We are delighted to announce that Qmedia have won the 2009 Market Research Society award for Advertising and Media Research.

‘In VoD We Trust’ researched Channel 4’s on demand services (4oD), providing the first insight into how viewers watch the content and what that means for advertisers using the new ad-funded platform. As the first major commercial research study of its kind (2008), it has significantly increased industry understanding of Video on Demand (VoD) as a whole:

• How to use VoD in advertising campaigns, to increase reach and maximise engagement
• The brand-building benefits it has for advertisers, which are significantly improved beyond those achieved by linear TV or online display campaigns alone
• How to protect valuable audience enthusiasm, by ensuring that ads are targeted and intrusion minimised.

What the judges said:

This paper outlines one of the first commercial studies undertaken to increase the industry’s understanding of how Video on Demand works as an advertising and communication medium. It was an extensive study both in terms of the number of brands involved and the robustness and scale of the samples used. As a result the research puts a useful value on a relatively unknown medium and has widespread and actionable implications.

It was innovative in terms of the area researched, it delivered real commercial benefit and the research findings have wide implications for the communications industry.”

More details of the research can be seen by viewing our case studies, or find out more about the awards here.

• Contract: the Client’s purchase order and the Supplier’s acceptance of it, or the Client’s acceptance of a quotation for Services by the Supplier under condition 2.2.
• Client: the person, firm or company who purchases Services from the Supplier.
• Deliverables: all Documents, products and materials developed by the Supplier or its agents, subcontractors, consultants and employees in relation to the Services in any form, including computer programs, data, reports and specifications (including drafts).
• Document: includes, without limitation, in addition to any document in writing, any drawing, map, plan, graph, diagram, design, picture, photograph, film, negative or other image, tape, disk or other device or record embodying information in any form.
• In-put Material: all Documents, information and materials provided by the Client relating to the Services.
• Intellectual Property Rights: all patents, copyright and related rights, trade marks, service marks, business and domain names, rights in goodwill, rights in designs, rights in computer software, database right, rights in confidential information (including know-how and trade secrets) and any other intellectual property rights, in each case whether registered or unregistered and including all applications for and renewals or extensions of such rights, and all similar or equivalent rights or forms of protection in any part of the world.
• Pre-existing Materials: all Documents, information and materials provided by the Supplier relating to the Services which existed prior to the commencement of the Contract.
• Services: the services to be provided by the Supplier under the Contract as set out in Schedule 1 together with any other services which the Supplier provides, or agrees to provide, to the Client.
• Supplier: Optimisa Research Limited.
• VAT: value added tax chargeable under English law for the time being and any similar additional tax.

1.2 Headings in these conditions shall not affect their interpretation.
1.3 A person includes a natural person, corporate or unincorporated body (whether or not having separate legal personality).
1.4 The schedules form part of the Contract.
1.5 A reference to a statute or statutory provision is a reference to it as it is in force for the time being, taking account of any amendment, extension, or re-enactment and includes any subordinate legislation for the time being in force made under it.
1.6 A reference to writing or written includes faxes but not e-mail.
1.7 Any obligation in the Contract on a person not to do something includes, without limitation, an obligation not to agree, allow, permit or acquiesce in that thing being done.
1.8 References to conditions and schedules are to the conditions and schedules of the Contract.

2. APPLICATION OF CONDITIONS
2.1 These Conditions shall:
2.1.1 apply to and be incorporated into the Contract; and
2.1.2 prevail over any inconsistent terms or conditions contained, or referred to, in the Client’s purchase order, confirmation of order, acceptance of a quotation, or specification or other Document supplied by the Client, or implied by law, trade custom, practice or course of dealing.
2.2 The Client’s purchase order, or the Client’s acceptance of a quotation for Services by the Supplier, constitutes an offer by the Client to purchase the Services specified in it on these Conditions. No offer placed by the Client shall be accepted by the Supplier other than:
2.2.1 by a written acknowledgement issued and executed by the Supplier; or
2.2.2 (if earlier) by the Supplier starting to provide the Services, when a contract for the supply and purchase of the Services on these Conditions will be established. The Client’s standard terms and conditions (if any) attached to, enclosed with or referred to in any purchase order or other Document shall not govern
the Contract.
2.3 Quotations are given by the Supplier on the basis that no Contract shall come into existence except in accordance with condition 2.2. Any quotation is valid for a period of 30 days from its date, provided that the Supplier has not previously withdrawn it.

3. COMMENCEMENT AND DURATION
The Services supplied under the Contract shall be provided by the Supplier to the Client on or during the date or dates specified in Schedule 1.

4. SUPPLIER’S OBLIGATIONS
4.1 The Supplier shall use reasonable endeavours to provide the Services, and to deliver the Deliverables to the Client, in accordance in all material respects with Schedule 1.
4.2 The Supplier shall use reasonable endeavours to meet any performance dates specified in Schedule 1 but any such dates shall be estimates only and time shall not be of the essence for performance of the Services.

5. CLIENT’S OBLIGATIONS
5.1 The Client shall:
5.1.1 co-operate with the Supplier in all matters relating to the Services;
5.1.2 provide the Supplier, its agents, subcontractors, consultants and employees, in a timely manner and at no charge, with access to the Client’s premises, office accommodation, data and other facilities as reasonably required by the Supplier;
5.1.3 provide to the Supplier, in a timely manner, such In-put Material and other information as the Supplier may reasonably require and ensure that it is accurate in all material respects;
5.2 If the Supplier’s performance of its obligations under the Contract is prevented or delayed by any act or omission of the Client, its agents, subcontractors, consultants or employees, the Supplier shall not be liable for any costs, charges or losses sustained or incurred by the Client arising directly or indirectly from such prevention or delay.
5.3 The Client shall not, without the prior written consent of the Supplier, at any time from the date of the Contract to the expiry of 6 months after the last date of supply of the Services, solicit or entice away from the Supplier or employ (or attempt to employ) any person who is, or has been, engaged as an employee, consultant or subcontractor of the Supplier in the provision of the Services.
5.4 Any consent given by the Supplier in accordance with condition 5.3 shall be subject to the Client paying to the Supplier a sum equivalent to 30% of the annual remuneration of the Supplier’s employee, consultant or subcontractor.

6. CHARGES AND PAYMENT
6.1 In consideration of the provision of the Services by the Supplier, the Client shall pay the charges as set out in Schedule 2 in accordance with the payment terms set out in Schedule 2.
6.2 The charges set out in Schedule 2 exclude:
6.2.1 the cost of hotel, subsistence, travelling and any other ancillary expenses reasonably incurred by the individuals whom the Supplier engages in connection with the Services, the cost of any materials and the cost of services reasonably and properly provided by third parties and required by the Supplier for the supply of the Services. Such expenses, materials and third party services shall be invoiced by the Supplier; and
6.2.2 VAT, which the Supplier shall add to its invoices at the appropriate rate.
6.3 The Client shall pay each invoice submitted to it by the Supplier, in full and in cleared funds, within 30 days of receipt to a bank account nominated in writing by the Supplier.
6.4 Without prejudice to any other right or remedy that it may have, if the Client fails to pay the Supplier on the due date, the Supplier may:
6.4.1 charge interest on such sum from the due date for payment at the annual rate of 2% above the base lending rate from time to time of Barclays Bank Plc, accruing on a daily basis and being compounded quarterly until payment is made, whether before or after any judgment and the Client shall pay the interest immediately on demand. The Supplier may claim interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998; and
6.4.2 suspend all Services until payment has been made in full.
6.5 Time for payment shall be of the essence of the Contract.
6.6 All sums payable to the Supplier under the Contract shall become due immediately on its termination, despite any other provision. This condition 6.6 is without prejudice to any right to claim for interest under the law, or any such right under the Contract.
6.7 The Supplier may, without prejudice to any other rights it may have, set off any liability of the Client to the Supplier against any liability of the Supplier to the Client.

7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
7.1 As between the Client and the Supplier, all Intellectual Property Rights and all other rights in the Deliverables and the Pre-existing Materials shall be owned by the Supplier. Subject to condition 7.2, the Supplier licenses all such rights to the Client free of charge and on a non-exclusive, worldwide basis to such extent as is necessary to enable the Client to make reasonable use of the Deliverables and the Services. This licence is revocable.
7.2 The Client acknowledges that, where the Supplier does not own any Pre-existing Materials, the Client’s use of rights in Pre-existing Materials is conditional on the Supplier obtaining a written licence (or sub-licence) from the relevant licensor or licensors on such terms as will entitle the Supplier to license such rights to the Client.

8. CONFIDENTIALITY AND THE SUPPLIER’S PROPERTY
8.1 The Client shall keep in strict confidence all technical or commercial know-how, specifications, inventions, processes or initiatives which are of a confidential nature and have been disclosed to the Client by the Supplier, its employees, agents, consultants or subcontractors and any other confidential information concerning the Supplier’s business or its products which the Client may obtain.
8.2 The Client may disclose such information:
8.2.1 to its employees, officers, representatives, advisers, agents or subcontractors who need to know such information for the purposes of carrying out the Client’s obligations under the Contract; and
8.2.2 as may be required by law, court order or any governmental or regulatory authority.
8.3 The Client shall ensure that its employees, officers, representatives, advisers, agents or subcontractors to whom it discloses such information comply with this condition 8.
8.4 The Client shall not use any such information for any purpose other than to perform its obligations under the Contract.
8.5 All materials, equipment and tools, drawings, specifications and data supplied by the Supplier to the Client shall, at all times, be and remain as between the Supplier and the Client the exclusive property of the Supplier, but shall be held by the Client in safe custody at its own risk and maintained and kept in good condition by the Client until returned to the Supplier, and shall not be disposed of or used other than in accordance with the Supplier’s written instructions or authorisation.

9. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY – THE CLIENT’S ATTENTION IS PARTICULARLY DRAWN TO THIS CONDITION
9.1 This condition 9 sets out the entire financial liability of the Supplier (including any liability for the acts or omissions of its employees, agents, consultants, and subcontractors) to the Client in respect of:
9.1.1 any breach of the Contract;
9.1.2 any use made by the Client of the Services, the Deliverables or any part of them; and
9.1.3 any representation, statement or tortious act or omission (including negligence) arising under or in connection with the Contract.
9.2 All warranties, conditions and other terms implied by statute or common law are, to the fullest extent permitted by law, excluded from the Contract.
9.3 Nothing in these Conditions limits or excludes the liability of the Supplier:
9.3.1 for death or personal injury resulting from negligence; or
9.3.2 for any damage or liability incurred by the Client as a result of fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation by the Supplier.
9.4 The Supplier’s total liability in contract, tort (including negligence or breach of statutory duty), misrepresentation, restitution or otherwise arising in connection with the performance, or contemplated performance, of the Contract shall be limited to the price paid for the Services.

10. DATA PROTECTION
The Client acknowledges and agrees that details of the Client’s name, address and payment record may be submitted to a credit reference agency, and personal data will be processed by and on behalf of the Supplier.

11. TERMINATION
11.1 Without prejudice to any other rights or remedies which the parties may have, either party may terminate the Contract without liability to the other immediately on giving notice to the other if:
11.1.1 the other party commits a material breach of any of the terms of the Contract and (if such a breach is remediable) fails to remedy that breach within 30 days of that party being notified in writing of the breach; or
11.1.2 the other party suspends, or threatens to suspend, payment of its debts or is unable to pay its debts as they fall due or admits inability to pay its debts or (being a company) is deemed unable to pay its debts within the meaning of section 123 of the Insolvency Act 1986 or (being a natural person) is deemed either unable to pay its debts or as having no reasonable prospect of so doing, in either case, within the meaning of section 268 of the Insolvency Act 1986 or (being a partnership) has any partner to whom any of the foregoing apply; or
11.1.3 the other party commences negotiations with all or any class of its creditors with a view to rescheduling any of its debts, or makes a proposal for or enters into any compromise or arrangement with its creditors other than for the sole purpose of a scheme for a solvent amalgamation of that other party with one or more other companies or the solvent reconstruction of that other party; or
11.1.4 a petition is filed, a notice is given, a resolution is passed, or an order is made, for or on connection with the winding up of that other party other than for the sole purpose of a scheme for a solvent amalgamation of that other party with one or more other companies or the solvent reconstruction of that other party; or
11.1.5 an application is made to court, or an order is made, for the appointment of an administrator or if a notice of intention to appoint an administrator is given or if an administrator is appointed over the other party; or
11.1.6 a floating charge holder over the assets of that other party has become entitled to appoint or has appointed an administrative receiver; or
11.1.7 a person becomes entitled to appoint a receiver over the assets of the other party or a receiver is appointed over the assets of the other party; or
11.1.8 a creditor or encumbrancer of the other party attaches or takes possession of, or a distress, execution, sequestration or other such process is levied or enforced on or sued against, the whole or any part of its assets and such attachment or process is not discharged within 14 days; or
11.1.9 any event occurs, or proceeding is taken, with respect to the other party in any jurisdiction to which it is subject that has an effect equivalent or similar to any of the events mentioned in condition 11.1.2 to condition 11.1.8 (inclusive); or
11.1.10 the other party suspends or ceases, or threatens to suspend or cease, to carry on all or a substantial part of its business; or
11.1.11 there is a change of control of the other party (as defined in section 574 of the Capital Allowances Act 2001).
11.2 On termination of the Contract for any reason:
11.2.1 the Client shall immediately pay to the Supplier all of the Supplier’s outstanding unpaid invoices and interest and, in respect of Services supplied but for which no invoice has been submitted, the Supplier may submit an invoice, which shall be payable immediately on receipt;
11.2.2 the Client shall, within a reasonable time, return all of the Pre-existing Materials and Deliverables. If the Client fails to do so, then the Supplier may enter the Client’s premises and take possession of them. Until they have been returned or repossessed, the Client shall be solely responsible for their safe keeping; and
11.2.3 the accrued rights and liabilities of the parties as at termination and the continuation of any provision expressly stated to survive or implicitly surviving termination, shall not be affected.
11.3 On termination of the Contract (however arising), the following conditions shallsurvive and continue in full force and effect:
11.3.1 Condition 7;
11.3.2 Condition 8;
11.3.3 Condition 9;
11.3.4 Condition 11; and
11.3.5 Condition 21.

12. FORCE MAJEURE
The Supplier shall have no liability to the Client under the Contract if it is prevented from, or delayed in performing, its obligations under the Contract or from carrying on its business by acts, events, omissions or accidents beyond its reasonable control, including (without limitation) strikes, lock-outs or other industrial disputes (whether involving the workforce of the Supplier or any other party), failure of a utility service or transport network, act of God, disease, war, riot, civil commotion, malicious damage, compliance with any law or governmental order, rule, regulation or direction, accident, breakdown of plant or machinery, fire, flood, storm or default of suppliers or subcontractors.

13. VARIATION
13.1 The Supplier may, from time to time and without notice, change the Services in order to comply with any applicable safety or statutory requirements, provided that such changes do not materially affect the nature, scope of, or the charges for the Services. If the Supplier requests a change to the scope of the Services for any other reason, the Client shall not unreasonably withhold or delay consent to it.
13.2 Subject to condition 13.1, no variation of the Contract or these Conditions shall be valid unless it is in writing and signed by or on behalf of each of the parties.

14. WAIVER
14.1 A waiver of any right under the Contract is only effective if it is in writing and it applies only to the circumstances for which it is given. No failure or delay by a party in exercising any right or remedy under the Contract or by law shall constitute a waiver of that (or any other) right or remedy, nor preclude or restrict its further exercise. No single or partial exercise of such right or remedy shall preclude or restrict the further exercise of that (or any other) right or remedy.
14.2 Unless specifically provided otherwise, rights arising under the Contract are cumulative and do not exclude rights provided by law.

15. SEVERANCE
15.1 If any provision of the Contract (or part of any provision) is found by any court or other authority of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that provision or part-provision shall, to the extent required, be deemed not to form part of the Contract, and the validity and enforceability of the other provisions of the Contract shall not be affected.
15.2 If a provision of the Contract (or part of any provision) is found illegal, invalid or unenforceable, the provision shall apply with the minimum modification necessary to make it legal, valid and enforceable, and, to the greatest extent possible, achieves the parties’ original commercial intention.

16. ENTIRE AGREEMENT
16.1 The Contract constitutes the whole agreement between the parties and supersedes all previous agreements between the parties relating to its subject matter.
16.2 Each party acknowledges that, in entering into the Contract, it has not relied on, and shall have no right or remedy in respect of, any statement, representation, assurance or warranty which is not expressly provided in the Contract.
16.3 Nothing in this condition shall limit or exclude any liability for fraud.

17. ASSIGNMENT
17.1 The Client shall not, without the prior written consent of the Supplier, assign or transfer or deal in any other manner with all or any of its rights or obligations under the Contract.
17.2 The Supplier may at any time assign or transfer or deal in any other manner with all or any of its rights under the Contract and may subcontract or delegate in any manner any or all of its obligations under the Contract to any third party or agent.
17.3 Each party that has rights under the Contract is acting on its own behalf and not for the benefit of another person.

18. NO PARTNERSHIP OR AGENCY
Nothing in the Contract is intended to, or shall be deemed to, constitute a partnership or joint venture of any kind between any of the parties, nor constitute any party the agent of another party for any purpose. No party shall have authority to act as agent for, or to bind, the other party in any way.

19. RIGHTS OF THIRD PARTIES
A person who is not a party to the Contract shall not have any rights under or in connection with it.

20. NOTICES
20.1 Any notice required to be given under the Contract shall be in writing and shall be delivered personally, or sent by pre-paid first-class post, recorded delivery or by commercial courier to the other party and for the attention of the person specified in Schedule 3, or as otherwise specified by the relevant party by notice in writing to the other party.
20.2 Any notice shall be deemed to have been duly received if delivered personally, when left at the address and for the contact referred to in Schedule 3 or, if sent by pre-paid first-class post or recorded delivery, at 10.00 am on the second Business Day after posting, or if delivered by commercial courier, on the date and at the time that the courier’s delivery receipt is signed.
20.3 This condition 20 shall not apply to the service of any in any proceedings or other documents in any legal action.
20.4 A notice required to be given under or in connection with the Contract shall not be validly served if sent by e-mail.

21. GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION
21.1 The Contract, and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims), shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the law of England and Wales.
21.2 The parties irrevocably agree that the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim that arises out of, or in connection with, the Contract or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims).

Michelle has more than 20 years of research experience, having previously held the posts of CEO and managing director of Synovate UK, leading the business through a period of significant change, including the successful integration of Synovate’s various businesses and acquisitions.

Prior to Synovate, Michelle was MD of Sample Surveys Research Group, which was acquired by Synovate in 2001.

Commenting on her appointment, Norman said, “Optimisa has some highly regarded research brands and great people. I look forward to leading the businesses through to their next stage of development”.

Optimisa’s Executive Chairman, Ron Littleboy, said he was delighted with Michelle’s appointment: “It’s been a difficult 12 months for our research businesses, but I’m confident that Michelle’s experience and knowledge of the research business, together with her motivating leadership style will really help us strengthen our market research operations in the UK”.

Michelle joins the business full time on October 19th.

Quaestor Fieldwork Services is a new twist on a tried and tested market research formula. We have been known as the “Operations team” within full service agency Quæstor Research for the past 21 years, enabling our team of researchers to provide critical insights to some of the biggest brands in the UK.

Coordinating the fieldwork and data output for large Blue Chip financial organisations, Government run schemes and small independent marketing agencies, has meant that we have gained experience and expertise in handling a large range of respondent audiences as well as clients who each have their own specialised requirements for their fieldwork and data output. These years of experience now provide us with the confidence to offer the same mouth-watering experience that we have been providing Quæstor with, to you, whatever your requirements are within fieldwork and data output.

Our Reasoning

We have been listening to you, our clients and prospects, and understand that marketing budgets are as tight as ever and deadlines are even tighter. Sometimes you don’t want (or need) the “full service” offer. You might want a quick heads-up and don’t want to go through weeks of internal sign-off. As companies evolve and teams become more specialised we understand that you are able to reduce costs by doing some of your analytical work for certain projects or pitches in-house and therefore you just need the raw numbers.

By working directly with the Fieldwork Services team you can have as much or as little involvement in the research as time or budget allows and you would be supplied with the raw data in your preferred format to analyse as you wish.

We focus on partnerships with our clients. We are specialists in qualitative, quantitative and combined studies.

Our Team

A friendly bunch of people based at our offices in Calverley, are headed up by Rachel Hoy our Director of Quaestor Fieldwork Services.

Whether you have a questionnaire that is written and ready to go or a list of key aims that you want your research to help you achieve, a Project Controller will be happy to discuss your requirements and the options available to meet them, within your budget and time frame and walk you through the research processes if this is a step into the unknown for you. They will oversee your job and ensure that everything you require is communicated to the relevant departments.

The Research Technology department has specialists in online research who can tailor your Forums, Blogs and Questionnaires to be as professional or fun as you like to ensure the audience your targeting are as responsive as possible, whether your looking for B2B or B2C respondents. When capturing data live from our WAPI kits (Web Aided Personal Interviewing) or CATI unit (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing), the data delivery experts can work on your data outputs whilst the research is still going ahead therefore ensuring your data reaches you as soon as possible, whether it is in a simple Excel spreadsheet or via a web-browser using our interactive reporting software which empowers you to present the data as visually as you like.

Our onsite CATI unit has 43 seats and is available to conduct your interviews 7 days a week during the daytime and evenings. Whether you want to conduct large volumes of interviews over the course of a year or make appointments for focus groups or depth interviews they can do it professionally for you.

We haven’t forgotten our market research roots either and therefore our team of over 1200 recruiters enable us to recruit for halls, exit interviews or in-home interviews UK wide (including Northern Ireland) however niche your target audience or bizarre the products that you may want to test.

Contact us on 0113 205 7005 or contact@quaestor.com to leave your research requirements in our safe hands.

The Challenge: Our role working alongside creative, PR and advertising teams for a leading UK confectionary brand was to gain consumers’ views on preference for current versus proposed chocolate bar packaging.

The Approach: The Client required a pack recognition and standout test on existing and new designs, we opted for a hall test approach having pre-recruited respondents. Respondents were initially shown life size pictures of 3 different designs (projected onto a screen).

They were then asked to spot the same product within a staged confectionary display.

Finally a pack comparison asked respondents which they preferred and why.

The Benefit: Quaestor Fieldwork Services delivered results as raw data which could easily be analysed to discover consumer preferences. The client benefited from our slick service within the stated time-frames, enabling them to launch packaging which would jump out at consumers and fly off the shelves.

Delivering insight and data to a full service marketing agency

The Challenge: Working with a full service marketing agency we were tasked to determine people’s under-standing, familiarity and awareness of a funeral service providers brand and offering following a direct marketing campaign.

The Approach: Given the sensitive nature of the project, depth interviews; both in-home and pre-appointed telephone interviews were conducted. We then segmented the clients own prospect database into three quotas; customer loyalists, targeted prospects who had expressed an interest and non-responders.

Based on the outcome of the qualitative phase, a hypotheses was established and quantified by short telephone interviews giving robust overall data.

The Benefit: Quaestor Fieldwork Services delivered both insight and data to the marketing agency for use within their future marketing campaigns with the overall aim of maximising response rates.

Quaestor Fieldwork Services
Anglia House
Holly Park
Calverley
Leeds LS28 5QS

+44 (0)113 205 7000

fieldworkservices@quaestor.com

Randal Thomas, Research Manager will be presenting findings from a Qmedia research project undertaken specially for the Showcomotion event.

Qmedia’s presentation takes place on Thursday 2 July at 11am – 12.30pm and looks at how 11-14 year olds are using the internet and how they view TV online.

For more information about the event please visit www.showcomotionconference.com

We look forward to seeing you there!