Research Now Group, Inc., the leading digital data collection provider powering analytics and insights, today announced the appointment of five key new members to the ranks of its Client Development Team. This new group will heighten the focus on adding value to clients and operations in key industry verticals including CPG, Retail and Financial Services.

Reporting to Pam Maltby, Senior Vice President of Client Development:

Kris Baker joins Research Now as Vice President of Client Development, based in Plano, Texas. Baker will manage the company's client portfolio teams in the east and southeast regions. Baker has spent the past three years at Restaurant Sciences, where he led their business development team. Prior to that, he spent 20 years at Nielsen, where he served in a variety of senior management positions.

Bart Roselli joins Research Now as Vice President of Client Development, based in Cincinnati. Roselli brings 25 years of experience at Nielsen, where he managed strategic relationships with Walmart and Procter & Gamble during his career. Roselli will lead Research Now's Retail Practice while managing a large portfolio of additional client teams.

Mike Gasper joins Research Now as Vice President of Business Development, based in New York City. Gasper spent 20 years at Nielsen and managed some of the company's largest portfolio companies including Kraft. Most recently, he owned and operated The MDG Group, an executive recruiting firm.

Chawntae Applegate joins Research Now as Senior Director of Client Development, based in Cincinnati. Applegate joins from Ipsos/Synovate and most recently, Walker Information. Applegate will lead the company’s CPG Practice Group.

Reporting to Mike Billingsley, Vice President of Client Development for Research Now Technologies:

Tom Greco joins Research Now as Senior Director of the company’s Consumer Panels and Communities division, based in Cincinnati. Greco joins from ThinkVine, and will be responsible for leading client engagements in this high growth technology area.

Commenting on the appointments, Markert said: “I am pleased to announce the addition of these respected leaders to Research Now. Our company is continuing to add key talent as we focus even more on added value to our clients and partners, and further building out and developing our technology-based platforms and industry group practices.”

About Research Now Group, Inc.
Research Now Group, Inc., headquartered in Plano, Texas, is the global leader in digital data collection to power analytics and insights. It enables data-driven decision making for clients who listen to and interact with the world’s consumers and business professionals through Research Now’s online panels, as well as mobile, digital and social media technologies. The company operates in 38 countries, from 24 offices across the globe, and is recognized as the market research industry’s leader in quality, scale and customer satisfaction.

Download the full press release.

Press Contact:
Heather Milt
Manager, Public Relations
+1 425 495 3743
hmilt@researchnow.com

The study, revealed today, looks into the use of mobile health apps¹, and assesses their potential in healthcare. Digital data collection provider, Research Now, spoke to 500 healthcare professionals² and 1,000 health app users in the U.S.

The survey asked healthcare professionals whether they currently use smartphone technology in their medical practice; whether they thought it was beneficial and for which types of patients; and under what conditions they thought it had the greatest potential. The health app users were asked which types of apps they use and how they feel about using smartphone technology in relation to their health.

Key findings: 46% of healthcare professionals say that they will introduce mobile apps to their practice in the next five years. 86% of healthcare professionals believe that health apps will increase their knowledge of patients’ conditions. 96% of users think that health apps help to improve their quality of life. 72% of healthcare professionals believe that health apps will encourage patients to take more responsibility for their health. Vincent DeRobertis, Senior Vice President of Global Healthcare at Research Now, said, “Mobile apps for smartphones are changing the way doctors and their patients approach medicine and health issues. Patients with heart disease can send information about their heart rate straight to their doctors, accessories allow diabetics to monitor their blood glucose levels by sending the results straight to their smartphone, and nutritionists can see trends in patients’ caloric intake and exercise patterns. “Patients are gathering data about their condition or treatment, ultimately improving their health, or perhaps reducing visits to a physician. Apps are improving healthcare professionals’ knowledge of their patients, while patients feel a lift in their quality of life. Obviously, there is a huge opportunity for the use of these apps.” Healthcare professionals believe that health apps will improve medical care 86% believe that health apps will increase their knowledge of their patients’ conditions. 72% believe that they will encourage patients to take more responsibility for their health. 50% think that they will increase the efficiency of patient treatment. 46% believe that they will improve their relationship with their patients. (Download our infographic as a PDF.)

• 76% of health professionals believe that they will help patients with chronic diseases, such as diabetes or heart disease.
• 61% believe that they will help those who are at rising-risk of developing health issues; 55% believe they have the potential to help people who are healthy; and 48% believe they have the potential to help patients recently discharged from a hospital.

Most people use the apps as a lifestyle choice, but their use to support healthcare is growing

• Most people use health apps to help them lose weight and to track their exercise (60% to monitor activity/workouts, 53% to motivate them to exercise, 49% to record calorie intake, and 42% to monitor weight loss).
• However, 30% use the apps to monitor existing health conditions and 29%, to remind them to take medication.
• 96% of health app users think that health apps help to improve their quality of life, while only 37% of health professionals believe that they will improve their patients’ lives.

Few healthcare professionals are currently using these apps, but they expect to do so in the next five years

• There is a small group of early adopters of smartphone technology in the healthcare profession; 16% already use it in their work with patients. However, 46% believe that they will introduce mHealth apps to their practice in the next five years.
• Only 19% of healthcare professionals do not expect smartphone technology to become part of their work in healthcare.
• 59% of health professionals use smartphone technology to access medical research and 28% expect to in the next five years.
• 32% of mobile health app users say that they share information collected by apps with their doctors.

Health apps are already hugely popular, but they are no longer about fitness and diet alone. MyFitnessPal®, a diet tracker, boasts over 65 million users³ and the Nike+ Running App has more than 30 million users⁴. However, a new breed of health apps is developing, which are more medically focused. For example, the recent Apple software update iOS 8 included a health app, which was automatically installed on updated iPhones⁵.

Mobile accessories are developing too, such as OneTouch Verio® Test Strips⁶, which test a small sample of blood for glucose levels and send the results straight to the user’s smartphone, allowing them to share with their doctors. Or ViSi Mobile®⁷, a gadget that can monitor a patient’s vital signs and send them to an iPhone® or iPad® after they have been discharged. Google have also made headlines recently as they are developing a wristband that can detect cancer and impending heart attacks⁸.

About the Survey
Research Now used its “BY-INVITATION-ONLY”™ consumer research panel, its Valued Opinions® Panel, and its deeply-profiled Healthcare Panel to conduct the online survey among a total of 1,000 healthcare professionals and 2,000 smartphone owners who acknowledged their use of mobile health apps – evenly split between U.S. residents and U.K. residents. Quotas were set for age and gender to bring them more into line with their actual proportions in the population. The study ran between January 9 and January 22, 2015. For complete survey methodology, please contact hmilt@researchnow.com.

MyFitnessPal®, Nike+ Running, Apple®, iPhone®, iPad®, OneTouch Verio®, and ViSi Mobile® are trademarks of MyFitnessPal, Inc., Nike, Inc., Apple, Inc., Johnson & Johnson Corporation and Sotera Wireless, Inc., respectively.  Research Now Group, Inc. is not affiliated or connected with MyFitnessPal, Inc., Nike, Inc., Apple, Inc., Johnson & Johnson Corporation, or Sotera Wireless, Inc.

About Research Now Group, Inc.
Research Now Group, Inc., headquartered in Plano, Texas, is the global leader in digital data collection to power analytics and insights. It enables data-driven decision making for clients who listen to and interact with the world’s consumers and business professionals through Research Now’s online panels, as well as mobile, digital and social media technologies. The company operates in 38 countries, from 24 offices across the globe, and is recognized as the market research industry’s leader in quality, scale and customer satisfaction.

Download the full press release.

Press contact:
Heather Milt
Manager, Public Relations
+1 425 495 3743
hmilt@researchnow.com

For UK enquiries, please contact:
Jocelyn Senior
Keen as Mustard Marketing, Ltd
+44 (0) 207 622 0355
jocelyn@mustardmarketing.com

Research Now Group, Inc. (“Research Now”) announced today that Court Square Capital Partners (“Court Square”), a leading private equity firm, has completed its previously announced acquisition of the company. Court Square acquired Research Now through the purchase of interests from the existing group of shareholders and the refinancing of existing debt. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Court Square’s history of investing in winning companies makes them an ideal partner to help us achieve our bold vision,” said Kurt Knapton, President and CEO of Research Now. “With our 15-year track record of industry-leading growth, we have established ourselves as the global standard for quality data collection and client satisfaction. We look forward to building on that momentum with new products and technology offerings that address market opportunities.”

Research Now, headquartered in Plano, Texas, is the leading digital data collection provider powering analytics and insights. Over the past decade, Research Now has been the fastest growing company in its sector. Its global, permission-based access to millions of deeply profiled consumers and business decision-makers provides online, mobile and behavioral data for over 3,000 market research, consulting, media and corporate clients. This actionable data drives key business decisions and processes such as: strategy, competitive intelligence, new product development, brand positioning and digital ad effectiveness.

About Court Square Capital Partners
Court Square is one of the most experienced teams in the private equity industry. Since 1979, the team has made over 200 investments, including several landmark transactions, and has developed numerous businesses into leaders in their respective markets. Based in New York, N.Y., Court Square invests in companies that have compelling growth potential. The firm manages over $5 billion in aggregate capital commitments while focusing on the following four sectors: business services, general industrial, healthcare and technology/telecommunications. For more information on Court Square, please visit www.courtsquare.com.

About Research Now Group, Inc.
Research Now Group, Inc., headquartered in Plano, Texas, is the global leader in digital data collection to power analytics and insights. It enables data-driven decision making for clients who listen to and interact with the world’s consumers and business professionals through Research Now’s online panels, as well as mobile, digital and social media technologies. The company operates in 38 countries, from 24 offices across the globe, and is recognized as the market research industry’s leader in quality, scale and customer satisfaction.

Download the full press release.

Press Contact:
Heather Milt
Manager, Public Relations
+1 425 495 3743
hmilt@researchnow.com

Unprecedented topping of the charts solidifies its standing as an industry leader in five categories

Research Now Group, Inc., the leading digital data collection provider powering analytics and insights, swept all five dimensions among online sample providers for the second consecutive year in the recently released “2015 Annual Survey of Market Research Professionals.”

Sponsored by MarketResearchCareers.com, the tenth edition surveyed customers of online market research suppliers to identify the top firm along each of the following five dimensions: is a thought leader; offers unique methodologies; provides quality deliverables; has the best employees; and effectively uses technology. For an unprecedented second year in a row, Research Now received top honors across all five categories.

“In a rapidly changing market of new technologies and methodologies for online and mobile data collection, we remain dedicated to high standards of quality and innovation,” said President and CEO Kurt Knapton. “We are grateful and humbled to receive this honor for a second year in a row. We wish to recognize and thank our valued clients who rely on and trust us to provide exceptional results year after year.”

Mike Carroll, Director of Sales and Marketing at MarketResearchCareers.com, added, “We wish to extend our congratulations to Research Now for delivering an exemplary level of performance, as reflected in the opinions of Research Now’s own customers.”

About Research Now Group, Inc.
Research Now Group, Inc., headquartered in Plano, Texas, is the global leader in digital data collection to power analytics and insights. It enables data-driven decision making for clients who listen to and interact with the world’s consumers and business professionals through Research Now’s online panels, as well as mobile, digital and social media technologies. The company operates in 38 countries, from 24 offices across the globe, and is recognized as the market research industry’s leader in quality, scale and customer satisfaction.

Download the full press release.

Press Contact:
Heather Milt
Manager, Public Relations
+1 425 495 3743
hmilt@researchnow.com

New ailments panel provides access to expert opinions on a wide variety of skin conditions 

Research Now today announced the launch of its Dermatology Panel, providing a resource for deeper insights into the practices, treatments and sentiments related to dermatology. This is the seventh market research panel based around therapeutic areas to be launched by the company. Researchers now have access to a targeted audience of hundreds of thousands of deeply-profiled panelists who have been diagnosed with one or more of the following: skin cancer, acne, psoriasis, eczema, nail fungus and rosacea. For a more holistic approach, Research Now also provides access to hard-to-reach healthcare experts including dermatologists, plastic surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, histopathologists and general practitioners. (Download our infographic as a PDF).

Senior Vice President of Global Healthcare Vincent DeRobertis commented, “Research Now is committed to improving the ease of collecting quality and actionable insights through its multiple ailments panels. Not only do we provide access to expert opinions from patients concerning a variety of skin conditions and diseases, but we also connect researchers with those involved in the patient journey, including healthcare executives, payers, physicians and specialist nurses.”

Research Now also offers deeply-profiled panels – and ultimately deeper insights from healthcare consumers, specialist doctors and nurses, and other healthcare professionals – on the topics of diabetes, arthritis, autoimmune, women’s health, mental health and gastrointestinal conditions.

About Research Now Group, Inc.
Research Now Group, Inc., headquartered in Plano, Texas, is the global leader in digital data collection to power analytics and insights. It enables data-driven decision making for clients who listen to and interact with the world’s consumers and business professionals through Research Now’s online panels, as well as mobile, digital and social media technologies. The company operates in 38 countries, from 24 offices across the globe, and is recognized as the market research industry’s leader in quality, scale and customer satisfaction.

Download the full press release.

New panel provides quick access to American voters for political polling and issues-based research.

Research Now, the global leader in digital data collection to power analytics and insights, announced today the launch of a groundbreaking new panel that enables political researchers to capture American voters' perceptions of the latest issues.  This first of its kind panel provides a rich resource for insights into political trends such as candidate perception, voter turnout and key campaign issues, as well as insights into the perceptions of the millennial generation.

Through the new panel pollsters and political researchers now have access to a targeted audience of more than 600,000 deeply profiled, verified voters from every state and U.S. Congressional district across the country. Research Now can survey constituents based on their party affiliation, historical election turnout, congressional district and other key political variables. The mobile-optimized research design enables panelist participation in surveys via smartphone, tablet or PC – ensuring representation from all voter population segments.

Whether data is needed at the national, state or local level, Research Now has a broad suite of online quantitative, qualitative and digital solutions to give researchers quick access to high-quality insights. The largest panel of its kind, Research Now has identified hundreds of thousands of voters who are non-partisan and/or who have no publicly available telephone numbers, as well as more than 70,000 millennials.

 “Voters are harder to reach via traditional phone sampling methods, especially with stiffer FCC regulations,” said Melanie Courtright, lead methodologist and executive vice president of client services for Research Now. “Notable inaccuracies in recent election predictions have proven the need to reach all audiences, including mobile responders and millennials, in order to accurately forecast results. Our political panel can help researchers better understand these hard-to-reach audiences who are critical to election outcomes. The size of this panel underscores our position as the largest, highest quality panel provider in the world.”

About Research Now Group, Inc.
Research Now Group, Inc., headquartered in Plano, Texas, is the global leader in digital data collection to power analytics and insights. It enables data-driven decision making for clients who listen to and interact with the world’s consumers and business professionals through Research Now’s online panels, as well as mobile, digital and social media technologies. The company operates in 38 countries, from 24 offices across the globe, and is recognized as the market research industry’s leader in quality, scale and customer satisfaction.

Press Contact:
Allison M. Allison
214-354-4688
aallison@researchnow.com

Kurt Knapton Announces His Pending Departure as CEO

PLANO, TEXAS (October 13, 2015)– Research Now, the global leader in digital data collection to power analytics and insights, today announced it will begin the process to identify a successor to the company’s President and CEO, Kurt Knapton.

Mr. Knapton, a pioneer and catalyst in the online survey data collection space, who returned to the company as its President and CEO in 2011, will remain on the Board of Directors following the identification of and transition to his successor. The announcement that Knapton was tendering his resignation to the Board was made today to all company employees.

For the past eighteen months Knapton’s father has been battling Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. As his condition has progressed, Knapton has increasingly felt the need to be daily and personally present with him. 

“My personal value system places a high priority on my family’s needs. As my father’s ALS journey has gotten tougher, I don’t want to have regrets later on that I was not fully there for him and our family,” said Knapton. “Research Now deserves the full attention of its executive leader, and if I am not able to give my all to the role during this chapter of my life, then it’s time for me to transition. I’m so proud of the special company Research Now has grown to be, and I have the utmost confidence in the strong leadership team and investment partners we’ve assembled.”

“The Board of Directors of Research Now is supportive of the personal decision Kurt is making at this time.” said John Civantos, board member and Managing Partner at Court Square Capital Partners, the majority owner of Research Now. “We want to thank Kurt for his visionary leadership and are tremendously appreciative of the industry-leading company Kurt helped launch and grow during his twelve years of service at the company. We will continue to benefit from Kurt’s ongoing involvement as a board member and significant investor in Research Now, and we will quickly move to identify his successor and ensure a smooth transition.”

About Research Now Group, Inc.
Research Now Group, Inc., headquartered in Plano, Texas, is the global leader in digital data collection to power analytics and insights. It enables data-driven decision making for its 3,000 market research, consulting, media, and corporate clients through its permission-based access to millions of deeply-profiled consumers and business decision-makers using online, mobile, social media and behavioral data collection technology platforms.  The company operates in 38 countries, from 24 offices around the globe, and is recognized as the quality, scale and customer satisfaction leader in its industry. For more information, go to www.researchnow.com.

Contact:

Allison M. Allison
aallison@researchnow.com 

214-354-4688

Research Now, the global leader in digital data collection to power analytics and insights, today announced it will begin the process to identify a successor to the company’s President and CEO, Kurt Knapton.

Mr. Knapton, a pioneer and catalyst in the online survey data collection space, who returned to the company as its President and CEO in 2011, will remain on the Board of Directors following the identification of and transition to his successor. The announcement that Knapton was tendering his resignation to the Board was made today to all company employees.

For the past eighteen months Knapton’s father has been battling Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. As his condition has progressed, Knapton has increasingly felt the need to be daily and personally present with him.  

“My personal value system places a high priority on my family’s needs. As my father’s ALS journey has gotten tougher, I don’t want to have regrets later on that I was not fully there for him and our family,” said Knapton. “Research Now deserves the full attention of its executive leader, and if I am not able to give my all to the role during this chapter of my life, then it’s time for me to transition. I’m so proud of the special company Research Now has grown to be, and I have the utmost confidence in the strong leadership team and investment partners we’ve assembled.”

“The Board of Directors of Research Now is supportive of the personal decision Kurt is making at this time.” said John Civantos, board member and Managing Partner at Court Square Capital Partners, the majority owner of Research Now. “We want to thank Kurt for his visionary leadership and are tremendously appreciative of the industry-leading company Kurt helped launch and grow during his twelve years of service at the company. We will continue to benefit from Kurt’s ongoing involvement as a board member and significant investor in Research Now, and we will quickly move to identify his successor and ensure a smooth transition.” 

About Research Now Group, Inc.

Research Now Group, Inc., headquartered in Plano, Texas, is the global leader in digital data collection to power analytics and insights. It enables data-driven decision making for its 3,000 market research, consulting, media, and corporate clients through its permission-based access to millions of deeply-profiled consumers and business decision-makers using online, mobile, social media and behavioral data collection technology platforms.  The company operates in 38 countries, from 24 offices across the globe, and is recognized as the quality, scale and customer satisfaction leader in its industry. For more information, go to www.researchnow.com.

Press Contact:
Allison M. Allison
214-354-4688
aallison@researchnow.com

Plano, Texas / Saskatoon, Canada – November 2, 2015 - Research Now, the global leader in digital data collection to power analytics and insights, and itracks, the global leader in qualitative market research software, announced today a new method of recruiting for online and mobile qualitative studies. This On-Demand Recruitment offering enables market researchers to move the highest quality participants provided by Research Now directly into industry-leading focus group discussion boards and communities pioneered by itracks.

“The Research Now and itracks qualitative solution provided us with a powerful, integrated resource,” said Bob Klein, chief strategy officer for Blue Chip Marketing Worldwide, who has used the On-Demand Recruitment method launched by Research Now and itracks for a research project. “Our initial experience was exceptional – the respondent recruit was outstanding, and the software platform is easy to use and robust.” 

On-Demand Recruitment is designed to significantly reduce recruitment timelines, project management requirements and recruiting costs. Participants can be automatically routed from any quantitative screener or survey directly into a qualitative exercise based on predefined qualifying criteria, allowing for efficient access to qualitative insights through bulletin boards, focus groups, one-on-one chats, quick surveys, diaries and mobile interaction. The functionality also includes the streamlined ability to capture images and video via a participant’s smartphone.

“As a result of using the bulletin board focus group approach, we collected more in-depth information than we could have using traditional focus groups,” said Bill Godden, Appraisal Institute director of research, who is also a client of Research Now and itracks. “By all measures, the results of the study are impressive and will be extremely useful for our planning going forward.” 

On-Demand Recruitment can be used with any standard survey software program and is fully integrated with Research Now’s panel management technology.  Additionally, the automated incentive fulfillment allows researchers to efficiently manage incentives through an automated system that immediately rewards the Research Now panel participants.

“The recruitment methodology enables market researchers to instantly access one of the highest quality and largest panels in the world,” said Dan Weber, itracks CEO. “Qualitative research projects can start when the research is ready to begin, and researchers can count on participants to show up for the group because they can be routed to the group on demand.” 

“On-Demand Recruitment is a breakthrough that enables researchers to save the time, money and hassle associated with qualitative research and incentives,” said Kurt Knapton, president and CEO of Research Now.  “The new method streamlines qualitative recruitment and incentive management, reducing field time from weeks to days to a matter of hours.”

Researchers and agencies interested in using On-Demand Recruitment can visit the Research Now and itracks exhibit booths at the TMRE, register for a webinar on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2015 at Noon EST by clicking here, or send an email to onlinequal@researchnow.com or sales@itracks.com for more information.

About Research Now Group, Inc.
Research Now Group, Inc., headquartered in Plano, Texas, is the global leader in digital data collection to power analytics and insights. The company enables clients to interact with the world’s consumers and business professionals through Research Now’s online panels as well as mobile, digital and social media technologies. The company operates in 38 countries, from 24 offices around the globe, and is recognized as the market research industry’s leader in quality, scale and customer satisfaction. Visit www.researchnow.com to learn more.
About itracks
itracks is a world-leading provider of qualitative research software and the US patent holder for online qualitative applications. Leading market research professionals and Fortune 500 companies recognize itracks’ online and mobile applications as the most client-focused, reliable and flexible available. The sophisticated suite of qualitative software includes online focus groups, online discussion boards, video focus groups, online markup software and their most recent addition – software for managing in-depth interviews.  Visit www.itracks.com to learn more.

Press Contacts:

Greg Ellis Announced as Head of North American Sales

PLANO, TEXAS (November 3, 2015)– Research Now, the global leader in digital data collection to power analytics and insights, today announced that Greg Ellis, an Executive Vice President and existing member of the Research Now executive team, will assume additional responsibilities for the North American sales organization.

Mr. Ellis, an industry veteran in the market research space, brings many years of experience at creating and managing client selling organizations. Before joining Research Now, he held senior positions at a number of the industry’s premier companies, including: CEO, ImpactRX (Symphony Health Solutions); Senior Partner, Rosetta Marketing Group; Corporate Chief Operating Officer, Opinion Research Corporation; and Senior Vice President and General Manager, A.C. Nielsen Company. In his new capacity, Mr. Ellis will continue to report to John Rothwell, Chief Operating Officer of Research Now.

“We are excited to have Greg stepping in as the leader of our sales and business development organization for North America,” said Mr. Rothwell. “Greg’s keen ability to understand the needs of our clients, and his experience in managing large client-focused organizations, makes me confident that he can adapt and manage our team of client sales personnel. Technology is changing how we and our clients collect and deliver data. Greg understands that and can help Research Now lead this evolution.”

The responsibilities being assumed by Mr. Ellis were previously managed by Tom Markert, who will be leaving Research Now to pursue other business interests.

About Research Now Group, Inc.
Research Now Group, Inc., headquartered in Plano, Texas, is the global leader in digital data collection to power analytics and insights. It enables data-driven decision making for clients who listen to and interact with the world’s consumers and business professionals through Research Now’s online panels, as well as mobile, digital and social media technologies. The company operates in 38 countries, from 24 offices across the globe, and is recognized as the market research industry’s leader in quality, scale and customer satisfaction.

Contact:

Allison M. Allison

aallison@researchnow.com

214-354-4688