On March 23, the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) announced the winners of the 2011Awards at its annual convention, Re:think 2011, in New York City. Ranging from newcomers to veterans, twenty-four honorees across six award categories were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the excellence and advancement of advertising research.
This year’s winners were chosen out of 130 nominees considered to be the most commendable individuals in the advertising research community. Jeanne Vaughn of GlobalHue took home the Grand Innovation Award for “Nations within a Nation,” the first piece of cultural research addressing issues surrounding U.S. demographic segmentation. Grand Rising Star Award winner, Kelly Johnson of ESPN, was recognized for her work in groundbreaking cross-media research initiatives for the sports cable network and for introducing the first-ever application of the TouchPoints research technology to the U.S. market.
Ed Keller, CEO, Keller Fay Group, received the Grand Member Recognition Award, which goes to individuals who made an outstanding contribution to the ARF in the prior year. Keller, whose term as member of the ARF Board of Directors ends this year, was honored for his many contributions to the ARF throughout his tenure including, serving as an active member of the ARF Board, the program committees for the Audience Measurement Conference and annual Re:think convention, as well as judge for the annual ARF David Ogilvy Awards for Excellence in Advertising Research.
For the first time since the inception of the ARF Great Mind Awards in 2006, a new Quality in Research Award was introduced and awarded to companies GMI Interactive and Mintel Market Research, and Ipsos ASI for their effective and successful implementation of high-quality, uniquely-designed questionnaires.
ARF Lifetime Achievement Awards went to Rosi Ware, SVP of Development, Kantar and Dr. Joseph T. Plummer, adjunct professor, Columbia Business School and senior associate, Olson Zaltman Associates for their significant ongoing contributions to the advertising research industry and to the ARF.
The 2011 ARF Great Mind Awards concluded Re:think 2011 – Managing the Complexity Maze: Insights as the Navigator. The four-day event – the largest for the ARF –was designed to give marketers tools and insights to make the best possible decisions in today’s fast-changing environment.
The full list of category award winners is available online via the official ARF Re:think 2011 website.