies
- Positioning research
- Distribution studies
- Competitive assessments
- Purchase process evaluations
- Readership surveys
- Web usability surveys
According to Merrill Research co-founder David Schneer, the research firm's customers also stand to benefit from the exclusive relationship with Penton because his company will now have regular access to Penton's qualified database of engineers and engineering managers, and have the ability to consult with the high-tech publisher's roster of industry-leading technology editors. "Our previous project work with Penton demonstrated the incredible strength and quality of their circulation lists," he stated. "Now manufacturers and distributors of semiconductor components, computer systems, peripherals, software, and network communications gear can capitalize on this new partnership in unprecedented ways."
About Penton Media, Inc.
Penton Media, Inc. (NYSE: PME) is a leading, global business-to-business media company that produces market-focused magazines, trade shows and conferences, and online media products. Penton's integrated media portfolio serves the following industries: electronics; Internet/broadband; information technology; manufacturing; design/engineering; natural products; food/retail; mechanical systems/construction; government/compliance; supply chain; aviation; and leisure/hospitality. For more information, visit
www.penton.com.
About Merrill Research & Associates
Merrill Research & Associates is a global, full-service, custom marketing research firm serving high-technology companies with extensive experience in semiconductor-based market research. The company provides both qualitative and quantitative research services, and in 1995 was awarded the prestigious Texas Instruments Supplier Excellence Award. Founded in 1986, Merrill Research & Associates currently has 140 employees and is headquartered in San Mateo, California, with offices in Iowa City, IA.
