Glossary of specialist GfK terms

A


Ad hoc research
Systematic empirical research as a basis of marketing
decisions. One of GfK’s business divisions:
-> Custom Research.

Advertising Monitor
Advertising research instrument used to test whether the message has been effectively put across by the campaign.

Appreciation Panel System (APS)
Tool used in tv research to survey customer satisfaction levels as well as audience ratings at the same time: -> Media.

B


Basic research
Market research is based on the findings of many different sciences, including psychology, sociology and statistics. Basic research reviews those findings and establishes by means of its own research whether and under which circumstances these findings can be applied in market research.

C


Conjoint analysis
Multivariate analysis method to determine complex patterns of consumer preferences.

Consumer climate
Indicator that is calculated on the basis of the findings of a monthly consumer survey carried out on behalf of the European Commission. It gives insight into the level and general trends of private consumption specific countries: -> Propensity to buy.

Consumer electronics
Also known as brown goods, which comprise products such as TV sets, DVD players, games consoles, MP3 players: -> Retail and Technology.

Consumer Jury
Online Panel for slow moving consumer goods in the -> Consumer Tracking division. It combines instruments for recruiting panel participants, for panel management and survey management with standardized survey software and also comprises output interfaces for various types of software:
-> Panel.

Consumer Panel
A -> sample of households which provide regular information on their purchases:
-> ConsumerScan, -> ConsumerScope, -> Panel.

ConsumerScan
-> Consumer panel in which the purchasing behavior of households and individuals is recorded. Covers purchases of nearly all fast moving consumer goods: -> Consumer Tracking, -> Household Panel, -> Panel.

ConsumerScope
Mail panel, carrying out continuous surveys of purchases of consumer goods with slow moving acquisition cycles and the use of services:
-> Consumer Tracking, -> Panel, -> Consumer Panel.

Consumer Tracking
A survey of households and individual consumers that is repeated at regular intervals; Consumer Tracking is one of GfK’s business divisions:
-> Household Panel, -> Panel, -> Tracking.

Custom Research
One of GfK’s business divisions -> Ad hoc research.

E


Evogenius
Instrument used to produce and analyze media usage data. Initially designed for tv research, it has since been expanded to include radio, print, posters, online and cross-media: -> Media.

Excellence Team
As part of the Excellence program set up in 2001, GfK managers selected globally work together on a project of strategic importance to GfK for one year at a time. The current Excellence VII Team is focusing on idea and innovation management at GfK.

Extrapolation
Derived total result based on partial results. In order to extrapolate as precisely as possible, the partial results used must take account of all conceivable aspects and be sufficient in size. This is known as a representative -> Sample.

F


5 Star Incentive Programm
Part of the remuneration system for GfK Management Board members. The amount of these partial remuneration payments varies, depending on the share price trend and the key figures in the consolidated accounts.

Face-to-face interview
Oral, direct interview conducted by an interviewer. Respondents do not see the questionnaire, but are asked the relevant questions by the interviewer.

Fact-based consultancy
Strategic client consulting based on figures. One of the five aims of GfK’s corporate strategy -> 5 Star Initiative.

G


GfK Ad*Vantage/MultiMedia
Measures the promotional effectiveness of individual advertising resources and facilitates a comparison of the impact of various advertising media, such as TV, print, outdoor, online or POS.

GfK Concept Measures
An instrument used to predict the chances of success of a healthcare industry product with a high level of probability: -> HealthCare.

GfK ConsumerJury
An online platform which records online panel purchases:
-> ConsumerScope

GfK Issue Specific Readership Study
Data gathering based on weekly online surveys to put marketing specialists in a position to accurately measure the reach of an advertising campaign in a specific magazine issue and consequently to calculate the contribution made by the magazine to the RoI of the advertising measure: -> Media -> Media Research.

GfK MediaScan
Method of measuring readership in the print media, which delivers indicators already regarded as standard in TV and radio. The information is used in media planning and the placement of print advertising as reference data: -> Media, -> Reach Research, -> Media Research, -> Radio Research.

GfK New Atracktive Basic System (GfK NABS)
Used to assure the quality of purchasing data from the -> consumer panel. In this way, extensive automation of the quality assurance processes and a flexible adjustment to suit specific requirements of the most varied data gathering instruments for a wide range of product areas is possible: -> Consumer Tracking.

GfK RepInsight
New surveying technology, where the participants of a doctors’ panel take part in computerized, prompted telephone surveys with the aid of voice recognition software. The responses to open-ended and closed questions are digitally recorded and later transcribed for clients: -> HealthCare.

GfK Retail Analytics
An addition to the -> Retail Panel for -> Retail and Technology, this is an instrument which delivers clients additional knowledge on subjects such as pricing, competitive analysis, range structuring and product marketing, and also supplies details on market movements in individual stores.

GfK Shopper Research
Analyzes the social and culturally-based buying motivations of consumers on the basis of extensive interviews, observation of purchasing behavior and data originating from the -> Consumer Panels.

GfK Temax
Index which collects data on the latest sales trends in electrical equipment on a quarterly basis: -> Retail and Technology,
-> Panel.

Global Key Account Management
Selected GfK employees in the -> Custom Research division who manage global corporate client accounts.


H


Household Panel
Representative sample of households, which report regularly on their purchases: -> ConsumerScan, -> ConsumerScope,
-> Consumer Tracking, -> Panel.

HealthCare
HealthCare is one of GfK’s business divisions, which supplies information services on product development, communications, image and NBA for drugs and devices and services in healthcare.

K


KES
Knowledge exchange solution. GfK initiative on global knowledge sharing between employees.

M


Market segmentation
Division of an overall market into sub-markets using different categories. Segmentation can be by product type, price classes, geographic split or psychological and socio-economic lifestyle features and value categories of consumers:
-> Lifestyle research.

Media
Media is one of GfK’s business divisions, which provides information services on reach, intensity and type of use of media and media offering and their acceptance: -> TV audience research, -> Media research, -> Reach research, -> TV Panel.

Media research
Systematic, empirical research used as a basis for media planning by media companies and their advertising clients: -> Media, -> TV audience research, -> Reach, -> Reach research.

MediaWatch
An electronic metering device incorporated into a wristwatch, used to measure usage of various media: -> Media, -> Media research, -> Reach research.

Neuromarketing
Interdisciplinary field of research. Previously unknown patterns and processes, which control the decision of potential customers for or against a product, are researched on the basis of changes in the flow of blood in the brain and put in relation to actual visible behavior.

P


Panel
A survey of individuals, households, companies etc. to obtain data on a single subject at regular intervals over a longer period, using the same -> Sample and carried out using the same methods each time -> Consumer Tracking, -> ConsumerScan, -> ConsumerScope, -> Household Panel, -> TV Panel, -> Panel maintenance, -> Tracking.

Panel maintenance
Instrument used to ensure the quality of panel surveys. Following the departure of panel participants or their familiarity with a survey topic, participants are removed from the panel at specific intervals and replaced by new panel members. Panel maintenance also comprises the exclusion of incentive hunters who only participate in panels to benefit from the reward system: -> Consumer Tracking, -> Panel.

Panel portal
Website with a members’ section, which only registered panel participants can access. It provides information about the next surveys for online participants and the findings of previous surveys:
-> GOP, -> Panel.

Propensity to buy
The intention of consumers to make major acquisitions in the near future. The propensity to buy is one of the indicators used in the GfK consumer climate survey based on consumers being asked the following question: "Do you think that it is wise to make major purchases at the moment?” -> Consumer climate.

R


Radio research
Measuring the listening habits of radio listeners: -> Media, -> MediaWatch, -> Portable people meter, -> Radiocontrol.

Reach
The percentage of the total population or a specific target group reached by a medium.
A central concept in media planning and -> Media research: -> TV Panel, -> Reach research.

Reach research
The continuous recording of media usage:
-> Media -> Reach.

Retail and Technology
GfK business division which provides retail information about consumer technology markets: -> Retail panel.

Retail panel/research
Regular recording of sales, product categories and products via a representative sample of retailers with different retail types and sales channels: -> Retail and Technology, -> Tracking.

S


Sample
The observation data and/or survey units which are selected from all of the units and included in a specific survey: -> Extrapolation, -> Panel.

Segmentation
-> Market segmentation.

StarTrack
IT platform used to produce and evaluate data in the -> Retail and Technology division.

Syndicated business
Market or market player surveys, not necessarily commissioned by a client or tailored to suit client requirements, which are offered on the market without client-specific adaptation. Syndicated surveys can be carried out on a one-off or repeated basis, without the need to conform to the strict limitations of a panel.

T


Test market
Largely self-contained sub-market, in which a new product is tested in a reality-based situation, e.g. a superstore specifically equipped for this purpose or in a region that is representative of a whole country.

Tracking
Surveys of individuals, households and companies, repeated at regular intervals and using the same interview method each time. Unlike a -> Panel, the data is not necessarily collected from the same sources each time, but the structure of the sample is the same in each case: -> Sample, -> Consumer Tracking.

TV audience research
TV audience research is used to determine audience share: -> Media, -> Media research, -> Reach, -> TV Panel.

TV panel
A representative group of households whose TV viewing is continuously determined via -> TV meters and used as the basis for audience share and ratings. -> TV audience research, -> Media, -> Panel, -> Reach.