MRI's University Internet Reporter & Marketing Resources

["Chilton Galadriel" <chilton.gala@uwlax.edu>]

*Apologies for multiple postings*

As many of you may know, Mediamark Research has just released their
product via the web and will no longer be offering their marketing data
via CD-ROM.

In attempting to evaluate the product, we have run into the following
concerns:

1. So far, a trial of the online product is not permitted. (I hope this is
because they just recently moved to online availability!)

2. According to the license agreement, Mediamark prohibits use of their
data to such an extent that faculty and students would not be permitted to
use data in any research, papers, journal article, etc. as no quotes from
the database are to be disseminated off campus.

3. Currently, training access for subscribers with limited simultaneous
users is not permitted.

4. Though I am still inquiring into specifics, current information
indicates that if a 1-5 user subscription were purchased than only 1-5
students/faculty would have Mediamark access, as a profile is associated
with each user and linked to a specific campus e-mail address.
(Theoretically, each account could be associated with a generic campus
e-mail, but it is not known what would be the implications.)

Based on these concerns, I have the following questions:

1. Has anyone subscribed to the online version of Mediamark, and if so,
what has been your experience with the product and/or license negotiation
- especially in light of the above issues?

2. Is anyone using Simmons Market Research Bureau's Choice products? If
so, what has been your experience with the license and the product? How
does Simmons compare to Mediamark in terms of data, usability, and
customer service?

3. Other than Simmons, what other recommendations do you have for
marketing data?

Any insight is greatly appreciated!

Best regards,

Galadriel Chilton
Electronic Resources Librarian
University of Wisconsin LaCrosse
Murphy Library
112 Murphy=20
1631 Pine Street
La Crosse, WI 54601