New ISP Market Research Operation 2/10/2000 Hot on the heels of our story about DoubleClick acquiring @plan, the trend for Internet providers to enter the market research arena continues. NetZero Inc, a leading provider of free Internet access, has unveiled its CyberTarget market research website, at www.cybertarget.com. The aim of the CyberTarget division is to leverage the wealth of data that NetZero has accumulated on its 5 million-plus registered user base to offer marketers sophisticated audience measurement services and highly targeted market research panels, whilst maintaining the privacy of users' personal information. Using a combination of NetZero members' non-personal profile data, as well as a complete tracking of Internet usage, CyberTarget will aim to provide a deeper understanding of how people are using the Internet as a result of the operation’s ability to utilise a panel that is more than 40 times greater in size than traditional Internet rating companies. CyberTarget is able to target respondents via a direct measure of online behaviour, ie. the sites users visit, the amount of time they spend there, the specific online paths they take, and much more. As a result, researchers can target those known to use certain services and visit particular websites. According to Mark R. Goldston, Chairman and CEO of NetZero, "Our CyberTarget division is an extremely effective strategic tool. For example, its custom market research capabilities enable clients to gain strategic advantages by specifically targeting their competitors' customers. Researchers have the ability to access both current customers of other brands and potential consumers, so they can gain an in-depth understanding of the marketplace and new opportunities they may want to exploit. "With CyberTarget, we can also perform sophisticated satisfaction studies targeted to a specific audience," Goldston continued. "By using non-personal, aggregated information, we're able to pioneer new standards for market research while scrupulously protecting our users' privacy." For advertisers, CyberTarget is currently offering four distinct reports, samples of which can be viewed on the website: Duplication: This analysis provides advertisers with a percentage of visitors to their and their competitors' sites to help them better understand their market share Top Sites Visited: This analysis provides advertisers with the top sites visited by their customers and those of their competitors, an invaluable tool for online promotion and advertising purposes Content Distribution: This analysis compares member usage of a specific section of a site, so advertisers can better understand the value of specific pages and services, and to compare such usage with similar features on their competitors' sites Audience Comparison: This comparative analysis examines the client's and the competitor's respective audiences, providing insight into user and competitor demographics and online surfing habits