Why We Are Different: Research Excellence, The Gallup Legacy

Excellence has been part of our DNA since our founding in 1948 by George Gallup and Claude Robinson, two of the pioneers in survey research. George Gallup is the eponymous name for polling worldwide and his vision and influence continue to grow. Claude Robinson was a giant in his own right – founder of Opinion Research Corporation (ORC), innovator of public relations science, and the first presidential pollster.

Today, for us research is all about the details. Research excellence cannot be painted on with a few broad brushstrokes, but is built into all aspects of our process, from design, to execution, to analysis. One research number can look every bit as solid as another. However, the two are often very different due to the important and unseen work that goes into constructing them. Today’s data processing tools can make research seem like a commodity when it is anything but. Without the same careful design and meticulous execution, two numbers cannot be relied upon with the same confidence. Questionnaires, sampling, interviewing, coding, data processing, and analysis can each introduce significant error.

Our passion ensures that we deliver superior research that adheres to exacting and time-tested standards for quality, responsiveness, and value so that our clients receive the highest quality research for their decision-making needs. We treat your business as if it were our business, building our craft on the following four core values:

Validated Measures

Our marketing research solutions are built on experience and knowledge. Each has been rigorously validated by us and by others to ensure that they deliver what they purport to deliver. From the 1950s when our work was substantiated by the ANA to the 2000s when we became the only research supplier to participate in the ARF’s first three engagement investigations, our solutions have been proven and battle-tested to help companies gain the information they need to make better marketing decisions.

Fact-Based Insights

Intuition and “fast thinking” are critical to making sound marketing decisions, but they are also often flawed. The process we go through when we intuit a decision contains many biases and blind spots. Fact-based insights and “slow thinking” reduce the risk of failure due to these otherwise unknown biases. We work tirelessly to help you improve decision-making by squeezing as much fact-based meaning with as little error as possible about your market.

Advanced Technologies

Marketing research operates at the intersection of people and methods. From interviewing to processing to analysis to reporting, we invest in technology to improve the capabilities of our people and methods. Breakthrough measurement constructs like Advanced Persuasion, Transportation, and Facial EMG, leading edge analytics like Advertising Response Modeling and Concept Convergence Analysis, and proprietary software engines like WebScape, TOES, and STEM, enhance the content, speed, and value of our offerings.

Small-Batch Virtues

In today’s knowledge economy, large vendor staffs no longer equate with better efficacy and efficiency. The many advantages that small nimble partners offer over large regimented ones now yield a net positive for the client. That’s because smaller marketing research firms can think more deeply within their niche, offering a specialized expertise and innovation. In addition, clients receive direct and continuous access to the company’s best resources, without the conflict with other business interests that larger vendors inevitably have.

Our team

Stefanie Dursin

Principal

Stefanie has a deep practical understanding of survey and fEMG communications research methods. She is a seasoned practitioner in all aspects of G&R’s self-report studies, including design, deployment, reporting and analysis. She has helped develop a unique method for applying conjoint analytic techniques to increase power and reduce costs when investigating messaging options. She is also the company’s principal investigator in neuro-physiological research, including design, recruitment, administration and analysis. Stefanie is a graduate of Smith College.

Email Stefanie

Scott Purvis

Principal

Scott has twenty-five years of experience in marketing research. Many of those years have been spent in working with an elite group of key national advertisers in the healthcare, packaged goods, food, automotive, technology and financial services categories. He is the principal researcher on many published and proprietary studies, the co-developer of CERA – a neuro-physiological technique for measuring emotional valence in advertising, and the author of Which Ad Pulled Best?, a college workbook now in its tenth edition. Scott holds a BS in Linguistics and a JD from Georgetown University, and an MBA from George Washington University.

Email Scott

A Sense of Vision

G&R's History of Advertising Research Expertise

During the 1920’s and 1930’s, TV was no more than a laboratory curiosity; 40 years later, it was the dominant media form in the world. By the turn of the millennium, U.S. advertisers spent $120 billion in measured media and television accounted for almost half (47% or $56.8 billion) – more than twice second-place newspapers ($25.7 billion), and almost three times that spent in consumer magazines ($19.9 billion). During much of this time, G&R has been a leading research partner in helping companies learn to harness this powerful force. Over the years, G&R has innovated many of the research techniques that are now considered standards in the industry.