SAMRA Award Haul for New TNS Firm

Newly acquired TNS Research Surveys came home with three of the four available awards at last week's annual conference of SAMRA, the South African Market Research Association.

The firm, which became part of the TNS Group in January (www.mrweb.com/drno/news6317.htm ) won 'best paper', 'best first time presenter' and 'best contribution to research' at the ceremony.

Mark Molenaar, TNS Research Surveys' National Director: Client Service, took the first two awards for his paper taking a critical look at the 'would you recommend to a friend' and Net Promoter Score measures. He argued that the approach does not take into account how people feel about competitors, does not reflect the importance of the brand-buying decision and does not understand that different people use scales in different ways.

Molenaar's colleagues Nomsa Khanyile and Rudo Maponga were awarded 'best contribution to research' for their paper which focused on the issue of job hopping among black professionals. Their prediction is that this will become a serious issue as this segment is less likely to be committed to their job or their company than those from global norms.

The fourth award for 'best joint presentation' was given to MR firm, Dashboard and utility firm, Eskom. The prizes were presented at a gala dinner held on Friday at the Spier wine estate in Stellenbosch. TNS Research Surveys is on the web at www.researchsurveys.co.za .