Dr. Julian Baim – the leading light of top-quality, innovative research on magazine audiences – will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF). The prize will be presented at the ARF’s Great Mind Awards ceremony on September 19 in New York City.
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an individual who has made significant impact on and fundamental contributions to the research industry, and has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to advancing the art and science of market research. Criteria for the award are contributions to the ARF, impact on MR, and inspiration to others in the field.
Baim has been a major force in the media research community for over a quarter century. First at Birch/Scarborough and, for the past 27 years, as Executive Vice President and Chief Research Officer at GfK MRI (formerly Mediamark Research & Intelligence), he has made substantial contributions to both the theory and practice of print and other media measurement.
By guiding GfK MRI’s gold-standard The Survey of the American Consumer®, Dr. Baim has been at the forefront of innovations in audience measurement. He presided over a 30% increase in sample size at GfK MRI and the introduction of new survey technology to increase the value of the Survey’s information. He has also designed the first national measurement of magazine audience accumulation in over 30 years,
- developed an issue-specific magazine audience estimate,
- oversaw the inclusion of a Starch ad-noting service,
- formulated new questions designed to capture digital print readership, and
- pioneered the development of a magazine audience-guarantee tool
“I have never met anyone who is more committed to dissecting and evaluating the facts to uncover the truth than Julian Baim,” said Britta Cleveland, Senior Vice President for Research Solutions at Meredith Corporation. “His focus on testing alternatives to find the right solution is unmatched. When I want to understand how to tackle a measurement problem, Julian is the man I turn to.”
"Julian provides our industry with a great balance of research expertise and commercial realism,” said Kate Sirkin, Practice Lead for Analytics and Insight Americas and Audience Insight Global at Starcom Mediavest Group (SMG). “His work at GfK MRI ensures that its quality service covers the ever-expanding needs of the print industry with research rigor.”
In the mid-1990s, Dr. Baim spearheaded the initial research into the use of Audio-CASI as an interviewing tool; his paper on the subject was named “Most Innovative Paper” at the Berlin Worldwide Readership Symposium in 1995. Dr. Baim has also authored or co-authored 30 papers presented at the Print and Digital Research Forum (PDRF; formerly the Worldwide Magazine Research Symposia), many of which were award nominees or winners.
In his long association with the ARF, Dr. Baim has served as
- Chairperson of the Gold Standard Print Committee,
- Chairperson of the Subcommittee on Response Rates,
- Co-Chairperson of the Magazine Research Validity Committee, and
- Longtime Member of the Print Council.
He has also shared his work with the industry at ARF conferences, as well as the MRC and the Print and Digital Research Forum (PDRF).
Dr. Baim earned his Doctorate in Political Science from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and has taught at CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice and at Hunter College.
