Daily Research News Online no. 2551 - Lightspeed Launches Panel Site in Aus, Eyes Asia Pacific

Lightspeed Launches Panel Site in Aus, Eyes Asia Pacific

August 19 2003

Online MR agency Lightspeed Research has announced the launch of the Lightspeed Consumer Panel Web site in Australia. The site signifies the beginning of a planned move into the Asia Pacific market.

The site, at http://au.lightspeedpanel.com, is being launched in conjunction with fellow Kantar Group companies Research International Australia, Millward Brown Australia, and Newspoll Ltd, who are providing the initial panelists. Lightspeed expect to have 20,000 panelists by the end of 2003.

Australian residents will sign up to the panel by providing background information via an online registration form. During the course of their membership, panelists have the opportunity to participate in online surveys, one-question 'mini-polls', and brief 'Quick Match' survey screeners, which match them to future survey opportunities. Benefits include an entry in sweepstakes for $500 and $1,000, and on some occasions online gift certificates or prizes.

The company has other panel Web sites in North America, Great Britain, the Netherlands, France and Germany. The proprietary panel Web sites currently have over 900,000 registered panelists worldwide providing access to speciality sub-panels for segmentation purposes. Together with panelists accessed through sanctioned panel partners for Western Europe and Japan, the total reach is more than 1.7 million panelists in 15 different countries.

Lightspeed's many plans for the coming year include opening an operations office in Australia in February of 2004, and launching a Japanese consumer panel Web site later next year.

'With Australia's high Internet penetration rate, interest in utilizing online panels, and the relationships WPP, our parent company, has, we feel this is a very successful move for our company', said Anne Hedde, President and CEO of Lightspeed Research. 'Our Australian office will provide us with the leverage we need not only on that continent, but also in the huge Asian Pacific market... Launching the Australian Web site signifies the beginning of our next phase of growth'.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.